(Dr. Harka Gurung)
Dr. Harka Gurung was born 1939-2006, well known for his extensive scholarship in his life time. He died in a helicopter crash on September 23, 2006 in Taplejung District, Eastern Nepal. We are focusing him in two way, they are as follows:
Firstly, Background information on his family, education and services, and Secondly, His scholarship and contributions to social sciences in Nepal. Background information on his family, education and services, and Family Background and Academic Career
Dr. Harka Gurung was born in Taranche, a small village of Lamjung in Central Nepal on February 5, 1939 in a soldier-cum priestly Gurung family. His grandfather used to work as Pachu priest. al The snow peaks of Manasulu and From beginning he opened up the path to becoming a good geographer in the future by watching the beautiful Himalayan sitting near a Marsyangdi river.
He was born as fourth son of the family. He was popularly known as "Thula" (big) by his peers in Taranche as he was the first youngest son (Thula kancha) in the family. His father was a Subedar in the British army in India. His two elder brothers also worked in the British army in India. So it was natural that he spent his childhood with his parents in Dehardun, India, with the children of army families.
As he was a Buddhist devotee, he started learning the basic Buddhist Lamaistic education from his grandfather at home. He learnt Tamukui or Gurung kura at home and learn Nepali from his friends as the village was dominated by the Chhetri community. His formal schooling began in the Children School, Deharadun, at the age of nine and he finished high school from King George Military School, Jalandhar, in 1955. This military school provided him with the foundation of a good education including discipline, games and sports. It is interesting to note here that despite his education in the military school and the background of army families, he did not join in the Indian army. There could be two reasons for this: i) His short physical stature did not motivate him to join the army, and ii) His keen interest in pursuing higher studies.
From Deharadun, he came to Kathmandu and finished his Intermediate of Arts from Trichandra College in 1957. He went to Patna College, Patna (Bihar, India) to continue further education. A large number of Nepali students would go to Patna for a degree in higher education in those days as it was closer to Nepal and there was some level of understanding of higher education between the Government of Nepal and Patna University, Bihar, India. Gurung not only earned a first class first B.A (Hons.) degree from Patna College in 1959, but he was also popular in other extra curricular activities. He was the captain of football and hockey team and the General Secretary of the Nepali Students' Union. He also developed good skills in painting. While studying for his M.A. degree in geography from Patna University, he received a scholarship to study geography at the University of Edinburgh where he finished his Post graduate Diploma in 1961 and a Ph.D. degree in geography in 1965. His Ph.D. dissertation entitled, "The Valley of Pokhara: Prolegomena to a Regional Study" (Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh, July 1965) is to this day widely cited as a source to understanding the Pokhara valley.
He began his academic assignments as a Demonstrator at the University of Edinburgh (1963-64) and continued as a Research Fellow, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1964-66). He served as a Lecturer in the Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu (1966-68) and Visiting Fellow, Population Institute, East West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii (1984-85). He served as a Member and the Vice Chairman in the National Planning Commission (1968-75); Minister of State for Education, Industry and Commerce (1975-77) and Minister of State for Tourism, and Public Works and Transport (1977-78). His last assignment was the Director of Asia and Pacific Development Centre, an intergovernmental organization based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1993-98). He joined New ERA, a non-governmental organization based in Kathmandu, in 1980, and continued his association with this institution till his death in September 2006.
His scholarship and contributions to social sciences in Nepal
Hark Gurung's Scholarly Contributions to Nepali history can be taken as worth fully because of following reason. Dr. Harka Gurung has published several books and articles and given hundreds of interviews to many renowned newspapers in Nepal. Before his death in September 2006, there are a total of 697 publications to his credit: 15 books, 7 small monographs and 675 articles and reports.
Though Dr. Gurung had a Ph.D. degree in geography, his writings crossed disciplinary boundaries, including contributions to sociology, anthropology, population, economics, history, political science, development studies and so on. He has written more on development/economic fields (24.3%), followed by politics (11.0%) and travel/tourism (9.8%). If themes like language/religion and sociology/ethnography are combined, these are the second most frequent, (11.0 %) like politics. This clearly demonstrates that he was a prolific writer and spent his whole life writing on various themes in social science.
