Rana Tharu people

Rana Tharu
राना थारू
Rana Tharu woman
Regions with significant populations
   Nepal83,308[1]
 India91,342[2]
Languages
Rana Tharu, Nepali, Hindi
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups

Rana Tharu is an ethnic group generally classified as part of the Tharu people of Nepal and India. They are living in Kailali and Kanchanpur Districts of the far western Nepali Terai and also in India, in Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand and Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh.[3] As of 2001, Rana Tharu people were the largest of five scheduled tribes in Uttarakhand, with a population of 256,129 accounting for 33.4% of all scheduled tribes.[4]

The Rana Tharu community of Kailali and Kanchanpur districts have long demanded an identity separate from other Tharus. The Nepal Charter dated 18 May 2020 lists Rana Tharus as a distinct ethnic group; this listing was celebrated by Rana Tharus across Kaliali and Kanchanpur.[5]

  1. ^ National Statistics Office (2021). National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report. Government of Nepal (Report).
  2. ^ General & Census Commissioner (2011). A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (Report). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  3. ^ Guneratne, A. (2002). Many tongues, one people: The making of Tharu identity in Nepal. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801487285.
  4. ^ Office of the Registrar General (2001). "Uttaranchal. Data Highlights: The Scheduled Tribes. Census of India 2001" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  5. ^ Rana, B. (2022). "Five misconceptions about Rana Tharus". The Record. Retrieved 27 October 2023.