This may be of interest to Sajha scholars. Please feel free to forward this to other interested folks. oohi ashu ****************************** Call for papers Nepal Tarai: Context and Possibilities a conference to be hosted by the Social Science Baha March 2005 Among the many neglected arenas of national discourse in Nepal have been issues related to the Tarai, encompassing a vast range of subjects from development to environment, from identity and rights to infrastructure and economic advancement. Acknowledging this reality, the Social Science Baha plans to hold a two-day conference entitled �Nepal Tarai: Context and Possibilities� to deal with overarching issues with required depth, bringing together experienced scholars even while trying to generate interest among young academics to the study of this dynamic region. Issues and Rationale Nepal was unified in the second half of the 18th century but had yet not yet been fully �integrated� by the close of the twentieth. The reasons for this lack of integration are many, first and foremost the geographical terrain obstructing travel and interaction between the mid-hills, the mountains and the plains. The fact of the unification being a �mid-hills project�, leading to a particular kind of centralised state has also had an impact on integration. These features inhibited the true unification of Nepal (meaning, inclusiveness in governance for all communities and regions) since its formation up to the mid-20th century. In the modern era, the domination of much of the state apparatus, including the civil bureaucracy and political parties, by less than a handful of communities from the mid-hills and valleys meant that many other peoples and communities continued to remain isolated from the Nepali state and its functioning. Things, however, are beginning to change. Drawing upon works that had for several years been locked in academic research and books, activists began to point out the injustice of Nepali society reflected in the domination by a few communities while large sections and communities continued to remain at the margins. Pent-up issues from the rural hinterland came to a boil in the 1990s, under a more democratic environment, requiring even mainstream political forces to acknowledge the lack of inclusiveness. In a country where no community is in the majority, but where a minority has been able to dominate the country due to a configuration of certain historical and geographical factors, the challenge that remains is how to ensure the inclusion of marginalised communities. The governments that have been formed since 2000, including the main political parties today, speak of bringing the janajati, dalits and women into the national mainstream.