Bhim Prasad Subedi has a PhD in Geography from the University of Hawaii. He is currently a Professor of Geography at Tribhuvan University where he has been teaching for the last 30 years. He has co-edited and written more than half a dozen books including Vegetation and Society: Interaction in the Himalayas (2002), Geography and Geographers’ Work in Nepal (2005), and Local Effects of Global Changes in the Himalayas (2007). He has published more than 50 articles on migration, refugees, ageing, youth bulge and ethnic diversity in Nepal. He has been a visiting scholar at the Universities in Oxford, Michigan, Zurich, Bergen, and Kyoto.
The State of Geography Teaching and Research in Nepal
Geography has been taught in Nepal’s schools for a hundred years and colleges for over sixty years. However its academic practitioners have felt that the discipline has been in ‘a state of neglect.’ This book is an inquiry into the historical trajectory of Geography in Nepal as well as the current state of its teaching, curricula, research and publications. Based on documentary research and a thorough review of the existing literature, it analyzes the achievements and challenges of the discipline in the country. Written by a leading practitioner, this book also suggests how geographers could reorient their disciplinary focus and what the Government of Nepal entities, university-based departments, and professional societies could do to enhance the state of the discipline in the future.
Bhim Prasad Subedi 80
Bhim Prasad Subedi has a PhD in Geography from the University of Hawaii. He is currently a Professor of Geography at Tribhuvan University where he has been teaching for the last 30 years. He has co-edited and written more than half a dozen books including Vegetation and Society: Interaction in the Himalayas (2002), Geography and Geographers’ Work in Nepal (2005), and Local Effects of Global Changes in the Himalayas (2007). He has published more than 50 articles on migration, refugees, ageing, youth bulge and ethnic diversity in Nepal. He has been a visiting scholar at the Universities in Oxford, Michigan, Zurich, Bergen, and Kyoto.
The State of Geography Teaching and Research in Nepal
Geography has been taught in Nepal’s schools for a hundred years and colleges for over sixty years. However its academic practitioners have felt that the discipline has been in ‘a state of neglect.’ This book is an inquiry into the historical trajectory of Geography in Nepal as well as the current state of its teaching, curricula, research and publications. Based on documentary research and a thorough review of the existing literature, it analyzes the achievements and challenges of the discipline in the country. Written by a leading practitioner, this book also suggests how geographers could reorient their disciplinary focus and what the Government of Nepal entities, university-based departments, and professional societies could do to enhance the state of the discipline in the future.
Bhim Prasad Subedi 80
The State of
g eo g r ap h y Teaching and Research in Nepal A Review and Reflection
Bhim Prasad Subedi
Martin Chautari
The State of Geography Teaching and Research in Nepal: A Review and Reflection Bhim Prasad Subedi First edition 2014 Copyright © Martin Chautari Publisher Martin Chautari 27 Jeetjung Marg, Thapathali GPO Box 13470, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: +977-1-4238050/4102027; Fax: +977-1-4240059 Email:
[email protected] www.martinchautari.org.np ISBN: 978-9937-594-09-7 Price: NRs. 100 Chautari Book Series - 80 Layout & cover design: Kishor Pradhan Printed in Nepal
CONTENTS Abbreviations Preface Introduction The State of Teaching Research in Geography Methodological Innovations and Weaknesses Agenda for Advancement Acknowledgements References Annex I: Major Milestones in the Development of Geography in Nepal at the School Level Annex II: Distribution of Higher Secondary Schools Offering Geography by Regions and Number of Students Annex III: Major Milestones in the Development of Geography in Nepal at the Undergraduate and Graduate Levels Annex IV: Completed PhD Dissertations in Geography from Tribhuvan University Annex V: Geographers’ Contributions to the Debate on Social Inclusion in Nepal Annex VI: Geographers’ Contributions to the Debate on State Restructuring in Nepal
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ABBREVIATIONS BA BEd CDC CDG CEDA CERID CNAS CNS FOHSS GIS IA IOHSS MA MC MPhil MSc NCCR NESP NFDIN NGS NJDRS NPJ PDN
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Education Curriculum Development Centre Central Department of Geography Centre for Economic Development and Administration Research Centre for Educational Innovation and Development Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies Contributions to Nepalese Studies Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Geographic Information System Intermediate of Arts Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences Master of Arts Martin Chautari Master of Philosophy Master of Science National Centre of Competence in Research New Education System Plan National Foundation for the Development of Indigenous Nationalities Nepal Geographical Society Nepalese Journal of Development and Rural Studies Nepal Population Journal Population and Development in Nepal
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PhD PNC RECAST SAARC SIRF SLC SNV TA TGJN TGP THG THR TTP TU TUJ UGC VDC v.s.
Doctor of Philosophy Prithvi Narayan Campus, Pokhara Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Social Inclusion Research Fund School Leaving Certificate Netherlands Development Organization Teaching Assistant The Geographical Journal of Nepal The Geographer’s Point The Himalayan Geographers The Himalayan Review The Third Pole Tribhuvan University Tribhuvan University Journal University Grants Commission Village Development Committee Vikram Samvat
PREFACE The draft ‘Strategic Plan for the Proposed Social Science Research Council in Nepal’ written by Drs Pitamber Sharma, Bal Gopal Baidya, and Dwarika Nath Dhungel was submitted to the Adhoc Council, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare of the Government of Nepal in December 2012. That work was supported by the Social Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF) managed by SNV Nepal. In conversations held between the managers of SIRF and Martin Chautari (MC) in late 2013, it was agreed that MC would undertake some of the works proposed under the title ‘Five Year Operational Strategy’ in the above-mentioned Strategic Plan. In particular, it was agreed that MC would carry out a ‘stocktaking of the state of social science research’ in Nepal. Due to the fact that this work had to be done within a four month period (midNovember 2013 to mid-March 2014), this review exercise was limited to only four disciplines: sociology/anthropology, geography, history and political science. The reviewers of these disciplines were asked to focus on the state of both teaching and research in them in Nepal, assess recent methodological innovations and weaknesses, describe the links between research, publications and their input to teaching in Nepal’s universities and recommend an agenda for the advancement of these disciplines in the country. As the second of these reviews, we are glad to present to you the analysis of the state of geography in Nepal written by Dr Bhim Prasad Subedi, Professor of Geography at Tribhuvan University. In researching for this review, Dr Subedi was ably assisted by his former student Ramesh Rai who is currently a researcher at MC. We thank
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them both for doing this work and hope that it sparks a vigorous debate about how the teaching and research of geography could be restructured in Nepal. We also thank SIRF for providing funds to do these review analyses. Martin Chautari
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INTRODUCTION The social sciences occupy an important position in teaching and research in academia in Nepal and they predate natural science teaching in higher education in Nepal. Starting from the establishment of the Darbar High School and Trichandra College, social science subjects appeared as common offerings in the early years. This tendency continued during the expansion of higher education institutions in the country. It continues today although specific social science subjects may have changed in recent years. Geography, considered as a bridge between natural science and social science and treated as part of natural science in many universities of the world, has been dealt with as one of the social sciences in Nepal. As will be discussed below, geography was recognized as one of the key subjects for high school graduation from the beginning of formal education system in Nepal, further reinforced with the establishment of Nepal School Leaving Certificate (SLC) Board in 1934. Over the past 80 years geography as an academic discipline has traversed a long path. It started its journey with relatively smooth sailing in its early years, compared with some other social sciences. However, it has been passing through a slightly bumpy road in the last few years. The importance of the discipline cannot be said to have decreased but with respect to the declining number of students entering into university geography departments and the fewer offerings in the secondary and higher secondary schools in recent years, its journey as an academic discipline has become more difficult than ever before. This paper intends to review the state of geography teaching and research in
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Nepal. This is not an entirely new effort. There has been a few research undertakings over the last two decades that have dealt with the state of geography covering the period till 2000 (see Subedi and Joshi 1997; Subedi and Poudel 2005; Subedi 2005, 2067 v.s.a, 2067 v.s.b; Poudel 2005; Ranjitkar 2006; Koirala 2008a; Adhikari 2010). Likewise at various occasions the state of geography teaching and research has been reviewed since the 1970s (see Rana 1973; Amatya 1974; Manandhar, Rana and KC 1978; Gurung 1980; Shrestha and KC 1984; Shrestha 1984). Therefore, this paper primarily focuses on the teaching and research status of the discipline after 2000. Nevertheless, some historical aspects have been included for the purpose of contextualizing the disciplinary development in the country. DATA AND METHODS
For this paper, information was collected from various sources with the documentation method as the main method of data collection. Various publications including journals published from geography departments namely the Central Department of Geography (CDG), Kirtipur, the Geography Department under the Central Department of Education, Kirtipur, and the Department of Geography at Prithvi Narayan Campus (PNC), Pokhara have been consulted. Likewise, the publications of professional societies such as the Nepal Geographical Society (NGS) and the Center for Nepalese Geography have been reviewed. With respect to doctoral research work, the Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FOHSS), Tribhuvan University (TU) was consulted and available information obtained. Furthermore, for Masters theses, latest available records were traced from the concerned departments. For the status of enrolment at the higher secondary level, information was collected from the Controller of Examinations, Higher Secondary Education Board. Similar information for undergraduates was obtained from the Office of the Controller of Examinations, TU. The admission records at the Masters level has been obtained from the CDG. Information on the status of human resources in geography
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within TU was obtained from the Personnel Administration Division.1 The author’s own association with TU in general for more than three decades and with the CDG in particular has also been an asset for collecting, compiling and completing information. Nonetheless it must be stated that the documentation system within the university system is much more poor than one would expect. Thus there are information gaps in this paper stemming from the non-availability of required information as well as weaknesses of the author. However, an attempt has been made to utilize available information in the best possible manner in order to present a review and reflection on the current status of geography in Nepal. SETTING THE CONTEXT OF GEOGRAPHY No person passes a day without practicing geography. Geography is everywhere.2
In the history of human civilization the practice of geography is far older than the development of geography as an academic discipline. In the oriental world one can trace the genesis of geography in the Vedic period and in the texts of Upanishads. All 18 puranas, in one way or the other, have described places of various nature, people of various characteristics such as commoner, gods, demons, etc., and more interestingly their residential locations, mobility aspects and interactions/interfaces among and between them. All these descriptions and their discourses fit into what we call geography in hindsight. Unfortunately, for most historians of geography and its practitioners, these descriptions do not fit definitions of geography. Today some trace the genesis of geography to the poem Iliad and the epic Odyssey of Homer, the Greek poet and consider him to be the father of geography (James and Martin 1981). Other scholars consider another Greek scholar named Herodotus (484– 1 For reasons of limited time, more information about student numbers by campuses, theses written in geography from the Faculty of Education, and Masters level enrolment outside the Kathmandu Valley could not be included in this paper. 2 Paraphrased from Demko (1992: 11).
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425 BC) who analyzed historic events in geographical settings as the father of history and geography, and later Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) who developed a ‘real map’ based on the system of grids (Broek 1965). Germany is credited for establishing the first university in Berlin in 1809. After 65 years of the establishment of an organized university, a geography department was opened in Prussia (Germany) in 1874 (James and Martin 1981). After Germany, geography departments were established in France and in other European countries. By 1887, Britain had its first geography department at the University of Oxford. In the South Asian context, the Aligarh Muslim University in India is known for having established the first geography department in the country in 1924 and the subject is largely treated within the social sciences (Kapur 2004). The initial days of establishing geography departments in the universities were not easy and the scope of study differed by country and instructor. There was neither any standard guideline nor any definitional limits of what constituted geography. Thus the philosophical and methodological questions on the nature of geography surfaced in all countries and university departments that initiated geography during the 19th century. During these years, the contents and methods of geography depended upon the discretion of the professors who in reality were not specifically trained in geography. In this context, James and Martin pointed out: In most countries after 1870 it is possible to identify one outstanding pioneer who was chiefly responsible for establishing the scope and methods of the new geography at the university level. But at first the persons who were appointed to university positions in geography had had no previous training in this field. There was no professionally accepted paradigm to serve as a guide to the study of geography. The new appointees had been trained in history, geology, botany, zoology, mathematics, engineering, or journalism. In the absence of any guidelines regarding the field of geography, each new professor felt the need to set forth his own ideas concerning the scope of the field. Each tried to provide a definition of geography that would give it unity and that would establish its position among other disciplines. All around the world in the late 19th century the question echoed through the academic corridors: what is geography? (1981: 163–164)
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Throughout the journey of geography the question of what constitutes geography has continued. Numerous attempts have been made to define the discipline and its scope. An example from the 20th century is that of the presidential addresses of the Association of American Geographers where of all the addresses made between 1904 to 1986, 52 percent dealt with methodology and/or philosophy of the discipline and 48 percent with substance (Abler 1987, cited in Subedi and Joshi 1997). The debate and dilemma continue as to whether to treat the subject as a natural science or a social science or as a bridge between them. THE STATE OF TEACHING In this section the state of geography teaching is discussed first. While dealing with teaching the institutions concerned, the curricula adopted and the human resources involved are discussed. This is followed by a discussion on the status of research carried out by geographers in recent years. GEOGRAPHY TEACHING: THE INSTITUTIONS
There are three types of institutions directly concerned with geography teaching in Nepal. The first are the formal educational institutions such as schools, colleges and universities responsible for imparting geographic knowledge formally. The second are the committees and councils that facilitate the development of the curriculum and its implementation. The third are the professional organizations that reinforce the teaching-learning of geography either directly or indirectly at various levels. Of the three types on institutions, the first is the most visible and important and is thus discussed at some length here. Formal educational institutions involved in the teaching of geography are of three levels – schools, colleges and universities. Geography at the School Level The teaching of geography at the school level started at Darbar High School, Kathmandu in 1910. Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh is credited for this initiative. The curriculum was primarily based on British (Indian)
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system since all the instructors were trained in India and the subject mainly focused on physical geography. By virtue of a curriculum based on the British system, there was hardly any reflection of the Nepali context during the initial years. Texts and supplementary materials were largely based on the Indian experience and were in English. Patan High School followed the Darbar High School with respect to teaching geography. However, it was not until 1934 when the Nepal SLC Board was established that geography became a compulsory subject in the high school curriculum of the country. By then, the matriculation curriculum of geography included aspects of the geography of Nepal as well. Annex I provides a summary timeline of major events and the context of the development of geography teaching in Nepal. It has now been more than a century since the introduction of geography teaching in Nepal and it has crossed several milestones. Its journey started powerfully as a compulsory subject with its share of 10 percent or more of the matriculation syllabus. After 1950 its prior compulsory status was changed to optional (along with history) but its weightage in the matriculation exam increased to one-eighth. After 37 years of its tenure as an independent subject at the high school level, the New Education System Plan (NESP) of 1971 diminished its status as a subset of social studies. Its full marks was decreased to 50 from 100. However, the change in the overall school curriculum in the early 1980s provided the space for geography to again carry 100 full marks but as an optional subject. The difference between the NESP provision and that of the 1980s was that under NESP, despite its low weightage, it was compulsory but under the later provision it was optional. At present, the social studies curriculum includes sections of geography which comprise less than one-third of the total offerings. This means that at the matriculation level, its total share is less than four percent of the compulsory contents for SLC students. During the course of implementing the teaching of geography in the school curriculum, there has been a long felt need for appropriate textbooks in geography in general and on Nepal in particular. As a result, some of those engaged in geography teaching also contributed
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by writing text/reference books during the initial years. Sansarko Ananda (pleasure of the world) by Ram Prasad Satyal and Nepal: A General Geographical Account by Khadga Man Malla (1936) are among the leading contributions of the early days of geography education. In the subsequent years, especially during the 1940s and 1950s, Netra Bahadur Thapa, Ramji Prasad Sharma, Nir Mardan Basnyat, Chandra Lal Singh and Lok Man Singh wrote textbooks in geography to fulfill the felt need in the then existing syllabi (Amatya 1974; Shrestha 1974). These textbooks primarily portrayed geography as an encyclopedic discipline that described countries, mountains, rivers, lakes, crops and their production, urban settlements and some industries. In the 1960s, Sharan Hari Shrestha published Nepalko Saral Bhugol (simple geography of Nepal) and then a series of books on regional geography, geography of Nepal and practical geography. Professor Shrestha, a prolific textbook writer, has been credited for making geography popular at the school level during the late 1960s and 1970s (Shrestha 1974). Overall, geography as a discipline at the school level has gone through ups and downs. Its position has changed from a compulsory subject with 100 full marks in the beginning, to one of two optional subjects to a subject within social studies carrying 50 marks. Currently geography occupies less than one-third of the syllabus within social studies. This shrinking of geography at the school level has not only deprived school graduates from knowing the basics of the country but it has also limited the scope of the discipline in higher education. Moreover, this limit of geography within social studies at the school level has severe implications for the future of geography as a discipline in the country. By 2000, higher secondary education emerged as eminent since 10+2 became an integral part of the school education system. Over the past five years, all Intermediate level education carried out by undergraduate level colleges (constituent and affiliated campuses of TU) was phased out in favor of higher secondary schools. The phase out of the Intermediate of Arts (IA) level from colleges has not been good news for geography and geographers in Nepal. There are numerous
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constraints at work. These include: the focus of schools on grades rather than knowledge; students and parents in favor of scoring higher divisions in the SLC and geography portrayed as a difficult subject to obtain high marks; private colleges perceiving geography as costly among the social sciences, and the relative relegation of geography at the higher secondary level compared to other more favored disciplines. Such issues have collectively resulted in the shrinking appearance of geography at the school level. Geographers have yet to be able to provide a convincing explanation for the need and importance of the discipline to decision makers at various levels. With the phase out of the Intermediate level, the numbers of potential institutions offering geography appear to have increased from a limited number of colleges to all higher secondary schools. But the actual number of institutions offering geography did not increase. Rather the number of institutions or higher secondary schools offering geography as an optional subject has reduced, thereby reducing the number of students in geography education. Figure 1 shows the number of higher secondary schools offering geography and the number of total students that appeared in grade XI final exam in geography from 2000 to 2013. This shows an increase in both the number of students and the schools from 2000 to 2010. The years 2008, 2009 and 2010 show a sizeable increase and this corresponds to the total phase out of the Intermediate level from colleges in Nepal. Among the thirty plus higher secondary schools, there is a slight tendency of clustering. Specifically three clusters are evident: i) Karnali-Seti with Jumla area as the core, ii) Lumbini with Rupandehi as its core, and iii) Gandaki with Kaski and Gorkha forming the core. The reasons for such distributions are unclear. However, the lack of institutions offering ‘science’ and geography considered to be the closest option (e.g., Karnali-Seti), and the presence of experienced teachers supported by good results (e.g., Gandaki) could provide some plausible explanations. Geographically, it is interesting to note that for unknown reasons, a very limited number of higher secondary schools have been offering geography in the eastern and central development region of Nepal.
