Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle For Modernization

by Dor Bahadur Bista

A bold and incisive analysis of nepal’s society, and its attempts to develop and respond to change, from someone who is both and insider and an outsider to nepal at an early age dor bahadur bista travelled all over nepal in the company of the leading anthropologist christoph von furer-haimendorf which helped him acquire an insight that enables him to make an objective and frank comment on his country the bulk of the author’s argument in this book is that nepal’s strengths have always been in the indigenous qualities of its various ethnic groups but it has been under the influence of other cultures which have suppressed its own strengths he believes, that while nepal should be open to other cultures, they should be scrutinized and their negative elements purged before they are adopted nepal’s future hope lies in its ethnic cultures whose simplicity provides a greater flexibility and thus a greater propensity to development and change, than the cumbersome and ossified structure o

Genres: Nonfiction

199 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Dor Bahadur Bista (Nepali: डोर बहादुर बिस्ट) is a Nepalese anthropologist, social scientist and activist. Bista is considered the father of Nepalese anthropology, and has published such popular books as Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle for Modernization and People of Nepal.

Bista mysteriously disappeared in 1995.

Reviews

[Northpapers · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I was in Kathmandu on vacation, I asked the president of a local university if he could recommend any books. I felt enchanted and a little baffled by the social movements I saw around me. And the varieties of skin tone, appearance and religions suggested a storied history. Without hesitating, he offered me only one title. I immediately found the book, and as I asked other translators, missionaries, and teachers what I should be reading, they all recommended the same book.

You know that a book has something to say when the author disappears under mysterious circumstances soon after its publication. So it is with Dor Bahadar Bista's little critique of his homeland. In Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle for Modernization, Bista searches through Nepali history to find the influences, patterns, and ideologies that make it so difficult for Nepal to meet the numerous challenges of adapting to a changing world.

What he turns up is fascinating. Bista suggests that despite numerous attempts by Indian immigrants, Nepal never fully adopted the caste system. Instead, it created a permeable set of classes with its own set of disadvantages. The main one being that once a Nepali makes it into political or economic power, he/she is taught to disdain work. So the resulting society has a group of wealthy leaders who, through a set of cultural loopholes and customs, don't do much work.

I am a fan of Nepali culture. I love the people of Kathmandu. But, as I read bits of this and other books by the light of my headlamp because of yet another power outage, I had to agree that the administration of the country could use some improvement.

I can't confirm or deny much of the material in the book because my entire time in Nepal consisted of about three weeks, but the study seemed to resonate with the patterns I saw around me. There may not be much here for your average reader, but for culture and history geeks, Nepal's developmental and political structures offer some compelling tensions.

[Mohita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overview of Nepal's history of why they are the way they are today!! Effects of Rana's rule and the aspect of different caste, their hierarchy and the way Nepalese behave in every other actions. If you want a peek of Nepal's path towards modernization with a clear understanding of all the caste system that Nepalese are binded by, and what actually bought the Caste system to such a critical point today, and why is caste so important to Nepalese, read the book! Overall a Good Read and interesting infos.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of this book is highly critical of aspects of Nepali society that he sees as having hindered development. While being self-critical is an American value, it is something I have very rarely observed to this extent in eight years of working in community development in an Asian context.

I read it as part of the recommended reading list for my orientation to begin work in Nepal and have found it very helpful. I certainly think that he is making an academic point in the book and I think it is am important addition to scholarship on development. I don't think that fatalism is unique to the Nepali context, but the author well articulates why and how he thinks it manifests here.

While it has been a helpful framework for me to assess past experiences in other context where fatalism is also pervasive and reflect on how I hope to approach work here, it is probably not what I would recommend for first-time development workers without their own experiences of fatalism and development to balance with the author's view else they too fall prey to a fatalistic view of engaging in this work.

