| Regions with significant populations | |||
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| Languages | |||
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Maithili, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Tharu, Northern Bengali, and Khari Boli |
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| Religion | |||
| Related ethnic groups | |||
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Pahari; other Indo-Aryan peoples of Gangetic plain |
The Madhesi (Madhesī, Devnagri: मधेसी) are the native people of Nepal who reside in the southern, plains region the Terai which they refer to as Madhesh. Madhesis comprise about 40% of the total population of Nepal. Madhesi people are ethnically, culturally and lingually similar to people of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh states of India.[1][2]
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The word madhesi or madheshi is the adjectival form of madhesh, which usually refers to the Terai region. Madhesh (मधेश) derives from the Sanskrit words madhya desh (मध्य देश), meaning "middle country."[3]
While the majority of Madhesis are caste-observant Hindu, there is great cultural and religious diversity in the Madhesh. Four distinct religious groups — Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Jains — live there. The social structure of Madheshi caste Hindus is very similar to that of Pahari Hindus from the hills.[4][5][6]
Beside speaking Nepali as the official language, Madhesi people also speak various local languages as their mother tongue. These include Maithili – 33%, Hindi - 20%, Bhojpuri – 18%, and Awadhi (including Tharu Awadhi) – 18%. The rest speak Nepali, Northern Bengali, Santhal, and other minor languages.[7]
The above mentioned languages or dialects are regional, except Hindi. Maithili and Northern Bengali are spoken in the east of the Terai; Bhojpuri in the central areas; and Awadhi in the west. However, there are no hard boundaries separating these languages. Instead, these languages or dialects flow into one another and the dialects lying at the edges of their influence region can be categorized as either of the neighboring dialects; for example, the local language of Rautahat can be classified as Bhojpuri as well as Maithili; the Lumbini dialect can be referred to as Awadhi as well as Bhojpuri.[7]
The non-regional languages spoken by Madhesi people are primarily Nepali, Hindi, and Urdu. English is understood by educated classes, while Marwadi, Punjabi, Newari, and others are spoken by the non-native communities living in the Terai.[7]
Hindi is spoken as a lingua franca all over the region, but less so natively. Among the wider Madhesi community there has been support for the making Hindi an official language in order to end the hegemony of the national Khasa Nepali language.[6][8] In practice, this has led to some controversy. During the oath taking ceremony, vice president Parmanand Jha read his oath in Hindi as an act of activism supporting Madhesis' demand to bring Hindi into practice. The constitution, however, requires the oath to be taken in Nepali. Because the vice president, whose mother tongue is Maithili, resorted to using Hindi, his speech was controversial. Various political parties, organizations and intellectuals have criticized Jha. Jha later justified his use of Hindi claiming that it is understandable to all residents in Terai districts, who speak different languages.[9]
Among Madhesi singers, Udit Narayan Jha has acquired greatest fame. He is noted for his soothing voice quality that suits all the Terai languages. He is very famous in Nepal, singing numerous Nepali hit songs during his early career before entering in Bollywood singing. He has sung in Maithili, Bhojpuri and Awadhi as well. Although he is still one of a dominant Nepali singer he now is more active in Bollywood.
According to Hindu mythology, King Janak was the emperor of Mithila Rastra kingdom (eastern Madhesh) whose daughter Sita got married to Ram of Ayodhya (northern Uttar Pradesh, India). The capital of Mithila was Janakpur, which is still called by the same name. Lord Ram, an incarnation of Vishnu, was married to the goddess Sita in a "swayamvar" (self-chosen groom) ceremony in King Janak's palace. Today, Janakpur is an important city in the Terai of eastern Nepal. Gautam Buddha was born at Lumbini of Terai presently in Nepal.