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Figure 1: No. of Schools Offering Geography and Corresponding Students
Note: Data for 2001–2004 and 2006–2007 are not shown in this figure.
Since 2010 both the numbers of students taking and the institutions offering the subject are on the decline. By 2013, there were only 31 higher secondary schools offering geography and the total number of students choosing geography is only 345. Annex II shows the distribution of 31 higher secondary schools offering geography in 2013 by regions (both development and ecological) and by number of students. It is interesting to note that of all the higher secondary schools offering geography nearly 48.4 percent are located in the western development region. Likewise, of all the students, 63.2 percent are from this region. It is not possible to state the precise reasons for such a situation and this needs a detailed investigation. However, some of the reasons are systemic and have to do with a lack of clear objectives of school education, i.e., what school graduates are expected to know after high school graduation. More specifically the critical question is ‘do school graduates of this country need to know the geographic realities of their country?’ Associated with this is the question of who is responsible for teaching basic geographic information about the country and localities to the future adults/citizens.
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Geography at the Undergraduate Level The teaching of geography at the college level in Nepal started at Trichandra college in 1947. In the beginning, Netra Bahadur Thapa, a geography teacher from Darbar High School, taught Intermediate level courses that were based on the syllabus of Patna University at Trichandra.3 The Intermediate and Bachelors level exams and respective degrees were conferred by Patna University. Rabindra Nath Roy was the first officially appointed ‘professor’ of geography in 1948 when Mrigendra Shamsher Rana was the Director of the Education Department.4 He was brought to Nepal on the recommendation of Professor S.C. Chatterjee of Patna University. However, Roy did not stay long in Nepal. Later, Jagat Bahadur Singh Burathokey was requested to join and take charge of the teaching of geography at Trichandra in 1948. Burathokey has been credited for his initiation and key role in advancing geography to the Bachelors and Masters level at TU. During the initial years of geography education, instructional activities were concentrated within the Kathmandu Valley starting from Trichandra college. It started at the intermediate level within the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (IOHSS) and was extended to Patan Campus in 1954. It is only after more than two decades of geography teaching at the college level in the Kathmandu Valley, that the teaching of geography at the intermediate level was started in PNC, Pokhara in 1970. Mahendra Campus, Dang started teaching geography from 1971. Since then many other colleges have followed suit. In fact, the decade from 1978 to 1988 was the golden period for geography with respect to its expansion at the college level. Of all the colleges offering geography at the undergraduate level, 13 colleges of humanities and social sciences started geography teaching during these years (Subedi and Joshi 1997). In addition, private campuses namely Walling Campus (Syangja), Birendra Sainik Campus (Bhaktapur) and Bhanu Bhakta Campus (Tanahun), also started teaching geography at the intermediate level during the same decade. At present, geography is taught from Darchula Campus in the Far-West to Ilam Campus in the Far-East. 3 4
In its early days Trichandra was an affiliate college of Patna University. Personal communication with senior geographer, Professor Upendra Man Malla.
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Annex III presents some major milestones in the historical development of the undergraduate level teaching of geography in Nepal. From its beginning at the Intermediate level at Trichandra College, TU now offers doctoral degrees and to date at least 15 candidates have already completed their doctoral degrees in geography (discussed later). According to the Office of the Controller of Examinations, TU, there are 28 constituent campuses and six affiliated campuses offering geography in 2013. Enrolment varies and in some years there are no students in geography in some campuses while in subsequent years students are enrolled. For example, the examination record of TU shows that no geography students appeared in the BA first year exam from Doti, Patan and Bhaktapur Campuses in 2013. On the other hand, Ghoda Ghodi Campus, Kailali and Darchula Campus, Darchula are the latest additions in the number of private campuses offering geography. With the emergence of 10+2 schools and offerings of geography in limited schools, the number of campuses offering geography at the undergraduate level has gone down in recent years. Figure 2: Student Enrolment at Bachelors Level in Geography under TU
Note: Since final exams of BA third year 2013 are yet to be held, respective data was not available.
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Figure 2 shows the enrolment pattern at the BA level in the constituent campuses of TU in the last five years, i.e., 2009–2013. Since TU runs three-year Bachelors programs with a yearly examination system, data is presented on an annual basis. On an average 213 students have enrolled annually in BA in geography in the constituent campuses during these years. The figure shows a general tendency of decline in student enrolment at the undergraduate level. However, the decline is not linear. The 2013 enrolment of BA first year students was more than double the corresponding number for 2012. Nonetheless, as Figure 2 demonstrates, one cannot deny the overall tendency of decline in enrolment patterns. Records from the Office of the Controller of Examinations, TU also shows that only 265 students appeared in the BA first year exam with geography as their major subject in 2013. Among them 212 students were from the constituent campuses (see Figure 2). Among the constituent campuses whose students appeared in the BA (geography) exam, 10 campuses were from within the Kathmandu Valley and the rest were from outside. The latter included: PNC (Pokhara), Mahendra Campus (Dang), Butwal Campus (Butwal), Mahendra Ratna Campus (Ilam), Bhojpur Campus (Bhojpur), Tribhuvan Campus (Palpa), Mahendra Campus (Nepalgunj), Birendra Campus (Bharatpur), Dhankuta Campus (Dhankuta), Mahendra Bindeshwori Campus (Rajbiraj), Mahendra Campus (Dharan) and Ramswarup Ramsagar Campus (Janakpur). Of all the constituent campuses, PNC (60) had the largest number of students and Ramswarup Ramsagar Campus had the least (1). Fifty three students from private campuses affiliated to TU appeared in the first year BA exam in geography in 2013 from the FOHSS. They were from Kailali Campus, Siddhanath Campus, Darchula Campus, Marsyangdi Campus, and Ghoda Ghodi Campus. In the Faculty of Education, an additional 37 students from seven campuses appeared in the first year BEd exam in 2013.The campuses from where these students appeared included: Jumla, PNC, Dadeldhura, Surkhet, Thakur Ram,
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Gorkha and Kailali. Jumla and PNC had 13 and 10 students respectively. On the other hand, Kailali and Gorkha campus had one student each. Until 2012, despite the establishment of nine universities in Nepal, geography was offered only at TU. But since 2013, the newly established Far-Western University has started offering Geography and Regional Studies in its four-year Bachelors program. Thirteen students were enrolled in the subject in the first year. Students opting Geography and Regional Studies are required to complete a minimum of 15 courses. This is in addition to compulsory courses in English, Nepali and other subjects that are required to complete the Bachelors level. Each course is of three credit hours. At the end of their undergraduate studies, students taking Geography and Regional Studies as a major will have completed a minimum of 45 credit hours in this discipline. Interested students can opt for Honors with a minimum of five additional courses in this discipline. Geography at the Graduate Level After TU was founded in 1959 its Department of Geography was established in 1960. Geography was one of the few disciplines in humanities and social sciences to begin its Masters level program in the initial years of TU, namely in 1961. The PhD program was started in 1974 with the establishment of the IOHSS. Annex III shows some milestones in the development of graduate level teaching in TU. It presents the main events and associated features related to graduate teaching in geography from 1947 to 1980. Masters level teaching started with four students and four teachers at Tripureshwor with the support of practical level instruments from Trichandra College. After the shift of the University Campus to Kirtipur in the late 1960s, this program has been running at Kirtipur. From 1978 the PNC started to run an MA in geography which has continued since then. Thus, there are two campuses in TU running Masters programs in geography at present. Figure 3 shows the enrolment status at Masters level at the University Campus, Kirtipur based on admission records for the past nine years.
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It has ranged from a maximum of 63 (in 2011/12) to a minimum of 21 (in 2008/09). In 2006, for the first time Masters level classes were run in two shifts – regular classes during day time and additional classes in the morning. This was done on the request of students who were government employees and for whom either an MA (Geography) or an equivalent degree in the natural science stream was required for their promotion at work. Due to their official responsibilities, it was not easy to get an MSc and thus Geography was their obvious choice. This privilege, under good faith, worked well in the initial years. However, over the years this system was misused by those who had difficulty in attending classes due to their posting outside the Kathmandu Valley. A revisit of such provisions is under consideration and the newly introduced semester system is expected to re-examine its implications. The variation in the enrolment figures is due to the provision of regular and additional classes. For example, the lowest number of enrolment in 2008/09 is due to non-enrolment in the morning shift that year.
Number of students
Figure 3: Student Enrolment at the Masters Level in Geography at University Campus, Kirtipur
Setting aside occasional provisions of shifts, on an average the total enrolment in Kirtipur remains roughly in the 40s during these years. In some years it has exceeded 60. However, in terms of actual number who complete the degree in a year the figure is around 25. Of the total students enrolled in the MA program at Kirtipur, one fourth is female. Over the last nine years the proportion of female student has ranged
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from a minimum of 10 percent (2006/07) to a maximum of 52 percent (2010/11). No clear trend of increase or decrease in the enrolment of female students is evident in recent years. The enrolment pattern at PNC is not expected to be much different from that of CDG, Kirtipur. To date, there is no provision of a MPhil program in geography at TU, unlike some other social science disciplines such as economics, sociology, anthropology, and population studies. The likely reasons can be conjectured as stemming from i) lack of demand from the prospective candidates; ii) small size of population of geographers within the university and in the academia; iii) resource problems since it has to run on a cost recovery basis when the prospective stock is small; and iv) to some extent, the time-bound promotion system in the university where years of service is of higher priority than academic excellence. If the situation changes, the possibility of its introduction cannot be ruled out and should not be ruled out to improve the teaching and research in geography in the country. The Committees and Councils Within TU, every discipline running a Masters program has a Subject Committee headed by the chair of the central department of the respective discipline and this applies to geography as well. There is a 21 member committee in which there are 15 members from among those involved in teaching of the subject at various levels, a maximum of two teachers from the affiliated campuses, and three experts from outside the university. The members are appointed by the Dean in consultation with the chair for a three year-term. The main function of the Committee is to promote the teaching, learning and research of the respective discipline within the university. TU Regulations (TU 2050 v.s.) has listed twenty points under the responsibilities of the Committee. They relate to reviewing curriculum and recommending revision, carrying out activities to improve the standard of teaching and research in the discipline, running academic and faculty development programs for the faculty members, and recommending exam related changes if any. In addition, the Committee is expected to implement
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any directives provided by the Faculty Board, Academic Council and the Office of the Dean. As per the Regulation the Committee can do many things to improve the standard of the discipline. However past experience suggests that in reality, due to budget constraints and other reasons, the Committee remains in existence only on paper. Subject Committee terms end without the convening of any meeting for the entire tenure. Nonetheless, it should be noted that a few constraints experienced in the past do not necessarily prevent the Committee from being proactive if there is a strong will among committee members. There is also a provision of a five-member Standing Committee within the Subject Committee to carry-out immediate and urgent activities. The Faculty Board and Academic Councils are other institutions within the university that help promote the discipline. Almost every activity related to curriculum revision, examination provision, faculty development has to be approved by the Board and the Council. The Higher Secondary Education Board also constitutes a Subject Committee for each of the subjects offered at the higher secondary level. Under the overall direction of the Board, the committees oversee the curriculum of the respective subject. There is a subject committee for geography as well. Lately due to the confusion about the Board’s relevance and/or viability after the formal implementation of the School Sector Reform Plan, most of the subject committees have remained passive.5 The Professional Organizations The Nepal Geographical Society (NGS) is the oldest and the main organization devoted to the promotion of geographic education, research and development. Established in 2018 v.s. (1962), it has more than 215 life-members and almost an equal number of ordinary members. The Society publishes journals and books and organizes talk programs and conference/seminars on themes of geographic interest in general and Nepali cases in particular. It has also been promoting activities of
5 This author is currently the Chair of the Subject Committee (Geography) but for more than one year after the constitution of this committee no single meeting has been convened by the Board.
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geography in close collaboration with the CDG, TU. The Himalayan Review is its regular journal published since 1968. Apart from the publication of the journal, its latest notable activity was the organization of a national conference in Pokhara jointly with CDG (4–5 January 2004). The theme was ‘Geography in Nepal: Reflections on Mountain Environment and Human Activities.’ More than 100 geographers and like-minded individuals participated in the conference. Its published proceedings, two volumes, have been widely read by those interested in geography and geographers who work in Nepal (see Subedi and Poudel 2005a; Subedi, Poudel and Poudel 2006). Another organization, the Center for Nepalese Geography was founded in 1991 with the aim of promoting and improving the effectiveness of geography in Nepal. It also published a journal –The Geographer’s Point – for some years (see below). Lately the Geography Students Society has also been set up for advancing geographical activities at the CDG and TU. However, despite the presence of other organizations, the NGS has been the key organization promoting geography in the country. Issues in Teaching Geography in General In spite of all the efforts of the concerned departments, the committees and the organizations, geography teaching and research suffers from a number of institutional, physical, economic and human resource problems that have endured for decades. For example, the problems and issues identified when the IOHSS developed a Seven-year Action Plan in 1978 are still valid (Shrestha and KC 1984) and deserve reiteration. The Plan identified seven major problems and these included: •
• •
Inability of campus teachers to cope with new course contents according to objectives [the latest example is that of the introduction of the three-year BA during 2000], Lack of uniformity in teaching and evaluation, Lack of training for geography teachers,
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• • • •
THE STATE OF GEOGRAPHY TEACHING AND RESEARCH IN NEPAL
Lack of standard textbooks in the campuses inside and outside the Kathmandu Valley, Lack of (access to) foreign journals, Lack of practical classrooms in various geography departments, and Lack of survey instruments, thus hindering the growth of cartographic works in geography.
