who are Tharu people ?

Introduction of Tharu people

Tharus are an indigenous ethnic people with their own language, culture, and history, who live in the terai (Tharuhat) as well as extend across 550 miles of the southern border of Nepal. They are assumed to be the first settlers in the Terai region, and they are the largest tribe in Nepal and are spread across almost 24 districts of Nepal from East Mechi to West Mahakali. They also live in the border districts of India, mainly in Champaran, Bengal, Gonda, Nainitaal, Gorakhpur, Kheri.

According to the 2001 census data of CBS, Tharus are more than 1.5 million. However, Tharus have been questioning the credibility of the census report of 2001 and claim that there are more than 3.5 million Tharus in Nepal. In the past, the Terai region was full of jungles, wild animals, and also affected by malaria. Tharu people lived in the Terai region and started to settle, resisting malaria, and developed the region for settlement and agricultural land. So Tharus are known as the “Sons of the Earth.” Historically, they were the only ones that were able to reside in the malaria jungles in the country. They became successful in sustaining their livelihood in Terai through sacrificing their descendants and developing immune power against malaria.

Gentle and simple in nature, Tharus are laborious in agricultural products and have traditionally lived throughout the jungles of Terai lowlands in Nepal. The group is made up of many sub-groups and is divided into several groups, distinguished by their territories, cultural features, and languages. They are recognized by names such as Chitoniya, Dangora, Deukhuria, Rana, Kathariya, Mahottaria, and Kochila (Morangia) Tharu. The physical structure of Tharus is characterized by a wide face, flattened nose, medium height, solid body, and complexion color. The body color of Tharus is somewhere brown due to the hot climate of Terai. At first glance, if anyone looks at a Tharu person, they might seem to have a Mongoloid physical structure. But in reality, they are the sons of the soil of Terai, Nepal. Tharus are simple, honest, and peaceful in nature. They like to stay far from all kinds of quarrels and forgery. Tharus had adopted and have also been adopting the doctrines of Lord Buddha from generation to generation, which developed the peace-loving nature of Tharus. Tharu people mostly reside in close proximity to forests and water bodies, as these are their sources of firewood, wild medicinal plants, and fishery. Their main occupations are agriculture, animal husbandry, bonded labor, and manual labor.

There are different theories about the origin of Tharu people. Some claim them to be migrants from the Tharu Desert in Rajasthan, India. Others say that these are the descendants of children born out of the liaisons between Rajput women and their servants who fled from Muslim invaders. But these theories are not conclusive. Tharus claim their origin solely in Terai, Nepal, based on the oldest fossils, artifacts, genetic immune power against malaria, profession, general history, ruling history, and demographic distribution. Tharus have been living in Terai for more than three thousand years, making them the indigenous people of Terai as well as the origin of the region.