means, is narrow and discriminatory against some Nepalese and favorable to others. Basically, there are three reasons for this difficulty: first, the Kathmandu elite have a deep fear of being overrun by Indians and they are rigorous when it comes to granting citizenship to those who look or sound like Indians; second, the existence of complex and, to some extent, discriminatory constitutional and legal provisions and; third, the dominance of patriarchical social structure which has restricted citizenship to children in the name of their mother.

The citizenship certificate, in Nepal, has symbolic meaning in addition to its legal importance in economic, social, and political activities within the country. In Nepal, without this document, one cannot buy or sell property, get a government job or even pursue higher education. Besides, citizenship certificate is compulsory to run import business, establish small-scale firms, get loan from banks, and other similar financial institutions, to get government allowances for the aged and widows. One cannot acquire a passport to go abroad without this certificate. It is also necessary for marriage and birth registration and even for school enrollment of the children. Citizenship is mandatory to take part in the political process like election for political representation.

Following the restoration of the multiparty democracy in 1990, all the governments since have made attempts to address the citizenship issue by forming investigation committees, citizenship teams and by introducing new laws and amending the existing acts and regulations. Between 1975 and 1993, eight citizenship teams and three investigative committees were formed to ensure smooth distribution of citizenship certificates. Their intention, however, appears to have been limited to gaining political benefits rather than addressing the issue effectively.

The high-level citizenship committee constituted under parliamentarian Dhanpati Upadhaya in 2052 (1995) estimated that 3.4 millions Nepalis above the age of 16 did not have citizenship of Nepal. There has not been an estimate of the exact number of eligible Nepali nationals without citizenship since then due to a lack of concrete data. However, from the discussion above, it can be asserted that a large section of Nepalis of Tarai origin specifically Dalits, women, and poor people have been facing problem in getting citizenship certificates. This particular situation has contributed not only to landlessness, marginalization, and restriction in access to state, market and public resources but also in a state of statelessness in their own country.


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