DEMYSTIFYING THE ORIGIN OF THARUS
Are they descendant of Buddha!
Are they descendant of Buddha!
There has been a lot of debate and discussion on the origin of Tharus and hardly do we find any convergence of opinion. Different scholars have expressed conflicting views on the subject.The fanciful, maligned, unfounded and false story about the origin of Tharus has done massive damage to the dignity & growth of this wonderful community.
I am shocked to find even today, scholars & journalists who do not have the in-depth knowledge of this simple community, tracing their origin to the Thar desert of Rajasthan. They have put forward their proposition that the Tharus migrated from the Thar desert, therefore they began to call themselves Tharus. One story says that Jaimal and Fabha decidedly great names in the annals of Rajasthan, were killed by Akbar's forces and the women of their race fled to the jungles of Nepal, and sons and daughters produced by their marriage with their carriers and servants, are the Tharus. Another theory is that the Tharus are descendants of the Bhills of Rajasthan who accompanied their Rajput mistresses and came to Nepal terai during the middle ages.
On the basis of solid facts on Ancient Indian History, it is claimed that the Tharus are pre-Aryan race of Mongoloid origin. The sociologists of India like D.N. Majumdar and others agree to this view that theories of their being Australoid is nothing but fiction and has not an iota of truth in it. Shri Ramnath Kaji of the Tharuhat of West Champaran while talking about the origin of the Tharus comments that the Tharus have been living in the Indo-Nepal terai since great old days. For substantiating his argument he places his view that the Tharus called the non-Tharus as Bajian or Vajian. Baji, according to him is nothing but the gradual distortion of Vajji which was Licchavi Republic during 6th century BC near the present Vaishali in Bihar. Even today they call the non-Tharus as Baji, a term which has come down since those days to denote other than the Tharus. Mr R.P.Singh declares that the Tharus are undoubtedly of the Nepalese origin aboriginal race. They originated in and around Kapilvastu (Birthplace of Lord Buddha) and are today to be found all over Nepal terai and in many border lying districts of India ranging from the border of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar to the border of Bengal.
