Conflict, Education and People's War in Nepal

This book presents an overview of the democracy movement and the history of education in Nepal. It shows how schools became the battleground for the state and the Maoists as well as captures emerging trends in the field, challenges for the state and negotiations with political commitments. It looks at the factors that contributed to the conflict, and studies the politics of the region alongside gender and identity dynamics. One of the first studies on the subject, the book highlights how conflict and education are intrinsically linked in Nepal. It illustrates how schools became the centre of attention between warring groups and how they were used for political meetings and recruitment of fighters during the political transitions in a contested terrain in South Asia. It brings to the fore incidents of abduction and killing of teachers and students, and the use of children as porters for arms and ammunitions. Drawing extensively on both primary and secondary sources and qualitative analyses, the book provides the key to a complex web of relationships among the stakeholders during conflict and also models of education in post-conflict situations. This book will interest scholars and researchers in education, politics, peace and conflict studies, sociology, development studies, social work, strategic and security studies, contemporary history, international relations, and Nepal and South Asian studies.

Sanjeev Rai is Senior Education Specialist with the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. Previously, he has worked with the Education Above All foundation (Qatar), Save the Children, UNICEF, CARE and the Aga Khan Foundation in India, as well as with media and academia. His expertise is in education in conflict situations, school and teacher education, and research and advocacy. He completed his MA in Political Science from the University of Allahabad and M. Ed., M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Education from the University of Delhi, India. With his experience in journalism, he writes for leading Indian publications and has authored many papers and reports. He is one of the key founder members of the Right to Education Forum, India, and has served as a steering group member of the Education Global Initiative of Save the Children International. He is the co-chair of the alliance on education in conflict and post-conflict countries established by the Global Education and Skills Forum, 2017.