National 4 (Spotlight Weekly)

“No Nepalese Can Dare To Challenge Centuries Old Religious Harmony”

— Dr. Rishikeshab Raj Regmi

Professor Dr. RISHIKESHAB RAJ REGMI – who teaches anthropology at the Tribhuwan University - is a well known anthropologist of Nepal. Dr. Regmi has written a number of books on Nepalese culture and society. He spoke to SPOTLIGHT on various issues related to religious harmony. Excerpts:

As a sociologist, how to do you see the recent mayhem targeted against certain community?

The event of September 1 was very mysterious. As a Nepali I cannot imagine that Nepalese are such intolerant. We know that the Muslims – who migrated more than five hundred years ago – are as much Nepalis as any other groups in Nepal. Muslim culture has also played an important role to integrate Nepalese culture. For centuries, in all ecological zones, Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims lived together respecting each others' religion and culture.

Some said that the recent attack against Muslims has tarnished the image of Nepalese. How do you look at it?

The spontaneous religious solidarity shown by different groups just after the incident was an expression of how strong the religious tolerance is in the mind of Nepalese people. Muslim world might have watched all the events that took place in Nepal. From Muslim dominated areas to others, there were a series of programs and rallies organized by different religious group to heal the wound. As a sociologist, I see all Nepalese have realized the importance of religious harmony to sustain Nepal as a multi-religious and multi-ethnic country. This is Nepalese culture and Nepalese identity. Nepalese will survive if Nepalese cultures survive. If we loose our culture, we loose our national identity. If we break religious harmony, we will destroy our identity and independence.

How do you define Nepalese character?

One of the basic characters of Nepalese people is that they are tolerant and diehard followers of religious harmony. From centuries, our religious and social values are based on coexistence. The history of Nepalese nationalism is the history of harmony and coexistence between different religious and social groups. Nepal survives because all the groups follow the idea of coexistence. As a Nepali, one learns about the coexistence as soon as he/she is born. During the process of socialization, the importance of co-existence is taught.

But some other elements tried to portray the attack on Muslim community as communal riots?

I have also seen some Nepali and foreign newspapers carrying the picture of destruction of Mosque with some individuals climbing at the top of Mosque. I don’t think any Nepalese with a sense of Nepalese identity can do that. Some elements – who don’t want to see religious harmony in Nepal- tried to project the assault on Mosque. The subsequent events showed that it was not anything like the communal riots between Muslim and Hindus in our neighboring countries. It was not a destruction of Mosque like in our neighboring country but was simply a handiwork of some elements to project bad images of Nepalis.

What does Nepal need to do to convince our friends outside Nepal that Nepalese are tolerant and respectful?

We must highlight the events that took place following the attack on Mosque. The solidarity shown by our Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist and other religious groups jointly denouncing the violence is a sign of tolerance and strength of Nepal. It is the duty of Nepalese Embassy abroad to disseminate this information to the people living in different countries.

As a sociologist how do you observe the recent violence against the Muslims and their religious places?

The people who attacked mosque and Muslims are not Nepalese. I cannot believe that any Nepali who has grown up in the social harmony can do such works against their own brothers and sisters. Nepal is a diverse country with the harmony between various religious, ethnic and linguistic groups. No country in the world has such example where two Mosques stand safely in front of the palace of Hindu Monarch. People respect the feelings of Muslims.

How can you say that those who attacked minority community are not Nepalese?

The way all Nepalese religious leaders including Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist and Christian spontaneously rallied against the vandalism showed that the people of Nepal still have strong sense of coexistence. Whether Muslim, Buddhist or Hindus, Nepalese are integrated by their inner belief of harmony. At a time when Nepalese society is exposed to the outside world, there is possibility of some outside influence in certain behavior but Nepalese know the essence of religious harmony. There is no room for hatred in Nepalese culture.

What will be the long-term implications of such events?

Since no Nepalese can dare to challenge centuries old religious harmony, such actions, whoever are behind it, will not have long lasting implications. Nepalese of various religions, culture and ethnic groups have centuries-old culture of living together. From early childhood, Nepalese are socialized in an environment of religious harmony and coexistence. The religious harmony remains a bridge among the people living in mountain, hill and plains. The sense of coexistence and religious harmony integrates Nepalese society. Some elements want to disrupt this centuries old coexistence. It is not easy to break it.

How do you see the process of integration among Nepalese?

The process of integration is very strong in Nepal. People of different religions live together respecting sentiments and sensitivities of each other. Two main mosques standing in front of the Palace of Hindu monarch is one of the great examples of religious tolerance existing between Muslim, Hindu and other communities. One of the main Mosques is standing side by side with Sanskrit Hostel, where Brahmin live and study, in Durbar Marg.

Is there any sign of religious tensions in Nepal?

From hills to terai and capital, Hindu, Muslims and other religious groups are integrated with each other. Muslims of the valley speak fluent local language and Muslims in hill live harmoniously with Hindus and other ethnic groups there. The Muslim religion also plays important role to integrate Nepalese culture. Unlike other countries in south Asia, Muslims are part of Nepalese society. Without supply of bangles and beads (Chura, Pote) and other ornaments by Muslims who make them, marriage of Hindu people cannot be complete. Through the marriage between Muslims and non-Muslims, the society has been further integrated and united.

What are the challenges of present time?

One of the major challenges is how to assimilate culturally, religiously, economically and politically, the diverse Nepalese society. Kathmandu valley, although the old place of Newars, has been, for centuries, a melting pot of diverse cultural groups, where today a systematic cultural assimilation is taking place. Our history shows that Nepal remains a melting ground for two different groups from South and north.

How do you explain the Nepalese culture?

Though the religions are diverse and different in nature, most cultural and religious groups of Nepal are the products of hundreds and thousands of years of mixing. There is a great cultural diversity. About sixty dialects are spoken here, and there are more than twenty-four Tibeto-Burman dialects. Seventy-nine percent of the total population of Nepal speaks Indo-Aryan language. Although there are majority of Hindus, all the religious groups are treated equally. Islam is the third largest religious group in Nepal after Hindu and Buddhist.

What do we Nepalese need to do?

We must realize that Nepal is a country of multi-religious and diverse ethnic groups and Nepalese culture is combination of all traits. Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus and other religious groups all have their own share in Nepalese culture. Without the contribution of Muslims, Hindu’s culture is incomplete. A married Hindu needs a long straight bar of jewelry (glass beads) Pote and bangles (Chura) made by Muslims. The history of Nepal shows that Muslims migrated here more than 500 years ago as traders. Even during the period of national unification by King Prithivi Narayan Shah, he had invited some Muslims to develop weapons in Nepal. Gurkhas used the weapons like guns developed by Muslims.

How do you see the socialization process of younger generation?

One of the unfortunate things is that we are unable to fully teach our children about the centuries of religious harmony existing between different ethnic, religious and linguistic groups in Nepal. We must teach young people regarding the identity of Nepalese people. Young Nepalese are influenced by outside culture. Through media and other elements, they are gradually loosing their own value system. Hindus and Muslims of Nepal must realize that they have grown up in their own society where there is no room for hatred.

What are the lessons Nepal needs to learn from the recent event?

There is no room for hatred in our society. If we want to maintain our identity as a Nepali, we have to respect the sentiments and religions of others as our ancestors did in the process of integration of Nepal. It is the duty of civil society, politicians and religious groups to carry the message of religious harmony.