This volume critically reflects on the social, cultural and political processes that have shaped the various ethno-linguistic minorities of India, Nepal and China since the 1950s. By and large, ethnic minorities have emerged as powerful groups in internal politics of most parts of South Asia and the Far East. In an attempt to partly accommodate the political and economic aspirations of some of these ethnic groups, in India, the authorities have created smaller states on the basis of language, culture, and in some cases economic backwardness. In Nepal, ethnic minorities include economically and culturally diverse groups scattered over the country. Inspired by the Indian experiment, the political elite in Nepal is now seeking to institutionalize procedures to fully integrate the adivasis/janajatis as citizens. While India and Nepal largely recognize the emergence of these ethnic minorities as political actors, the Chinese state, ignoring the political demands of its minorities, is focussing on their economic development and their modernization.
