Dada Giri has accounted the accurate origination of the word "सामन्ती".
From my understanding, the direct English equivalent of the word "सामन्ती", as used in the current modern context, is "Feudalist".
सामन्त = Feudal
सामन्ती = Feudalist
सामन्तवाद = Feudalism
In the Nepali context, feudalism is multi-prong, I think -- the hierarchy which promotes feudalistic attributes in our society can be based either on caste, class, or geography. The caste factor is obvious – those belonging to the “higher” castes had, by and large, enjoyed imposing their wills on those of the “lower” castes. However, I know there are a lot of poor Brahman-Chhetris, who can be discriminated against by the rich Janajatis too, hence the “class” factor kicks in. Similarly, geography also plays a role in discriminations in our society – people from certain regions are, for instance, discriminated against, either directly by people of other regions, or indirectly by the government in terms of not providing adequate development to those areas. Gender is another factor – male dominance over female is as prevalent as any other forms of discrimination in our society. I am not sure which of all those factors (caste, class, geography, or gender) play a greater role in promoting and consolidating the feudalist attributes in our society, but they all seem to inter-mingle in the overall structure of our society.
Feudalists, for me, are not only the “privileged” who happen to impose their wills on others. Those who willingly give into the feudalist structure and are content with being discriminated against are also feudalists in my view. Mind you, we must draw a subtle yet very important distinction here between those who acquiesce because they know not, and those who submit to the discriminations even though they might know better, yet they submit to the “feudal masters” because they can reap some benefits out of it. The latter are feudalists, while the former are the victims, as they simply do not know any better.
Feudalist nature can also be seen in the day-to-day lives of Nepalis where caste, class, or gender distinctions have little meaning. Regardless of their caste, class, or gender, some Nepalis tend to think of themselves as somehow belonging to a higher stature than others. They try to – and often succeed, much to the dismay of others – in patronizing others and belittling the latter’s being. Such is our society, and such can be expected from political leadership, be that of the political parties, the darbariyas, or perhaps even the Maoists. The anti-feudalist sloganeering against the monarchy in Nepal was right during the andolan, but much needs to be done yet in order to minimize the affects of feudalism in our society – complete and total transformation of our social structure is the need of the times.
Total eradication of feudalism may be impossible – we see remnants of such ill practices even in developed world. Perhaps it is in human nature to have feudalistic inclinations. However, if we can minimize the affects of feudalism, the better off we would be.
In this regard, I personally believe that the institution of monarchy played a key role in promoting and preserving feudalism in Nepal so that they could consolidate their own power. Historically, the Panchayat era was the worst with regards to feudal consolidation. Therefore, since monarchy was the key to our ill-structured society, I believe it needs to be uprooted. Unless and until we abolish monarchy in Nepal, it will remain difficult to minimize feudalism, and to uphold the individual’s prestige based on his/her personal integrity, rather than on one’s caste, class, gender, or his/her associations.
We can only prosper as a nation when each and every Nepali can be proud of their achievements, i.e., by their deeds, and NOT by who they are in terms of जात, कुल, गोत्र, लिंग, या वर्ग।
श्री ५ लाई तह लाईयो, तर त्यतीले पुग्दैन – श्री ५ को अन्त्यस्टी गर्नै पर्छ। त्यतीले नि पुग्दैन। समाजका अन्य सामन्तवादमा अडिग वर्ग, राजनैतिक या सामाजिक श्रेणीहरुलाई पनि भग्नावशेशको बाटो देखाउनु पर्छ। कसैको जात, कुल, गोत्र, लिंग, वर्ग, या उनको जो कोहीसंग सम्बन्धमा होईन, उनको कर्म र प्रत्यक्ष योगदानको आधारमा मात्र उनलाई सम्मान् गरिनु पर्छ। आफ्नो प्रभुत्व जमाउने अधिकार कसैसँग पनि हुनु हुँदैन, दिईनु हुँदैन।