Ashu, The issue of jaat-related hierarchy and social norms thereof is very valid. However, I have a lsight objection to your approach of giving more credence to what a peron's name is, i.e., the facade, than to who that person actually is I could be Anil Chepang. Or, I could be Anil Budhamagar. Or, I could be Anil Jung Shahi, which I am. Or, for that matter, I could be His Highness Anil Bir Bikram Shahi Dev. What should really matter above all of the afore-mentioned names is WHO I ACTUALLY AM -- how I think, act and behave, derived from what I believe in, expressed through what I do, write, or say. It is the thought process that should prevail in determining one's tendency towards social ills and reforms thereof, not what name tag that thought process may carry. Same issue from another aspect: Many of my friends in the RNA , when questioned about their institution's exclusivity, are quick to point out that many of the high-ranking Generals are from, what they term, "MaGuRaLi" (Magar, Gurung, Rai, Limbu) group. And indeed they were -- in 2002, if my memoery serves me right, nearly 10 of the 18 Generals in the RNA were "MaGuRaLi"s. A case, which at it's face value, should be a reason to rejoice. Not so. In the months and years since, after having studied and conversed about the issue with many other intellectuals, it turns out that it didn't matter what surnames those generals carried. What mattered most was what their thought process was like. In their daily lives, from their language to their behaviors in general, they had comfortably assimilated to the high-class, Chhetri-Thakuri aristocracy. So, it really should not matter what my name tag says. I believe I have made it abundantly clear my quest for equality and freedom for ALL Nepalis, reagrdless of their caste, class, geography or gender. A person would be damned is s/he ever questioned my genuine and profound affinity to the poor and underprivileged.