The last one can be rephrased as a lack of sufficient hardware/software and latest imageries for remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS). It is interesting to note that this plan had also specified basic necessities for class room teaching that needed to be fulfilled immediately. The basics included provision of topo-sheets, drawing tables, aerial photographs, and a departmental library. In addition, the need for the introduction of a regional geography course, provisions for writing and publication of geography text/reference books, training and workshops for geographers, provisions of publication outlets and provisions for research in geography were also identified as issues to be resolved at the earliest. With one or two exceptions all these identified provisions remain unmet to date. THE CURRICULUM
The curriculum is an integral part of instructional activities and it also reflects the strengths and weaknesses of the institutions offering specific degrees. It is through the curriculum and its delivery status that the university departments obtain their reputation and validity worldwide. The curriculum offered within TU is largely at par with universities of the neighboring countries. As noted above, the curriculum of geography was primarily influenced by the curriculum of Indian universities in the beginning. This applies to school as well as to colleges. The reason is quite obvious. First, all geography teachers of the initial years were trained in India and were familiar with the Indian curriculum. Second, the Nepali school curriculum was based on the British-Indian system. Third, Trichandra College had its
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affiliation with Patna University which conferred to its students. Fourth, instructional materials had to be procured from India. Gradually after the establishment of TU, an independent curriculum began to be developed to suit the Nepali case. However, the legacy continued. The Masters level courses in geography during the early 1960s primarily focused on physical aspects. There were courses on physical geography, regional geography and practical (including mathematical) geography. The main focus of regional geography was also the description of the physical aspects of the region. The physical focus was partly because the teachers were trained in physical geography and partly because environmental determinism was the dominant approach during these days. Human geography got its entry as a full course only in the curriculum developed in 1966 with the title ‘Human and Economic Geography’ (Subedi and Joshi 1997; Panday 1998). In the final year students were required to face oral examination that carried a full course weightage of 100 marks. Over the past 55 years, several changes in the curriculum have been made. At the college and university level, the initial curriculum based on the annual system was revised to adopt a semester system when the NESP was implemented in 1971. It was revised when the annual system was again adopted in the 1980s. In 1990 another revision took place where Masters level students were required to complete eight papers, each weighted 100 full marks. A comparative assessment of offerings at the Masters level from 1966 to 1990 has already been presented elsewhere (see Subedi and Joshi 1997). Hence, in this paper only the changes in the curriculum of geography at the Masters level after 1990 is presented. After 1990, it was in 1999 that geography courses at the Masters level were revised thoroughly. This happened in connection with the adoption of the three-year Bachelors degree by TU in place of its earlier practice of a two-year degree. The document M.A. Geography Curriculum 1999 states that courses offered at Masters level were divided into two streams – general and specialized stream (see Table 1). The students were required to take 10 courses with 100 full marks each. These 10 courses included compulsory courses, optional courses on geographic
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techniques and other optional courses. The optional courses were to be offered conditionally depending upon the availability of concerned human resources in the department. The courses were numbered from Geog. 501 to Geog. 582. Five courses – Geog. 501–504 and Geog. 506 – were compulsory for both the streams. There were four specialization streams namely i) rural development planning, ii) environment and development, iii) integrated mountain environment and development, and iv) society, population and development. Apart from eight courses including five compulsory and three optional, there were two courses on each of the specialization streams that the students had to complete to get a degree under the specialized stream. The course Geog. 510 (Thesis) was compulsory for the specialized stream and optional for general stream. Despite provisions for specialization, it was only in 2007/08 that the CDG was able to offer the ‘specialized stream’ on society, population and development. During the other years, the department offered courses in the ‘general stream’ only. A few minor adjustments were made in 2010 as an addendum to the 1999 syllabi. Some sections of physical geography at the Bachelors level were removed on the basis that the syllabus was a little too heavy. At the Masters level, elementary contents of settlement geography were included at the cost of essential contents of human ecology and the paper on Human Ecology was now split into human ecology (section A) and settlement (section B). GIS and Remote Sensing that collectively covered 100 marks in 1999 were split into two full papers, each carrying 100 marks. A few additional titles were added in the list of offerings In its entirety, the content papers to be offered were compromised at the cost of courses on methods. Otherwise, in essence, categorization, numbering system, full marks of the paper, and the examinations system remained as of the 1999 syllabi. All these changes reflect more of countrywide or university wide changes in the education system rather than specific changes in the discipline. This holds for the undergraduate level curriculum as well.
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Table 1: Courses Offered at Masters Level in Geography in 1999 (with 10 papers) Systematic • Advanced geomorphology • Human ecology
Regional Techniques • Seminar on • Research and geographic quantitative problems of Nepal technique
• For General Stream: Any • For both two from the following General and list: Specialized • Advanced agricultural Stream: Any geography two from the • Advanced political following list: geography • Remote • Advanced population sensing and geography GIS • Advanced settlement • Field Research geography Methods • Geography of tourism • Advanced • Regional planning cartography • Migration and and surveying urbanization • Urban geography and urban planning • Environmental Impact Assessment • 10 other courses listed as to be developed* Two courses for each of the four specialized streams I. Rural development planning
• Rural development planning–I • Rural development planning–II
II. Environment III. Integrated and development mountain environment and development • Natural resource • Mountain management climate and • Policy context for hydrology environmental • Mountain development environment, landforms and processes
Other • Modern Geographical Thought • Thesis (optional for general stream and compulsory for specialized stream)
IV. Society population and development • Population, environment and development • Gender and development
Note: Courses written in italics are compulsory courses. Source: CDC (1999). *These include biogeography, cultural geography, medical geography, locational analysis for infrastructural planning, development theories, project analysis, landscape ecology, advanced climatology and political economy of agrarian change.
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Recent Revisions of the Curriculum In 2013 TU decided to (re)introduce the semester system of examination for all Masters degrees within the faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences, Education, and Management in the University Campus and other central departments located elsewhere. The plan is to gradually expand the semester system to other campuses and to the undergraduate level. Some other faculties and institutes of TU have already adopted the semester system. However, the introduction of semester system has taken place rather prematurely and without reassessing what had gone wrong the last time such a system had been introduced. Nevertheless, as per the university directives, the Masters level curriculum in geography has been revised so as to fit the semester system in 2014. Table 2 presents the courses to be offered at the Masters level under the semester system. At the time of writing, the semester curriculum developed was still sketchy and detailed course content for only the first semester had been worked out. However, courses to be offered are divided into core (to geography), compulsory (for degree) and optional courses. Students at the Masters level are required to complete a total of 63 credit hours with at least 19 courses. All courses are of three credit hours except thesis, which is provisionally proposed to be of nine credit hours. A discussion on whether it should carry nine or six credit hours has been ongoing. If its credit hour is reduced to six to bring consistency with other departments of humanities and social sciences, then the total credit hours for a Masters in geography will be 60 which is the normal standard accepted by TU for a Masters degree in humanities and social sciences. The distribution of credit hours per semester is 15, 18, 18 and 12 for the first, second, third and fourth semesters respectively. Currently, a total of 40 course titles have been listed as optional courses. These optional courses are to be offered in consultation with the department according to the availability of concerned experts. Again, except for the first semester, the development of a detailed syllabus is in progress. Courses planned to be offered for the first semester include: Geographical Thought-I, Geomorphology-I, Human Geography-I, GIS-I and Remote Sensing-I.
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Table 2: Courses Offered at Masters Level in Geography under the Semester System from the 2014 Session
• • • •
• •
Systematic Geomorphology– I&II Human geography– I&II Climate, hydrology and bio-geography Applied fluvial and glacial geomorphology (practical) Climate modeling Soil geography and land use
• Applied fluvial and glacial geomorphology (practical) • Climate modeling • Soil geography and land use • Regional development planning • Agriculture and food security • Natural resource management • Geography of tourism • Eco-tourism and sustainable development • Digital cartography (practical) • Advanced applied GIS/RS (practical)
General classification of courses Regional Techniques Other • Research methods • Geographical • Region, regionalism and in geography–I&II thought–I&II • Thesis (9) regional analysis • GIS–I&II • RS–I&II • Geographical problems of • Digital cartography Nepal • Geography of (practical) Nepal • Surveying • Advanced applied GIS/RS (practical)
List of optional courses • Migration and • Urban urbanization development • Land use planning planning • Rural • Global change development and adaptation planning • Geography of • Watershed development management • Geography of • Environmental human resources impact • Spatial planning assessment • Geography of • Gender and health development • Geography of • Advanced federalism political • Water resources geography management • Geography of • Cultural transportation geography • Environmental geography • Ethno-geography • Public policy and governance
• Population and development • Social geography • Economic geography • Surveying • Geography of Nepal • Disaster risk management • Geography of social wellbeing • Development planning • Peri-glacial geomorphology • Industrial geography
Source: CDG, TU, 2014. The recent revision of the curriculum is considered both an opportunity and challenge. It is a welcome opportunity in a university system where changes in curriculum are not easy to undertake and not
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done at frequent intervals. It is an opportunity primarily because i) now many courses can be introduced that give an emphasis to contemporary society and geophysical reality so that geography as a discipline can be matched closer to societal needs, ii) the courses and the instructional methods can be made more interactive, field oriented and student centered so that the external efficacy of geography graduates is further enhanced, iii) an improvement in the examination system can be made so that a formative evaluation system is adopted in place of a rote memory based summative evaluation system, iv) teachers have an opportunity for refresher trainings and academic updates, and v) provisions of resources can be carefully assessed and provided accordingly. The recent change is also a challenge because i) it has been introduced in haste without the much needed preparatory homework, ii) there is a situation of misunderstanding in the sense that most of the teachers have felt this change as something imposed rather than introduced in consultation with the instructors responsible for the delivery of the curriculum, iii) this system has been introduced without assessing why the same system was considered unsuccessful in the past, iv) there is doubt as to whether this system will succeed in imposing discipline on both teachers and students in their respective tasks of teaching and learning, v) the demand for the additional resources required is not easy to fulfill all at once, and vi) the task of de-politicization through intensive engagement of students and teachers with respect to their respective responsibilities will not be easy amidst continued political instability and the interest of political parties to have their fraternal organizations within academia. Nevertheless, setting the challenges aside, it must be recognized that in many respects the semester system is a system of delivering the curriculum efficiently and on time. At this moment of time, we have to see how it progresses. RESEARCH IN GEOGRAPHY Before discussing research work in geography, it should be noted that there are four types of geographies: i) geography as understood and
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practiced by the general public which is reflected in daily conversations, public speeches and newspapers, ii) geography that is practiced by academics who are not trained in the discipline but their work reflects geographical description of places and people, iii) geography that is being taught and which is reflected in the units and sub-units of the school or college syllabi, and iv) geography that is practiced by professionals trained in the discipline and which is reflected in their documents (books, articles, etc.). Of the four types of geography a good example of how geography is understood and practiced in Nepal is presented in Subedi (2067 v.s.a) under the title Bhugolko khojkhabar (the search for geography). Using excerpts from books, newspapers and public speeches, Subedi demonstrates that for the common citizens geography is something that has to do with boundaries of a particular area or an area with natural resources or regional diversity. Likewise the accounts of travelers such as Huien-Tsang’s description of Nepal, historian’s account of the kingdom of Nepal (Kirkpatrick 2007[1811]), essays on languages and religions in Nepal and Tibet (Hodgson 1874), description of hill peoples surrounding the Ganges plain (Kawakita 1974) and the accounts of Himalayan traders (Fürer-Haimendorf 1988[1975]) are a few examples of works by non-geographers containing geographical descriptions of the country. However, for various practical reasons this paper concentrates only on pedagogical and professional geography while discussing research work in geography in Nepal. Before the establishment of TU and especially before the commencement of the Masters program in 1961, there were no systematic research initiatives at the institutional or individual level. Some foreigners and Nepalis had published some books that were related to geography such as Nepal: The Kingdom in the Himalayas (Hagen 1961), Nepal: A Cultural and Physical Geography (Karan 1960), Nepal: A General Geographical Account (Malla 1936) and Bhugol Sutra (Sharma 1960). By present standards, these may not qualify as research work but during those days when teaching and research were not distinctly separated, such publications could be counted not only as textbooks but also as examples of research work of the periods concerned.
1978
1992
2001
The Geographer’s Point
The Third Pole
Mainly aimed as an outlet for research work carried out by geographers at TU but it also accepts contributions from others. It publishes ‘articles on geographical subjects as long as these reflect significant contribution to geographical knowledge, represent concepts and accomplishments of importance to geography and related disciplines.’
The Center was organized by geographers working in the Department of Geography Education, Kirtipur, to promote and improve the effectiveness of geography in Nepal. The journal is ‘dedicated to enrich Nepali geography including the environment for education at all levels.’ Department of Annual publication, The journal intends to ‘disseminate geographical education and Geography Education, latest available volume provide opportunity to stimulate scholars in contributing innovative thought provoking and research based articles to support the Central Department 5-7, 2003 of Education, TU, development of Nepal and also its disciplinary profession.’ Kirtipur
Annual publication, irregular, 7 issues available (volume 3-4 and 8-9 were combined), latest 2010-2011
Nature of publication Remarks and volumes till 2012 Annual publication, The first journal of Nepal by Nepali geographers and continuously 42 volumes, latest published to date. It publishes ‘articles on geographical subjects 2010 which reflect sound scholarship, provide significant geographical information or concepts. Articles on Nepal are given preference.’
Center for Nepalese Official publication Geographers, founded of the Center, latest in 1991 available volume 1014, 2003
Geography Instruction Committee (now, CDG), TU, Kirtipur
Beginning Publisher year 1968 Nepal Geographical Society, founded in 1962
The Geographical Journal of Nepal
The Himalayan Review
Journal
Table 3: Major Geography Journals Published from Nepal and Their Basic Features
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2001
2004
Nepal Bhugol Patrika
Beginning year
The Himalayan Geographers
Journal
Nepal Geographical Society
Department of Geography, PNC, Pokhara
Publisher First published as an occasional paper in 1987. Regular annual publication from 2001, latest available volume 7, 2012 Only one volume to date
Nature of publication and volumes till 2012
Co-publication of The Himalayan Review. The idea was to bring out a publication for articles in the Nepali language. On the one hand it would provide outlets to those who feel comfortable and/or prefer writing and reading in Nepali, on the other, it would disseminate geographic knowledge to those who are not the mainstream geographers.
This journal publishes articles of geographical interest covering wide areas. However, its published issues indicate its regional focus to be the western region in general and the Pokhara area in particular.
Remarks THE STATE OF GEOGRAPHY TEACHING AND RESEARCH IN NEPAL
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In the 1940s and 1950s, books on geography of Nepal were written by Netra Bahadur Thapa, Ramji Prasad Sharma, Nir Mardan Basnyat, Chandra Lal Singh and Lok Man Singh. After the 1960s many books on geography were published. Among textbook writers, Professor Sharan Hari Shrestha deserves credit for making geography popular at the school level. Nepali geographers formally began to publish their research and review results in journals by the late 1960s. The Himalayan Review deserves credit for being the first outlet for geographers in 1968. Gurung (1980) reviewed the nature of articles published in this journal from its early years till 1980. Subsequently, in volume 33 of the publication, articles published since 1968 to 2002 were listed. Since then a few publications have attempted to summarize the broad themes and regional focus of research work of Nepali geographers covering till the end of 20th century (see, Subedi 2005; Subedi and Poudel 2005b; Ranjitkar 2006; Adhikari 2010). Therefore, the following section concentrates only on the articles and theses published after 2000. To begin, the main outlets of geographic research work are the journals published by professional societies and the departments of geography under TU. Thus, before discussing the current research work of geographers, a brief introduction of geography journals in Nepal is essential. To date five Nepali journals on geography are in the public domain. The Himalayan Review, The Geographical Journal of Nepal, The Geographer’s Point, The Third Pole and The Himalayan Geographers. Table 3 presents some of their salient features. In addition to the five major journals (excluding one issue of copublication) mention should be made of Geography Plus published by the Nepal Geography Students’ Society, TU, Kirtipur since 2001.6 Due to student politics, this publication has been renamed twice, as Geographic Base and again as Geographic Vision with volume numbers continued. The original idea was to encourage students to write research papers but unfortunately in subsequent years teachers have dominated in article 6 The first volume had no formal name but was labeled only as Souvenir. It was published in memory of one student, Dipendra Shah, the then Crown Prince of Nepal. The second issue came out as Geography Plus which accepted the Souvenir issue as its predecessor.