[Jaiseri · Rating 5 out of 5]

नेपालको इतिहास र वर्तमान र भविष्यको बारेमा लेखिएको एकदमै दमदार पुस्तक हो भाग्यवाद र विकास । डोरबहादुर विष्टले यो किताबमा नेपाली समाजलाई फरक भाषिलाई चिनाउने शैलीमा लेखेकाले नेपाली स्वयंले पढ्दा यो आफ्नै समिक्षा पढे जस्तो लाग्छ । यसमा नेपालको इतिहास छ । यसमा नेपालको समाजको अध्ययन छ । यसमा नेपालको भविष्य उज्ज्वल बनाउनका लागि गरिएको चिन्तन छ । भाग्यवाद र जातीय सोपानले नेपाली समाजलाई कसरी पछि पारेको छ भनेर पुस्तकमा गज्जबले आएको छ । त्यसको निदानको रुपमा नेपालको विविधताका सुन्दर पक्षहरुको उपयोग गरेर समुन्नत भविष्यका लागि काम गर्नुपर्ने संकेत गर्दै पुस्तक सकिएको छ ।

पुस्तक सबै नेपालीहरुले पढ्नुपर्ने खालको छ ।

[Kshitij Chaurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

केहि कुराहरूमा असहमति भएतापनी विष्टले नेपाल र नेपालीको विषेशतालाई मिहिन ढंगले केलाएका छन् ।

यो हरेकले पढेर बहसमा ल्याउनु पर्ने किताब हो।

[Maulik Maharjan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatalism and Development is one of the well researched and detailed book I've read when it comes to Nepali preface and context.

Mr. Bista is spot on with his researches and analysis regarding introduction, implementation and long term effects of caste system in Nepal. The writer highlights the leeching long term effects caused by nepotism and trend of "Afno Manche" in aspects of social, regional and national development programs and policies. Mr. Bista points out the differences in the socialization and upbringing of a child belonging to the various ethnic and caste-based backgrounds.

The silver lining of the book is the highlight on Nepal's struggle for development and modernization caused by fatalism, nepotism and "Subtle Nepali Traits" which is learned & developed by Nepalese over the course of millennium. Even if the book was published back on early 90's with data and figures from early 80's, the contents and subjects still matter much more in the present context of Nepal.

All in all, this book is the collection of our impromptu behaviors & thinking that basically creates the unwanted & unneeded hurdles for the betterment of our society and the nation.

[Bashyal Subodh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This the best book I have ever found which clearly help us to understand the social, cultural, economical aspects of nepalese society. How they are interlinked with each other. It helps to indentify the root cause that is holding our development. Dor bahadur was way ahead of his time, this book was written before the 2046 revolution of nepal, before the concept of federalism, ethnicity, , nationality were heard. And now in B.s 2074 we can see that every thing he has mentioned in the book is reality. A must to read book if you want to understand nepal and an eye opener

[Skz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good read if you are out to briefly understand the social upheaval in Nepal.

[Sashank Dewan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, and quite interesting thesis by the author. Has some flaws as the book is 3 decades old.

[Bradley William Holder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been working in Nepal as a volunteer for the last two years. My being here—the first time in my life I’ve ever been immersed in a culture vastly different from the Western template most Westerners daily take for granted [and trust me: I fully expect to go back to taking it for granted once my term of service ends, which it’s just about to (insert crying emoji here)]—has awoken within me—a near-constant changer of future career goals—a newfound passion for anthropology, especially from the point of view of language. Never mind that one time in Amsterdam, after a chance encounter with some British undergrad lads in an out-of-the-way hostel, I was told, in-between tokes, that the very thing I was most passionate about at the time (viz. phenomenology) had plenty of applications to the (by some people’s estimation) more practical former discipline. Since then, I’ve continued to circle the toilet bowl of long-term employment. It would be more than presumptuous to say that I’ve even begun my penultimate orbit around the innards of the basin; however, because I’m here—fascinated by the very concept of culture simply because I am fascinated by one very specific example thereof—it seemed appropriate to read perhaps the most famous and influential example of Nepali anthropological scholarship written by Nepal’s most famous and influential cultural anthropologist. Obviously I am biased since, prior to starting, I’d already experienced, though far from completely, those aspects of Nepali culture that make it so different even from its more immediate geographical neighbors—most of whom have more bustling economies and, to the Western outsider, more interesting cultural offerings. But even without having been primed beforehand, anyone even remotely interested in the broader idea of developing a nation on the outskirts of traditional economic success is liable to attain invaluable insight from reading this book. (Recent events have, for some, put foreign aid in a bad light. It’s never going to stop being a thing though; and, as far as I’m concerned, that’s good.) Most of this insight exists because the book is written by an insider who’s not only capable of recognizing his country’s unique advantages but also because its author was wholly unafraid of criticizing his government and even the members of his own social group (or “caste” in this case).

