The chimera of equality in ethnocracies

Continuous struggle is the permanent lot of all permanent minorities everywhere.

An earthy politician from the rugged hills of Rolpa, Balaram Gharti Magar (1937–2025) held various ministerial portfolios in nearly a dozen cabinets between 1970 and 2000. But his greatest joy came when he was appointed the Minister of State for Defence sometime in the late 1970s. He had gushed to visitors on the lawn of his exposed-brick bungalow outside the Ring Road at Saatdobato: “The royal relatives leading the army will have to salute the son of a Magar!”