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Tamu Yuva Sangh PDF Print E-mail
By Nira Gurung

Background:

Nepal has a population of over 23 million and she can boast of having great potential power in its youth.  However, the youth power in Nepal is not exploited to its fullest extent but they are misguided and exploited to a certain extent by our unscrupulous politicians using their volatile and dynamic energy, swayed into by their charismatic rhetoric.   Youth can be a partner to the mainstream society, just as any other political parties, civic society, professional bodies are. Youth power is marginalized in Nepal but when utilized, it is used at wrong time for wrong purposes by those in power. The youth in Nepal has not been in the public priority for a long time.

There are no specific policies or interventions related/targeted to young people. The Ninth Plan (1997-2002) for the first time tried to address youth specifically by formulating an official draft policy document on National Youth Policy. Under the youth and sports section of the Plan document, some emphasis was given to enhancing youth employment and participation in the mainstream socio-economic development of the nation. During the same period the first-ever Ministry of Youth and Sports was established which was unfortunately dissolved within a short period of time. Sad to say, the National Youth Policy which was initially drafted at the time of the Ninth Plan is now scrapped in the Tenth Plan (2004-2013). Despite the key role that the Nepalese youth has been playing since the early dawn of democracy in Nepal in the early 1950s, and including the most recent one in 1990, they have not been well addressed and given focus in the plans and policies that have been made in the last 14 years of democracy.

Youth is a high-spirited state in anyone’s life. Young people are a major force in the modern world. But in Nepal, there are always referred to as the ‘future of the nation’ or the ‘beneficiaries’ and are hardly considered as active partners of today. They are more looked upon as ‘useless’ and ‘careless’ and are associated with such social vices as drug abuses, HIV Aids, vandalism, violence and waywardness. What they need is to be involved in decision making at all levels, given recognition and responsibilities, be it on the state priority as to the policy and programmes they need, party affiliations to the more personal levels such as educational options, choosing careers, and life partners.  Issues such as employment, health, career and personal rights – most important in personal development and that of the nation – have never been given higher priority by the State. Therefore, the State needs to consider youth as partners in development and decision making by involving them in all spheres of the greater society, i.e.  socially,  economically,  culturally and politically.  The youth in the 21st Century cannot be left behind as they are  aware of their own rights being exposed to better education facilities, as well as modern communications and media. They are a force to be reckoned with and cannot be ignored for long.  Youth as the potential partners, should be incorporated in the national priority agenda as a significant and potential resource for the overall national development.

The State of the Gurung Youth:

The Gurungs as one of the ethnic peoples has always been marginalized in the national development plans of the State. The Gurungs who earlier lived in mid and high Himalayas in the central and western parts of Nepal along the Annapurna range, were initially herders, and pastoralists and later settled down to a more sedentary life of farming activities, have always been leading life away from the main state machinery. Later they were inducted into the Indian and British armies after the Sugauli Treaty in March 1816 with the colonial British Indian government and since then they have earned fame and valours as warriors on the battle fields and ‘bravest of the brave’ in the overseas armies with a high level of fidelity and loyalty to those they serve, including that of the State’s army. It was and still is every young man’s wish to become a ‘lahure’ due to better life and economic benefits attached to it.
 
Gurung boys from very young age dream of becoming one, strongly influenced by the culture of ‘lahure’. Any able-bodied young man will, at one time, will try to get himself enlisted into the Gurkha Regiments of the British, Singapore, Brunei, and Indian armies and failing all these options, the Nepalese army.  Many of their forefathers, who had served in these forces for many generations including fighting so valiantly in the two world wars, are their inspiration. They are known as one of the best martial tribe of Nepal, for many years and remain so.  Young Gurung girls, on the other hand, were/are married off early possibly to potential ‘lahures’ for better life or they become farmers, bearing children, nurturing the young and caring the old, tending to fields and cattle, and similar other works that their mothers and grandmothers had done earlier.

There are instances where youth who are willing to study further face tremendous family (community) pressure to give up his education and join the army abroad or head for employment overseas. Many are thus forced to leave their education. Although the youth today have become more conscious and value the importance of education, unfortunately many higher educational institutions in the country are riffed with political activities and lack basic amenities and infrastructural facilities to make it a sustaining interest. Youth should thus be provided with opportunities for intellectual growth and development. But times are indeed changing and so are the perceptions of the Gurung youth towards their own destiny after being exposed to living overseas while their fathers were/are in the services as well as due to the exposure given by modern telecommunication and different forms of media.

