Social Inclusion as an Imperative: Reframing Poverty, Equity, and Structural Inequality in Nepal

Abstract

The social inclusion phenomenon has quickly become one of the core concepts in the development debate, especially in those contexts where the history of caste and class division is very deep and the population is very diverse in terms of culture. Nepal gives an interesting example of such a situation with its ethnic, linguistic, caste, regional, and gender-segregated groups living alongside the most influential state's exclusionary practices. This study deals with social inclusion as a necessity in combating the issues of poverty, inequality, and structural discrimination in Nepal. It utilizes secondary data, policy analysis as well as literature review to uncover the historical background of disenfranchisement, the complexity of the inequality issue, and the impact of the 2006 Constitution and the subsequent policies. The article proposes that the social inclusion concept in Nepal needs to be viewed as a governance challenge with political representation and social recognition rather than just as a redistributive policy. The results of this research have implications for the larger issue of inclusive development in multi-national and post-conflict societies debates.