DYNAMICS OF A HILL SOCIETY (The Nepalis in Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas) TANKA B SUBBA Foreword N C CHOUDHURY MITTAL PUBLICATIONS DELHI-110035 (INDIA) First Edition, 1989 © Tanka B. Subba Published by K. M. Mittal Mittal Publications, 4528/12, Jai Mata Market, Trinagar Delhi-110033 (INDIA) Phone: 7217151 Printed by AnkurComposer at Sunil Printers, New Delhi-110028 . . To My Parents who patiently bore with me without even knowing what I was doing, and who stimulated my sometimes-sagging spirits silently but surely. Foreword This book though based on the doctoral dissertation of Dr. T. B. Subba, a highly acclaimed piece of work, contains substantial improvements in the light of recent developments that have engulfed the Nepali society. In one sense it is an unusual book. Being himself a Nepali Dr. Subba could go deeper into the problem of class and agrarian relations in the Nepali society with a fresh approach which deviates from fitting the data into the strait jacket of a theoretical model. He was in a better position to sense the mood of the people, their hopes and frustration. This book is a modern example of a purposive ethnography in which the author instead of analysing the Nepali society in a static institutional framework has tried to under­ stand the dynamics of the changing social relations of the hill community. This book contains a wealth of information on the early history of the Nepalis, their migration and subsequent settle­ ment in the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas, changes in the caste organization in the background of its traditional structure, nature of the agrarian system and the caste-class nexus, and, lastly, an incisive analysis of the emerging class structure and its role in shaping the destiny of the people. The study based on intensive field-work carried out in the well chosen five villages in Sikkim and Darjeeling has been amply supplemented by the use of old historical records, interviews with people from all walks of life and author’s own perception about the dynamics of Nepali society and politics. The first three chapters of the book give an excellent account of the geo-physical characteristics of the region, the migrational 0 9 0 Dynamics of A Hill Society VIJI history of the Nepalis, the theoretical framework of the study and the origin and social organization of the various castes and tribes subsumed under the term Nepali. The fourth chapter is mainly confined to a discussion of the nature of the emerging pattern of intercaste relationship, particularly the commensal and marital relations between the various Nepali castes/tribes and also the non*Nepali communities. A continuity with the past exists in the caste organization but the rigid commensal and marital prescriptions seem to have lost much of their importance, at least to the middle-range castes. In the fifth and sixth chapters Dr. Subba presents a detailed agrarian history of the region, the changing structure of the agrarian relations, and how the caste system had adapted to it. The caste-class configurations show that there is absence of a caste- class overlap, commonly observed elsewhere in India and Nepal. This has been explained in terms of migration and ecological characteristics of the region. The earlier settlers, for instance, uniformly found in the upper agrarian categories irrespective of their caste background. However, the upper castes seem to be making fast inroads in the agrarian system by settling themselves in ecologically more favourable areas. The final chapter assesses the dynamics of the Nepali society in the region. It concludes that caste relations have by and large become lax and a dominant middle class comprising of all the Nepali and non-Nepali castes and tribes has emerged. The absence of a conspicuous upper class has led to a binary division—a dominant middle class and a large, but unorganized working class—in the class relations of the Nepali society. This middle class has monopolised not only the service sector but also a host of other fields like art and literature, higher educa­ tion and politics. Dr. Subba rightly forsees a further accentua­ tion in the role of the middle class in shaping the future course of events in the Nepali society. I regard this book as a major contribution towards under­ standing the social dynamics of the vibrant Nepali community in the trans-Himalayan region. N. C. CHOUDHURY Professor of Sociology & Social Anthropology University of North Bengal District: Darjeeling-734430 Preface This book is substantially based on my dissertation entitled “Caste, Class and Agrarian Relations in the Nepalese Society of Darjeeling and Sikkim” accepted by the North Bengal University for the award of Ph. D. in 1986. The present study would not have been taken up and com­ pleted but for the assistance from many persons and institutions. First of all, I owe my gratitude for the financial aid given by the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Bangalore. Richard W. Taylor and Dr. Saral K. Chatterjee of this Institute inspired me immensely. The University Grants Commission saw me through till completion of this work th e by providing a fellowship through the Centre for Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal. I must acknowledge the kind cooperation and guidance extended by the ex-director of this Centre, Prof. S. K. Chaube, who is currently teaching in Delhi University. The authorities of North Bengal University were also always helpful. I should like to put on record the encouragement given by Late Dr. Paras Mani Pradhan of Kalimpong and Dr. R. Keith Sp’ igg, formerly of London University. Prof. Chie Nakane of Japanese Research Foundation, Tokyo, also provided me with some useful suggestions. I thank specially Prof. D. N. Dhanagare of Poona University, Pune, for his valuable com­ ments and suggestions. I must not forget to mention here the cooperation given by the staff and authorities of National Library, Asiatic Society Library and American Center Library in Calcutta and Deshbandhu District Library in Darjeeling. Gratitude is due X Dynamics of A Hill Society also to the many government officials in Sikkim and West Bengal for different kinds of help. I should also like to express my gratitude for their warm response to all the villagers of Tanek, Purbong, Rangbull, Takuthang and Chuchen. Among them, I should like to make a special mention of Sri Deb Kiran Moktan of Rangbull, who despite his limp, guided me through the ups and downs of a hill village. Sri Jyoti Pradhan of the same village, and Sri Indra Kumar Chhetri and Sri Chitra Dhar Rai of Takuthang were equally obliging. For drawing the map Sri Debi Prasad Boot and for making my language less inelegant Sri Prem Kumar Poddar, are lovingly remembered. Now, a person to whom I owe a lot more than I can ever repay is my Ph. D. supervisor, Prof. N. C. Choudhury of the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, University of North Bengal. His wife, Mrs. Namita Choudhury, also has a claim to be acknowledged here for her help at various stages of my work. Finally, I owe a lot to my friends, specially my wife, Roshina, without whose all-round help this book would not have been completed so early. TANKA B SUBBA Contents FOREWORD VJl ix PREFACE • • LIST OF TABLES XU xiv LIST OF CHARTS xiv LIST OF MAPS GLOSSARY XV Introduction 1 1. The Region and the Villages 11 2. The Nepali Castes 29 3. The Caste Structure 51 4. The Agrarian Structure 73 5. Landownership, Income and Indebtedness 91 6. Education, Occupation and Spatial Mobility 111 Conclusion 133 139 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 145 INDEX 151-157 MAPS List of Tables 1. Decennial Population Growth in Darjeeling 12 2. Places of Origin and Population in Darjeeling, 1931 13 3. Distribution of Communities in Darjeeling, 1931 13 4. Land Utilization in Darjeeling, 1974 15 5. Caste/Community and Population in Sikkim, 1981 17 6. Districtwise Population Distribution in Sikkim, 1981 18 7. Land Utilization in Sikkim, 1977 20 8. Caste and Order of Preference for Marriage 66 9. Caste and Marriage Classification 67 10. Agrarian Hierarchies of Tanek and Purbong, 1980 78 11. Agrarian Hierarchy in Rangbull, 1981 79 12. Agrarian Hierarchies of Takuthang and Chuchen, 1981 80 13. Periodic increase in the Wages at the SPSMC, Rangbull 85 14. Caste/Community and Land in Five Villages, 1981 94 15. Caste/Community and Landholding Size, 1981 95 16. Caste/Community and Landownership Ranking, 1981 97 17. Caste/Community and Income, 1981 101 18. Caste/Community and Income Ranking, 1981 101 19. Middle Castes and Income in Purbong, 1981 102 20. Caste/Community and Indebtedness, 1981 106