A latest trend that has developed over the past decade or so, is that of going abroad for overseas employment. Many of them sell whatever property they have in the villages or borrow heavily from  money-lenders at a high interest to go abroad. Whereas some of them may be fortunate to get good jobs, many of them have become victims of unscrupulous agents where they are left jobless at their destinations, or they are forced take up jobs at lesser salaries in hazardous environment. In spite of such conditions. we find young people going abroad in hordes. Foreign employment, by now, is the biggest industry in absorbing the country’s unemployed youth and revenue generation. The country receives about 100 million rupees annually in remittances that has been keeping the national economy afloat. It would be no exaggeration to say that the economy of the country depends on the sweat of about a million of these youth working abroad.

This is further aggravated by the unstable political situation in the country with the Maoist insurgency raging in the country over the last ten years with violence unleashed by both the security and the Maoist forces. Conflicts are mostly concentrated in the rural areas causing great hardships to people in their day-to-day lives.  Indigenous youth are forcefully enlisted in the Maoist army as its cadres or some of them are convinced to join willingly due to lack of opportunities and abject poverty. Many innocent people have become victims of the brutality and violence raging between the two warring forces of the Government and Maoist.  Arrests, killings, detention, rapes and disappearance abound and are reported almost daily in the newspapers.

Under such circumstances, the youth are forced to leave their native land and migrate to the headquarters or the capital city, and to the foreign countries to save their life and support their families. There is an open border between Nepal and India and it is estimated that more than 500 youth are migrating to India daily. It has been recorded that about 180-220 youth are emigrating daily, mostly to the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Afghanistan, Iraq, South Korea, Hongkong, Macao, Malaysia etc. The root cause of migration is to escape from the conflict and poverty. Because of the migration of the youth to the foreign land, the elderly members of the family, women and the children left alone to fend for themselves. Evidence has shown that in such cases, it is the women who have to bear most of the burden of maintaining the family and looking after the fields.

The armed conflict has done more harm than good to the nation. The socio-economic development been almost paralyzed, the social insecurity has increased and the energy and spirit of the youth has been embroiled in bloodshed instead of directed towards the development of the country. Both the warring parties (government and the Maoist) should understand that military strategy cannot be the solution to the present crisis in Nepal. Learning from the past experiences and lessons of our neighbouring countries (Sri Lanka and Afghanistan), the State should be more responsible in ensuring conflict resolution and stability and peace.

It may be because of the pursuits abroad and the conflict at home that the Gurungs have remained behind in terms of their own development, socially and economically but more so, academically, and politically as they have remained on the periphery and thus less as useful as contributing members of the mainstream society towards the overall development of the country.  Therefore, it is important that the youth of today realizes and grasp the situation and give new direction to the future generation.
 
According to the 2001 Census, the literacy rate of Nepal is 53.8 per cent; the male and female literacy rate is 65 percent and 42.5 percent respectively. The literacy rate can be seen improving gradually over the years by sex. Among the Janajati, the highest literate groups are the Thakali (75.66 %), Newar (71.22%), Yehlmo (70.70%), and Dura (63.26%). The literacy rates of some of the numerically and politically dominant hill and Tarai janajati groups are as follows: Limbu (59.79%), Gurung (59.79%), Rai (58.19%), Magar (55.90%), Tharu (47.12%)  and Tamang (45.04%). 

The literacy rate of the Gurung according to the 2001 Census is Gurung 59.79% . The indication is increasing in comparison to the earlier decade but more Gurung youth would need to come forward to avail this opportunity to enable them to participate fully, not only in the socio-cultural sectors but also in political and economic sectors. They have to keep abreast of developments around the world through various media, information and communication channels, be able to advance further in their fields and contribute actively towards the national development.

Tamu community has its own language, religion, dress code, culture and history. Although the main original settlement came from the Gandaki region they are found residing in all parts of the country - from Mechi in the east to Mahakali to the west - through the process of migration. Having such a geographical spread in all parts of the country, the Gurung community is now finding it difficult to keep in touch and maintaining with its own traditional social and cultural, including maintaining language unity. Youth is beacon for tomorrow’s society, the very pillar which has to carry on the work now done by their elders.