Before I continue, however, it is worth noting one important caveat. Broadly speaking, this book was not written that long ago (i.e., the mid-’90s). However, since 1950—namely, the first time in over 100 years that Nepal’s essentially feudal economy and (extremely) despotic government were adjusted in any way—it has continued to change rapidly, no doubt (I’d like to believe) owing at least in part to the changes that Bista himself proposed in the first edition of Fatalism and Development. To give you a taste, both a royal family massacre, which wiped out most of the Nepali royal family, therefore destabilizing the current monarchy [which had already undergone an assortment of changes (cf. पञ्चायत)] as well as a rather bloody civil war, the result of which was the development of a Nepali constitutional republic with lots of communist influence via China, both took place after the book was published. Even for me, then, much of what is presented as serious problems seem a lot more innocuous than they allegedly did to the book’s author. (Note: I'm talking about development per se, not the sociocultural problems that Bista claims are inhibiting it.) That said, I’ve only spent a small amount of time in a rather isolated community (i.e., a small village in central Nepal). It could be true, therefore, that less has changed (um, outside the obvious) than is apparent. Anyway, moving on.

Bista’s thesis is simple. Nepal is, and pretty much always has been, extremely diverse. Over its long history, however, its biggest problem has been the caste system. Even though Nepal developed its own variation of Hinduism alongside, for example, India’s, the caste system, as we know it today—or, rather, as it was known in 1995 (and I don’t think it’s changed much since then)—is really an import from Indian Brahmanism, essentially a different sect—not, Bista claims, a Nepali original. There is, actually, an ancient Nepali Hindu text that I’ve been meaning to get my hands on, but I’m not sure if it was written before or after the diffusion. [One interesting sidenote: Bista mentions that in Nepal’s early history, well before the unification of its many city states, which took place in 1744, the Tibeto-Burman peoples from the north, who were Buddhist, and the Indo-Aryan peoples (the Khas, I think) who settled in Nepal from what would eventually become modern-day India, who were Hindu, vied for power. The Hindus were victorious, which is one reason why Nepal is mostly Hindu today. It’s also why some of the various Tibeto-Burman ethnic peoples currently living in Nepal, like the Tamang for instance, are Buddhist. This tidbit interested me mostly because kombucha-chugging hipster spiritualists in the West like to make the claim that Eastern religions are less violent, or at least less territorial, and therefore somehow better, than Western religions. My understanding of “human nature” has always been that nothing—no religion, no political system—is more inherent than the movement toward tribalism. Religion’s just a tool, man—or, to put it more charitably, a complex manifestation of much of what we might call animalian instinct.] The reason why the caste system is such a blight on the Nepali way of life is because (1) it undermines the ethnic and cultural diversity that make Nepal such a treasure—both to itself and to the outside world—and (1.5) it’s fatalistic, meaning that it takes one’s situation, one’s nation’s situation, one’s nation’s situation’s future as fixed, unalterable, unmalleable. If Nepal’s goal is to enter the quote-unquote first world (i.e., if it’s ever going to develop), then it needs to throw away those institutions that are both psychologically and practically making it impossible to do so.

Also in the mix is, according to Bista, (a) the necessity of having a strong patriarchal figure—that is, a king—(which they did have at the time this book was published but as of right now no longer do) and (b) concerns regarding an overreliance on foreign aid—to such an extent that it makes Nepali leadership unable or unwilling (or both) to take care of themselves. I can speak to the existence of a lot of foreign aid today—not just from the West but also from India, China, Japan, and South Korea. It’s ubiquitous, seems to come with some kind of ulterior motive (yes, even ours), and, from the Nepali side of things, is, in terms of projects, more interested in how things look than how they actually are. [Every Nepali person I’ve ever met—even some of the younger ones—has, if asked about it, made the claim that Nepal’s government is ridden with corruption. I can never tell if this feeling is based on evidence or is, rather, just a general mistrust of the government either because it isn’t the kind they want (e.g., not socialist enough, too different from the monarchy they grew up with) or because it’s relatively new.]