He began writing from during his student days in Patna University and published two articles in local journals there. The first article relates to his impression of Patna, while the second is a poem related to the Ganges River. Since then he hardly ever wrote poetry. Since 1957, he had some publications every year till his death, and in some years he had up to 42 publications in a year to his credit. In the later stage of his career, he started writing books and articles on caste, ethnicity and social movements, giving due emphasis to the rights of the Adivasi/Janajati groups of Nepal. he was observed to be closely during this field trip and I found him to be not only a voracious reader of books (he used to read one book the whole night and the next morning he would pass me the same book to read), but also an excellent field worker. He always listened to people carefully, even though his dialogues with people were brief. Like a field anthropologist, he would make notes in his dairy about what he had seen and observed in the field every day. His daily diary describing his daily work routine and impressions of what he had seen and observed will be an important source of information for those researchers who want to know more about him.
Dr. Gurung's scholarship was always based on facts. Though he frequently criticized the quality of the statistical data available in Nepal, he used these statistical data extensively in almost all of his articles, reports and books. Though he was trained in the British model of functional geography, he gradually shifted his position from static, synchronic analyses to diachronic, procession ones. His writings paid great attention to the historical processes and internal dynamics of society over time. hi the past his approach was oriented more towards a survey type of research where he made extensive use of statistical analyses (Internal migration in Nepal, 1989, and Internal and international migration in Nepal, 1983, co-author). On the other hand, he was a good observer and traveler. The book is essentially a travelogue and introduces the readers to his journey across different parts of Nepal: the snowy mountains, the hilly regions, crises-crossed by a maze of streams and rivers and adorned with beautiful lakes and delightful valleys. In addition to the description of varying landscape, there are rich anecdotes on local history and lore, the economy and cultures of diverse ethnic groups. There are vivid descriptions of geology, flora, fauna, festivals and subtle observations on the changes that are taking place in rural Nepal. However, he is also clever to note his biases towards his discipline and use of such words throughout the text. He writes, "the profusion of words like ridge, valley, ascend, descend, climb, steep and traverse are a reflection both of my geographical bias and the rugged terrain of the country" (p. vii). This book was written during a difficult time in his life when he was implicated in a court case of a political nature (Carpet scandal). The Monograph/Report Internal and International Migration in Nepal (Main Report, National Commission on Population, Singh Durbar, Kathmandu, 1983) was jointly prepared by the 9- member of the study team (four geographers, two sociologists and three economists) and Dr. Gurung coordinated the overall study and the writing. The study focused on the Kathmandu valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts) and the Tarai districts (Jhapa, Morang, Siraha, Parsa, Dahnusa, Mahottari, Nawalparasi, Rupendehi, Banke and Kanchanpur). The field study was completed in about three months. The main topics included not only basic data on national and international migration but also a study of the international border, internal migration, labour and citizenship. The interesting findings of this study are:
Because of this report, many "Madhesi people" of the Tarai were not happy with Dr. Harka Gurung and some even proposed to hang him when the report was publicly released. Today, everybody realizes that he was a "true nationalist" as he was very careful to note the illegal entry of Indian nationals into Nepal under the guise of local Madhesi people of the Tarai.
The book, Nepal: Dimensions of Development (Kathmandu, 1984 & 1989, pp 322 pages with 20 figures and 58 tables), has 22 chapters, and is a collection of writings spread over the last 15 years published in various journals such as Vasudha, Industrial Digest, Population and Development, and so on. In totality, the volume deals with various aspects of development in Nepal. The articles include journalistic forays, conference papers and inaugural addresses and many seminar presentations and articles focused on population, spatial planning and the ecological problems of Nepal.
In the book, Nature and Culture, Random Reflections (Kathmandu, 1989) the author wants to bridge the gap between the social sciences and natural sciences from the perspective of a "holistic view of things". The book is a collection of 25 articles published in various journals over the last three decades as a student (1960-64), teacher (1964-65), planner (1968-78), politician (1975-78) and the freelance consultant (1980-1989). The book is divided into four major themes: Himalaya (6 articles), Landscape (7 articles), Society (8 articles) and Political Culture (4 articles). The book is indeed a great contribution to those who are interested in understanding the different social and natural dimensions of Nepal and their interrelationships.