Gurung youth slowly but surely becoming literate to understand this need and with this philosophy as its background, Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh/Tamu (Gurung) Youth Association was established with the spirit of brotherhood and mankind among the Tamu youth as well as youth from other ethnic groups.  The need to promote mutual cooperation and unity at the same time ensuring democratic freedom, equal legal rights, independence, education, social awareness and advocacy is high on the agenda of this youth organization. It was established on 2059 Bhadra 24.

The Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh is an initiative by and for young people to develop to their fullest potentials and to bring about positive changes in the societies they live,  through academic, social, cultural and religious activities.  This Association is the common platform for all the Tamu youth, which also works closely with other Tamu social organizations, such as the Gurung (Tamu) National Council, Tamu Baudha Sewa Samiti, Syarlo  Tamu Pehlu Sangh, Tamudhin Kaski, Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Women’s Association, and many others.

Mission, Objectives and Strategy:

Mission:

The mission of the Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh  is to carry out an all round development of the Tamu youth by conducting different types of socio-cultural programmes and activities.  It is important that to uplift a community, one has to be aware of one’s own cultural identity, language, religion and other traditional and religious beliefs and  practices and at the same time ensure its promotion and preservation.

Objectives:

The objectives are as follows:

·    To bring together all the youth both in the country and abroad at a common platform
·    To encourage and assist youth in the country and abroad in educational and in other sectors for their overall development
·    To conserve and preserve the Gurung original traditional cultures and practices
·    To create awareness and consciousness among the youth on the importance of the Gurung language, religion and culture
·    To inculcate spirit of mutual cooperation and assistance in time of death and other community development work
·    To voice and act as a strong lobby against any social issues that may cause disharmony within the Tamu community

Strategy:

In order to achieve the above objectives, the Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh has embarked upon the following strategies. 

·    Coordinate and liaise closely with all the students bodies and organizations in Kathmandu and as well as those abroad and keep them informed of its programmes and activities
·    For an overall welfare and development of the Gurung youth, Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh gives advice, counseling, training courses, and scholarships for outstanding, and economically deserving Tamu students, especially in higher education
·    Carries out petitions, demonstrations as well as use media to voice strongly against any social issues that are detrimental to the larger Gurung community
·    Extend spirit of mutual cooperation especially in times of difficulties such as death, natural disasters and also contribute actively towards community development work.
·    Organize and conduct intellectual discussions, interactions programmes, meetings, seminars, as well leadership and capacity building training courses; also assist actively in programmes and activities conducted by other Gurung social organizations to bring about  overall development of the Tamu community
·    Organize /bring out exhibitions, publications, documentaries to promote and preserve the Gurung’s socio-cultural, religion and traditional practices
·    Use various media tools to voice for and against social issues concerning the Tamu community; as well as encourage and motivate Tamu youth to participate and contribute actively in this sector


The Executive Committee, Membership and Achievements:
 
The Executive Committee:

The Executive Board or the Central Secretariat comprises of 15 members, the elections of which takes place every 3 years during the Annual General Assembly Meetings. During General Assembly meetings, organizational  and financial reports are submitted and approved. Major decisions are made concerning any programmes or issues at this meeting. General Assembly meetings are the apex meeting AGM and gives mandate to the Executive Board. The Executive Board comprises of the Central Secretariat, Advisory Committee, ‘Samrakchak’ Committee and the Area Members’ Committee.

The Central Secretariat is in charge of the day-to-day running of the activities, the Advisory Committee plays an advisory role, the ‘Samrakchak’ Committee plays the role of a mediator and helps to resolve any problems or crisis that may appear and the Area Members’ Committee is to play a coordinating role among its members in a specified area, for example in Dailekh and Kaski.

Under the Central Committee there are six departments as follows:

·    Language, Education and Culture   
·    Accounts
·    Organization and Social development   
·    Publications and Public Relations
·    Study & Research
·    Coordination & Monitoring

Under them are the branches and sub-branches, as well as liaison offices with organizations abroad. Sub-branches offices of the Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh are proposed in 15 districts and they will be established soon after necessary feasibility reports are completed. The proposed districts are Kaski, Parbat, Syangja, Butwal Tanahun, Lamjung, Gorkha, Dailekh, Surkhet, Morang Sunsari, Chitwan, Dhading, Nuwakot, Myagdi and others.