So that’s the problem. The solution, according to Bista, is also pretty simple; but for all the apparent development that has taken place since the mid-1990s, it still seems from my perspective mostly unaddressed. The ruling caste—the Bahun (Brahman) and the Chhetri—need to give up some of their power (both in government and in industry) and allow their historically lesser appreciated outsider ethnic groups (e.g., Magar, Tamang, Newari, and Limbu) to participate. (These are Bista’s ideas, not mine. I do agree with him, however.) He thinks this because these ethnic groups are less fatalistic, more hardworking, and, in many ways, more skilled than the ruling class. Brahmans were the ruling caste hundreds of years ago. Even though the government is now democratic, it still mostly represents the same group of people it did back then. (These are my ideas now. I’d like to think that, since they are based on his own, Bista would agree with them though.) So the real shift was from, despite masquerading as something else, monarchy → aristocracy, which tends to be what happens when a monarchy collapses. How this situation might change is anyone’s guess.

I can say—purely anecdotally—that Nepali Brahmans and Chhetris seem a lot less interested in making things more fair—that is, castewise—than they do having a form of government that they agree with. It’s almost as if the constant political instability of the country is distracting the citizenry from the actual point of government. From the government’s side, and to their credit, there are programs meant to empower low-caste families. In the village in which I work, for example, Dalit families (this is the infamous untouchable caste, the lowest in society; importantly, it’s not an “outsider” group like the abovementioned) receive scholarship money every year, allegedly to help them pay for uniforms, school supplies, and textbooks. This is money that the government awards because these families are always poorer than the members of other castes—and there are, of course, very tragic, historical reasons for this. While this gesture is, I think, great, it perhaps misses the point. In my village, Dalit, even if they are given respect to their faces, once they walk away they are insulted or pitied. This isn’t something that money can change, at least not right away. Political representation, however, just might do the trick. It seems, however, that the opinion of Dalit people, at least within my community, is so low that they are expected to be incapable (e.g., intellectually) of rising above the lot they’ve always been given. In many ways, the situation is very similar to the Reconstruction Era in the United States.

More than anything, Fatalism and Development is an example of a developing East Asian country assessing itself on its own terms, free of any overt Orientalist bias, and offering advice on how it might improve itself. The intended audience is not the West but is instead Nepali leadership, academics, social workers, and laypersons. Therefore, the book should not be read by an outsider (i.e., म) as some kind of faulty first attempt at scholarship. The writing is clear, the ideas are insightful, and the claims are well-researched. Any anthropologist will tell you, at least in our era, that no outside observer understands a specific person’s culture better than said culture's boots-on-the-ground representatives. The same, too, is true of any language. A native speaker, even a rather lazy one, knows their language instinctually. That's a hard thing to learn, an even harder thing to teach. Layman though I am, I’d recommend this book not only to anyone—Nepali, American, whichever—working and living in Nepal but also to any person with an interest in anthropology, foreign aid and developmental work, and South Asian religion, culture, and politics. एकदम राम्रो, दाइ !

[Rabin Rai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a non-resident nepalese almost all my life, this book has helped me understand more about the social culture of Nepal. The author finely dissects Nepalese society with his scalpel and reveals to the reader the problematic value systems of the dominant Nepalese ethnic group's mindset that has impeded national development. For example, he talks about how the Hindu hierarchic caste system has spread fatalism in the Nepalese psyche which means that any individual effort will not change the outcome that has been decided by Hindu gods. Furthermore, he also describes the disdain of work by the upper caste Hindu people and how this unhelpful thinking has percolated into the educated non-upper caste population as well. Moreover, chakari and aafno manche system is also discussed and how this has led to less competent people attain high government positions. All these are shown to contribute to Nepal with the ranking as one of the world's poorest nations.

The book starts slowly with the background of the multiple ethnic groups in Nepal and picks up speed from the second half of the book.

As a result of the controversial writing, as a side note, the author has supposedly disappeared from public life after its book release.

[Sophiya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jam-packed with insights and observations to help understand Nepal's social upheaval. Enjoyed reading the elaborations on values, politics, education, foreign aid and so on as they are still very much true and contextual in the present times. Nevertheless, found the author's ideas of "equal status of women" and "children's exposure to open communication (about sex and all)" absurd as the reality I am exposed to is absolutely contradictory. Overall, this book made me look around, see and contemplate on the progress and regress we are experiencing in the country. 
Indeed an audacious dissection of Nepal's socio-cultural structure. An additional star just for the author's bravery. 

[Sujan Adhikari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though a little outdated and many things have changed from the time this book was written, certain key issues still hold water and a must-read for a Nepali to know about their country, why it is how it is now, and a way forward and equally important book for non-Nepali to understand Nepal's history and culture.

