Its about 4 months old but I mean this Daniel Lak guy has some ignorance. I think foreigners who write articles about Nepal oftend don't understand Nepalese people and culture.

A secular Hinduism
If there is to be a monarchy it must be separated from religion


To those agitating against the declaration of Nepal as a secular state, prepare to be left behind by logic and history. You may think you’re playing a patriotic and faithful game but you’re just cynical. Here’s why.

To begin with, there’s no such thing as a Hindu kingdom. Even when such entities existed thousands of years ago, there was no agreement on whether they were legitimate or not. Various tracts used to justify the absurd notion that a Shah king was an avatar of a god were misquoted or deliberately misused. Respected Hindu scholars say the kings of early Hindudom were entreated to be just and wise, like gods, not to be gods themselves.

In those days of wandering mendicants like Buddha, Mahavira and others, a king who claimed actual godhood would have been laughed out of court. Even Ashoka, no shrinking violet, only referred to himself as ‘blessed of the gods’.

Very few people in Nepal know that much of what has passed for palace-sponsored Hinduism here was invented by the Ranas or members of the same courtier class, cherry picked from a heterodox array of traditions that can only be described in and of themselves as secular.

A secular religion? Surely not. But it is so. Hinduism is a creed, not a faith per se. The Mahant of the Tulsi Ghat temple in Varanasi, a saint called Veer Bhadra Mishra, once told me Hindus didn’t agree on any aspect of their faith save the sanctity of the family and the responsibility of individuals for their own salvation.

“We have so many schools of thought,” he said, “some believe in millions of gods, some just a few, some in one God and others in no gods at all. We have atheist Hindus. Who’s to say whether anyone is more correct than anyone else.” Then, true to the notion of individual salvation, Mahant-ji slipped into the Ganges and took his holy bath. Tolerance is the only way to approach life under such beliefs.

Nepali Hinduism calcified under state patronage. A culturally sanctioned way of life in India that adapted and served peoples’ needs for millennia became a tool of caste oppression and exclusion in Nepal. Pretending to be a force for unity, the Hinduism encouraged by the Nepali elite was largely a way to divide and rule the diverse masses.

It’s no accident that the number of Hindus in the country declined in relative terms in the last census. That’s because the government stopped simply designating people by religious community and asked them what their faith ways. Magars, Tamangs and others were no longer ‘automatic Hindus’.

None of the Hindu reform movements of the past have found root in Nepal, given the role of the state authorities in determining the official stature of religion. What would the Ranas have done, confronted by Swami Vivekananda or Gandhi? In India, Hindus survived Ashoka’s Buddhism, centuries of Muslim overlordship and the British Evangelical Chriistian mission to ‘civilise’ them. More than surviving, Hinduism flourished. It still does. As India becomes prosperous and more modern, its people are flocking to temples and worshipping as never before.

Hinduism may similarly become relevant and supportive of change in the new Nepal. First of all, caste needs to openly debated and discrimination ended. Some sort of affirmative action for dalits and others is essential. The status of women is a national shame in many parts of this country, particularly rural Hindu women. Their religious beliefs, and those of their husbands, have kept them in bondage. No faith justifies slavery. Finally, the endless spectacles of Hindu ritual need to be removed from state functions, including those involving the king, and put back in temples and peoples’ homes where they belong.

So here’s to secularism. And to Hinduism, whether Shaivite, Vaishnivite, Brahminical or any other kind. Not to mention Bonpo, Islam, Buddhism, Chistianity, Animism, Agnoticism, Atheism and others. Most of all, here’s to tolerance that can only take root when the land itself is truly united in diversity.

ImI are you Muslim LOL

why????what difference does it make???i am just saying let people decide what they want..why these fuc%ing morons wanted to act god!!!

oh yes...you mean with the article..i agree..why do they need to act like some gods!! but I really hope people keep it hindu even if they are atheist or another religionit is extremely important to our culture. but you know whats so great about nepal? even if ppl decide to stray away, the climate and geopgraphical nature keeps our culture in check. :)

CuteTree you are not the only F*ucker living in Nepal! Get that in your head. There are enough people in Nepal who are not Hindu by religion. Just because Majority wants it does not mean it should be imposed on everyone. In democratic terms that is called "tyranny of majority". You certainly need to take democracy 101.

listen haude_ko_bhai!! don't get mad! I'm just telling you the truth. You dont want our culture to die right? see i know you dont. im not saying impose it. people need freedom of thought and everythign else but there need to be certain constitutional rights given to hindu/nepal culture and the nepal govt needs to serve as a backbone for Hindu/Nepal culture.

beside, if it is the majority then it is obviously want the people want! you cant impse how you feel on the people haude_ko_bhai. Get that in your head.

My Dearest Dumb A*ss CuteTree,

First of all let me congratulate you for your Ph.D in Democracy.Let me also tell you that I do not consider myself Hindu. And most importantly of all just because 51% majority want it does not mean it should be imposed on everyone. There are still 49% of the people who have different opinion about it. BTW, I am just giving you an example, I am not saying there are 51% hindu in Nepal. What can I say? You have an uncanny knack of misunderstanding things. And last of al,l secularism means religious considerations should be excluded from civil affairs and that the state is not aligned to any religion and therefore impartial. Got it? On the other hand, sounds like you are for discrimination as oppose to equal rights. Was that your thesis for Ph.D?

