Reading Ethnic America: Some Lessons for Nepal

By Prof. Dilli R. Dahal, currently in the U.S

Even though the United States of America has nearly 63 times the area and 12 times the population of Nepal, its modern history and ethnic landscape has striking similarities with our Himalayan nation. The similarities suggest lessons worth considering. In this essay, I discuss some of these by describing the history and current situation of ethnic America and what Nepal could learn from the American experience. We tend to think of America in stereotyped ways—as a nation of European extraction and without significant ethnic variation. The truth is far different.

America’s Tragic History

America’s history as a modern nation, like Nepal’s, is just over 200 years old and features much of the same story of domination and ethnic tension as we encounter in our own country. The colonization of the New World continents of North and South America by the European colonial powers began around the 16th century. Among the colonizers, Great Britain controlled most of the Atlantic coast of the present day USA by the middle of 18th century. Its colony was forged in disputes with other western colonial powers such as France and Spain as well as through the displacement of the native population, the American Indians. Through revolution from the motherland, the migrant Europeans in their original 13 colonies declared their independence in 1776. America’s Constitution was adopted in 1787 and went into effect in 1789. With George Washington as the Prithvi Narayan Shah of this new country, the beginnings of modern American history and culture can be said to have begun.

This American history was never the story of a single people or ethnic group and was always one of tension and often violence between peoples with different languages and cultures. Perhaps no other group has suffered so much as the native peoples living in this land before the European intrusions. The British fought several deadly wars with the American natives, sometimes killing them thousands at a time. With British power came the expansion of British culture and the often-forcible spread of English language. Thus was the landscape shaped in the traditions of the dominant culture of the British.

The extent of loss for the native people (or Red Indians) is striking. As in Nepal, these natives were organized into their own distinct ethnic groups with their own languages and traditions. Named groups such as Navajo, Apache, Cherokee, Choctaw and Iroquois each occupied their own territories throughout the continent. Early estimates of population are difficult but some scholars suggest that around 1500 the total population of the Red Indians in just the US and Canada was 4.5 million. The tragic losses suffered are revealed by the 1890 U.S. census which enumerated only 249,300 American Indians on American soil, a bare of 0.4 per cent of the national population. More recently in the 1980 census, the native Indian population has registered 1.4 million. Of these, 370,000 live on remnant stretches of tribal trust land called reservations. The story of American territorial expansion is partly a sad tale of destruction of these people through illegal expropriation of territory, disease, and outright extermination. This tragedy is made worse by the portrayal of these people since the 17th century as brutal savages even as the litany of Euro-American provocation and atrocities were conveniently forgotten. Today, American Indians remain outsiders in the dominant Anglo-American culture.

A second strain in the American story begins with the arrival of black African slaves who were massively imported to work as plantation workers in the American south. These African laborers began their forced relocation to the present United States by 1620. By 1720 there were 660,000 southern slaves and by the time of American Civil War (1861-1865) there were 4 million. The now free descendants of these slaves today call themselves African Americans and their history of unimaginable brutality marks American society even today.

American expansion incorporated other groups, too. By taking land from the Spanish-speaking country of Mexico in the 19th century, a huge Hispanic population was added to the mix. More recently, since the second world war, this complex of mix ethnic and cultural diversity was furthered by the flow of other Hispanics and such Asian people as Chinese, Japanese, and even South Asian Indians to American soil. The story of how these markedly different people began a process of assimilation and resistance within the dominant white Anglo- American culture continues even to the present and presents serious social problems in the form of racial, linguistic, religious, and cultural diversity within the American myth of a single people.

In brief, America’s identity is deeply multicultural. Today's American culture is an uncomfortable mix of the Spanish, French, and English legacies joined with the profound imprint of many others. Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, Asians and such different Europeans as Germans, Russians, and Scandinavians have influenced present American cultural forms. In spite of this, the major social institutions of government, schools, and many churches have been dedicated to the principle of assimilating immigrants into a less than comfortable white Anglo-American culture.

The Legacy of Conquest and Hope

Today’s America reflects this tragic history of conquest and forced assimilation. The 1993 ethnic distribution for the country was 74% white, 12% black, 10 % Hispanic, 3% Asian and 1% American Indian. Of course, white America is itself quite diverse with the largest single group being people of German ancestry (57.9 million), followed by the Irish (38.7 million), and English (32.6 million). The growing numbers of South Asian Indians account for a still small 1.5 million people in the U.S. today. The current estimation of Nepali population is about 10,000.

These people come together in an uneasy community that includes continuing racial and ethnic discrimination as minority groups strive to achieve equality within the dominant white Anglo-American culture. Discrimination is a fact of everyday life for minority people, especially American blacks and Hispanics. Even Asians feel the effects of discrimination by the white majority. An American black scholar noted that in the U.S., "being a member of a minority group can be stressful." African Americans as a group may suffer the harshest forms of such inequality through harassment and intimidation by police. The recent American election stands as a profound example of structural inequality when Florida counties with high percentages of African Americans were among those with the highest levels of voting irregularity. Consider, too, that although African American males account for only 6% of the U.S. population, they represent 48% in U.S prisons and jails.

