Browsing by Subject "Nepal"

Soil carbon (C) is a key part of the global C cycle. Agricultural soils can be both source and sink of the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). In the Mid-Hill region of Nepal, a lot of the historical soil C has been lost in consequence of the conversion of forests into agricultural lands. However, there is huge potential to increase the soil C sink through appropriate farming practices. The region is characterized by mountainous topography with various microclimates found within a short distance. Thus, also the farming systems differ from each other, which further contributes to the altering soil C accumulation in the region. This Master's thesis is linked to the project Building Climate Resilience in Farming Systems in Sloping Lands of South Asia, supported by Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN). The aim of the study was to find out what is the present soil carbon status in two predominant farming systems in the study site in Kavre, located in the Mid-Hill region, and what are the farming practices contributing to soil C. Soil samples from upland and lowland were taken into the analysis complemented with the interviews of the farmers and the field observations. The effect of the farming practices was investigated in three systems, including the both farming systems, upland solely, and lowland solely. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied for studying the effects of the categorically measured farming practices. The effects of the farming practices classified as continuous variables were measured with the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results showed that the soil C content was significantly higher in the upland system compared with lowlands. Vegetation cover, agroforestry, and the weed management with weed residues left to the fields were associated with higher soil C stocks. Negative relationship between the chemical fertilizer use and soil C sequestration was found. The use of organic fertilizers, tillage method, tilling intensity, crop residue management and irrigation did not show significant effect on soil C. This study suggests that the aboveground vegetation cover is an integral part of the soil C sequestration in the sloping agricultural lands in the Mid-Hill region of Nepal. Nonetheless, further research with replication and a larger sample size is needed in order to fully investigate the farming practices contributing to the greater soil C contents in the region.

This study relates to the conflict in Nepal and its peace process in particular, which is examined from the perspective of discourse theory. The conflict started in 1996 when a group calling themselves ‘Maoists’ launched their ‘people’s war’. Over the years, the conflict was marked by several negotiation rounds, intermittent ceasefires and a power-political struggle between the king, the mainstream political parties and the Maoists. The peace process can be deemed to have started upon the signing of a 12-Point Understanding between the Seven Party Alliance and the Maoists in November 2005. Despite its promising start, it is still too early to talk about the peace process in the past tense since researchers have considered the promulgation of a new constitution as a necessity for its closure. The conflict and its peace process have provided an interesting topic of inquiry for instance because Nepal’s Maoist insurgency has been considered the most successful one among other contemporary Maoist rebellions. The purpose of this study is to analyse how a ‘new Nepal’ was articulated in discourses of transformation during the peace process between 2005 and 2012 and determine potential shifts or changes in the discourses. Since the peace process is understood as a discursive process, a further objective is to evaluate the process and the prospects of sustainable peace on the basis of the discourses. Following the theory of conflict transformation, this study understood the peace process as a long-term project where sustainable peace necessitates addressing the root causes of conflict. The motive for choosing the discourse-theoretical perspective was that discourses have been suggested to have a significant role in conflict transformation. In their discourses, political actors may seek cooperation and consensus or reproduce the antagonistic relationship that existed between them during conflict. This study utilised the post-structuralist theory of discourse developed by Laclau and Mouffe as it has been considered suitable for studying political conflicts and changes. According to the fundamental premises of the theory, discourses are historically constructed and contingent systems of meaning in which signifiers receive their meaning in relation to other signifiers and which are susceptible to change. The empirical data of this study consisted of three official documents that have been said to provide a blueprint for a new Nepal as well as of newspaper articles published in The Kathmandu Post. Temporally the study was limited to a period between November 2005 and June 2012. The concept of new Nepal was understood as referring to the political, social, economic and cultural transformation of the country needed to address the root causes of the conflict, for which reason the analysis concentrated on discourses dealing with these aspects. Furthermore, the main focus was on the discourses of the political actors who were the chief adversaries during the conflict, i.e. the mainstream political parties, the Maoists and the king. The empirical analysis utilised the key concepts of Laclau and Mouffe’s theory of discourse, including articulation, floating signifier, nodal point, empty signifier, hegemonic practice, dislocation, social antagonism, political frontier, and the logics of equivalence and difference. According to the analysis, the discourses of the political actors were arranged around political transformation, which was closely linked with social, economic and cultural transformation. The discourses of transformation can be deemed to have formed a discourse on new Nepal, where the meaning of new Nepal was constructed around such salient signifiers as democracy, republic, federalism, secularism, peace, development, progress, change, social justice and inclusiveness. A chain of equivalence was articulated between these signifiers to establish a clear frontier between the past and the future. A significant finding was that the Maoists and the mainstream political parties were able to combine their particular interests into a common discourse by articulating the king as a common enemy and a threat to a new Nepal, which would appear to have made the peace process possible. However, this discursive unity seems to have dissolved after the king was removed and Nepal declared a republic. Since then the Maoists and the non-Maoist parties appear to have reproduced the previous antagonistic relationship between them and the situation has begun to resemble the circumstances before and during the conflict. Due to the discursive struggles between the actors, the Constituent Assembly failed to promulgate the new constitution that was articulated as a document which could bring peace and socio-economic transformation, and consequently it is argued that the prospects of achieving sustainable peace still seem rather bleak. The discursive struggles also pose a threat to the hegemonic discourse on new Nepal and to the new Nepal articulated therein. As regards sustainable peace, it would be important for the actors to find again the consensus that existed between them at the initial stages of the peace process.

