Last modified: 2008-08-09 by ian macdonald
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Today, the Nepali Constituent Assembly resumed its deliberations, which hit a
snag due to the Madheshi parties misgivings about CPN-M sincerity in following
up on their promises of creating a new, federal structure of the freshly minted
Republic. That agenda is going to be difficult to solve and it will take a lot
of time. One of the latest demands for autonomy comes from Sherpa (Bhotia)
people of the Tibetan stock of the Himalaya region of Nepal. They were
completely neglected and overlooked by Comarade Prachanda and other
revolutionary politicians in carving ethnic niches in the new Nepal. All of
their parties and organizations united now, irrespective of ideological
differences, in demanding a state of their own - Himali Autonomous State.
Dr.Stan Stevens, Associate Professor of Geography of the University of
Massachusetts (Amherst, MA) provides a comprehensive background on the region in
question (extracts from
http://www.sherpakyidug.org/forums/Messages.asp?idThread=2870):
Of
the 59 indigenous peoples currently recognized by the government of Nepal, 17
inhabit the high Himalaya and others are waiting to be recognized. The most
well-known are the Sherpas. The area they inhabit stretches the length of Nepal
along the Tibetan border "from Humla to the high valleys below Kangchenjunga."
It comprises perhaps 17% or more of the total land area of the country. [...]
The provisional flag of the proposed Himali Autonomous State is composed
of three unequal stripes - blue-white-red - with the map of Nepal featuring
prominently the Himalaya region and surmounted by the six sets of figures of
Sherpas in their native dress.
There is a Nepali-language website of the Himali Autonomous State at
http://www.himaliautonomousstate.org.
Chrystian Kretowicz, 9
July 2008