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contributions and in its editorials. In any case it has encouraged faculty members and students in bringing out their ideas of geography into the public domain. GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNALS, RESEARCH THEMES AND REGIONAL DIMENSION OF GEOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
By virtue of its nature as a discipline and that of its practitioners, geographers have carried out research work in various fields and/ or themes. These range from environment/natural hazard through land use, settlement, population, tourism to urban studies. Table 4 summarizes the broad themes of the articles published since 2001 in the five journals. A total of 17 themes have been identified based on the core contents of the articles. The themes and the contents of many articles overlap. However for convenience they have been grouped based on the content detail and overall argument of the article. Of all the articles, the theme of livelihood and population tops the rank with 15 percent articles on this theme. Environment, natural hazard and watershed management come next with its one-eighth share. Research articles on the theme of geomorphology, agriculture geography and tourism appear third, fourth and fifth respectively. Other notable areas of geographers’ research include urban studies, socio-cultural issues and methods/techniques, land use/land cover, development, education, and natural resources. No particular difference is evident with respect to the themes of publication among these journals. With respect to dominance, some differences exist. Articles on livelihood and population outnumber others in The Himalayan Review and The Geographical Journal of Nepal. Similarly articles on geomorphology and urban studies dominate in The Himalayan Geographers. Articles on education/curriculum take the lead in The Third Pole. Of all the journals, the thematic coverage of articles in The Himalayan Geographers is more diverse. If The Himalayan Review is any indication, there is a clear shift of geographers’ research in Nepal from their focus on geomorphology and agriculture during the second half of the 1990s (Subedi 2005) to livelihood and population and socio-cultural aspects during the first
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decade after the year 2000. A similar shift from market center and urban studies (Subedi 2005) to population and livelihood, and environment is evident in the case of The Geographical Journal of Nepal. No remarkable change in the thematic focus of the articles in The Himalayan Geographers is apparent during its early years to the present. Its earlier focus on urban studies and geomorphology continues. Table 4: Broad Themes of Research Works Published in Various Geographical Journals of Nepal, 2000–2012 Broad themes/fields of research Livelihood and population Environment, natural hazard and watershed management Geomorphology Agriculture geography Tourism geography Urban studies Methods/techniques Social/cultural aspects Land use/cover/holdings Development (plan & policy) Education/curriculum Natural resources/forest Settlement studies Geography in general/state Market center Climatology Political geography Other areas Total
Name of the journal THR TGJN THG TGP 7 6 5 3 3 4 2 3 3 1 2 4
1 2
1 2 2
1 1 31
1 1 1 1 2
2 21
6 3 2 6 2 1 4 3 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 47
TTP 1 6
1 2 1
1
1 2 2 2 1 1 3 1 1
5
1 22
Total article No. % 19 15.0 16 12.7 10 9 9 7 7 7 6 6 6 5 3 3 3 2 2 6 126
7.9 7.1 7.1 5.6 5.6 5.6 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.0 2.4 2.4 2.4 1.6 1.6 4.8 100
Note: The framework is adopted from Subedi (2005) with minor modifications; THR (The Himalayan Review), TGJN (The Geographical Journal of Nepal), THG (The Himalayan Geographers), TGP (The Geographer’s Point) and TTP (The Third Pole).
The regional dimension of research work is interesting. Table 5 provides an overview of the regional dimension of research work by five categories: Mountain, Hill, Tarai, Nepal and General. Setting aside the general category, it is clear that much of the research work of Nepali
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geographers has been confined to the hills and there has been no change in this situation over the years. For example, Subedi 2005 revealed that in the three journals (THR, TGJN, THG) published from 1968 to 2003, there was a predominance of articles dealing with the hills. The predominance of the hill over other regions in the past and at present may be because: i) the research institutions are largely centered in the hills, ii) the majority of authors are of hill origin, iii) geographers mostly carry out research in areas of proximity (‘convenient geographers’), iv) available resource and funding is limited thus it is not easy to carry out research in distant areas, and v) adventure research publication is not so common among geographers even though geographers are known for adventure travel and excursion. Table 5: Spatial Focus of Research Work in the Geographical Journals of Nepal, by Themes, 2000–2012 Fields/themes of research Livelihood and population Environment/watershed management/ natural hazard Geomorphology Agriculture geography Tourism geography Urban studies Methods/techniques Social/cultural aspects Land use/cover/holdings Development (plan & policy) Education/curriculum Natural resources/forest Settlement studies Geography in general/state Market center Climatology Political geography Other areas Number Total Percent
Spatial focus of research works Mountain Hill Tarai Nepal General 2 10 2 4 1 3 6 2 4 1 2 3 2
1
2 1
7 4 1 5 3 5 1 2 2
1 1
5 1 3 4 4 1
1
1 51 40.5
1 7
1
3 1 1 1 18 14.3
1 1
1
1 3 1
1 9 7.1
1 28 22.2
1 2 20 15.9
Total 19 16 10 9 9 7 7 7 6 6 6 5 3 3 3 2 2 6 126 100
Note: Articles included are from the journals specified in Table 4 above. This framework is adopted from Subedi (2005) with minor modifications.
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The Tarai is grossly overlooked by geographers in their research work. The earlier work analyzing articles in three main journal till 2000 had already demonstrated the poor coverage of the Tarai in the research work of geographers (Subedi 2005). There has been some improvement i.e., from 4.3 percent to 7.1 percent coverage, but given that the Tarai hosts fifty percent of the total population and the largest area of agriculture land, this is a gross under coverage. The mountain case is a little better; its coverage of eight percent earlier according to the same source has now reached 14.3 percent. This may not be considered satisfactory coverage given enormous potential research areas such as tourism, climate change and the glacial and peri-glacial environment related to the Himalayas. However, compared to the Tarai, it has not been grossly neglected. Apart from ecological regions, a number of articles have also discussed geographic issues related to Nepal in general rather than in terms of areas within a specific ecological zone. This tendency is on the decline: focus of 31.9 percent of the articles till 2000, it has now gone down to 22.2 percent in recent years (Table 5). This is an indication that the scale of geographic research in recent years has been more towards micro-level studies and that the unit of analysis is shifting to specific regions, districts and the village development committees (VDCs)/municipalities. Apart from geographical journals, a number of articles by Nepali geographers have been published in journals of other departments and research centers/divisions of TU. Some of these journals include: Tribhuvan University Journal (TUJ), Contributions to Nepalese Studies (CNS), Nepalese Journal of Development and Rural Studies (NJDRS), Population and Development in Nepal (PDN) and Nepal Population Journal (NPJ). A total of 44 articles contributed by geographers were identified in the recent issues of these journals and they covered 10 broad thematic areas (Table 6). Of all the themes, population and livelihood, rural development issues and urban studies are dominant in the contributions made by geographers. Because some of these journals have specific themes, articles published there reflect the respective themes. This is true for geographers’ contributions related to population and rural development. Many geographers who have been associated with the Department of Rural Development have their articles published in
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NJDRS. On the other hand, the articles published in TUJ and CNS cover diverse themes. Overall, the themes of geographers’ contributions in all journals suggest that irrespective of journals, themes such as population, development, urban studies, market center, and environmental hazards have remained the main areas of contributions. Table 6: Broad Geographical Themes of Research Articles Published by Geographers in Journals of other Departments and Institutions within TU Broad themes TUJ CNS NJDRS PDN NPJ Total Percent Population and livelihood issues 1 2 6 3 12 27.3 Development issues (rural) 2 1 8 11 25.0 Urban studies 1 3 1 5 11.4 Market/market center 3 3 6.8 Environment/hazard 1 2 3 6.8 Natural resources & management 3 3 6.8 Political geography 1 1 2 4.5 Gender 1 1 2.3 Social inclusion 1 1 2.3 Others 1 1 1 3 6.8 Total 5 10 19 6 4 44 100
Note: 1. The framework is adopted with minor modifications from Subedi (2005); 2. Since NJDRS, PDN and NPJ are relatively new journals, all their issues have been covered while for TUJ and CNS, only articles published after 2000 are included.
In this context, mention must be made of the contribution of geographers working outside the university and the colleges. The contributions of many senior geographers have been covered briefly elsewhere (Panday 1998; Adhikari 2010) and only a few examples are noted here. The contribution of Buddhi Narayan Shrestha on boundary issues especially between Nepal and India and its implications is an important addition to geographic literature in Nepal. His books (e.g., Shrestha 2000) and articles have come out of his long association with the survey department of the government of Nepal where he had the opportunity to study and examine all boundary protocols and its implications. Jagannath Adhikari’s work on food crisis in Karnali and essays on Nepal’s development since 1990 among others, are notable publications that have raised geographers’ image in Nepali academia in
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general (see Adhikari 2008a, 2008b). This is not to forget Harka Gurung for his numerous publications that raised the prestige of geographers and geography of Nepal.7 Professor Pitamber Sharma deserves special credit for his continued work on the issue of urbanization in Nepal (see Sharma 1989, 2063 v.s.) and his latest work on unraveling the ethnic mosaic of Nepal (Sharma 2008). Both Gurung’s and Sharma’s works have been widely read as contributions of geographers. Likewise, Professor Bhim Prasad Subedi’s works on migration humanizes geography through the incorporation of an insider’s perspective, use of metaphor and local knowledge and more importantly questions the transnationalism of western knowledge on migration studies in Nepal (e.g., Subedi 1999, 2000). His conceptual contribution to studies of territorial mobility has been used in anthropological research work as well (Nelson 2013). Adhikari (2010) has also referred to them as making significant contributions in geographic research in Nepal. DOCTORAL RESEARCH WORKS
For many researchers in developing countries, it is often said that doctoral research work is the best piece of research work in their career. It is not an overstatement to say that this applies to the research work of Nepali geographers. It would be interesting to analyze the research of individual geographers and trace the changes taken place in their work and themes over the years. Unfortunately, this task has to be set aside at this point. However, it can be safely stated that among geographers who have doctoral degrees, few have continued with the same theme and some have not carried out substantial research work since obtaining their PhDs. The number of PhD holders in geography in Nepal, their degree offering institutions and the main fields of their doctoral research covering the period from 1965 to 2002 have been summarized elsewhere (see Ranjitkar 2006). A total of 47 Nepalis have completed their PhD in geography from various universities in the world, including Nepal. 7
See the special issue of The Himalayan Review, Vol. 38 (2007) for articles on Gurung’s works. Also see Sharma (2007).
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Thus, in this paper, those candidates who have completed their PhD in geography from TU from 1980 to 2013 have been covered. Available records from TU suggest that a total of 15 candidates have completed their doctoral degrees in geography since 1980 (see Annex IV). Chandra Bahadur Shrestha was the first person to obtain a PhD in geography from TU in 1980. His dissertation focused on urban hierarchy in the Araniko Highway corridor capturing both urban and rural settlements (Shrestha 1980). In general, the broad sub-fields of geography covered in the doctoral works at TU can be grouped into categories that include urban geography, agriculture, population, development, transport and tourism (Table 7). Within the sub-field of urban geography four dissertations have been completed. Their main research themes include urban hierarchy, urban centers, urban land use and land value, and open space and their roles in the urban landscape of the cities. Similarly, four doctoral research works have been carried out within the sub-field of agricultural geography. They can be sub categorized into two areas, namely, i) those centered on agricultural land use/land cover, and land use dynamics and ii) those centered around landholding, labor and agricultural change, plus diffusion of innovation of agricultural inputs. The first sub-category may also be recognized as part of natural resource management but because large parts of the text deal with agricultural related land use, utilization and human responses, they have been subsumed within agricultural geography. The three pieces of research on the sub-field of population geography are largely centered on the issue of peoples’ livelihoods in particular areas and among particular communities. All three research works focused on the hills covering the eastern, central and western region. Water use, impact of proximity to major urban center and the impact of road access in these three works have been correlated with livelihoods of respective study units. Doctoral research work in geography at TU from the only non-Nepali student focused on the geography of transport with a reflection of his own experience in the development sector in Nepal (Griesbaum 2004). The only female geographer to complete her PhD from TU to date looked at tourism issues from an economic perspective
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at the macro (national) and micro level (settlement hamlets of scenic and tourism attraction) in the central hills (Pradhan 2007). Table 7: Subfields, Research Theme, Spatial Unit of Analysis and Regional Focus of PhD Dissertations in Geography at TU, 1980–2013 Broad disciplinary sub-field Urban geography
Research theme
Spatial unit of analysis
Region and urban/rural
Urban hierarchy (Shrestha 1980)
Araniko corridor
Hill (central) – rural and urban
Urban land use/land value change (Ranjitkar 1983)
Urban fringe of Kathmandu
Hill (central) – urban
Urban center and development Prithvi highway (Pande 2010)
Hill (western) – rural and urban
Role of traditional open space in the city (Sharma 2013)
Municipality
Hill (central) – urban
Land use/cover dynamics (Khanal 2003)
Watershed (Madi)
Hill (western) – rural
Land use dynamics (Oli 2003)
Watershed (Begnas Hill (western) – and Rupa, Kaski) rural+
Land, labor and agricultural change (Chapagain 2009)
Valley (upper Manang)
Mountain (western) – rural
Diffusion and innovation of agricultural inputs (Pathak 2010) Water use and livelihood change (Rijal 2006)
VDCs
Hill (central) – rural
Watershed (Madi)
Hill (western) – rural
Livelihood of marginal communities (Rajbansi 2009)
VDC (settlement)
Hill (central) – peri-urban
Spatial pattern of agro-based livelihood (Khatiwada 2013)
Micro watershed and hill
Hill (eastern) – rural
Geography of Political economy approach development to poverty and agricultural development (Sharma 2009) Role of NGO in rural development (Nepal 2010)
Valley (Dang)
Inner Tarai (mid -western) – rural Hill (western) – rural and urban
Geography of Rural centers and integrated transport transport network (Griesbaum 2004) Geography of Tourism enterprises (Pradhan tourism 2007)
Kathmandu-Jiri road corridor
Agriculture geography (land use, landholding, labor)
Population geography (livelihoods)
District (Palpa)
Hill (central +) – rural and urban Nepal (country as a rural – urban whole & settlement (mainly central hamlet) hill)
Note: For references, see Annex IV. Source: Author’s personal communication and Office of the Dean, FOHSS, TU 2013.
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The spatial units of analysis of these doctoral research works are diverse and range from the country as a whole to units as small as the VDC/municipality or the settlement hamlet. A number of researchers have also used sizeable watersheds as their units of generalizations while others have utilized road corridors. Still others have concentrated on Valley (physical unit) or district or VDC (political unit) or settlement as their units for analysis. With a few exceptions all research are hill centered with their concentration in the central and western hills. All theses completed in geography from TU are extensively field based. The documents are very rich in describing empirical data with adequate texts, figures, maps and illustrations. Descriptions of study locations are elaborate and research issues are discussed well. However, most theses suffer from methodological and philosophical weaknesses especially in developing their research frameworks, presenting their arguments and linking their empirical findings with theoretical developments in the discipline and in the social sciences in general. MASTERS LEVEL RESEARCH WORKS
The themes of Masters level research work in geography at CDG, TU till 2003 has been summarized elsewhere (Subedi 2005). It is sufficient to mention here that the 296 theses written until 2013 had covered 18 broad fields of geographic research. The field of agriculture topped the ranks with 23 percent of the total theses, followed by population and land use occupying their share of 9.1 percent each. The other main themes were urban studies, forest, environmental hazards, tourism, and resource management. Table 8 summarizes the themes and spatial focus of theses research of MA students from TU for the period 2000 to 2013. It includes research carried out from both institutions running MA in geography, i.e., CDG and PNC. A total of 356 theses were available of which 280 were from CDG and 76 from PNC. Among the theses from CDG, the largest proportion had livelihoods as the main theme followed by population/ migration and studies of socio-economic issues. Agriculture, land use, and tourism come next. This is a little different in the case of PNC: population/
1 12 4.3
2
5
1
1
Mountain CDG 2
6 6 5 6 169 60.4 6 74 97.4
7 7
1 3 1 2 45 16.1 2 2.6
Spatial focus of research works Hill Tarai CDG PNC CDG PNC 13 8 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 10 3 4 9 7 1 7 1 6 2 16 3 2 1 3 14 13 4 1 14 4 7 48 2 4 11 10 2
Note: This framework is adopted from Subedi (2005) with minor modifications. Source: CDG, Kirtipur and PNC, Pokhara, TU.
