Nepali caste and community guide
पहाडी दलित समुदाय
Hill Dalit is an umbrella term for distinct communities including Bishwokarma, Pariyar, Mijar and others that have faced caste-based exclusion in Nepal's hill society.
“Dalt” in the source folder is treated as a spelling error and maps here. Dalit is a political and social identity as well as a census grouping; individual communities retain their own histories, surnames, skills and cultural traditions.
The history of Hill Dalit communities includes specialized knowledge and labor as well as systemic untouchability, restrictions and unequal access to land, education and public institutions. Anti-caste organizing, constitutional rights and cultural assertion are central to modern history.
Written records, oral histories and present-day identity do not always use the same categories. Family origin claims should be identified as tradition unless supported by dated evidence, and historical occupations should never be treated as descriptions of people today.
Hill Dalit communities live throughout Nepal's hill regions, Tarai settlements and cities, and in a large overseas diaspora.
These are surnames currently classified with this community in HamroBansa. A surname may be used by more than one community, and family traditions can vary.
These are historical associations, not assumptions about people today.
Music, metalwork, tailoring, leatherwork, oral traditions and regional festival practices form parts of particular community histories. These historical associations must not be used to assign occupations or status to people today. Practices vary across localities, families and generations, and contemporary community life is not limited to these traditions.
Hill Dalit is an umbrella term for distinct communities including Bishwokarma, Pariyar, Mijar and others that have faced caste-based exclusion in Nepal's hill society. “Dalt” in the source folder is treated as a spelling error and maps here. Dalit is a political and social identity as well as a census grouping; indiv…
Terms such as caste, ethnicity and community are used differently across Nepal and by different institutions. This page uses “community” as a respectful umbrella term and records more specific classifications where sources support them.
HamroBansa currently records 23 linked surnames on this page. Surname use can cross community boundaries, so a last name alone does not establish a person's identity.
No reviewed gotra links are currently available for this community.
Hill Dalit communities live throughout Nepal's hill regions, Tarai settlements and cities, and in a large overseas diaspora.
Languages recorded in the source material include Nepali, regional languages. Language use varies by place, household and generation.
