I am a cultural anthropologist from and based in Nepal. Supervisors: Prof. Gillian Feeley-Harnik, Prof. Stuart Kirsch, Prof. Tom Fricke, and Prof. Tom Trautmann
This poem was published in Setopati, Nepal's most popular online paper. The poem focuses on the p... more This poem was published in Setopati, Nepal's most popular online paper. The poem focuses on the plights and struggles of a daily wage worker, named 'Rane', who has come to a city out of poverty and how he suffers during the COVID lockdown. While looking for work, Rane is bitterly beaten by police for 'violating' the lockdown. the next day, when Rane sees his own photo of being beaten by the police in the newspapers, he decided returned back to his village but all 'roads' are closed. So he decided to walk back to his village, located about 500 km away from the city.
As anthropologists, I think there is a need to use all forms of writings during this pandemic crisis to voice our concerns and those of the people. The poem was one of the first of its kind in the newspaper to bring forth the plights of the working class people suffering due to the lockdown.
This research-based article published as a cover story in the Saturday Supplements of a widely ci... more This research-based article published as a cover story in the Saturday Supplements of a widely circulated daily newspaper: Naya Patrika focuses on the historical experiences of the Dhimal people of living and serving in the malarial environment in the past. By analyzing the village ritual and Dhimals' narratives, the paper highlights indigenous ontology and practices of the reciprocity and sociality with the 'nature' and non-human beings - and how the "eradication" of malaria and development interventions were more devastating for the Dhimals than the malaria which was an obstacle for the state. The paper highlights what these historical learnings 'teach' us about the present COVID crisis and the imagination of a collective future after the COVID.
The paper has been shared 9.3K times in four days since it was published.
This report uses the experiences of the Madhesi Dalit, Muslim and Tharu communities in Nepal's Te... more This report uses the experiences of the Madhesi Dalit, Muslim and Tharu communities in Nepal's Terai region to analyze the dynamics of marginalization and opportunities post-federalism. It is the second of two reports based on a study conducted for the International Alert.
In this chapter, I have used the concepts of ‘adivasi’ and ‘peasant’ as analytical categories to ... more In this chapter, I have used the concepts of ‘adivasi’ and ‘peasant’ as analytical categories to emphasize distinct societies with respect to their relationships to the land, nature of economic system, and relationships with the state over the control of land. If we consider ‘adivasi and ‘peasant’ as analytical categories, then the centrality of ‘land’ in defining the two categories become obvious. ‘Land’ is an important material possession (a physical entity, property, a resource) with its cultural and symbolic relevance for peasants. For the adivasi, land is a defining feature of their collective identity but it is primarily an inalienable wealth, not a commodity. The peasant-land relationship draws heavily on capitalist ontology of commodity and property while the adivasi-land relationships emphasizes the total embeddedness and mutual production of land, people and culture in totality.
Bonded labor system, a revolt by squatters claiming their rights over land, and Tharu an ethnic g... more Bonded labor system, a revolt by squatters claiming their rights over land, and Tharu an ethnic group in Bardiya District, Nepal.
Studies in Nepali History and Society 27(1): 87–111 , 2022
In this essay, I reflect on my personal experience of doing what I call
fursad ethnography—a lon... more In this essay, I reflect on my personal experience of doing what I call fursad ethnography—a long-term study of a community/people in an area through a slow but continuous sequence of short-term ethnographic research.
Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 2014
This paper examines the interplay between malaria, the Tarai Adivasi and the extractive landlord ... more This paper examines the interplay between malaria, the Tarai Adivasi and the extractive landlord state in the 19th century Nepal by focusing on Dhimal, one indigenous community from the easternmost lowlands. Throughout the 19th century, the Nepali state and its rulers treated the Tarai as a state geography of extraction for land, labor, revenue and political control. The malarial environment of the Tarai, which led to the shortage people (labor force), posed a major challenge to the 19th century extractive landlord state and the landowning elites to materialize the colonizing project in the Tarai. The shortage of labor added pressure on the malaria resistant Tarai Adivasi to reclaim and cultivate land for the state. The paper highlights the need for ethnographically informed social history of malaria in studying the changing relations between the state and the ?div?si communities in the Tarai DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v7i0.10438 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthrop...
Many wonderful people, communities and institutions have helped me to plan, execute and complete ... more Many wonderful people, communities and institutions have helped me to plan, execute and complete this dissertation during the last ten years in the USA and Nepal. My family, especially my wife Biju and our daughter Jyopsi, friends, and teachers, to borrow the words of many senior Dhimal activists, “walked and walked ” with me during this period, making my long journey through graduate school both socially embedded and intellectually rewarding. Without them and their help, this dissertation would not have come to its present form. I am indebted to all of them for their support, inspiration, and encouragement. I have been very fortunate to work under the guidance and mentorship of four esteemed dissertation committee members – Tom Fricke, Gillian Feeley-Harnik, Stuart Kirsch, and Tom Trautmann – not only for this dissertation project but also throughout my graduate studies. Each of them offered invaluable criticism, wisdom, and enthusiastic support in every phase of my research and wr...
This poem was published in Setopati, Nepal's most popular online paper. The poem focuses on the p... more This poem was published in Setopati, Nepal's most popular online paper. The poem focuses on the plights and struggles of a daily wage worker, named 'Rane', who has come to a city out of poverty and how he suffers during the COVID lockdown. While looking for work, Rane is bitterly beaten by police for 'violating' the lockdown. the next day, when Rane sees his own photo of being beaten by the police in the newspapers, he decided returned back to his village but all 'roads' are closed. So he decided to walk back to his village, located about 500 km away from the city.