Agriculture Biodiversity Development planning Economic (general) Environment Hazard Geomorphology Land use Political Population/migration Resource management Socio-economic Livelihood Tourism Trade and transport Urban Forest Education Other areas Number Total Percent
Themes of theses
1 3 28 10.0
1 4
1
1 4 3 8
1
Nepal CDG 1
1 26 9.3
1 2
4 2 2
1 3
4
Sikkim CDG 6
Total Number CDG PNC 25 9 1 2 2 1 15 3 14 7 13 1 3 23 4 7 29 13 1 27 4 54 2 20 10 1 12 7 13 7 7 13 6 280 76 100 100
Table 8: Geographic Theme and Spatial Focus of Masters Theses at CDG and PNC, 2000–2013
100
100
Percent CDG PNC 8.9 11.8 0.4 2.6 0.7 1.3 5.4 3.9 5.0 9.2 4.6 1.3 1.1 0.0 8.2 5.3 2.5 0.0 10.4 17.1 0.4 0.0 9.6 5.3 19.3 2.6 7.1 13.2 0.4 0.0 4.3 9.2 4.6 9.2 2.5 0.0 4.6 7.9
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migration emerges as dominant, followed by tourism and agriculture. Environment, urban studies and forest issues are other themes of research of a considerable number of MA students at PNC. Environment, hazards, population/migration, land use and social economic aspects have remained as constant areas of research whereas research on climatology and industry have discontinued. More importantly, agriculture as a dominant theme of geographic research has not been as vibrant as it used to be in the past. The course offerings and the expertise of the faculty members are likely to be the main factors behind these changes. The regional focus of Masters level research has not changed much and the hill dominates as the prime region of the researchers’ preference. This is especially true in the case of PNC where more than 97 percent theses have focused on hill related issues and the bias has increased from the perspective of regional balance. The earlier publication covering the period from 1983-2003 showed that 93 percent of MA research works in PNC had focused on the hill areas (Subedi 2005). Considering the research of both these institutions together, the increase in the share of hills over the years has also been evident and it has come at the expense of taking the nation as a whole as the unit of analysis. In addition, since 2000 a total of 26 theses about Sikkim have been completed by students coming from Sikkim. Themes of research in the latter region, however, remain the same as those covering Nepal. THE QUALITY OF PUBLICATIONS
As the above discussions have established, the number of research articles, journals, theses and dissertations has increased significantly over the time. Likewise, the themes of research have diversified. Although theses (100 full marks) are not compulsory for the general stream, with respect to taking and/or offering courses, it has been almost compulsory. Its compulsory status has been beneficial to students in many ways: i) they get an opportunity to undertake ‘independent’ research and ii) it helps them obtain good marks and therefore a higher division in the exam results. The disadvantage is that it is time-consuming and very few
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students have been able to complete their degree within the prescribed duration (i.e., two years). Doctoral research work is no exception with respect to delay in the completion of dissertations. The proliferation of research articles and the increased interest among college/university geographers to publish is also linked to the promotion system of the university where the number of publications carries special weight. In the recent promotion system of the TU, of the total possible score of 200, various types of research and publications carry 32 points for the position of Associate Professor (Reader) and Professor. This provision has provided impetus for university teachers to carry out research and publications. While it is important to note the incentive factor leading to proliferation of publications in recent years, many good publications have appeared without expectations of promotion. One of the main problems with geographers’ publications is repetitiveness. Articles of similar themes repeat the same idea with almost the same data. This indicates a lack of homework among geographers especially on whether one’s own article brings new knowledge to the field or adds value. Many articles even fail to acknowledge, knowingly or unknowingly, similar works of earlier authors. Another salient feature is the descriptive approach where articles represent the empirical findings with hardly any explanation of why such patterns may have emerged. Despite noticeable increases in the number of publication and doctoral and MA level research works, the quality aspect of research work is mixed. There has been improvement in the detailing of the methodology section of research. The quality of maps included especially in doctoral dissertations has improved and the format for citing references has been standardized. However, not all dissertation research works in recent years have been able to demonstrate theoretical and methodological thoroughness. Literature reviews remain as rituals in dissertations. In such reviews, most often the main arguments are missed let alone their relevance and value to later findings. Even the lessons learnt and creating space for the candidate’s results – a must in literature reviews – are ignored. Part of the reason for such lapses lies in the system adopted for enrolment and supervision of candidates.
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Because doctoral candidates lack rigorous methodological exercise due to the absence of formal course requirements, they depend upon their supervisor’s expertise and on their own diligence. The task of approving and/or assigning the supervisor, as per TU regulations rests on the Research Committee headed by the Dean of the respective faculty. During this process, earlier acquaintance of the respective people involved prevails at the expense of thematic expertise. Thus, dissertation quality suffers. Further, journals are yet to adopt a peer review process while selecting articles for publication. While editors attempt to be as independent and unbiased as possible, they cannot be free of the ‘human’ factor at work while making final selections of articles. In some occasions, there is a rush to publish articles for speedy career promotions within TU. In such situations, the incentives to publish articles are far greater than often realized. The editors (and publishers) face a paradoxical situation: they request for good articles from experts and senior researchers, but are more often approached by ‘other needy’ contributors. Since obtaining ‘quality’ articles is not easy and is time consuming, editors/publishers are faced with a difficult choice and during this process, the quality aspect suffers. There is a need to change this situation. Discussions for the need of peer reviews of articles have been held for some years. The realization that adopting a peer review system is not a big deal and such a process is to the benefit of all stakeholders has yet to be recognized in practice. THE RESOURCE SITUATION
The discussion on resources focuses on two aspects: human and financial. The Human Resource Situation In 2012 there were 182 people formally holding various levels of teaching (and research) positions at geography departments of TU. This is a significant increase compared to 1978 and 1985. In 1978 there were 31 geography teachers holding similar positions (Manandhar, Rana and
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KC 1978) and in 1985 there were 88 (Subedi and Joshi 1997). No gender disaggregated information was available for the former two dates but in the case of 2012, only 10 percent of teachers were female. There were only four professors and six Associate Professors in 1985 but in 2012, the number had increased to 16 and 78 respectively. By all academic standards, the hierarchical distribution of university teachers should have been like a pyramid, where there are a few Professors, sizeable number of Readers, more Lecturers and many more Teaching Assistants (TAs). But the current distribution at TU is like a convex structure where there are more Readers and Lecturers than either Professors or Assistants. Table 9 demonstrates the distribution of human resources in geography at TU by levels and by sex. Of the total human resources, 43 percent are Readers and 27 percent Lecturers. This apparent convex structure has much to do with the liberal and time-bound promotion system adopted by TU lately. It is further reinforced by creating positions of higher ranks by political pressure. If this system continues, it is not unlikely that the human resource structure at TU will have an inverse pyramid shape with more faculty at the top level. Table 9: Distribution of Geography Teachers at TU, 2012 Faculty rank Professor Reader Lecturer TA Total
Male 16 69 43 36 164
Number Female 0 9 6 3 18
Total 16 78 49 39 182
Percent Total Female 8.8 0 42.9 11.5 26.9 12.2 21.4 7.7 100 9.9
Source: Personnel Administration Division, TU.
The overall distribution of human resources is uneven and can be interpreted as Kathmandu Valley centered. Most senior level position holders and the female teachers are stationed in the Valley. Figure 4 demonstrates the distribution of various levels of human resource in geography in two categories namely Kathmandu Valley and outside and also shows the distribution by sex. Of the total 15 female faculty members only three are stationed outside the Kathmandu Valley. Among the TAs
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(i.e., new entrants) the proportion of females is slightly lower, i.e., 7.7 percent against the overall proportion of 9.9 percent. Whether this lower participation of female among new entries is due to the unavailability of female geographers in the market and/or unwillingness among them especially to work outside the Kathmandu Valley is not known. With respect to academic competitiveness, no study has reported a significant difference between male and female geography graduates. Figure 4: Human Resource Situation at the Geography Departments, TU
It has been noted that the level wise distribution of human resources in geography is uneven with respect to the Kathmandu Valley and outside the Valley. However, even the distribution within the Valley campuses is uneven (Table 10). In 2014, a total of 79 teachers were working in eight departments in the seven campuses in the Valley. Of all these departments, the one in Mahendra Ratna Campus, Tahachal had the highest number of teachers. It also has the largest number of parttime teachers as TAs. With respect to levels, most high level teachers are at the University Campus, Kirtipur which is logical because Masters and Doctoral level programs are offered there.
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Table 10: Level wise Distribution of Geography Teachers in the Constituent Campuses of TU in the Kathmandu Valley, 2014 Campus Professor University Campus (Humanities) 6 3 University Campus (Education)* Patan Multiple Campus Ratna Rajya Campus 1 Trichandra Campus Padma Kanya Campus Mahendra Ratna Tahachal* Bhaktapur Campus Total 10
Reader 4 4 3 3 6 6 7 4 37
Lecturer 4 2 5 2 1 3 3 20
TA 1 2 1 1 1 6 12
Total 15 11 9 7 6 8 16 7 79
*Refers to campuses where geography is taught under the Faculty of Education. Source: Respective Campuses, 2014.
The largest pool of human resources in geography is the Nepal Geographical Society with 215 life-members and other ordinary members who have obtained at least a Masters degree in geography or have Masters degree in other subjects and have done work related to geography in Nepal. Its activities, though limited, represent the collective voice of geographers in Nepal (for more see section on ‘State of Teaching’). The Financial Resource Situation The availability and adequacy of research funds have continued to be issues related to quality in geographic research. As a result, as noted above, good quality research work is largely limited to doctoral dissertations. Many publications in the past have been the result of collaborative research effort with universities and institutions of foreign countries. Edited books such as Vegetation and Society (Chaudhary et al. 2002) and Local Efforts of Global Changes in the Himalayas (Chaudhary et al. 2007) were the efforts of collaborations with a Norwegian university. Likewise, the publication of two volumes of proceedings of a national seminar (Subedi and Poudel 2005a; Subedi, Poudel and Poudel 2006) was made possible with the joint funding of a Swiss university and TU plus the Nepal Geographical Society. These are just a few examples. However,
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these collaborative works are not stable sources for various reasons and are limited to those who have institutional affiliation and access. The University Grants Commission (UGC) is one of the main sources of funding. As a general policy, it provides grants to MPhil and PhD candidates and a few geographers have benefited from this. It supports institutional and faculty research grants to those affiliated to universities in Nepal and some geographers have also benefitted from this provision.8 Financial support provided by the UGC has also helped publish some edited volumes in the case of the CDG (Pradhan, Subedi and Khanal 2010; Pradhan 2011). The UGC also provides token support for participation (with paper presentation) in seminars and workshops within the SAARC countries. Within TU, the Research Division calls for applications for mini-research grants with limited amounts and geographers qualify for this as well. The Office of the Rector also has a token provision of supporting MPhil and PhD candidates for their research and thesis production. These provisions are nominal (in terms of the financial support amount) but as the Nepali proverb goes, something is better than nothing. Nevertheless, for substantive and basic research in geography there is an absolute dearth of resources. More importantly, for geography neither there is an anchoring ministry or department in the government nor any council that provides such support. The present situation is such that geographers themselves have to come up with the ways and means to strengthen their research work. THE LINKS BETWEEN RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS AND TEACHING
The links between research publications and teaching have consistently been poor. Dissertation work has been the most efficient way to link current research with the field and classroom readings. The practice so far suggests that it is because i) literature review is a must in such research work, ii) degree candidates also try to find relevant research work in the discipline or on themes during the conceptualization stage 8
Currently the institutional grant amounts up to NRs. 1,000,000 and the faculty grant up to NRs. 200,000.
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of proposal writing, and iii) as far as possible, supervisors and externals demand the links of doctoral or MPhil research product with earlier research. Otherwise, the link between research product and class room teaching is poor. The poor link is partly due to different understandings and practices of geography. These can be summarized as: •
•
•
•
•
Many geographers are engaged in research activities which common people do not associate with geography. Geographers have not yet been able to convincingly make people aware that geography is much more than encyclopedic knowledge or the making of maps. Many geographers have to work on ‘others’ agenda and initiatives for their livelihood. Amidst the need to provide for families and earn a livelihood, the link between work and taught geography is not prioritized. Some geographers have carried out research on very specific issues and at the level of micro-details. Such research work becomes too specific to fit into the curriculum configured for students overall. At times, country specific unique research issues are initiated by experts from outside. When external resources enter, it comes with the interest of the funding institutions. Further, many pertinent issues concerning Nepal in general and geography in Nepal in particular are country specific and they do not become research agendas for external funding agencies. For example the unique social and cultural geography and the insiders perspectives are not a priority research agenda for outsiders and thereby they are not eligible for funding. The educational system of the country is also an issue to some extent. The rigid structure of the curriculum and examination system which minimizes the role of the instructors is not conducive to bring recent research into the classroom. The annual four-hour examination system based on a rigid structured syllabus has not encouraged students to pay attention to the latest research. Although overall the curriculum is not as rigid as is often thought
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and with the endorsement of the Subject Committee changes can be incorporated in it, limited resources hamper regular changes. This resource limitation is especially so for the departments that have limited enrolment. Despite all these issues there is always room for improvement and the Subject Committee can be proactive and incorporate new ideas in the curriculum. For innovative persons there are opportunities but the environment to take such an initiative is not conducive all the time. The semester system that is to be introduced may prove an important opportunity to address some of the limitations discussed above and as noted above, the proposed syllabus is headed towards this direction. Textbooks are important instruments for linking research and teaching. Over the past decades, a number of textbooks have been written especially for the undergraduate level. However, these textbooks have not been able to incorporate recent research. The style of writing still follows the traditional classical style. Indeed it is not clear if the textbook authors actually have mastery of the themes/subjects with respect to content, recent research methods and the delivery of the curriculum. Nevertheless, the limitations related to textbooks are not only related to the authors but also linked to the systems followed within the universities. For example in TU teaching and research are invariably separated. There are research institutions such as the Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS), Centre for Economic Development and Administration (CEDA), Research Centre for Educational Innovation and Development (CERID) and Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST) to carry out research and there are various disciplinary departments that are primarily perceived as teaching departments only. Funding is also allocated accordingly. Whatever research have been carried out in the departments are primarily due to the efforts of individual faculty members and not necessarily as a result of resources allocated by the university system. The problematic situation is that those who have been engaged in carrying out research works hardly write textbooks and those who have written textbooks have been marginally engaged in research.
