Nepal: Country Technical Note on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues

Indigenous peoples of Nepal have been living in Nepal since time immemorial. The influence of the Hindu religion, society, and culture began to intensify in indigenous peoples' society after the restructuring of the society of the Newars into 64 castes. This caste division was based on the division of labour (but not on varna, i.e., Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra) and purity from the pollution of water and food.

Indigenous peoples of Nepal lost their autonomy and self-rule when Nepal was territorially integrated by King Pritvi Narayan Shah in 1769 (Bhattachan 2008).