Membership:

In terms of geographical coverage/area, the Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh works in the whole of Nepal as well as abroad

It is a membership-based organization with more than 100 members. There are 115 members from within the Kathmandu valley, which includes 4 life members, 111 general members. It has five institutional membership.  All interested youth are welcome to become members of the Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh.

There are five types of memberships and they are as follow:

·    General membership is open to any individual who are interested with a fee of  Rs. 100/- per annum and renewal fee at Rs.50/-
·    Life membership, is also open to any one with initial payment of Rs. 1,500/- and no further renewal fee  is charged.
·    Honorary membership is given to those individuals who have contributed directly and indirectly towards the development of Tamu community. No fee is levied.
·    ‘Samrakchak’ Membership is given to those individuals who have been involved in the organization since its inception and who are called upon in times of crisis to intervene. No fee is levied.
·    Institutional Membership is open to any institutions, normally youth organizations by paying Rs. 500/-. No renewal fee is required.

Achievements/Programmes:

The Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh has successfully conducted many different activities and programmers and outlined below are some of their major achievements. Most of them are ongoing activities and continue to be carried out.

·    Contributed and participated actively in the celebration of the major festival of the Gurungs, Lochhar,  in close collaboration with the  Gurung (Tamu) National Council and other Gurung social organizations.

·    Organised for the first time in the Kathmandu valley an original cultural festival of the Gurung, the taho-tay in 23 Shrawan 2061. ‘Taho-tay’ is an old traditional festival which is concerned with the ‘bhumi puja’ or the worship of the earth.

·    Published and continue publishing its half yearly magazine, ‘Dhirbai Ta’ which means ‘Gharka Kura’ in Nepali or translated into English as ‘Voices of the House” which was first brought out in Kartik 2060.  The magazine is devoted to an array of articles basically focusing on the issue of youth as well as socio-cultural issues. At of today, 4 issues have been published.

·    In appreciation of the contribution made by Adikabi Harka Bahadur Gurung, born in BS 1993, Magh 11 in the Salme Village, Syangja district, TYA coordinated and brought out a documentary based on his life story. As a young man, Harka Bahadur Gurung used to sing song or recited poems giving social messages that concerned the deteriorating social values of the people. The documentary which also captures three of his songs, was released at a special felicitation programme organized for Hara Bahadur Gurung at the Nepal Tourism Board on  29 Falgun 2061. He also received purse string of Rs. 10,000/-.

·    Lobbied by means of demonstrations and petitions to raise voices against unwanted superfluous activities, social ills and any image damaging issues concerning the Tamu community. Some  notable ones being  cutting down of expenses at Locchar celebration, not celebrating Gurung Diwas with Lochhar celebration, petition against the murder of Nisha Gurung, clearing of blasphemous accusations against Gurungs community in the media, etc.

·    Effectively mobilize use of media, especially the Kantipur Television and the Kantipur daily (Nepali) as well as other media to promote the cultural identity of the Gurungs via means of coverage and articles, etc.

·    Organized felicitation programmes to recognize and encourage contribution of various Tamu people, including Tamu youth in different fields.

·    Organized cultural programmes to bring forth and encourage development of artistic talents within Tamu women.

·    Provided capacity building and other training programmes to the youth and encouraged youth to be  involved organizational activities and to take on greater social responsibilities

·    Provided economic and other assistance to orphans and other Tamu victims.

·    The Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh has been able to win the confidence and faith of senior Gurung organizations. Meanwhile they also recognize the roles of the senior Tamu professionals and other senior citizens as guiding light to the young people and value their inputs at all levels.
   
Income Sources:

The Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh does not have a regular source of income nor does it have any external donors contributing to their income. The Sangh basically relies on the following internal resources. 

·    Human resources: The Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh has limited human resources and it needs professional expertise to truly guide the development of the organization and able human resources needs to be drawn in by expanding its financial resources.

·    Economic resources:  Funds is limited to donation drive within the community, membership fees, individual donations, cultural programmes and door-to-door programmes such as bhailo/deusi programmes

·    Infrastructural/Physical resources: The Sangh does not possess any building of its own and is located in one rented room in Anamnagar with basic office infrastructure provided by Tamu good wishers. 

