Kathmandu, 29 Aug: Indigenous Mongol peoples of this country have been kept in a state of deep sleep by the Hindu Aryan Brahmin-dominated state power, by wrapping the traditional identity of Adivasi Janajati in symbolic headgear and neutralizing their resistance. Like crows lost in the fog, they have been made directionless and divided into many fragments. They have been led along by nothing more than false hope and hollow blessings. Under the protection of state power, the empire of Hindu Aryans is expanding by erasing the religion, language, culture, values, and identity of the indigenous Mongols.
Therefore, the 80% indigenous Mongol population of this country must awaken, rise, and unite. Let us not beg for shelter in our own homeland. Let us not live like tenants in our own homes. Adivasi and Janajati individuals involved in various political parties must not be reduced to mere headgear-wearing porters, bag carriers, hired hands, or stone-throwers for the dominant leaders of feudal political parties.
Let us not be content with being used as decorative tokens, shown off for appearance only. The indigenous Mongols, who for centuries have been suppressed and subdued, must no longer remain statues of tolerance. **No one else will fight for us—**we must fight for ourselves. Who are the Mongols, Adivasis (indigenous peoples), Janajatis (ethnic nationalities), Hindus, and Aryans? Where did they come from, and how did they enter Nepal, a land originally belonging to the indigenous people? How did they take over state power? And how did they manage to force the indigenous Mongols to abandon their own ancestral religion, rituals, and culture, and instead follow the values and culture of the Hindu Aryans?
This book has been written with the hope and belief that it will help those indigenous Mongols who are seeking to understand these critical questions and who genuinely want to preserve their existence and walk the path of their originality and identity. To liberate ourselves from the injustice, exploitation, and oppression imposed by a monopolized state power, all indigenous Mongols must unite, gather strength, and fight together. For too long, arrogant rulers have dominated us—governing as if power and privilege were their birthright, while using us as tools for their own gain. The time has come to rise and make them eat the dust of our resistance, and return this country to the rightful hands of its indigenous inhabitants.
We must take inspiration from South Africa, where 90% of the native Black population had been ruled and exploited by 10% white settlers. But the indigenous Black South Africans did not waver. They struggled with unwavering determination and reclaimed political power. This movement was led by an indigenous leader—Nelson Mandela. Today, South Africa holds its head high and is marching towards prosperity in a remarkably short time. In a land watered by the blood of our brave ancestors, if the descendants of those heroes continue to live timidly, constantly oppressed, crushed underfoot, trapped by greed and temptation, and lost in fleeting pleasures, then this country will never prosper. Future generations will curse us.
You have already robbed us of our language, customs, culture, lifestyle, dress, and originality. There is nothing left now. We have become mere statues, lifeless and still.
We have placed those who always exploit, oppress, and rule us on pedestals, and we have become nothing more than their servants and puppets. The indigenous Mongols must think deeply and understand this situation. Feudal parties have brainwashed the Mongol people’s minds with notions of servitude and false hope. We have blindly followed them and been used as mere vote banks.
Like sheep and goats, we are driven into shelters when it rains and forced into the sun when it shines. We are used as tools.
They sow division among Mongols, making us taste the bitterness of conflict. They raise us up when they need us for difficult tasks, then discard us like waste when the work is done.
But the indigenous Mongols have not even tried to understand these schemes.
Our education is like this too. In elementary school textbooks, it says “Bahadur Tamang is a farmer” and “Prasad Sharma is a doctor.” Our children are taught that a Tamang’s son is a farmer, while a Sharma’s (Brahmin’s) son is a doctor. From an early age, this intellectual death is imposed on our children.
Similarly, much of Nepal’s history has been distorted, written to serve selfish interests rather than based on true facts.
Because this false history has been accepted as gospel without proper research and investigation, the minds of indigenous Mongols remain trapped within it. Nepal’s politics is like the elephant polo game played in Chitwan. Giant elephants, with decorated mahouts sitting on their heads, clash fiercely between two sides, playing a game of football. But no matter which elephant group wins, it is always the mahout—the one sitting on top—who receives the prize.
Similarly, what good is it that the indigenous Mongols are strong? Being massive like the elephants kept in Chitwan is not enough. They fight and clash among themselves, claiming to be from Congress, UML, Maoist, RPP, and so on, but they never ask who is truly leading us. Who is controlling us from the top?
Those who happily act as the pawns (Hanumans) of feudal parties take pride in serving loyally, boast of being real activists, but they don’t realize that they are actually slaves.
Many have stood for years as pillars in parties controlled by the mahouts, cultivating illusions among the indigenous people. The mahouts suck them dry and throw away the bones. Even those few who have become leaders by aligning themselves with Adivasi and Janajati identities have ended up in dire situations, belonging neither here nor there.
You might say, “But a few have reached high government positions.” However, if you take pride and satisfaction in just that, it will not serve the interests of the 80% indigenous Mongols.
Like lions, tigers, rhinos, and deer kept in a zoo only to be shown to tourists, we have become nothing more than animals in captivity. Dr. Gopal Gurung, a Mongol leader and father figure, said, “Political power is the master key that can open all kinds of locks.”
In our community, there is a term called “Likhure Mautey” (mahouts sitting on elephants’ heads), who say politics is not a proper job. But ironically, all political affairs are controlled by these very mahouts who consider politics their own fiefdom.
Whenever indigenous Mongols try to engage in politics, these mahouts use all sorts of deceit and tricks to manipulate the situation for their own benefit. They treat every government institution as their personal property. They believe no one except themselves is capable or intelligent enough, and that they were born to rule the world.
Those who live a luxurious life by staying in power through cultivating confusion in the country create social, economic, political, religious, cultural, and judicial discrimination, practicing inequality that harms the majority indigenous population.
No matter what constitution or system is introduced—whether monarchy, democracy, or republic—if 80% of the indigenous population is kept away from the state’s resources and power, the system and governance cannot succeed.
Karna Bahadur Jirel
Chairperson
Mongol National Organization
Dolakha District Assembly