You don't seem to get it.

Much of Nepalese Culture is tied to Hinduism along with indigeionous culture.

If the govt goes Secular, thats fine theres no problem there. People have freedoms and the right to choose, people have the right to change their govt and people have the right to unions and whatever else they wanna do, but that doesn't mean the govt can't set safeguards for our culture.

A seculuar govt doesn't have to support Hinduism as a religion but they do have the respobsiblity of protection of the identity of the majority of Nepalese people. Even if you don't consider yourself Hindu, the fact is that if you are Nepalese and have Nepalese parents, it influenced you in some way. so stop all this sarcastic craps about PH.D and see the truth.

Democracy is majority!!!get this..call this a major flaw in democracy ..it has worked and it is the best idealogy that has been successful.

Now seperating state and religion..i agree..well show me laws that where discriminating against other religion in nepal???didn't christians get off in christmas or muslims in ed??

Besides that..democracy also means respectin minority..now if majority hindu would have made discriminative or offensive laws against other religion ..then you come here and talk about democracy not being fair!!!

Again Ph.D shaheb,

What makes you think that a "Nepali culture" should be protected by the government? And what might this culture you call Nepali be? Can you define it to me? What do you understand by being a Nepalese? What is it exactly that you want your government to protect? No democratic government has a responsibility to protect anything except the rights and freedom of individual. Makes sense? duh!

IMI,

Lets call Nepal an Islamic state from now on, I am sure you will not oppose. You talk about laws and discrimination...here are some for you: 12 years of imprisonment for killing a cow. Obviously you are not a women, otherwise you might have also wondered why women are not allowed inheritance. And if you are from a different ethnic group...maybe you want to look into how the laws of marriage is defined. And you still want to say there is no discrimination?

I am of course assuming that you two did not get your Ph.D in Democracy from the same university...

yes i did!!!
and which univ. did u get phd from?? defining democracy..seems like u are expert on that.huh!
so people were dying to kill cow ..thats what hurt people the most..ok !
could you tell me how the laws of marriage are defined ?????

haude_ko_bhai,

Nepali culture being everything that defines the Nepalese identity and Nepal itself. They have to protect this from any outside forces without doing harm to people's freedom. This is why I support secular because it can achieve this very easily. Protection of the identity is a right of the people. And besides, where have I disregarded Democracy so far? You don't seem to have very good reading comprehension. I have said over and over that people are free to choose and move the govt in any direction they want. It is totally up to them. Perhaps it is YOU who have failed at Democracy 101, because you are labelling me as some kind of bandit who doesnt understand Democracy as a concept.

But I want to kill a cow and eat it too! Why should I go to prison for that? I have started thanking myself for not having a Ph.D ever since I started to read your and your other half's comments on Democracy. Thank God...no, its not a hindu God.

One more thing ..if nepalese people vote to make nepal a islamic state i say go for it!!!!PUT that also in ballot.ok!

I am a Muslim...is that Nepali by your definition?

i am also gald you don't have PHD ..and eat cow as much as you want ..even if you want to eat raw i don't care..hahaha..cow nakhana r nakatana payera dimag khrab bro ko..hahahaha

Yes yes rightly so ImI...hahahaha

Of course it is Nepali. People are free to have whatever religion they want. Theres no issue there. All iam saying is that the government should put in safeguard for the culture. This has nothing to do with religion but rather the onslaught (negative parts) of coming rapid Modernization/Westernization. You seem to think that I'm saying that Nepalese Hindu/Indigeious orinted culture should be forced onto Non-hindus/no affliation..not at all.
If anything Islam adds culture whereever it goes. If I wanted to be paranoid about religion then it would have to be towards Christianity. Unlike Islam, it does not mold in with
cultures, but rahter destroys them due to its long history with Western powers. But thats another story..

they won't take the issue of hinduism to a referandum, coz they know that the majority won't vote in favour of a secular state. if people are allowed to vote for religion, hinduism will easily get more than 60% of votes and will win by a clear majority. n our leaders don't want that to happen.

only bahun and chhetris are not hindus, but the vast majority of the terai (which comprises at least 50% of the total population) and other hill etnic groups like newars are hindus.

ok, there are some kirantis and some ethnic tribes with indigenous religions, but they are not the majority. and not all of them practice purely tribal religions. In fact a good percentage of them will vote for hinduism if a referendum is called for, contrary to the beliefs of the so called janajaati leaders and many of the sajhaites. and also another reality is that a good proportion of the so called indigeneous tribes have already converted to christianity. 5 yrs back, i had trekked in some remote hily districts of the eastern region. and i was surprised to find the existence of a good number of churches in such remote villages where the majority of the tribal villagers were converted christians and called themselves 'bishwasis'.

also majority of newars are hindu from time of mallas

yah majority of newars are also hindu. and the combined percentage of all other mongoloid ethnic groups is not more than 25%. and i doubt that all of them are going to vote against hinduism if a referendum is called for.