Madheshi people

Madheshi people (मधेशी) is a term used for several ethnic groups living in the central and eastern Terai region of Nepal, constituting 32% of Nepal's population. It has also been used as a political pejorative term by the Pahari people of Nepal to refer to non-pahari people with a non-Nepali language as their mother tongue, regardless of their place of birth or residence. The term Madheshi became a widely recognised name for Nepali citizens with an Indian cultural background only after 1990. Madheshi people comprise various cultural groups such as Hindu caste groups, Muslims, Marwaris, Brahmin and Dalit caste groups, ethnic groups like Maithils, Bhojpuri, Awadhi and Bajjika speaking people and indigenous people of the Terai. Many of these groups share cultural traditions, educational and family ties with people living south of the international border in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Tharu people and Pahari people living in the Terai do not consider themselves as Madheshi. In recent times, some politicians and journalists use the term for all Nepali citizens of the Terai. The word madhesh is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit madhya desh (मध्य देश), literally the middle country, which refers to "the central region, the country lying between the Himalaya and the Vindhya mountains". However, in the context of Nepal, Madhesh refers to the region in the Nepal Terai located south of the Siwalik Hills. The term Madheshi people has been used for people of Indian ancestry residing in the Nepal Terai comprising various cultural groups such as Hindu caste groups, Muslims, Marwaris and indigenous people of the Terai. Madhesh has also been defined as the cultural and linguistic space existing as a basis for identity among the people of the Terai. Indian migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar settled foremost in the eastern Nepal Terai since the late 18th century, when the Shah rulers of Nepal encouraged deforestation and agricultural development of this region.

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