The Madheshis or Madyadesis are believed to descend from a Brahman of Virbhumi named Virupaksha.[10]
The Tarai, today one of the most agriculturally productive regions in Nepal, has been inhabited by humans and hominids for about 30,000 years.[11] Historically, the Terai was inhabited by Tharus, Yadavs and other indigenous groups before the arrival of Indo-Aryan peoples from the northwest (Khas).[12]
Since the establishment of the absolute Shah monarchy in 1768, the wider Pahari community, particularly Bahuns and Chhetris, held a virtual monopoly on government, military, and administrative posts throughout the kingdom.[1][13][14][15] During the pre-democratic era, Pahari Chhetri culture and language dominated multiethnic Nepal to the disadvantage and exclusion of many Nepalese minorities and indigenous peoples including the Madhesi.[16][17] Discriminatory practices were, before reforms late in the monarchy era, a matter of law and the government's "one nation, one culture" policy.[6][18]
In the 19th century, Madhesi agriculturalists of Indo-Aryan origin moved into the region from within Nepal and India, becoming the predominant population. Before large-scale development, the Terai was densely wooded, highly malarial frontier land.[12][15]
During the late Shah dynasty, Pahari from the Hill Region began to settle the Terai under a system that politically and socially sidelined Madhesis, who had dominated the region since the 19th century.[19] Paharis regarded Madhesis as un-Nepalese and as Indian immigrants.[6][8] Madhesis became victims of serious abuses, and the regime sought to exclude non-Paharis from national politics through discriminatory laws and electoral gerrymandering, despite a massive population influx that saw growth bound from 5% to 40% over the twentieth century.[8] The Pahari community in the Terai purchased, or otherwise got hold of large landholdings. Together with traditional Tharu landlords, they came to constitute the upper level of the economic hierarchy, which in the rural parts of the Terai is determined to a large extent by the distribution and the value of agriculturally productive land. The poor were the landless, or near landless, Terai Dalits, including the Musahar and Chamar, as well as the traditional fishermen, the Mallaah, and some of the hill Dalits. In particular the Musahars rarely got other work than hard farm labor.[20]
The "one nation, one culture" policy implemented by King Mahendra during his absolute rule created a setback for non-Pahari cultures other, including Newars, Tamangs, Magars, Kirats, and Madhesis. The approach of the Royal Government was largely to ignore the frustrations among the Madhesi community and their demands for political access.[21] Even after the pro-democracy 1990 People's Movement, there were little improvements in the condition of ethnicities including Madhesis. Although Maithili and Bhojpuri, along with other languages such as Nepal Bhasa, Tamang, Limbu, Gurung, and Magar were recognized as national languages by the constitution, nothing was done for the improvement of any of these languages.[22]
The desire for increased self-determination among Madhesis was one of the central issues in the Nepalese Civil War and subsequent democratic movement.[23][24] During and after the Nepalese Civil War, Madhesi movements – from peaceful pro-autonomy demonstrations to armed separatist conflict – have been active in the Terai region.[6] This included backlashes against Paharis in the form of ransoming, murder, and land dispossession by armed Maoist groups such as the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) seeking Madhesi independence.[18][25][26]
Since the end of the Civil War in 2006 and establishment of the Republic of Nepal in 2008, ethnic Madhesis have been elected as first president (Ram Baran Yadav) and vice president (Parmanand Jha) of the new government. The bureaucracy and other sectors of Nepalese society, which were largely dominated by Pahari people from the hilly region, have begun to incorporate people from other ethnicities including Madhesis. However, the bureaucracy still had an overwhelming majority of Khas people, since aspiring candidates to the civil service, the Lok Sewa Ayog, had to take exams only in Nepali and no extra credit, value or consideration was given for knowledge of other national languages. The greatest blow pertaining to language issues was delivered when the Supreme Court forbade the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Rajbiraj Municipality and other civil bodies to use any language other than Nepali such as Nepal Bhasa, Maithili for any official purpose.[22] Furthermore, many Tarai Madhesis perceive a lack of interest on the part of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M), now part of government, in bettering the lot of Madhesis and therefore feel estranged from and resentful of the CPN-M and its politicians.[12][21][27]
As Madhesi political movements pursue greater political access and autonomy, indigenous groups of the Terai have harbored apprehension toward some Madhesi themes such as "one Madhes, one province," which they perceive as assimilatory.[25][28]
"Tarai/Madhesh of Nepal; An Anthroplogical Study" by Deepak Chaudhary; Publisher-Ratna Pustak Bhandar, kathmnadu, Nepal.