Networking and Linkages Capacity:

The Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh has already developed a strong sense of networking and linkages with other Gurung social organizations in conducting their programmes and well as helping to them to their facilitate programmes as well. They maintain close linkages with the Tamu Baudha Sewa Samiti ,  the Gurung (Tamu) National  Council (GNC), the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) ,  National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN) and  other ethnic organizations and NGOs.

It also plans to establish its network in different districts of Nepal by opening branch offices to bring into greater fold the rural Gurung youth.  Not keeping confined with the Gurung youth, the Sangh is keen to link up  in future with like-minded youth organizations of other indigenous groups  such as the Sherpa Youth Association, Nepal Tamang Youth Gedung, Chantyal Youth Association to further the overall development of the janajati youth.

Through its varied many programmes and activities, (publishing; organizing workshops, seminars and training courses; organizing major festivals; felicitations programmes; campaigns, advocacy, activism and lobbying, etc ), Sangh has been successful in reaching more than 1000 young people addressing varied social-cultural and youth issues at the community as well  at the national level.

In the near future, the Sangh efforts will also be directed to establishing youth contact offices abroad and in fact such a process has started already in United Kingdom. The youth basically comprises of those who are pursuing their studies or working.

Constraints and Challenges, Future Plans and Way Forward:

Constraints and Challenges:

·    Lack of stable financial resources to  carry out various programme and activities identified by the Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh
·    Neglected by Gurung intellectuals and professionals and there has been not been much concerted efforts in planning programmes for the Gurung youth
·    The  Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh has not been to tap the potentials of the youth and to attract youth to become members
·    Problems in institutionalizing and internalizing the issues of  language, culture, and religion at the broader community level
·    Feelings of negative competition that exist among some Tamu organization towards the Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh.
·    Self-interest/selfishness seems to be the guiding principle among some Tamu youth

Future Plans:

As mentioned under Achievements above most of the activities are ongoing and along with these and some envisaged in future are as follows. 

·    Continue the celebrations of Lhochchar, tohotay, organize cultural programmes, bring out publications, and documentaries, etc.

·    Continue conducting capacity building and leadership training courses as well as other training/programmes

·    Continue to bring out publications, documentaries, and conduct awareness programmes on youth and social issues and carry out petition where appropriate. Various media channels will be used to serve this purpose. ‘Dhirbhai Ta’, the yearly-magazine will be strengthened to make it a powerful means of communication among the youth.

·    Give continuity to discussions, dialogues and interactions at the community level to solve any problems seen within the Gurung community amicably  

·    Conduct studies and researches on the Gurung language, religion and cultures and disseminate them widely.

·    Conduct Tamu language classes

·    Provide guidance and counseling services to youth who are involved in different types of social abuses (such as drugs, HIV Aids, petty crimes, prostitution)

·    Study different aspects of life of youth in the rural areas by seeking and mobilizing economic resources

·    Carry out feasibility studies to establish branches offices of the TYA in some 15 districts of Nepal and identify suitable programmes for the rural youth and touch base with them constantly to bring them into the greater fold of the society.

Way Forward:

·    For the stability of the Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh, there is need to mobilize skillful human resources as well as to organize rigorous fund raising activities in a planned manner
·    There is need to plan a long-term strategy in terms of programmes with better coordinated approaches for its programme implementation. Effective and meaningful programmes for the Tamu youth have to be identified for their overall development.

·    Continue to win over the confidence and faith of the Gurung intellectuals and professionals and seek advice and guidance for future directions. Convince the complementary of working with other social organizations than competing with them.

·    Ensure coordinated and effective communication flow (both sharing and giving) among all the members and other Tamu organizations.

·    Strengthen network among the members.  Make use of modern internet technologies to inform about  Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh’s initiatives widely, e.g. having its own website, and creating email discussions.


References:

·    Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh (2060) Dhirbhai Ta Year 1, # 2, Chaitra 2060, Kathmandu
·    Youth Initiative (2004) Youth consultation, Youth Perspectives on Development. A Report. Kathmadu
·    Central Bureau of Statistics (2003) Population Monograph of Nepal, Volume I; Kathmandu,  pg 10
·    Interview of Rabin Gurung, Chairperson, Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh/Tamu (Gurung) Youth Association
·    Relevant documentation provided by Tamu (Gurung) Yuva Sangh/ Tamu (Gurung) Youth Association

For more information contact:

Rabin Gurung, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it