This discrimination has a more local component for me. I work in an American University institute, precisely the environment where progressive politics encourages the greatest levels of equality in the country. In spite of this, a recent survey on Diversity in the Institute for Social Research revealed great disparity. Asian and Asian American employees report that the low levels of racial and ethnic diversity among the higher ranks of staff are the primary problem in the Institute. They further suggest that non-whites have far less status and power in the center. Many of them feel that they are alienated within the system even though the American constitution propagates "equal opportunity for all." Another example from the setting where I work illustrates this point. Of the total 318 regular staff 271 (85.2%) were whites, 24 (7.5%) Asian Americans or Asian, and 23 (7.3%) African American, Hispanic, Native American and others. In other words, though there are abundant charters and laws protecting equal opportunity, the reality suggests the hidden shame of lingering racism in American workplaces.

Nevertheless, America’s work force and schools are indeed becoming increasingly diverse. Ethnic pageants and parades, the pride Americans take in their distinctly unique cultural heritages, point to an increasingly recognized and celebrated diversity in American culture. The little China town, the South Asian Indian town, and Hispanic towns, shops and restaurants are a feature of every major American city.

Despite its ethnic and cultural diversities, perhaps even because of its great complexity, America stands today as a symbol of prosperity and achievement for the people of developing world. In the midst of cultural diversity and in spite of frequent outbursts of tension and conflict, the Ram Rajya pushed ahead in economic and social matters. America became the leading world superpower because of three major factors: the strong U.S economy, the better educational system, and the effective democracy. American society is not perfect, of course, but few other countries with this remarkable diversity and tragic history so seriously strive for a better life for all its different ethnic and cultural members. Strong leadership, often in opposition to the dominant Anglo-American culture, played a crucial role in these processes throughout history. America’s dynamism and future is very much a result of its diversity.

Nepali Lessons?

Although Nepal was never colonized, its modern history also begins at nearly the same time as that of the U.S., in 1768 when the great forefather of our present king created a single nation from a scattered lot of small kingdoms and principalities. Nepali unification and nationhood partake of a similar range of diversity and multiculturalism as in the U.S.

In Nepal today, there are more than 100 distinct ethnic and cultural groups. Well over 70 languages are spoken here. As in America, this ethnic and linguistic diversity includes a degree of domination as some groups such as the Brahmin, Chhetri and Newar more easily grasp opportunities than others. In America, it was English customs and language that held sway for years. Here, it is the dominance of the Hindu worldview and the Nepali language, both of which are enshrined in our laws and government infrastructure. It is only to be expected that those who already hold cultural membership in worldview and language will be more advantaged and such has been the case throughout our history. Even in dissent, the dominant Hindu culture has historically played a major role in politics. The sad story here is that the leaders of all political parties today are Brahmins, irrespective of whether the party is Congress, UML, or even the extreme Maoist group.

As in America, the legacy of inequality in a modern context causes ethnic issues to gain new currency. A greater awareness of our diversity leads to a new assertiveness and the remembering of past wrongs that came of living within the dominant Hindu culture. To a great extent, and very much as in America, our current ethnic uprising has the fruitful outcome of increasing our understanding of our true multi-ethnic cultural mosaic and the shared contributions of all groups in the shaping the Nepali culture over the years. Ethnicity alone is not the sole factor creating Nepal’s underdevelopment throughout history. Other factors have contributed. First there was the 104 year Rana period which kept Nepal isolated from the outside world and ignored the education and development of Nepal’s people. Then there was the Partyless Panchayat system which for 30 years discouraged the development of an open participatory political culture and the civil society that can grow out of it. And today we have the chaos of a multi-party democratic political system which has devolved into petty struggles and apparently lacks the quality leadership that can further national development.

If American economic prosperity in the context of extraordinary diversity and even a tragic history could solidify democracy and democratic values in its people, then perhaps there are lessons for us in that story. Nepal could hardly be expected to jump like an athlete from traditional agriculture to a fully developed and prosperous nation. But if even the most democratic and prosperous countries such as the U.S continue their struggle against prejudice and histories of exploitation and injury, then maybe we should see our own struggles in a larger context. The nature of our ethnic discontent is the same, although differing in degree. Laws and charters can only slowly change culture and values over the years. The U.S example emphatically suggests that if the economy and democratic values work properly, ethnic and racial identity remain complementary to the essential tasks of nation-building..

(The author is currently conducting research among middle class American families through the Center for the Ethnography of Everyday Life at the University of Michigan, USA. Article sent through email-chief editor).

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