As anthropologists, I think there is a need to use all forms of writings during this pandemic crisis to voice our concerns and those of the people. The poem was one of the first of its kind in the newspaper to bring forth the plights of the working class people suffering due to the lockdown.
This research-based article published as a cover story in the Saturday Supplements of a widely ci... more This research-based article published as a cover story in the Saturday Supplements of a widely circulated daily newspaper: Naya Patrika focuses on the historical experiences of the Dhimal people of living and serving in the malarial environment in the past. By analyzing the village ritual and Dhimals' narratives, the paper highlights indigenous ontology and practices of the reciprocity and sociality with the 'nature' and non-human beings - and how the "eradication" of malaria and development interventions were more devastating for the Dhimals than the malaria which was an obstacle for the state. The paper highlights what these historical learnings 'teach' us about the present COVID crisis and the imagination of a collective future after the COVID.
The paper has been shared 9.3K times in four days since it was published.
This report uses the experiences of the Madhesi Dalit, Muslim and Tharu communities in Nepal's Te... more This report uses the experiences of the Madhesi Dalit, Muslim and Tharu communities in Nepal's Terai region to analyze the dynamics of marginalization and opportunities post-federalism. It is the second of two reports based on a study conducted for the International Alert.
In this chapter, I have used the concepts of ‘adivasi’ and ‘peasant’ as analytical categories to ... more In this chapter, I have used the concepts of ‘adivasi’ and ‘peasant’ as analytical categories to emphasize distinct societies with respect to their relationships to the land, nature of economic system, and relationships with the state over the control of land. If we consider ‘adivasi and ‘peasant’ as analytical categories, then the centrality of ‘land’ in defining the two categories become obvious. ‘Land’ is an important material possession (a physical entity, property, a resource) with its cultural and symbolic relevance for peasants. For the adivasi, land is a defining feature of their collective identity but it is primarily an inalienable wealth, not a commodity. The peasant-land relationship draws heavily on capitalist ontology of commodity and property while the adivasi-land relationships emphasizes the total embeddedness and mutual production of land, people and culture in totality.
Bonded labor system, a revolt by squatters claiming their rights over land, and Tharu an ethnic g... more Bonded labor system, a revolt by squatters claiming their rights over land, and Tharu an ethnic group in Bardiya District, Nepal.
Studies in Nepali History and Society 27(1): 87–111 , 2022
In this essay, I reflect on my personal experience of doing what I call
fursad ethnography—a lon... more In this essay, I reflect on my personal experience of doing what I call fursad ethnography—a long-term study of a community/people in an area through a slow but continuous sequence of short-term ethnographic research.
Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 2014
This paper examines the interplay between malaria, the Tarai Adivasi and the extractive landlord ... more This paper examines the interplay between malaria, the Tarai Adivasi and the extractive landlord state in the 19th century Nepal by focusing on Dhimal, one indigenous community from the easternmost lowlands. Throughout the 19th century, the Nepali state and its rulers treated the Tarai as a state geography of extraction for land, labor, revenue and political control. The malarial environment of the Tarai, which led to the shortage people (labor force), posed a major challenge to the 19th century extractive landlord state and the landowning elites to materialize the colonizing project in the Tarai. The shortage of labor added pressure on the malaria resistant Tarai Adivasi to reclaim and cultivate land for the state. The paper highlights the need for ethnographically informed social history of malaria in studying the changing relations between the state and the ?div?si communities in the Tarai DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v7i0.10438 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthrop...
Many wonderful people, communities and institutions have helped me to plan, execute and complete ... more Many wonderful people, communities and institutions have helped me to plan, execute and complete this dissertation during the last ten years in the USA and Nepal. My family, especially my wife Biju and our daughter Jyopsi, friends, and teachers, to borrow the words of many senior Dhimal activists, “walked and walked ” with me during this period, making my long journey through graduate school both socially embedded and intellectually rewarding. Without them and their help, this dissertation would not have come to its present form. I am indebted to all of them for their support, inspiration, and encouragement. I have been very fortunate to work under the guidance and mentorship of four esteemed dissertation committee members – Tom Fricke, Gillian Feeley-Harnik, Stuart Kirsch, and Tom Trautmann – not only for this dissertation project but also throughout my graduate studies. Each of them offered invaluable criticism, wisdom, and enthusiastic support in every phase of my research and wr...
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Books by Janak Rai
As anthropologists, I think there is a need to use all forms of writings during this pandemic crisis to voice our concerns and those of the people. The poem was one of the first of its kind in the newspaper to bring forth the plights of the working class people suffering due to the lockdown.
The poem was shared 1.5K times in a single day !
The paper has been shared 9.3K times in four days since it was published.
Papers by Janak Rai
fursad ethnography—a long-term study of a community/people in an area
through a slow but continuous sequence of short-term ethnographic research.
As anthropologists, I think there is a need to use all forms of writings during this pandemic crisis to voice our concerns and those of the people. The poem was one of the first of its kind in the newspaper to bring forth the plights of the working class people suffering due to the lockdown.
The poem was shared 1.5K times in a single day !
The paper has been shared 9.3K times in four days since it was published.
fursad ethnography—a long-term study of a community/people in an area
through a slow but continuous sequence of short-term ethnographic research.