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METHODOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS AND WEAKNESSES RECENT METHODOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS IN GEOGRAPHY
The recent history of geographic research also demonstrates some methodological innovations. A few selected and notable areas of methodological innovation and/or development are: •
•
•
•
•
•
•
Extensive application of GIS and remote sensing: While the use of aerial photograph was an integral part of the curriculum since the early days, the use of satellite imagery and GIS is a relatively new phenomenon of the 1990s. Geographers have used GIS and remote sensing as tool to analyze land use and resource inventory. Its utilization has been gradually stirred to decision support system and now developed as GI science (for examples of its use see Ghimire 2011; Koirala 2008b; Mandal 1999, 2004; Chapagain 2009). Application of insiders’ approach as a powerful explanation to unfold socio-cultural reality and the use of metaphor (Subedi 1993, 1999). Indigenous knowledge to explain farming systems and agricultural suitability of crops in different soils (Subedi and Chapagain 2008; Chapagain 2009). Application of the genealogical method in explaining people’s mobility through the generations. Here quantitative information from genealogy is integrated with qualitative information of historical events so that intergenerational mobility is contextualized over space through time (Subedi 2000). Application of models/indices developed in other disciplines to objectively explain the social mosaic of the country (Subedi 2002, 2010; Sharma 2008; Koirala 2008b). Application of distance related indices and the bringing in of various contents within the purview of geography (Pradhan 1997; Poudel 1998; Khanal 2003; Nepal 2010; Khatiwada 2013). The use of development frameworks in contemporary research, e.g., sustainable livelihood framework (Rijal 2006; Rajbanshi 2009).
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EMERGING THEMES OF RESEARCH AND TEACHING
Normally, a country’s overall development needs provide directions for geographic research. As early as the late 1970s Manandhar, Rana and KC (1978) identified eight priority areas for research in geography. These included: i) land use and land capability, ii) agricultural typology, iii) location of services, iv) spatial diffusion, v) transportation and regional development, vi) growth poles and growth centers, vii) erosion problems, and viii) area studies. After almost 20 years Subedi and Joshi (1997) noted 10 missing dimensions in teaching and research in geography. These included: i) computer cartography, ii) GIS, iii) environment, ecology and biodiversity, iv) population dynamics, v) structuration (dialectical synthesis between the polarities of structure and agency), vi) methodological development including theoretical issues and in methods of investigation, vii) tourism, viii) bio-geography, ix) medical geography, and x) natural hazards and its management. During the past 17 years, some of these areas such as tourism, population dynamics, GIS, natural hazards, and ecology have been able to draw the attention of geographers. However, many issues listed then and those listed in 1978 still remain outstanding as unaddressed agendas. Geography has to cope with environmental and societal changes and with emerging issues through research and the curriculum. This is more so when geography is treated as a social science and instructional activities are run via the FOHSS. With changes in the socio-demographic and political situation of the country, new issues are emerging in the social landscape creating new avenues of research for explaining the social reality of the country. As Nepal is passing through demographic, social and political transition in recent years, new themes have emerged in geographic research. Some of the emerging themes especially in human geographic research can be summarized as follows. Livelihood: It has become one of the emerging areas of research for geographers in the late 1990s and the 2000s (Subedi and Pandey 2002; Adhikari 2008a; Subedi et al. 2007; Pradhan, Subedi and Khanal 2010). The application of the sustainable livelihood framework as developed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) became
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popular among geographers for their doctoral and MA level research as well as for professional research. The number of doctoral and MA theses on this topic (see above) clearly reveal this. The livelihood agenda has added a new dimension in population geographic research by linking the quality aspects of population composition with socio-economic and vulnerability issues of the households. Social Inclusion/Exclusion: A common statement about Nepal is that it is a country of physiographic and social diversity. One expression of social diversity is caste/ethnic diversity. Since some people of caste/ ethnic groups enjoyed state power, they were privileged while some caste/ethnic groups were excluded from the mainstream development process. This was not a new phenomena but the debate became vibrant after the restoration of democracy in 1990. The social inclusion/ exclusion debate obtained further reinforcement during the decade long internal conflict (1996–2006). A debate on whether it is spatial exclusion, social exclusion or something else has also been brought to academic discussion (see Subedi 2009). The National Foundation for the Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN) and the Social Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF) have further contributed to research on inclusion/exclusion issues. A number of geographers have contributed to this debate especially after 2000 (see Annex V). More importantly, it has become a formidable agenda of geographic research in Nepal lately. Gender Issues: It has also emerged as an important theme of recent research in many social sciences and geography is no exception. However, geographers’ entry into this field of research has been rather late. Issues such as gendered space and gender inequality are often mentioned in professional gatherings and workshops of geographers (e.g., the Geographers Meet in Pokhara 2004) but substantive research by geographers in these themes has yet to be undertaken. At present, articles on gender in the geographical journals and by geographers are an exception (see Subedi and Baral 2008). State Restructuring: It has been a political agenda of the country and it has been assumed that it will address the existing social and economic inequalities prevalent within various social groups and between regions.
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Presently the Nepali socio-political landscape is immersed in the debate on whether state restructuring should be based on single ethnic identity or multi-ethnic identity or it should be geography- and resource-based. The election manifestoes of various political parties for the Constituent Assembly election in November 2014 clearly reflect this. As the debate continues, it has become an emerging issue for geographic research and a topic in which geographers have contributed to some extent. Notable among these include Manandhar, Shrestha and Sharma 2065 v.s.; Manandhar and Sharma 2066 v.s.; Sharma, Khanal and Tharu 2009; Sarbahara 2065 v.s.; Subedi 2066 v.s. (see Annex VI). Disaster/Hazard Management: This is an important area of geographic research and a number of geographers are engaged in the mapping of disaster and hazard prone areas with their biophysical and social characteristics. A number of reports are available in which Nepali geographers have contributed.9 Climate Change and Related Issues: Although climate change has long existed, there has been a global emphasis on research related to climate change in recent years. More importantly, research on climate change is also about people. With Nepal being a Himalayan state and climate change linked to glacial retreat, temperature increase and climatic uncertainties, research related to climate change becomes of additional importance. Nepali geographers have enough scope to carry out research on this issue and notable initiatives are already evident. Climate change adaptation through water resource management (IRBM, PU and CDG 2013) and vulnerability assessment of meteorological flash floods in the Poigu/Bhotekoshi/Sunkoshi watershed (CDG and AIRC 2013) are two recent examples. THE WEAKNESSES: IS GEOGRAPHY A LANGUISHING SOCIAL SCIENCE IN NEPAL?
Economic and Political Weekly published an article related to the status of geography in India with the title ‘Geography in India: A languishing social science’ (Kapur 2004). One of its arguments was that despite 9
See websites of ICIMOD (www.icimod.org) and UNDP (www.np.undp.org).
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geography being a legitimate social science, it has been sidetracked and ignored by other social sciences in India. More importantly, it was noted that geographers were slow in responding to the changing context and to critical life problems. The overall situation of geography and geographers in Nepal is not much different from those in India. Some Nepali geographers have been in the limelight in the sociopolitical landscape of the country. However, overall efforts to establish geographers’ credentials either as social scientists or physical scientists have been grossly inadequate to rejuvenate the decreasing vitality of the discipline. In this context a few weaknesses apparent at present in the practice of geography have been noted below. Whereas some of them are inherent to the discipline, others have surfaced in the course of delivering the curriculum and the practices of teaching and research. Its position as a bridge between social and natural science and the charges targeted against it as a borrower from parental sciences are inbuilt challenges and opportunities for the discipline. The irony of geography is that there are excellent geographers in the country. At the individual level many of them have occupied high level public posts such as Minister, Vice-Chair and Member of the National Planning Commission, Member of the Constituency Demarcation Commissions, and the Rector and Dean of Tribhuvan University. They have obtained recognition fairly well in the Nepali social landscape. But collectively geographers have failed and geography has been sidelined in academic discourse at the school, college and university level. Thus, to date the saying that “in this country Geographers are doing well but geography is not” (Subedi and Joshi 1997: 104) is still valid. In the gatherings of geographers, a feeling of a state of neglect of geography is commonly expressed. The discussion goes as far as posing such questions as ‘do we need geography as a discipline if no one cares about it?’ Again, if the answer is yes, the issue for geographers is what kind of geography? Is it the geography of laymen (maps, encyclopedic, general knowledge) or is it pedagogical geography (systematic and regional, methods) or is it professional geography such as ‘geography is what geographers do?’ Different answers are possible and no one has a
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satisfactory answer. It is probable that no other social science discipline faces such a complex reality with respect to the scope of the discipline. Geographers have continuously struggled for their thematically distinct identity throughout the years. Unequivocally geographers feel that the state has an important role to play. The point of departure for strengthening the status of geography is the secondary level curriculum. The national level objective of secondary level education must include comprehensive geographic literacy. The current offerings of geography in the secondary level, with less than four percent as compulsory and its compartmentalization in the optional category at the matriculation level, will not help the development of geography (pedagogical as well as professional) at the college and university level. The topical approach and respective specialties (such as settlement geography, agriculture geography, population geography, climatology, tourism geography, industrial geography, transport geography, environmental geography, etc.) have contributed to the development of geography and the exposure of geographers in the wider academic sphere. One can argue whether the topical approach was good or bad but as long as geographers’ ideas prevailed in topical specialty, it should be acceptable. However, when the practitioners of parental discipline, (e.g., geology for geomorphology, economics for economic geography, demography for population geography, and so on), prevail thematically and methodologically, geographers may have to revisit our own central theme – the region and regional analysis. Political geography and agricultural geography are two topical specialties, where despite enormous potential, geographers have failed to contribute and prevail in recent years. Region and regional inequality, both spatial and social, have been central themes of geographic research and teaching in the past. These themes have not gone away. But with polarization towards topical specialty, these overall cross-cutting spatial and social inequalities have become less visible in geographic research in recent years. In the mean time, with the country’s planning priority for poverty alleviation,
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economists and sociologists have prevailed in the poverty and inequality debates and geographers are trailing behind in their research space of ‘regional inequalities.’ Knowledge is socially constructed and this applies to all social sciences, perhaps more so in human geography. With very few exceptions (Subedi 1993), this reality has been hardly reflected in the research of Nepali geographers. We should also realize that the views about the world of human geography are largely masculine constructions. Feminist geographers have been challenging these constructions elsewhere but feminist geographers in Nepal are yet to emerge to challenge these constructions. Foreign geographers’ have made significant contributions. However, their attraction to Nepal has been the panoramic Himalayan (mountain) landscape on the one hand, and on the other, a poor country with stagnant economy and the mountain people (see, Ives and Messrli 1989; Blaikie and Brookfield 1987; Bishop 1990; Stevens 1993; Zurick and Karan 1999; Müller-Böker and Kollmair 2000; Aase and Chaudhary 2007; Anderson and Chapagain 2007). Some Nepali geographers have also been part of the research of foreigners but mostly as silent observers. In this context, Jagannath Adhikari writes: By and large they [Nepali counterpart geographers] have not been able to develop alternative views on generalized ideas developed by foreign researchers. Notable exceptions are the research on erosion and land management in Kakani by Manandhar-Gurung (1988) and on migration by Subedi (1993). (2010: 45-46)
The knowledge and understanding of the geographic world is Eurocentric. In the social landscape, white people and occidental knowledge have been respected above other people (e.g., Afro-Asian) and oriental knowledge. The history of geography in the western world is emphasized but there is hesitation on reflecting on the narratives of Vedas, Upanishads, and Buddhist literature. Things are changing however although indigenous geography and the knowledge of the inhabited hills and the mountains of Nepal have yet to properly prioritized. As the poetic verse of Madhav Prasad Ghimire goes merai Dhaulagiri
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shikharama chhaina maile pugeko, Nepaliko dila chhuna ajhai chhaina maile sakeko (we have not been able to scale Mt. Dhaulagiri and we have not been able to understand the inner feelings of Nepalis), geographers have a long way to go. The search for objectivity in a traditional society has occurred at the cost of ignoring the subjectivity inherent within ourselves, i.e., the researcher. Knowledge is sought ‘out there’ while aspects of the ‘in here’ has been neglected. During research endeavors especially in human geography, the complementarily between objectivity and subjectivity is often overlooked. The issue-oriented approach that dominates social reality has been difficult to address with the disciplinary approach and the need for an inter-disciplinary approach to be embraced in the research and teaching of geography has become imperative. Practicing geographers in Nepal are confident that the discipline has been able to meet the market need. But no market survey on ‘what the demand for and the expectations of geographers are’ has been carried out so far. It appears that we have not been reexamining the areas where geographers contribute or can contribute. The university education has produced job seekers in geography and no job creators, be it either as a humanities product or a product of the education faculty. Remote sensing and GIS teaching have added some value in the contemporary market but for various technical and practical reasons these graduates also face stiff competition with similar products from the mainstream bio-science disciplines and from engineering sciences. AGENDA FOR ADVANCEMENT Geography in Nepal has not fared well in recent years. But this is not only the case of Nepal and the discipline is facing a similar situation in the neighboring countries and elsewhere (see Kapur 2004). There is no quick fix since some of its problems are inherent from its inception as a discipline. In the following section a broad agenda for its advancement is discussed under three sub-headings – reorientation of the discipline, role of the institutions and the role of geographers.
