 1 (2007): 82-90. 82 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ © 2007 Kathmandu University, Nepal. http://www.ku.edu.np Brahmaputraka Chheuchhau: A Saga of Nepali Migrants’ Identity Crisis - Hem Raj Kafle Nepalis have been a migratory people. Be it the common citizens or the ruling class, their origin and frequency of mobility are a matter of careful observation from historical, sociological and anthropological perspectives. More than immigration, however, out-migration has been a conspicuous historical phenomenon ever since the eighteenth century unification of the country, and particularly, at such unstable times as when there were frequent power clashes among the rulers and courtiers, leading to the eviction of many opposition groups. Four different historical times during the nineteenth century have seen the displacement of a large number of Nepalis into India: first, the time of Bhimsen Thapa (the first three decades) when he forced his opponents, mainly the Pandes, to leave the country; second, the period of consecutive power struggle between Pandes and Thapas following the decline of Bhimesn till Janga Bahadur Rana came to power after the Kot Massacre in 1846; third, the period of Janga Bahadur when he either massacred or evicted most of his rivals; fourth, when Bir Shamsher massacred or evicted people from Janga Bahadur’s lineage and established a chain of rule for his brothers. Apart from such recorded cases, Nepalis’ migration into Indian lands has been a silent everyday trend for about two centuries. Such silent cases, in particular, have been highly frequent and phenomenal to areas as diverse and far as the Northeastern region – mainly Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram – and Burma. According to A.C. SInha, the initial Nepali settlement in Assam began as early as 1824 when Jaichand Thakur, a retired Subedar from the Engligh Gorkha Platoon, Sylhet, settled down at Shillong (42). Ever since the first settlement, Nepalis have migrated to Assam for various reasons. Sinha reveals that majority of Nepalis moved to Assam as “the life in the hills [of Nepal] was so difficult because there was very limited arable land in the forested and snow-bound mountain” (14). Moreover, during the British rule, Nepalis were encouraged to migrate into this region by the British rulers as laborers to the vast tea plantations or to coal mines. So, apart from spontaneous out-migration, Nepali settlement of North-east was the result of “sponsored immigration and settlement by the colonial administration” (Nag 192). Today, the area has been highly populated by different generations of Nepali migrants. And, despite prolonged stay in the place, they suffer the “twin issue of ‘foreigners’ and ‘displacement’” and live through “underdevelopment, deprivation, insecurity and lack of proper facilities” (Nath 225-6). The Northeast thus is a centre of debates on Nepalis’ identity politics involving such profound issues as citizenship validation, property ownership, political representation and cultural assimilation. This essay examines the literary representation of the lives of Nepali settlers in Northeast India, especially of the state of Assam. I have selected Lil Bahadur Chhetri’s Brahmaputraka Chheuchhau for this purpose. I have made this selection for the following two reasons. First, the writer himself is a man born, brought up, educated and living in Assam.