The book, Nepal: Social Demography and Expressions, published by NEW ERA (1998) is a pioneering book about the sociology and demography of Nepal. As the title of the book suggests, there are two major parts: Social Demography and Expressions. Part I--Demography has five chapters that deal with population, migration, ethnicity, language and religion based on the 1991 census data. In Part II--Expressions, another five chapters deal with topics such as education and elitism, ethnicity/caste and politics, regionalism and elections, and development and ideology based on the data of the 1991 census and various other sources such as the Election Commission, the World Bank. Chapter Ten of this section "State and Society" is a reprint of his previous article published in Nationalism and Ethnicity in the Hindu Kingdom: The Politics of Culture in Contemporary Nepal (1997) edited by David Gellner ETAL. This book is very useful for students of sociology, anthropology, population and political science as it furnishes good comparative data on the situation of various ethnic/caste groups in Nepal, a demographic account of growth and the redistribution of population and the political representation of various ethnic/caste groups in relation to other groups and their level of development in Nepal. Numerous tables and appendices provide the reader with a good source of material. Throughout the book, Dr. Gurung attempts to show that Adivasi/Janajti groups in Nepal are socially, economically and politically backward compared to groups like the Brahmin, Chhetri and Newar. He thus feels that the demands of Adivasi/Janajajti for equal participation and representation in various socioeconomic and political sectors of Nepal is well justified. In his preface, he aptly remarks that "Ethnic politics in today's Nepal is both an expression of primordial aspiration and a process of people's transition from subjects to citizens. What is now being contested in the socio-political arena will determine the formation of the nation." In other words, inclusion of various groups (such as the Adibasi/Janaajti and Dalit) is a must for the overall development processes of Nepal. In the latter stage of his life, he expressed these ideas in several forums and published a couple of articles on these themes. The book, Janajati Serophero (In the world of Nationalities) (Kathmandu: Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities, 2004), is restricted to issues dealing with the indigenous nationalities of Nepal. There are 21 provocative articles in the Nepali language on different themes. Most of the articles published in the book relate to Nepal's post-1990 democratic revolutions. Though the book claims to deal with the world of Adivasi/Janajati, there are at least four articles which exclusively focus on Gurungs only such as "Gurung Jati Bare" (About the Gurungs), "Tamujati: Auta Manthan" (Tamu Jati: Some Discussions), "Tamu Sankritiko Jagerna" (Protection of Tamu Culture) and "Gurung Bare Auta Thakali Katha" (A Thakali story about the Gurung). Other articles include "Gorkhali-ko Chinari" (Introduction to the Gorkhali people), "Kuro Sanskrit Karkapko" (Sanskrit talk used under pressure), and so on. One of the major arguments raised by Gurung in this book is about the origin of the Gurung themselves. He feels that that there is a lack of scientific evidence about how the Gurungs were divided into the "Char Jate" (four groups) and "Sora Jate" (sixteen groups) Gurungs. He neither believes in the Brahmanical model which relates to the origin of Gurung as having Hindu blood nor the Western version which suggests that the community have Tibetan blood. He feels that more in-depth research is required to understand the origin of the Gurungs in the context of Nepal. This clearly suggests that the history and origin of many Adibasi/Janaajti groups of Nepal is blurred.
The booklet, Trident and Thunderbolt: Cultural Dynamics in Nepalese Politics is based on a lecturer delivered by Dr. Gurung, which was an inangural lecture is the Mahesh Chandra Regmi lecture organised by Social Science Baha, 24 April 2003 on "The Agenda of Transformation: Inclusion in Nepali Democracy". He argues that the monopolistic policies of the Hindu state over the last 235 years have marginalized various groups in different ways. The three major groups of contenders who are marginalized by the state are : (i) Janajajti (ethnic peoples) on the basis of culture, (ii) Dalit (untouchables) on the basis of caste and (iii) Madhesis (Tarai) on the basis of geography. He offers ethnic/cultural events from 1770 to 1964 from various Janajati groups who contested for space within the state. Finally, Gurung suggests some areas for intervention for the upliftment of groups such as the Janajati, Madhesi and Dalit.
