Multi-Ethnic Citizens in a Multi-Ethnic State: Constructing State–Citizen Relations Through ‘Difference’ in the Adivasi Janajati Scholarship Programmes in Nepal

Abstract

In 1990, the Constitution of Nepal declared Nepal a multi-ethnic (bahu jatiya) country. This newly-transformed state promised better inclusion of marginalised groups through special provisions. How has this been operationalised, and what does this mean in practice for the members of the groups concerned? Drawing on fieldwork in the Nepal Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN), this paper argues that the Nepali state's moral and political obligation to address longstanding concerns about group-based inequalities have opened up intriguing new spaces to perform and redefine state-society relations. Within these new spaces, categories of difference are constantly invoked and experienced, where both the state and citizens come to co-constitute each other in a variety of new ways.

The Politics of Social Protection in Nepal: State Infrastructural Power and Implementation of the Scholarship Programme

“…The second strand of the literature focuses on the impact of social protection schemes. This work points to the ways in which these schemes strengthen the relationship between states and citizens (Drucza 2019), have a positive impact on beneficiaries' lives (Sijapati 2017), and offer different avenues for state-citizen engagement (Pradhan 2019).…”

The Politics of Distributing Social Transfers

“…The second strand of the literature focuses on the impact of social protection schemes. This work points to the ways in which these schemes strengthen the relationship between states and citizens , have a positive impact on beneficiaries' lives (Sijapati 2017), and offer different avenues for state-citizen engagement (Pradhan 2019). By drawing attention to the varied capacities, discourses, and interests at different layers of state bureaucracy, this chapter explores the complex dynamics shaping the implementation of education assistance in Nepal, popularly known as the 'Scholarship Programme' .…”