Displaced turbans

Originally published in Himal Southasian, July '09

Open any Nepali newspaper, any day, and – you guessed it – another banda is, somewhere, in action (or rather, inaction). Few areas have been untouched, the Tarai hosting the worse disruptions, often enforced by YCL and other militant groups, whose thuggery continues to run unchecked. The budding Republic is slowly grinding to a halt, strike by strike. So much so that many have chosen to pack up and leave.

That large swathes of the Tarai Sikh community - who seem to bring a measure of prosperity with them wherever they go - are leaving for India is both a dire testament of the state of Nepal and an omen for troubles to come. Gurudwara Guru Nanak Satsang, a religious organisation based in Birgunj, reported a 90% plus migration of Sikh families from the Nepali border town. The chief of Satsang, Nanak Singh, put the shift in grim perspective: ‘There were 452 Sikh families in Birgunj until six years back. Now, only 29 families remain.’ And Birgunj is only a bit-player in an exodus happening throughout Nepal.

The story of Sikh migration into Nepal is one of healthy pluck and enterprise. It began tentatively a little over forty years ago, with a few families settling in border town such as Birgunj and setting up businesses – most notably in transportation. Success stories crept back India, circulating largely among Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir. The flow increased, and Sikhs fanned across Nepal, initiating or entering myriad transportation companies. But now, with movement – on which the industry depends – capped with each new strike, Nepal has become a losing game.

Though many Nepalis have long resented Indian ownership of large sectors Nepali industry – amounting, in their eyes, to colonialism – this reverse migration belies an uncomfortable truth: opportunities, plentiful only a few decades ago, have since evaporated. Aside from the disintegration that will inevitably afflict Nepal’s transport sector, the knock on affect will be severe; virtually every industry relies on transportation in some form or another. But the true victims remain the de-populated communities themselves. Such migration could well prove contagious, but for those without escape routes, the future is bleak: with every marginalised group calling standstills at will, the already-shallow economy is fast diminishing into a pre-monsoon trickle.