The last book before his death was From Exclusion to Inclusion: Socio-Political Dr. Harka Gurung was a true family man who loved and deeply respected every member of his family. As he was more interested in natural landscape than giving Hindu or Buddhist names to his children, he named his two daughters Himalchuli and Manasulu, and one son Sagarmatha. He dedicated his book, Vignettes of Nepal (1980) to his two daughters (Himalchuli and Manasulu) and two sons (Bikas and Sagarmatha). The book, Nepal: Dimensions of Development (1984) was dedicated to his father (Subedar Parsai Gurung) and the other book, Nature and Culture (1989), to his mother (Mayishebo Gurung). The publisher of most of his books was his wife Ms. Saroj Gurung. He acknowledged his wife in most of his writings and admitted that she accompanied him through even the most difficult parts of his life with courage and fortitude.
Dr. Gurung is no doubt one of the most accomplished Nepali scholars to date in the history of Nepal. His breadth of interest was unusual and his productivity at this stage of his career stage was virtually unparalleled among any Nepali scholars to date. He has conducted research and published on a range of issues encompassing some of the earliest and best travelogues, best ethnographic descriptions of various Nepali ethnic groups, assessments of the politics of ethnic identity in Nepal, and population-related themes ranging from fertility to migration. Beyond geography, his writings vary enormously in contents. Some writings are closer to history, some to sociology and anthropology, political science, economics or development studies. Some of his writings are purely descriptive while others are highly analytical. This diversity is both a strength and a weakness. It is strength because so many sources of knowledge come together in the field that it continually sparkles with new ideas and thoughts. There is also a weakness in such writings, as diverse efforts make a subject weaker in its own areas.
While Dr. Gurung was in fact not particularly interested in developing theories of social sciences in general, at the same time he was quite good at developing models. His models of "regional development" based on five development regions, and a proposal to divide Nepal into 25 districts are very well taken by Nepali scholars and planners even today. He was a true nationalist. As a team leader of the project on migration, he proposed two things if Nepal hoped to develop in the future: the border between Nepal and India must be regulated and a system of work permits should be introduced to foreign workers in Nepal. The latter stages of his writing can be counted on understanding, and often representing, the indigenous or "native" point of view. In other words, he played the role of a "cultural broker," in mediating between the government and the Adibasi/Janajati groups of Nepal for their upliftment and development. He noted that the underdevelopment of many Adivasi/Janajati groups was closely related to the social and political constraints of the wider Nepali Hindu social structure. Unlike many Nepali scholars, he always read and cited books which focussed on Nepal; in fact, his study room at home can aptly be described as a 'Nepal Collection'. The status of countries is determined by the current of history. In the case of modern Nepal, one can recognise three incarnations: the ‘proto Nepal’ of Kathmandu Valley; the ‘imperialist Nepal’ which stretched from the Tista River in the east to the Sutlej in the west; and the ‘feudal Nepal’ confined by the Mechi and Mahakali rivers. The reference to “Nepaldeshe” in the “Jambudwipe-Bharatkhande...” incantation of the Hindu priest is not to today’s extended kingdom but to the Newar state of Kathmandu Valley. Its rich religious and cultural heritage are eulogised in the Sanskrit Himvatkhhanda and the Tibetan Dzam-gling-Getse. The indigenous people of proto Nepal were the Kirant, but the Valley’s agricultural productivity and mercantile wealth lured distant conquistadores.
Cultural platitude is only one aspect of Nepal’s neighborly entanglements. More pervasive are economic domination and political influence of India. Landlocked Nepal has always remained a market for India. The shackles were somewhat loosened with Nepal’s joining of the Universal Postal Union in the 1950s, and currency autonomy achieved in the 1960s. However, the fact that today 25 percent of the Nepali market has Indian currency circulation indicates well the vulnerability of Nepal’s monetary situation.
India has been generous in giving aid to Nepal in diverse sectors: roads, electricity, agriculture, education, health, culture and so on. However, there is a curious policy in the industrial sector—helping Nepal set up industrial districts but maintaining an embargo on their products to the Indian market. However, there is one positive aspect in that the name Indian Aid Mission was changed to Indian Cooperation Mission. Nepal should now strive to reflect this change of nomenclature in the reality of the bilateral relationship. That is, rather than take development aid from India, Nepal should seek cooperation. Development assistance can be had from developed countries and international financial institutions. But from India, Nepal should strive for only genuine goodwill and friendship.
