Have you ever felt part of a minorty in Nepal - whether it be a political, ethnic, lingual, cultural,academic or sexual minority? Or any other minority for that matter. Have you also been part of the minority in another country? How does being a minorty in Nepal compare to being a minority in another country? How does Nepal's treatment of minorities compare to other places in the world?

Or is the whole minority-majority discourse nothing more than a big gimmickery by those hungry for attention?

Two very thought provoking write-ups I ran into recently

On being an ethnic minority in The Nepal Digest: :

" Ever since I gained awareness of my surroundings as a child in a Rajbanshi tribe in the hinterland of Morang, an eastern plains district in Nepal, I knew two things. One, that there was Desh somewhere in the south, where my mother and I couldn't go, and there was Morang in whose jungles we lived; and, two, that I was an abominable nothing, not a Deshwali Pannit like my father, who spent much time in his Desh; nor one of the hill men, a few among whom lived in scattered wooden houses in the clearings of the jungle as farmers and repaired to their hills at the onset of dust, heat, and malaria."

More at : http://library.wustl.edu/~listmgr/tnd/0247.html (you will need to scroll down a bit on the page - it is the second comment in the page)

On being a sexual minority from the Blue Diamond Society website:

"The Blue Diamond Society has had to struggle against taboos and mores. The first attempt at registering the society was denied because the officials objected to the very concept of homosexuality. Pant was pressurised to change the organisation?s objective into ?correcting homosexual behaviour? but finally found a loophole that allowed him to work in the area of male health. That was the easy part. He was then faced with the challenge of coaxing MSMs to join the society because they were afraid of being targetted by homophobes. The society estimates that about 95 percent of MSMs are forced into heterosexual marriages by their families who don?t want scandals. The homosexuals suffer from depression, low self-esteem and social ostracisation. ?We are forced to lead a split life?different on the inside from what we show on the outside,? he says."

More at : http://www.bds.org.np/gpage1.html