[Bredo Erichsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nepal and Nepalese is not easy to understand, but this book helps a lot. It is old but peoples culture takes time to change so I think a lot is still valid. So absolutely a book to read for everyone going to Nepal for a short or longer stay.

[सैली ना · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Castaway Man, who wanted us to teach to unlearn so many things.

[Manandhar Sunil Kumar]

I want to read this valuable book

[Pransu Khakurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting only if you want to link learn historical progression of towards Modernization.

[असृस पन्त · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insider who can view the country's real flaws without sugarcoating any of it

[Navraj Khanal]

If you want to know Nepal, this is one of the good book!

[Anu Rai · Rating 4 out of 5]

It baffles me how little I knew about my country especially with regards to caste. I wonder why weren't books like these recommended back in school.

[Ishan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good research on Neapli society. Every nepali citizen should read this to explore our fate.

[Conrad Bauer]

It was this or a Spanish-English dictionary

[Hinako · Rating 5 out of 5]

“While these disparate and inherently conflicting value systems do have connections with specific ethnic groups within Nepal, the inherent confIict should not be seen as an ethnic one. Ethnic conflict is not currently a problem for Nepal. The inherent conflict in Nepali society betrays a tension in social structure whose definition should be made in terms of both class and caste. Caste is an appealing target for westernized investigators and has been singled out as being at the base of many of Nepal's developmental difficulties. But issues of caste are not as simple as they have been generally regarded to be. “

“The most important effect of this has been the absolute belief in fatalism: that one has no personal control over one's life circumstances, which are determined through a divine or powerful external agency. This deep belief in fatalism has had a devastating effect on the work ethic and achievement motivation, and through these on the Nepali response to development. It has consequences on the sense of time, and in particular such things as the concept of planning, orienta- tion to the future, sense of causality, human dignity and punctuality.”

“Attempts by most scholars to understand and then repre- sent Nepali society, especially the dynamics of the pre- dominant Nepali culture, have typically been burdened by a theoretical framework, used for the study of social stratifica- tion, developed by a western mentality that attempts to rep- resent Hindu caste society either based on the Indian model or as a periphery of the western centres of industrial capitalism and imperialism(B1aikie et al, 1980). Nepal is not like India. This is a critical point. And an overemphasis on the structural qualities of caste often simply obscures more critical issues concerning value systems.”


“Most Nepali of the present generation spit essentially from the Chhetri and by Bahun castes have been brought up according to a belief system that persists that one circumstances have been determined by supreme deity; that their lives have been fated. If When is successful it is because one must’ve earned this in a previous life. This is called karma.
Fatalism greatly affects purposeful problem-solving in goal achievement behavior. if the course of events is already determined that it makes little sense to attempt to independently influence their outcome.
Consequently, The only kind of action that can influence one’s destiny are those with religious merit.”

[Bikram Magar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book written by Dor bahadur Bista, one of the earliest Nepalese anthropologist describes the deeply rooted lcast system and its level of applicability in the different areas and professions, more of a political field of Nepalese society. He openly oppose the fatalistic characters of the different cast and their contribution in the formation of the society and clarifies the caste discrimination, as one of an obstacle for the development. He was far criticized for the term Bahunism that he has used to show the caste conservatism prevailed in the country.
This types of creation was merely the topic of discussion at those times. He was ahead of his time. Sadly we don't even got to know about him thereafter...

[Samundra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prof. Bista was way ahead of his time. In short, Prof. Bista states that the caste system put most of the people with strong work ethic at the bottom and the opposite on the top. As evident in modern society and especially in Nepal, people want to get higher degrees not to enrich the society but with a mentality to enrich their life and prestige. Sadly, our current Nepalese population still fails to see the problems that Prof. Bista saw around 50 years ago and is going on a tortoise pace towards modernization.

[Aman Bhattarai · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows us how Nepalese society has been shaped from the early years to now. Written in 1991, the book is still relevant. The notion of 'afno manchhe', 'chakari' still prevails and is almost institutionalized in our work culture. The author successfully presents strong reasons for the struggle for development in Nepal.

[Suraj Dhakal]

I wonder why Bista vanished in Bardiya.

[Leo Siwakoti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice anthropologist

[Anu Rai · Rating 4 out of 5]

It baffles me how little I knew about my country especially with regards to caste. I wonder why weren't books like these recommended back in school.

[Avantika Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars