Eastern Rukum () is a mountain district of Lumbini Province of Nepal situated along the Dhaulagiri mountain range. It is also the only mountain district of the province with its tallest mountain Putha Hiunchuli (Dhaulagiri VII) situated in the west end of Dhaulagiri II mountain chain, at an elevation of 7,246 meters. The drainage source of ancient Airavati river, one of the five sacred rivers of Buddhism, lies in the lesser Himalayas of the district. With a Dhaulagiri mountain range, lakes, Magar culture and its political history, Eastern Rukum has been among the top travel destinations of Nepal as designated by the Government of Nepal.
The district is known for having 52 ponds and 53 hills. From 1996 to 2006, Eastern Rukum - a region with Magar majority - was one of the historical base area of the People's War of Nepal providing many foot soldiers, commanders, prominent leaders and martyrs during the war which in turn pivoted the country into a democratic Federal republic in 2008. Guerilla trekking route has also been developed in the district as an adventure tourism following the past trails of the rebels in the base of Himalayas providing experiences of scenic landscapes, Dhaulagiri mountain ranges and rich Kham Magar culture. In 2018, the district was labelled among the "fully literate" districts of the country, with a literacy rate of over 95%, showing a significant post-conflict development. After Palpa district (53% Magar population), Eastern Rukum has the second largest Magar population in Nepal as a percentage of the total population (51% Magar population).
Though successful in maintaining various levels of autonomy, independence and preservation of Kham Magar culture even during ancient and medieval Nepal, the region's structure were altered during the rule of Rana dynasty as well as during Panchayat era. Before 1975, substantial portion of Eastern Rukum was territorially merged with Palpa district during the Rana regime and with Baglung District during Panchayat. On 20 September 2015, Eastern Rukum was created as a new district after the state's reconstruction of administrative divisions splitting Rukum District into Western Rukum and Eastern Rukum.
History
Early history
Himalayas has been a melting pot of diverse tribes and cultures since antiquity. The presence of highly-rich majority Magar culture with a complex of Kham Magar language of Sino-Tibetan language family suggests its favorable growth in Eastern Rukum south of Himalayas. In addition to this, being on the northern corridor of the Indian sub-continent, the region was also on the radius of the Indus Valley Civilization and influences of various warring tribes and empires such as Kirata Kingdom, Kushan Empire (Ancient Greek), Gupta Empire, Maurya Empire, Nanda Empire, Karkota Empire, Utpala dynasty, Tibetan Empire and Khasa Kingdom. Therefore, there seems to have formed a synthesis of Hinduism, Shamanism, Masto worship, Bon and Buddhism in the region over a stretch of time. After the initial Muslim conquests spanning out of Arabian lands, western and central Himalayas also served as the refuge and protection to numerous non-Muslims.
Medieval History
On the north of this region (present neighbour Dolpa), Buddhism hugely flourished with the arrival of a famous 8th century Buddhist master Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) and other Buddhist lamas who meditated in the region and consecrated many places. Politically, after the 11th century, the archeological records suggests that the region was ruled by the Khasa Kingdom (Tibetan: Ya rtse Kingdom) rulers who were predominantly oriented to shamanism and Buddhism. In their heyday, the kingdom had dominion over large portion of western Tibet and western Nepal and was geographically and historically linked with Central Asia and western Tibet.
The initial Khasa rulers were devout Buddhists themselves, evident by a pilgrimage of King Ripumalla to Lumbini, where he left an inscription on the Ashoka pillar dated around 1312 CE with six-syllable mantra of Buddhism and his wish "Om mani padme hum: May Prince Ripu Malla be long victorious". With time as contacts with the south grew stronger, Hinduism later made a stronghold among the rulers of the region. Both the western Nepalese as well as Tibetan chronicles mention same kings as their "Kings of West Tibet" as well as " Kings of Khasa Kingdom". When the Khasa kingdom disintegrated, one of their descendants named Pitambar is recorded to have ruled the region after defeating the Magar King known as Bokshe Jad and the region subsequently disintegrated into further principalities in the incoming generations until their integration into modern Nepal (1777-1799) by Shah kings.
Modern history With the conquest of the district as a part of the national unification campaign, the region was merged with the kingdom of Nepal during the time of Bahadur Shah of Nepal and Rana Bahadur Shah (1777-1799). Before 1975, substantial eastern portion was territorially merged with Palpa district during Rana dynasty and with Baglung District or Dolpa District. During the centuries long Shah dynasty and Rana Dynasty rule of Nepal, numerous young women of this region were made Queens (Bada Maharani) and wives of the dynasties through royal marriages, locally known as "Dola Palne" tradition such as: Queen Purna Kumari Devi, the wife of a Rana Prime Minister; Queen Karma Kumari Devi, the wife of Prime Minister Dev Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana and foster mother of Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana. In other cases, the marriages of royal princesses were made with the formerly ruling families of this region, for instance, the marriage of Shova Rajya Lakshmi Devi (Princess Shova Shahi of Nepal), the sister of King Birendra of Nepal and the youngest daughter of king Mahendra of Nepal. After Princess Shova Rajya Lakshmi Devi visited the birth-place of her husband in Bahunthana (Rukumkot), the name of the village was changed to "Shova." These forms of royal marriages created influential feudal families in the region who were well connected with the rulers in Kathmandu by blood or marriages and the majority peasants in the districts were socially and politically sub-ordinate.
Hashish Ban of 1976
Prior to 1976, the region was one of the most prosperous in the western Nepalese hills, largely due to production of its world renowned Nepali hashish. Cannibis was mostly produced in the eastern portion of the region, part of the heartland of Nepali cannibis production. In addition to hashish production, the bark of the plant was used to make ropes, fibers were used to make bags, and fine threads were used in clothing. Exports to India in World War II and elsewhere brought great prosperity to the region, commonly reflected in the silver coin necklaces and gold jewelry adorning local Magar women.
This social affluence came to an abrupt halt in 1976 when the Government of Nepal enacted the Drug Trafficking and Abuse Act, largely from the political pressure of the United States of America and Narcotics International, lobbied by the president Richard Nixon. The Nepalese government responded with Drug Trafficking and Abuse Act banning marijuana and hashish in return for American economic aids projects (USAID) in this region - leading to numerous arrests, private land property where marijuana was grown was revoked and given back to the state and farmers were forced to eradicate their marijuana fields before the activity of USAID projects. Although King Birendra made two visits in 1983 and 1988 and promised further economic aid in the region, there was a perception that the actual beneficiaries of the development aids were few elites instead of the local majority, creating further spike in inequality.
Growth of Communism & Federalism
After the bitterness arising with the implications of subsequent disruptive state actions, the peasants of the districts began to resonate with the communist parties who were advocating against social and political injustice. Researchers point out that due to lasting feudalism, aristocracy, social inequality within the district, there was a growing dissatisfaction of the larger public towards the elites. As a result, eastern Rukum became one of the earliest communist stronghold of the country during the 20th century. Not surprisingly, it also became the heartland of Nepalese Civil War (Maoist revolution) and the district came to be known as a Magar homeland of the war against land inequality, ethnic inequality, feudalism and aristocracy from 1996 till 2006. The region became a historical base area of the People's War of Nepal and provided many foot soldiers, commanders, prominent leaders and martyrs during the war, ultimately pivoting the country into a democratic Federal republic in 2008 with the end of 240-year-old monarchy.
Administration The total area of Eastern Rukum District is and total population of this district as of 2011 Nepal census is 53,018 individuals. Rukumkot is the interim headquarter of the district. There was a decision of government to relocate the district headquarter from Rukumkot to Golkhada, Kol, Putha Uttarganga, albeit not finalized until now.
The district is divided into three rural municipalities: +Division of Rural Municipalities in Eastern Rukum Name Nepali Population (2011) Area (km2) Density Bhume भूमे 18,589 273.67 68 Putha Uttarganga पुथा उत्तरगंगा 17,932 560.34 32 Sisne सिस्ने 16,497 327.12 50
Demographics
At the time of the 2021 Nepal census, Eastern Rukum District had a population of 56,786. 9.89% of the population is under 5 years of age. It has a literacy rate of 71.35% and a sex ratio of 1064 females per 1000 males. The entire population lives in rural areas.
Hill Janjati made up 52% of the population, of which Magars were 49%. Khas people made up 47% of the population, of which Khas Dalits were 21% of the population.
At the time of the 2021 census, 63.06% of the population spoke Nepali, 31.87% Magar Kham, 3.19% Magar Dhut and 1.17% Khash as their first language. In 2011, 69.1% of the population spoke Nepali as their first language.NepalMap Language
Magars make up the near majority of the population in Eastern Rukum. After Palpa district (53% Magar population), Eastern Rukum has the second-largest Magar population in Nepal as a percentage of the total population (49%), followed by Rolpa (43%).
Climate & geography
Eastern Rukum district is the northernmost part of Lumbini Province, and its only mountain district.
The district falls under are six climate classifications: +Climate classificationClimate ZoneElevation RangeUpper Tropical300 to 1,000 metersSubtropical1,000 to 2,000 metersTemperate2,000 to 3,000 metersSubalpine3,000 to 4,000 metersAlpine4,000 to 5,000 metersNivalabove 5,000 meters
Dhorpatan Reserve
A large reserve area named Dhorpatan Reserve in the district was declared in 1987 with subsequent objective of protection and management of high altitude ecosystem in western Nepal. The reserve extends along the Dhaulagiri Himalayan Range of eastern Rukum, Myagdi and Baglung and covers 1325 square kilometers. Putha, Churen and Gurja Himal extend over the northern boundary of the reserve. Eastern Rukum itself occupies over sixty percentage territory of the reserve.
Dhaulagiri Mountains Dhaulagiri mountain range extends from north-west to north-east of Eastern Rukum district and then continues eastward to its highest elevation, Dhaulagiri I, the 7th highest mountain in the world. The Kali Gandaki river gorge separates Dhaulagiri range and Annapurna range forming two mountain ranges in western Nepal.