In my master’s thesis I study the Nepalese literature through the works of Prajwal Parajuly, Manjushree Thapa and Samrat Upadhyay. I want to study how caste, gender and marriage are presented in their literatures and what functions they have in the material. The material is based on total amount of twelve literary works of all the three authors. My research questions are in the thesis are in which circumstances the caste plays importance, how gender is displayed and how the marriage institution functions in the social fabric represented in the literature. The theoretical basis of my research is the subaltern theory by Gayatri Spivak. First, I introduce some of the key concepts in regarding my thesis to help the reader to understand the basic terminology of Hinduism concerning my thesis as well as the Nepalese setting of the issues represented in the literature. Then I analyse the women’s position and how they are being marginalized in the literature. Finally, I get into the conclusion that is based on the theories, that caste, gender, and marriage are deeply intertwined with each other in the literature and I have reached to the conclusion that caste in the most important marker of person’s identity and women’s marginalization is based on the combined effect of caste and gender. The marriage institution is also deeply involved to caste and gender issues, as it is one of the core units of the society as well as the benchmark for women’s life.

Tässä työssä tutkitaan sitä, millaisia nationalismeja ilmenee Nepalin nuoressa tasavallassa vuosina 2008–2013 ja sitä millaisten diskurssien kautta ne ilmenevät. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on osoittaa, että Nepalin poliittisen järjestelmän murroksen jälkeen maassa on enemmän tilaa myös muille kuin eliitin tuottamalle nationalismille, vaikka se edelleenkin hallitsee nepalilaisten arkipäivää. Tutkimuksen viitekehyksenä on kriittinen diskurssianalyysi sekä aiempi nationalismin tutkimus, joiden avulla tuloksia analysoidaan. Tutkimuskohteena ovat viisi nationalismia ilmentävää tapausta, keskustelu pyhän lehmän asemasta, koulujen englanninkielisten nimien vaihtaminen nepalinkielisiin nimiin, varapresidentin hindinkielisen virkavalan antaminen nepalinkielisen sijaan, uuden kalenterin käyttöönottaminen ja yhden etnisen ryhmän kansallispuvun nimeäminen viralliseksi pukukoodiksi. Lähdeaineistona ovat sanomalehtiartikkelit, jotka ovat ilmestyneet kolmessa nepalilaisessa englanninkielisessä sanomalehdessä, Repúblicassa, The Himalayan Timesissa ja The Kathmandu Postissa. Tutkimuksen päätulos on se, että Nepalissa elää kaksi toisilleen päinvastaista nationalismia, 'yhden nepalilaisuuden nationalismi' ja 'moninaisen nepalilaisuuden nationalismi'. Yhden nepalilaisuuden nationalismi jatkaa vanhaa kuningasajan kansallisajattelua, jonka pääpiirteet ovat yksi uskonto, yksi kieli ja yksi kulttuuri. Yhden nepalilaisuuden nationalismin diskurssin tuottajia ovat kukkula-alueella asuvat yläkastiset nepalinkieliset hindut. Moninaisen nepalilaisuuden nationalismin tavoitteena taas on moniuskontoinen, monikielinen ja monikulttuurinen maallistunut tasavalta. Moninaisen nepalilaisuuden nationalismin diskurssin takana taas ovat Nepalin lukuisat etniset ryhmät, suurimpana Etelä-Nepalin madhesit. Tutkimuksen tärkeimpiä havaintoja on se, että Nepalissa on vielä paljon työtä tehtävänä, jotta uusi perustuslaki saadaan lähitulevaisuudessa tehtyä. Monikulttuurinen valtio tarvitsee tulevaisuudessa sellaisen perustuslain, jonka edessä Nepalin lukuisat kulttuurit ovat tasa-arvoisia.