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REORIENTATION OF THE DISCIPLINARY FOCUS
Geographers have to reorient the discipline according to the changing politico-economic and social landscape of the country and reinvent their commitment. There is a need to reflect back to topical specialty. Regional analysis is the unifying theme as well as the method of analysis of geographic research and teaching. This central theme has been pushed to the periphery in the research agenda and syllabus formulation at the undergraduate and graduate level. Courses with a flavor of regional accounts have been present but the contents within the course fail to reflect the approach and methodology of regional analysis. The descriptions of place/s with empirical data have suffered on epistemological and ontological grounds and thus have failed to provide comprehensive regional analyses and the application of theories in the regional settings. Regional analysis was at the heart of geography not because geography deals with places and regions but because it is the regions where theories developed in systemic geography and/or where the relevant fields of studies were examined for their applicability. From the Greek origin of regional concept to the Vidalian approach (French), the regional approach has remained at the center of geographic research and inquiry. In this connection, Videl de la Blache (1910) states that each fragment of the earth’s space contained its own internal logic as far as physical environment and human responses are concerned. The disciplinary focus must be able to meet market needs and the curriculum must be flexible to meet societal needs at both the physical and social ends. There should not be too much concern about whether geography should be part of the physical sciences or social sciences. After all what has mattered so far is the expertise among geographers and it is not likely in the near future that people will accept geography and reject geographers. To improve the image of the discipline geographers have to deliver more and for this it does not matter whether the person is a physical scientist or a social scientist. Issues such as climate change, hazards and disaster management, and environmental impacts have as many human dimensions as they have physical dimensions. Geographers can contribute much and the need is to create a favorable
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environment and demonstrate potential. There is also a need to include these contemporary issues in the curriculum and in the textbooks as well. THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
For the advancement of geography as a discipline the role of institutions is vital. First and foremost, the government (Ministry of Education) should vigorously reassess the primary goal and objectives of secondary education taking into account the geophysical and geopolitical reality of the country. Part of the task relates to whether high school graduates of this country should have knowledge of geography in general and that of geography of Nepal in particular. For the SLC graduates the requirements have often changed from 10 papers with 100 full marks each to 900, 700 and 800 full marks in recent years. One way to improve geography (and history) is to add a paper with 100 full marks for geography or history and geography together. While adding a single paper for geography, more interdisciplinary subjects such as population and environment can be subsumed within it. Environmental and demographic aspects were included in the geography curriculum before such disciplines were promoted by external support in this country. In addition, contemporary issues related to hazards and disaster management should be included integral parts of geography curriculum. Also some of the prescribed contents in science, environment and geography at grades IX and X should be thoroughly revisited for repetition and readjustment. The Higher Secondary Education Board should reassess its grouping system of disciplines so that good students can opt for geography without compromising basic science, mathematics and computer education. The same applies to undergraduate colleges also. In the mean time geography teachers should also play a key role in convincing college administration that geography is not a very costly social science discipline and that its curriculum can be delivered without much additional cost and field work can be carried out in a cost-effective manner. The university and its various faculties should have provisions for upgrading human resources. The current system of offering permanent status and then
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letting teachers upgrade themselves needs revisiting. Institutional provision for upgrading, resource mobilization for research work and timely advertisement for promotion on merit basis are essential responsibilities of the university and related government institutions to advance the agenda of ‘geography – the everyday life discipline.’ The university based organizations also have an important role to play in reinvigorating the teaching of, and research in, geography and in the re-orienting of the discipline. The CDG’s role together with the Subject Committee is to develop a curriculum based on changing societal needs and the effective delivery of the curriculum. Undergraduate colleges can help by rearranging the grouping of the subjects in their campuses so that interested students can have easy access to the course. Timely refresher trainings, seminars, workshops and similar other academic and awareness related activities can be organized collaboratively with geographical organizations, institutions in the North and South and with the government. The collaborative research agenda can be pursued in such a way that the proposals include provisions for professional research and graduate research work that help overcome the gender and regional imbalance in the profession. In the absence of and/or limited financial resources, initiatives for collaborative works may be considered as the primary method for improving teaching and research in geography in the immediate coming years. In addition, it will also provide an opportunity for a new generation to be engaged in research. The Nepal Geographical Society should function as a proactive organization. In addition to the publication of journals and organizing seminars, it should also carry out activities such as ‘geography awareness week’ in collaboration with academic institutions. Its efforts, especially lobbying the government and other stakeholders to advocate that ‘geography matters for the country,’ should be revitalized. At this juncture, it should focus its attention on promoting the discipline in the curriculum of schools and colleges. The message to creating awareness about geography can be similar to what was emphasized in the United States when the first geography awareness week was launched in 1987. To reiterate:
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…a sound geography education provides perspectives, information, concepts, and skills to understand ourselves, our relationship to Earth, and our interdependence with other people over the many places in the world. It reinforces and extends the process of critical thinking and problem solving. And it becomes critical when we formulate national policies that rely on imprecise information and on unclear interpretations about our own geography and that of other nations. (Demko 1992: 11)
The alumni (namely, graduates of geography) should be utilized in various roles to promote the discipline. They can function as the link between formal institutions, civil societies and the government in order to raise awareness about the role geographers can play in the national development. They can be the key for much needed resource mobilization and the building of networks. ROLE OF GEOGRAPHERS
A number of Nepali geographers have been engaged in collaborative research with geographers (and other social scientists) of the North and their collaborations have produced useful outputs. A few latest examples include: i) the collaboration with Hokaido University resulted in the publication of the proceedings of an international symposium on the Himalayan environment where a number of papers by geographers were included (Watanabe et al. 2000); ii) the seven year collaboration (beginning 2002) between the CDG and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) resulted in research support for more than 30 MA students, one PhD scholar and the publication of two books (Subedi and Poudel 2005a; Subedi, Poudel and Poudel 2006); iii) the cooperative research of Nepali geographers with the University of Bergen, Norway produced two separate volumes of work – the first on Arun Valley (Chaudhary et al. 2002) and the second on upper Manang Valley (Chaudhary et al. 2007); and iv) individual collaborations are also noticeable (Adhikari and Seddon 2002) between Nepali geographers and Northern scholars. These collaborations happened due to similar interests of Nepali geographers and those from the North who had
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access to their national councils and ministries for research grants for collaborative research with institutions in the South. However, the South-South collaborative research work is grossly lacking. Nepali geographers do participate in conferences organized by Indian and Bangladeshi geographical societies. But there are no formal organizational linkages between the Nepal Geographical Society and its Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan or Pakistani counterparts and there have not been collaborative research work between two or more SouthSouth countries involving Nepal. Similarly, with respect to organizing talk programs, national and/or international conferences, Nepali geographers are found to be weak. It is important that such collaboration and conferences to be conducted and formal links established. Finally, geographers themselves are the main drivers of their discipline. As noted earlier there are excellent geographers in the country at the individual level and they have contributed to the development of the discipline. However, this has not been done at a collective level. The first two generations have retired from the colleges and universities but many of them are still active.10 They are valuable assets and experiences who can be utilized more effectively both individually and collectively. It can be argued that it has been the hard work of the past generations that has developed the discipline to its current state. With respect to the currently working generation, the argument is mixed. There are those who argue that given that the country is passing through social and political transition, there was not much they could do to promote the discipline. On the other hand there are those who argue that much more could have been done and that geographers at the ‘center’ (those in Kathmandu in general and at the CDG in particular) have not done much. There are also undercurrents that those not in the center are too docile and those in the center are too focused on their own individual success and not interested in collective efforts. Whatever position one may take ‘we are where we are and this is the reality.’ Importantly, the
10
Professor Upendra Man Malla in personal communication remarks that he is ‘retired but not tired.’
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viewpoint that the discipline is getting poorer has largely come from among geographers, and not outsiders. However, despite an overall decline in the enrolment at various levels, the number of textbooks written over the last two decades,11 the number of articles and journals published and the incorporation of various issue oriented courses are all encouraging and these positive points must be noted. The currently working generation has several responsibilities. They include i) playing a key role in enhancing the capacity of existing institutions, ii) negotiating with the government and other institutions to promote geography from the school level, iii) stimulating and providing opportunities to those engaged, iv) assessing the market need and demands and revising the curriculum accordingly, v) running programs such as geography awareness week, vii) paying more attention to information dissemination and lobbying, vii) improving the quality of publications through peer review and other ways, viii) building the identity and strength of geographers with fieldbased research that contributes to the development of the country, and ix) revitalize the new generation to help them realize their potential. The founding generation and its immediate succeeding generation of Nepali geographers have retired. In a few years from now the third generation of geographers will retire. Their absence will have to be fulfilled by the fourth and subsequent new generation of geographers. Thus the burden of taking geography to new heights rests largely on the new generation. There are good geographers at work so far and the new entrants are expected to be better. But a cautionary note resides in the process that has been adopted in recruiting the new generation of university teachers in recent years (Mishra 2070 v.s.). The overpoliticization and recruitment by pressure and/or recommendation of political parties rather than academic achievement, may not lead to an encouraging future for the discipline. Such politicization in the 11 In this paper it was not possible to discuss all the textbooks written by geographers but the number of such books is significant. Their areas of coverage range from climatology, geographic thought, geography of China, India, Bangladesh, human geography, physical geography, practical geography, settlement geography, agriculture geography, cultural and economic geography of Nepal.
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recruitment system and quotas at all levels do not create a conducive environment in which to revitalize and advance the discipline. On the whole, some of the challenges and constraints faced by geography are reflections of the overall situation of the social sciences in general in Nepal. Whether it is a coincidence or not, the state of progress of geography in Nepal has been stagnant after the restoration of democracy in 1990. The stagnant status is also related to the emergence of subjects such as population studies, environmental science and rural development in the university curriculum with much external support in their formative years. As a result, these disciplines were able to attract many students who otherwise might have opted for geography. With the growth of knowledge and the changing needs of society, the emergence of such subjects is but natural. Geographers should and have welcomed the expansion of the knowledge base. However, this situation poses a challenge in the short run for geographers. With the reorientation of the discipline, the vigorous use of modern technology and due consideration of methodological and philosophical aspects in the research and teaching of geography, geographers can do better. The state of geography is not all that discouraging and the need is for collective effort. In this context, however, a paragraph written 17 years ago is worth repeating: To sum up our progress over the past four decades may not be claimed as excellent. However, we have made significant progress owing to the overall situation of the country and the development of social sciences in general. As mentioned earlier we have a long way to go. We geographers can do better and must do better. For that we just need positive attitude towards teaching, research and more importantly to our discipline. (Subedi and Joshi 1997: 108)
Nepal in the 2010s is clearly different from what it was in the 1950s and 1960s when geography as an academic discipline was being established. Citizens’ priorities have changed, the political system has changed, resource utilization pattern has changed, and dependence on land as the only source of earning livelihood has changed over the last
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two-three generations. Geographers must respond to these changes to maintain their vitality as social scientists, if not as physical scientists. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author gratefully acknowledges the support provided by Ramesh Rai in collecting and compiling necessary information without which this paper would not have been possible. Thanks are also due to Dhyanendra Rai and Narayan Poudel for information on human resources and to Seira Tamang, Pratyoush Onta and Ramesh Parajuli for editorial help and the pre-press processing of the text. Above all, the author is thankful to Martin Chautari for providing him the opportunity to write this paper. REFERENCES Aase, Tor H. and Ram P. Chaudhary. 2007. Cultural Ecology and the Quest for Ethnic Identity. In Local Effects of Global Changes in the Himalayas: Manang, Nepal. Ram P. Chaudhary, Tor H. Aase, Ole R. Vetaas and Bhim P. Subedi, eds., pp. 79–92. Kathmandu: TU and University of Bergen, Norway. Abler, R.F. 1987. What shall We Say? To Whom We shall Speak? Annals of the Association of American Geographers 77(4): 511–524. Adhikari, Jagannath. 2008a. Changing Livelihoods: Essays on Nepal’s Development since 1990. Kathmandu: Martin Chautari. Adhikari, Jagannath. 2008b. Food Crisis in Karnali: A Historical and Politico-Economic Perspective. Kathmandu: Martin Chautari. Adhikari, Jagannath. 2010. Geographical Education and Research in Nepal. Kathmandu: Social Science Baha and Himal Books. Adhikari, Jagannath and David Seddon. 2002. Pokhara: Biography of a Town. Kathmandu: Mandala Book Point. Amatya, Soorya Lal. 1974. Geography in Nepal. In Social Science in Nepal. Prayag Raj Sharma, ed., pp. 1–20. Kathmandu: INAS. Anderson, Peter and Prem Sagar Chapagain. 2007. Changing Diet and Nutrient Uptake in Manang. In Local Effects of Global Changes in the Himalayas: Manang, Nepal. Ram P. Chaudhary, Tor H. Aase, Ole
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Subedi and Padma C. Poudel, eds., pp. 105–121. Kathmandu: NGS, CDG and NCCR. Pradhan, Kamal Maiya. 2007. Tourism in Nepal: A Macro and Micro Perspective. PhD diss., TU. Pradhan, Pushkar Kumar. 1997. Market Center and Hinterland Relation in Lalitpur District, Nepal. PhD diss., Klagenfurt University. Pradhan, Pushkar K., ed. 2011. Environmental Resources and Cultural Landscape: Understanding Changing Spatial Organization of Bhimeshwor, Dolakha. Kathmandu: CDG, TU. Pradhan, Pushkar K., Bhim P. Subedi and Narendra K. Khanal, eds. 2010. Environment, Livelihood and Micro Enterprises. Kathmandu: CDG, TU. Rajbanshi, Ashok Shankar. 2009. Sustainable Livelihood Pattern of Marginal Communities in a Peri-Urban Area: A Case of Bajrayogini Village, Kathmandu District. PhD diss.,TU. Rana, R.S. 1973. Geography in Nepal. In Geography in Asian Universities. R.J. Fuchs and J.M. Street, eds., pp. 304–346. Hawaii: The Oriental Publishing Co. Ranjitkar, Nanda Gopal. 2006. Geographers in Academic Research in Nepal. In Geography in Nepal: Mountain Environment and Human Activities. Bhim P. Subedi, Padma C. Poudel and Krishna P. Poudel, eds., pp. 10–23. Kathmandu: CDG, NGS, and NCCR. Rijal, Shiva Prasad. 2006. Water and Livelihoods in Mountain Areas: A Case of Modi Watershed, Nepal. PhD diss., TU. Sarbahara, Prakash. 2065 v.s. Naya Nepal?: Sanghiya Nepalbare Ek Chhalphal. Kathmandu: Geographic Concern. Sharma, Pitamber. 1989. Urbanization in Nepal. Paper No. 110. Hawaii: East West Population Institute. Sharma, Pitamber. 2007. Dr. Harka Gurung and Planning in Nepal: Contribution, Impact and Relevance. Studies in Nepali History and Society 12(2): 377-389. Sharma, Pitamber. 2008. Unraveling the Mosaic: Spatial Aspects of Ethnicity in Nepal. Kathmandu: Social Science Baha and Himal Books.
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Sharma, Pitamber. 2063 v.s. Nepalma Saharikaran: Ek Simhavalokan. In Saharikaran: Jivikako Vividh Aayam. Bhashkar Gautam and Jagannath Adhikari, eds., pp. 27–72. Kathmandu: Martin Chautari. Sharma, Pitamber, Narendra Khanal and Subhash Chaudhary Tharu. 2009. Towards A Federal Nepal: An Assessment of Proposed Models. Kathmandu: Social Science Baha and Himal Books. Sharma, Tirtha Raj. 1960. Bhugol Sutra. Kathmandu: Nepal Press. Shrestha, Buddhi Narayan. 2000. Nepalko Simana. Kathmandu: Bhumichitra Company. Shrestha, Chandra Bahadur. 1974. Critique on Geography in Nepal. In Social Science in Nepal. Prayag Raj Sharma, ed., pp. 21–24. Kathmandu: INAS. Shrestha, Chandra Bahadur. 1980. Urban Hierarchy in Arniko Rajmarga Areas. PhD diss., TU. Shrestha, Chandra Bahadur. 1984. Research Works on Geography of Nepal Himalaya. In Preparatory Workshop on Himalayan Studies. Ananda Shreshta, ed., pp. 35–42. Kirtipur: CNAS. Shrestha, Chandra B. and Bal Kumar KC. 1984. Infrastructure and Programme Development in Social Sciences: The Case of Geography. In Social Sciences in Nepal: Infrastructure and Programme Development. Mohan P. Lohani, ed., pp. 173–180. Kirtipur: IOHSS. Stevens, Stanley F. 1993. Claiming the High Ground: Sherpas, Subsistence, and Environmental Change in the Highest Himalaya. Berkeley: University of California Press. Subedi, Bhim P. 1993. Continuity and Change in Population Movement: From Inside a Rural Nepali Community. PhD diss., University of Hawaii. Subedi, Bhim P. 1999. An Anthropo-geographic Approach to Territorial Mobility: Examples from Inside a Rural Nepali Community. In Anthropology and Sociology of Nepal: Cultures, Societies, Ecology and Development. Ram B. Chhetri and Om P. Gurung, eds., pp. 122–150. Kathmandu: SASON. Subedi, Bhim P. 2000. Understanding Territorial Mobility in the Himalayas: An Application of Genealogical and Life-History
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Approach. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Himalayan Environments: Mountain Sciences and Eco-tourism/ Biodiversity. Teiji Watanabe, ed., pp. 261–277. Kathmandu: Hokaido University and TU. Subedi, Bhim P. 2002. Concentration or Diversification: Geography of Ethnic Diversification in Nepal. Population and Development in Nepal 10: 157–172. Subedi, Bhim P. 2005. A Glimpse of Geographic Research in Nepal: Review and Reflection. In Geography and Geographers’ Work in Nepal: Reflection on Mountain Environment and Human Activities. Bhim P. Subedi and Padma C. Poudel, eds., pp. 85–103. Kathmandu: NGS, CDG and NCCR. Subedi, Bhim P. 2009. Exclusion of Tamang in Nepal: Social, Spatial or Else? Findings from Survey of Sindhupalchok. Contributions to Nepalese Studies 36(special issue): 49–83. Subedi, Bhim P. 2010. Ethnic/Caste Diversification in Kathmandu Metropolitan: Changing Social Landscape of a Capital City. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning 3(8): 185–199. Subedi, Bhim P. 2013. Rajya Punarsamrachanaka Jatiltaharu: Nepalko Samajik Bhugolma Parivartan ra Prakritik Srotko Vitaran. Bouddhik Darpan 2: 13–28. Subedi, Bhim Prasad. 2066 v.s. Jatiya Pradesh: Bahusankhyak Jati Pradesh Bahirai. Himal 19(19): 29–33. Subedi, Bhim Prasad. 2067 v.s.a. Bhugolko Khojkhabar. Shikshak 32: 50–55. Subedi, Bhim Prasad. 2067 v.s.b. Samastigat Gyanko Srot. Shikshak 33: 52–56. Subedi, Bhim P. and Basudev Joshi, 1997. About Geography in Nepal: An Outline for Discussion. In Social Sciences in Nepal: Some Thoughts and Search for Direction. Prem K. Khatry, ed., pp. 90–112. Kathmandu: CNAS. Subedi, Bhim P. and Nirmala D. Baral. 2008. Female Tempo Drivers in Kathmandu: Challenging Gendered Space for Livelihood and Identity. The Geographical Journal of Nepal 6: 7–17.
