Advocacy

Indigenous Rights

Born into the Sunuwar indigenous community of Okhaldhunga, my advocacy for indigenous rights is not abstract — it is a deeply lived, personal commitment to dignity, identity, and justice.

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Nepal Indigenous Community

Community Affiliations

Sunuwar Welfare Society

Life Member

Nepal Democratic Kirant Sunuwar Association

Honoured Member

Sunuwar Indigenous Community

Okhaldhunga, Nepal — Home community

Indigenous Rights

Championing Sunuwar
Indigenous Identity
& Dignity

I was born in Khijikati, a remote village in Okhaldhunga, into the Sunuwar indigenous community — where life was deeply connected to culture, land, and family. My childhood shaped by discipline, sacrifice, and the richness of indigenous tradition taught me, from an early age, that identity is not just about where you come from — it is about what you carry forward.

Growing up witnessing the struggles, dignity, and cultural richness of my community shaped my understanding of what it means to fight for recognition, equity, and preservation of identity. My advocacy for indigenous rights is rooted in this lived experience — not academic theory, but the memory of long mountain walks, community ceremonies, and the quiet resilience of people who refused to be invisible.

My background is not a story of comfort — it is a story of courage. Those roots in Okhaldhunga are not something I left behind. They are something I carry into every policy room I enter.
Read My Story Indigenous Research
Focus Areas

Areas of Indigenous Rights Advocacy

Cultural Preservation & Language

Advocating for the preservation of the Sunuwar language (Kõits), traditional ceremonies, oral histories, and cultural practices through policy channels and community organisations. The erosion of indigenous languages is an erasure of identity — and it must be resisted through active governance and community investment.

Political Representation & Equal Rights

Working to ensure Sunuwar and other Kirant indigenous communities are represented in government decision-making processes at every level. Nepal's constitution guarantees indigenous rights, but representation must translate from text into practice — in appointments, policies, and participatory governance mechanisms.

Education Access & Opportunity

Championing equitable educational opportunities for indigenous youth — drawing directly from my own experience walking hours to reach school in Okhaldhunga. The structural barriers to education faced by rural indigenous communities require targeted policy intervention, scholarships, and infrastructure investment.

Land, Resource & Territorial Rights

Supporting indigenous community rights over ancestral lands and natural resources, particularly in Nepal's forest regions where traditional livelihoods and cultural identity are inseparable from land. This includes engagement with Nepal's Forest Act provisions and the rights framework established under ILO Convention 169.

Indigenous Health & Wellbeing

Advocating for healthcare policies that account for the specific geographical, cultural, and socioeconomic realities of indigenous communities in Nepal's remote hills. Health equity cannot be achieved without addressing the particular vulnerabilities faced by rural indigenous populations.

Youth Identity & Intergenerational Continuity

Ensuring that indigenous youth grow up with pride in their cultural heritage — not shame. This means creating spaces for intergenerational knowledge transfer, supporting indigenous arts and culture, and ensuring that modernisation does not come at the cost of identity erasure for Nepal's youngest generation of Sunuwar people.

50+
Ethnic Groups in Nepal
17%
Indigenous Population
59
Recognised Indigenous Nationalities
100+
Languages at Risk
Personal Reflection

"I grew up in a community where people were strong, dignified, and deeply connected to land and culture. Their struggles taught me the true value of identity. I carry Okhaldhunga — and the Sunuwar people — into every room I enter."

Tula Raj Sunuwar

Under Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister · Sunuwar Indigenous Community

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