Identity & Society: Social Exclusion and Inclusion in Nepal

Identity and Society: a new book on social inclusion and exclusion in Nepal. It contains articles by eminent scholars The article of Yam Bahadur Kisan explores on Dalits’ inclusion in Nepali state governance and the article of Keshari Kansakar and Sita Ghimire deals on the intricacies of inter-caste marriage between Dalits and Non-Dalits. Likewise, the article of Yogendra Yadava accounts linguistic diversity in Nepal along with its policy planning and the article of Kamal Maden et. al. documents Kirat nationalities’ indigenous knowledge on biological resource. Further, the book is fortune to have an article on “Discourse on Social Exclusion and Inclusion in Nepal: Old Wine in a New Bottle” by Krishna Bahadur Bhattachan. The introduction of the book has been contributed by Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka, Kristian Stokke and Mohan Das Manandhar

This book will be valuable both to experts – social scientist and political scientist- and to the
general readers.

About Social Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF)
The Social Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF) was conceived as a follow-up to an assessment of Norwegian support to NGOs in Nepal (2001), following the realisation of the need to stimulate further research on processes of national building, social exclusion and poverty, and the role of the civil society. This was followed by another assessment on social exclusion and nation building and the state of research (June 2003) on the area. In 2005, the Government of Nepal and Royal Norwegian Embassy at Kathmandu agreed to establish a research fund and support research cooperation between a Norwegian and a Nepali research institution to study social exclusion. SNV Nepal was invited to manage the research fund.

The main objectives of the SIRF are as follows:
1 Produce high quality and critical research on causes of social exclusion in Nepal and ways to accommodate and manage diversity.
2 Make social science research more relevant to excluded and disadvantaged groups and their agendas.
3 Ensure that research more effectively contributes to policy and public debate and a deliberative democratic process.

The Fund has awarded 25 Research Fellowships and 149 Apprenticeship Grants in 2006 and 2007. Two Norwegian and five Nepali research institutions have been collaborating in research and have published eight papers.

The SIRF has carried out policy dialogues with the political party leaders, government agencies and civil society organisation and has been disseminating the outcome of the research. Different social groups have also been using the research results for advocacy. The Fund has been working with leader of different political parties and members of the Constituent Assembly (CA) to spread the knowledge acquired, which is expected to influence thinking towards making Nepal’s new Constitution more inclusive.