In my research, I describe, analyze, and interpret the realization of children’s rights in a Nepalese mountain village called Randepu, where I volunteered as a teacher for a short period during the fall of 2019. I focus mainly on examining children’s rights in education at the village’s school. My research questions were: 1) What rights of the child are realized in the education of Shree Naba Jyoti Silvano Basic School and what kind of rights are not realized? and 2) In what way did I, as a volunteer, experience the realization of children's rights in the research village at a general level? I also interpreted issues outside of the school in children’s rights. In the literature-based part of my research, I become familiar with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Nepalese legislation. I also addressed the general situation in Nepal in the light of theory as well as through Western eyes, my own interpretations and my own experiences. The questioning and the topic of my research were formed out of my own personal interest. The topic of my research was unique, so there was little previous research on the topic. However, there were studies about Nepal, children’s rights in Nepal and the education system of Nepal. I approached my research topic through an ethnographic research method despite visiting the village for only a short time. The participants in the study were students at the school whose rights I was studying. Adult members of the village as well as volunteers also participated in the study. In accordance with the principles of ethnographic research, my research material consisted of very diverse material: my own observations, the diary entries I made, the photographs I took during my visit, and my own experiences during the field period associated with the research. Unforeseen discussions with teachers, students and other members of the village served as additional material. The rights of the child were largely not realized in the village. According to the results of the study, there were problems with children's rights: the right to education, girls’ rights, the right to sanitation, health care and clean drinking water, child marriages and child labor. The right to education contained many obstacles and disadvantages. Long hikes to school contributed to the obstruction of the child's right to education and the quality of education and material deficiencies were poor. The children were thus also denied the opportunity for postgraduate studies. I felt the results were inconsistent due to exceptional circumstances. Children’s rights were not realized at a general level in the village, but given the circumstances, this was common. The results were influential, and the awareness of the results could be used to improve the school’s and village’s functioning.

The world is currently experiencing a notable shift in the pattern of migration. Immigrant receiving countries in different parts of the world have promoted integration policies to minimise the inequality. My purpose of this paper is to learn how immigrant entrepreneurship contributes to self-employment by the use of ethnicity and transnational connection. This text examines the role of ethnicity in the development and sustenance of the Nepalese entrepreneurship in the context of Finland, drawing from the first-hand data. I have found that the involvement of ethnic resources, co-ethnic employment, and transnational connection lead to a profitable return for the Nepalese ethnic entrepreneurship. Instead of conceptualising a general economic model of entrepreneurship, I argue that it should be understood holistically how these immigrant entrepreneurs construct such opportunities by depending on ethnicity and co-ethnic relationship. I conduct this study with a great interest in the context of Finland, with an effort to understand the function of the Nepalese caste system as it is one of the essential features of this entrepreneurship model. I combined certain statistical information from various Finnish and Nepalese official sources to illustrate my arguments. The study shows how the Nepalese immigrant/ethnic entrepreneurs and soon-to-be entrepreneurs’ tactics to seek opportunities attempts to encounter mainstream labour market exclusion.