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The Santhal People of Nepal

Santhal, until recently, have been considered as tribal people living nomadic livstyles. Santhal are found in India and Bangladesh as well where as in India they are living densely in Southern part of the country. Traditionally this community was relying on hunting and fishing as their livelihood however the modernization of the society and geo-political changes forced them to shift into other occupation mainly working as daily wage laborer in agriculture and other areas.

In Nepal, they are considered as one of the first settlers in eastern plain area. Now they are concentrated in Jhapa and Morang districts. As per the census data of 2001, the total populations of this community was 42,689 and were found scattered in almost 30 districts; however the number is very negligible in other districts except Jhapa and Morang. Jhapa is the district where large numbers of Santhals are living and their population was recorded as 23,172. They are scattered throughout the district but are highly concentrated in 15 southern Village Development Communities bordering or near to India.

Santhal people, who were considered to be 'sons of the soil', are now almost landlessness. Very few households now have their own land and most live on public land or rented land. The public land they live on tends to be nearby rivers/streams so are more prone to disaster. The flood of 2009 in Jhapa proved this. Of the 1000 most affected families, more than 60 percent were Santhals.

manSanthal people still follow their traditional way of living except their occupation that has been changed largely due to scarcity of natural resources: forest and rivers (fish). They have their own written and oral language and their own judicial system. Alcoholism mainly among male members is rampant since it has been considered as essential for every occasion. Their customs and traditions are becoming more and more difficult to maintain as it now costs a lot of money to source the materials they would normally have harvested from the land.
Many of them have no access to a sustainable livelihood, and now work in agriculture as wage laborers, earning minimal wages day to day. On a typical day, many of them flock towards nearby towns in search of wage labor in construction work, rickshaw pulling etc. Since they have no modern skills to sell in the market, they are quite often exploited and paid very poorly. Due to their vulnerable economic condition, almost all Santhal people live in huts made of mud and thatch which have no doors. They have no doors to close and no possession to steal.

While many children begin their formal educations, most of them will not complete their lower secondary level of education. At the age of 10, most children drop out of school and begin working with their parents to help their families survive.

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Source:http://www.goodnewslutheran.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351&Itemid=101
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