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Subedi, Bhim P. and Prem S. Chapagain. 2008. Does Indigenous Knowledge of Soil Matter? An Example from Upper Manang Valley. The Geographical Journal of Nepal 6: 45–56. Subedi, Bhim P. and Rishi Panday. 2002. Livelihood Strategies of Rai Communities in Arun Valley: Continuity and Change. In Vegetation and Society: Their Interaction in the Himalayas. Ram P. Chaudhary, Bhim P. Subedi, Ole R. Vetaas and Tor H. Aase, eds., pp. 157–170. Kathmandu: TU and University of Bergen, Norway. Subedi, Bhim P. and Padma C. Poudel, eds. 2005a. Geography and Geographers’ Work in Nepal: Reflections on Mountain Environment and Human Activities. Kathmandu: NGS, CDG and NCCR. Subedi, Bhim P. and Padma Chandra Poudel. 2005b. Geography and Geographers’ Work in Nepal: An Introduction. In Geography and Geographers’ Work in Nepal: Reflection on Mountain Environment and Human Activities. Bhim P. Subedi and Padma C. Poudel, eds., pp. 1–10. Kathmandu: NGS, CDG and NCCR. Subedi, Bhim P., Padma C. Poudel and Krishna P. Poudel, eds. 2006. Geography in Nepal: Mountain Environment and Human Activities. Kathmandu: CDG, NGS and NCCR. Subedi, Bhim P., V. Subedi, P. Duwadi and R. Panday. 2007. Livelihood at Risk: Findings from the Mid-Western Region. Kathmandu: Informal Sector Service Center/European Commission. Tribhuvan Vishwovidyalaya. 2050 v.s. Sangathan tatha Shaikshik Prashasansambandhi Niyam (2057/04/11 Sammako Samshodhan Sahit). Kathmandu: TU. Watanabe, Teiji, Seth Sicroff, Narendra R. Khanal and Madhav P. Gautam, eds. 2000. Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Himalayan Environments: Mountain Sciences and Eco-tourism/ Biodiversity. Kathmandu: Hokaido University and TU. Zurick, David and Pradhyumna P. Karan. 1999. Life on the Edge of the World: Himalaya. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
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ANNEX I Major Milestones in the Development of Geography in Nepal at the School Level Year Events 1910 Beginning of the teaching geography at school level
Description Darbar High School is the first school where geography teaching was started.
A textbook entitled Bhugol Vidya (geography education) published
1921
1934
1936
1950
1960
1961
Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh, a relative of Prime Minister Chandra Shamsher Rana is credited for initiating geography at the school level and for writing the book Bhugol Vidya. Sansarko Ananda (pleasure The book written by Ram Prasad Satyal and of the world) published published from Banaras is now considered as an important contribution in Nepali geography. SLC Board established in Geography included as a compulsory subject Nepal carrying 100 marks and the Nepali context was added in the geography curriculum. This provision continued till 1950. Nepal: A General Khadga Man Malla was the author of the book Geographical Account that dealt with geographical features of Nepal. published The government of Nepal Geography became an optional subject with history. Students were required to take either revised the school level Geography or History in their SLC examination. curriculum and adopted some changes Bhugol Sutra (verses in Written by Tirtha Raj Sharma, Lamjung, the geography) published contents largely deal with the basics of physical geography in poetic form. Nepalko Saral Bhugol Professor Sharan Hari Shrestha who taught (simple geography of geography at Juddhodaya Public High School Nepal) published and at the Commerce Department of Trichandra College, wrote this book in Nepali for SLC students. He also subsequently published a series of textbooks on the geography of Nepal, regional geography and practical geography for school and college level students.
1971 NESP launched
Geography was included as part of social studies rather than as a separate subject
1982 The government revised the school curriculum
The revision meant that geography was offered as an optional subject in high schools. It was placed in a least favored optional category competing with Mathematics and Science. The latter competing subjects were perceived by students as those where high marks and thus higher divisions could be obtained, thus increasing the prestige of the schools as well.
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Year Events 2000 New curriculum of Higher Secondary (10+2) Education implemented
Description Geography gets its position as one of the optional subjects with 100 full marks (75% theory and 25% practical) in the higher secondary level curriculum.
Source: Several documents (see references) and consultations with many senior geographers.
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ANNEX II Distribution of Higher Secondary Schools Offering Geography by Regions and Number of Students 2013 Dev. region Name of school/college Eastern Jeetpur Kankai Chamunde Total Central Sarlahi (campus) Padma Ratna Vidyamandir Goth Bhanjyang Sainik Avashiya School Total Western Sri Vindhyabasini Bhairawashram Sansari Mahendra Koima Barahachaur Brahmarupa Janapriya Campus Kalika Campus Gaurishankar Shukraraj Balbhadra Gaurishankar Campus Pakash Jyoti Pharsatikar Haraiya Parroha Bhagai Apur Total MidJana Sewa Western Ratnachudeshwor Mahadev Mahakali Total FarKhaptad Western Padma Public Aishwarya Vidya Niketan Kailali Multiple Campus Jana Priya Total Nepal Grand total
VDC/municipality, district Jeetpur, Ilam Surunga, Jhapa Tamaphok, Sankhuwasabha 3 Malangawa, Sarlahi Malangawa, Sarlahi Dalchoki, Lalitpur Sallaghari, Bhaktapur 4 Nareshwor, Gorkha Fujel, Gorkha Naya Sanghu, Gorkha Koima, Syangja Rajakochutara, Kaski Pokhara, Kaski Pokhara, Kaski Hemja, Kaski Chhinedanda, Kaski Hemja, Kaski Thoche, Manang Pharsatikar, Rupandehi Haraiya, Rupanehi Ram Nagar, Rupandehi Bhagai Apur, Rupandehi 15 Rangsi, Rolpa Bohora Gaun, Jumla Rarakaliya, Kalikot Sri Nagar, Mugu 4 Kalukheti, Bajhang Silgadi, Doti Dhangadi, Kailali Dhangadi, Kailali Likma Masuriya, Kailali 5 31
Student no. 11 2 1 14 3 1 1 28 33 6 1 18 11 5 10 15 16 9 6 16 33 29 29 14 218 1 13 1 15 30 9 7 3 2 29 50 345
Note: 1. This table is based on schools whose students attended grade XI examination in 2013; 2. The underlined names of the schools belong to the Mountain region. Those in italics belong to the Hill region and the remaining are from the Tarai. Source: Higher Secondary Education Board, Sanothimi, 2014.
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ANNEX III Major Milestones in the Development of Geography in Nepal at the Undergraduate and Graduate Levels Year 1947
Events Intermediate level geography teaching at Trichandra College begins
Description Netra Bahadur Thapa was the foremost teacher responsible for teaching geography at the IA level in the beginning. This initiative was supported by Amarendra Nath Basu who taught geography at Darbar High School. Professor Upendra Man Malla was among the first batch of students who studied geography at Trichandra.
1948
Professor Jagat Bahadur Singh Burathokey, a geography graduate of University of Allahabad, India joins Trichandra College after Rabindra Nath Roy, the first officially appointed geography ‘professor’
Burathokey was the first Head of Geography Department at Trichandra College in 1948. He was also the first Head of Geography Department at TU when it started its Masters degree in geography. Yam Bahadur Karki who taught geography at the College of Education is said to have facilitated JBS Burathokey’s joining Trichandra College.
1949
Trichandra begins geography teaching at the Bachelors level College of Education begins its BEd program
1956
1960
1962
Geography is taught at the BEd program. Yam Bahadur Karki was the main figure of Geography at the College of Education. Geography Department The four pillars who taught at the Masters within TU established. TU level in the initial years included Professors starts its Masters Degree in JBS Burathokey, Upendra Man Malla, Mangal geography at Tripureshwor Raj Joshi and Nara Man Shrestha. There were in 1961 four students in the first batch, namely, Mohan Narayan Shrestha, Bekha Lal Shrestha, Krishna Prasad Napit and Shyam Man Shrestha. The Nepal Geographical Society (NGS) established
NGS is the first professional society of geographers in Nepal. The first executive committee (ad-hoc) had seven members with Ram Krishna Shrestha as the President. Other members included Krishna P. Napit, Ratna SJB Rana, Mohan N. Shrestha, Biswa Bandhu Mullepati, Harka Gurung and Shyam M. Shrestha. Mohan N. Shrestha secures First Class First position from among the first batch of students of MA Geography at TU.
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Year
Events
1965
Harka Gurung awarded the PhD degree in Geography from the University of Edinburgh. After his return from Edinburgh he taught at the Masters level until he joined National Planning Commission as a member in 1968
Dr. Gurung was the first Nepali to obtain a PhD in geography. His doctoral research work was entitled ‘Pokhara Valley: A Field Study in Regional Geography.’
Description
1966
Courses on Human and Economic geography offered at Masters level
Courses in MA geography till 1966 were primarily focused on physical geography (geomorphology, oceanography, and geology), regional geography and practical geography.
1968
First issue of The Himalayan Review published as an outlet of geographic research work
Published by the NGS. Editors of the first volume included Professor Soorya Lal Amataya, Harka Gurung, Shyam Man Shrestha and Vidya Bir Singh Kansakar.
1974
TU begins its own PhD program in geography
Degree to be offered based on dissertation research. No course requirement after Masters degree for PhD candidacy.
1978
PNC begins a Masters level program in geography
PNC is the only institution to offer MA in geography outside the Kathmandu Valley to date.
1980
TU confers its first PhD degree in Geography
Professor Chandra Bahadur Shrestha is the first doctoral degree holder in Geography from TU. Bhim Prasad Subedi completes an MA in Geography with Distinction for the first time from TU.
Source: Review of several documents (see references) and consultations with many senior geographers.
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ANNEX IV Completed PhD Dissertations in Geography from Tribhuvan University SN 1
Name Chandra Bahadur Shrestha
Title Urban Hierarchy in Arniko Rajmarga Areas
Year 1980
2
Nanda Gopal Ranjitkar
Change in Agricultural Land Use and Land Value in Urban Fringe of Kathmandu City
1983
3
Narendra Raj Khanal
2003
4
K.P. Oli
5
Michael Thomas Griesbaum
Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in the Himalaya: A Case Study of the Madi Watershed, Western Development Region, Nepal Land Use Change Dynamics: A Case Study of Begnas and Rupa Lake Watershed Area of Kaski District, Nepal Rural Centers and Integrated Transport Network in Nepal
6
Shiva Prasad Rijal
Water and Livelihoods in Mountain Areas: A Case of Modi Watershed, Nepal
2006
7
Kamal Maiya Pradhan
Tourism in Nepal: A Macro and Micro Perspective
2007
8
Prem Sagar Chapagain
2009
9
Ashok Sankar Rajbanshi
10
Dharani Kumar Sharma
Land, Labour, and Agricultural Change in Upper Manang Valley: Understanding, Meaning and Processes Sustainable Livelihood Pattern of Marginal Communities in a Peri-Urban Area: A Case of Bajrayogini Village, Kathmandu District Agricultural Stagnation and Poverty in Inner Terai of Dang, Nepal
11
Pashupati Nepal
Rural Development through Non-Government Local Organizations in Palpa District, Nepal
2010
12
Gopi Krishna Pande
13
14 15
2003
2004
2009
2009
Role of Urban Centers in Rural Development among the Siddhartha Highway: A Case Study of Tansen and Butwal Municipalities Ram Sharan Pathak Diffusion and Adoption of Modern Agricultural Innovations: A Case Study of Some Selected Villages of Dhading District, Nepal Shambhu P. Spatial Pattern of Agro-based Livelihoods in the Khatiwada Tankhwakhola Watershed, Eastern Hills, Nepal
2010
Bharat Prasad Sharma
2013
Morphology of Open Spaces in Towns: Study of Roles of Traditional Open Spaces in Safeguarding Urban Environment of Kathmandu
2010
2013
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ANNEX V Geographers’ Contributions to the Debate on Social Inclusion in Nepal
Gurung, Harka. 2004. Janajati Serophero. Kathmandu: Nepal Aadibasi Janajati Mahasangh. Gurung, Harka. 2006. From Exclusion to Inclusion: Socio-Political Agenda for Nepal. Kathmandu: SIRF. Gurung, Harka. 2065 v.s. Bahishkarandekhi Samaveshikaransamma: Nepalka Lagi Samajik-Rajnitik Agenda. Kathmandu: SIRF. Gurung, Harka, Yogendra Gurung and Chhabi Lal Chidi. 2006. Nepal Atlas of Ethnic and Caste Groups. Kathmandu: NFDIN. Gurung, Harka, Yogendra Gurung and Chhabi Lal Chidi. 2006. Nepal Atlas of Language Groups. Kathmandu: NFDIN. Salter, Jan and Harka Gurung. 1995. Faces of Nepal. Kathmandu: Himal Books. Subedi, Bhim Prasad. 2009. Exclusion of Tamang in Nepal: Social, Spatial or Else? Findings from Survey of Sindhupalchok. Contributions to Nepalese Studies 36(special issue): 49–83. ANNEX VI Geographers’ Contributions to the Debate on State Restructuring in Nepal
Bhugolvidharu. 2066 v.s. Sanghiyatako Jag: Ghrina Hoina, Ghulmil. In Samvidhan-Yatra: Naya Samvidhan ra Sanghiyata Sambandhi Bahas. pp. 93–99. Lalitpur: Himal Media. Manandhar, Mangal S. and Pushpa Sharma. 2066 v.s. Sanghiyataka Aadhar ra Simankan. Kathmandu: Jatiya Bhedbhav Viruddha Rashtriya Manch. Manandhar, Mangal S., Shobha Shrestha and Pushpa Sharma. 2065 v.s. Nepalma Sanghiya Rajya: Ek Prarup. Kathmandu: Jatiya Bhedbhav Viruddha Rashtriya Manch. Ranjitkar, Nanda Gopal. 2066 v.s. Pradesh Nirmanka Tin Aadhar: Bhugol, Srot ra Janasankhya. In Samvidhan-Yatra: Naya Samvidhan ra Sanghiyatasambandhi Bahas. pp. 100–104. Lalitpur: Himal Media.
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Sharma, Pitamber. 2008. Nepali Canvaska Rangharu: Jatiyatako Bhaugolik Paksha. Kathamandu: Social Science Baha and Himal Kitab. Sharma, Pitamber. 2008. Unraveling the Mosaic: Spatial Aspects of Ethnicity in Nepal. Kathmandu: Social Science Baha and Himal Books. Sharma, Pitamber, Narendra Khanal and Subhash Chaudhary. 2009. Sanghiya Nepal (Khanda 1): Prastavit Modelharuko Vishleshan. Kathmandu: Social Science Baha and Himal Kitab. Sharma, Pitamber, Narendra Khanal and Subhash Chaudhary Tharu. 2009. Towards A Federal Nepal: An Assessment of Proposed Models. Kathmandu: Social Science Baha and Himal Books. Subedi, Bhim Prasad. 2066 v.s. 15–24 Umer Samuhalai Kendrama Rakhaun. In Samvidhan Yatra-2: Naya Samvidhan ra Sanghiyata Sambandhi Bahas. Rajendra Dahal and Dhruba Simkhada, eds., pp. 99–107. Lalitpur: Himal Media. Subedi, Bhim Prasad. 2066 v.s. Jatiya Pradesh: Bahusankhyak Jati Pradesh Bahirai. Himal 19(19): 29–33. Subedi, Bhim Prasad. 2066 v.s. Shir Nanihuriyos, Joripari Nahasun. In Samvidhan-Yatra: Naya Samvidhan ra Sanghiyatasambandhi Bahas. pp. 88–92. Lalitpur: Himal Media. Subedi, Bhim Prasad. 2066 v.s. ‘Nepali’ Pahichan Pahilo Aadhar. In Samvidhan Yatra-2: Naya Samvidhan ra Sanghiyatasambandhi Bahas. Rajendra Dahal and Dhruba Simkhada, eds., pp. 75–79. Lalitpur: Himal Media. Subedi, Bhim Prasad. 2066 v.s. Rajdhaniko Jatiya Banot. In Samvidhan Yatra-2: Naya Samvidhan ra Sanghiyatasambandhi Bahas. Rajendra Dahal and Dhruba Simkhada, eds., pp. 123–131. Lalitpur: Himal Media.