The other important aspect of national identity is citizenship, because it is after all the citizenry’s emotions that make a nation. It is citizenship that differentiates between ‘us’ and ‘other’. The citizenship problem in Nepal is not new and has become more intractable now. The 70-point recommendations of the 1983 report on migration included 12 on citizenship alone. The report’s conclusion was that the citizenship policy of the country as well as the distribution of citizenship papers was too liberal. Between 1975 and 1993, eight citizenship teams and three investigative committees were formed. Meanwhile, by early 1994, nine million citizenship certificates had been distributed.
In terms of region wise distribution, 44.5 percent of those who received citizenship cards were from the hills, 38.4 were from the Tarai, 8.9 from the inner Tarai, and 8.2 percent from the mountains. The largest number of citizenship papers was distributed in Kathmandu district (400,329) in the hills, followed by Sunsari (315,667) in the eastern tarai. The nine districts which gave out more than 200,000 certificates were Kathmandu in the Valley, Chitwan from inner tarai, and seven from the tarai. From this distribution pattern, one can see where there is more ‘pressure’ for citizenship.
Nepali citizenship can be had either by being born in Nepal, through descent citizenship or through naturalization. Among the foreigners seeking citizenship, it is obvious that the majority will be from neighboring countries. According to figures given by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in 1980, among the 3.8 million people of Indian origin in Nepal, 62.8 percent had acquired Nepal’s citizenship. The fact that only one-third of the people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka had received citizenship indicates that Nepal is very liberal in its citizenship policy. This analysis is also buttresed by the Population Census of Nepal. During the period of 1981-1991, there was a reduction of foreign citizens in Nepal from 483,019 to 90, 427, i.e. down by 81.3 percent. Among these, Indian citizens were down by 41.3 percent and Chinese citizens by 16.7 percent. Among those foreigners in Nepal, 75.7 percent were Indian citizens.
Looking at the data by region, the number of Indian citizens has increased only in the western tarai, western inner tarai and Kathmandu Valley. In the eastern tarai, there was a drastic decrease in Indian citizens, by nearly half. Regionwise, the number of Indian citizens declined by 84 percent in the mountain, 55.1 percent in hill, 35.6 percent in tarai and 27.2 percent in the inner tarai. According to the census data, only nine out of 75 districts had an increase in Indian citizens: Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Dang, Chit-wan, Kanchanpur, Kailali, Bardiya, Banke and Parsa. In all other districts, their number declined.
This writer actually had some positive thoughts about the 1988/89 economic blockade by India, for he felt it gave Nepalese an opportunity to strive for self-reliance. Just as one closes the windows to keep the warmth indoors in winter, the chemistry of nation-building requires a clear defining of its own space. Therefore, it is necessary to regulate the Nepal-India boundary first through identity cards and later through passports. Owing to the different development levels of the two countries, Indians have skill and capital, while Nepalese have only brawn. Therefore, aliens cross the border for different economic opportunities. Such population exchange cannot be denied but needs to be regulated with a work permit system.
National Integration. The terms, ‘state’ and ‘nation’ have different political meanings. A nation is a more evolved condition than a state, for beyond territorial definition, it includes an emotional bond among the people within the state. The Nepali state/kingdom has maintained its independent status for a long period, but it is yet to emerge as a nation. The country has only been unified geographically, not socially or economically. The social model for national unification has been Hinduisation which goes against Nepal’s multi-ethnic character.
The main pillars of nationalism are social and economic integration. No country is respected when it is poor and dependent on outsiders. Thirty years ago, this writer had proposed a regional development strategy to link the country’s hills and tarai economies, but that concept was swept away by increasing centralization. Today’s wave of globalization poses even more challenges to the country’s economic autonomy.
The most important step towards consolidating the Nepali state and nationalism is to end economic exploitation and to bring about social equality. Caste hierarchy also perpetuates economic class division. Nepal’s constitution that gives primacy to one religion and one language provides substance to the perpetuity of social disparity. A multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious Nepal should have a constitution that is secular. That will be the beginning of national integration.
Thus his contribution can be taken as a noteworthy in the history of Nepal. During the period of his early life we can take the lesion that everything is possible with their interest and hard work. He has shown good example of patriotism to nation. So his death can be taken as a great loss to nation. But his name always remains in the heart of his followers.
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