Tharu People

The Tharu people are indigenous people living in the Surkhet Valley in the west mountain region, Chitwan Valley, Dang Valley,Deukhuri Valley,Sindhuli and Udyapur in Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal and the Terai plains on the border of Nepal and India. The population of Nepal is 28,287,147 (July 2006 est.), of which the Tharu people make up 6.6%. A smaller number of Tharus live in India, mostly in Champaran District of Bihar and in Nainital District of Uttarakhand.[

The Tharu are recognised as an official nationality by the Government of Nepal Plains.They were the primary victims of the Kamaiya system outlawed by the government of Nepal on July 17 of 2000. It is now illegal to contract for labor through debt bondage or indenture. Though democracy has been reinstated in the country, the Tharu community has called for a more inclusive democracy as they are fearful of remaining a backward, underprivileged people.
Description

The Tharu is largest and oldest ethnic group of the Terai region, living in villages near dense malaria-infested jungles in regions that were isolated over the millennia, allowing them to develop a unique culture.They work usually as farmers or peddlers. Although physically the Tharu are similar to other peoples in the area, they speak their own Tharu language that originated in Sanskrit and is now recognised officially.

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