Geographical Situation

Nepal is a landlocked country which shares a border to the north with Tibet in the People’s Republic of China, and to the east, west and south, with the Republic of India.  The main locations in Nepal where ME Tharu people live are identified in Parsa, Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahotari, Dhanusa, Siraha, Saptari, Udayapur, Sunsari, Morang and Jhapa districts. Alternatively to say, ME Tharu  people are found in the range from Mechi zone in the east to Narayani zone in the west, and from the border of India in the south to Chure (forest area between the lowland plain region and the Hill region) in the north. Their residence ranges over the area of 9069 square kilometers in Nepal.  This area in the south of Nepal is located at an altitude of approximately from fifty-nine to six hundredmeters above the sea level. Among three regions of Nepal, the Terai or lowland region covers the seventeen percent of the whole land of the country and the residence of ME Tharu people accounts for fourteen percentage of the Terai regio In order to reach a city or the facility of transportation or basic necessities, they need to walk four to five hours or to some other villages fifteen minutes to three hours away.

There are primary and secondary schools in the ME Tharu places. To reach the schools children are required to walk from their own home for fifteen to thirty minutes or for one to one and half hour. As it is a plain area of the Terai region, villages and houses are located closely.  In order to reach Higher Secondary schools, students need to walk for ten minutes to two hours. Otherwise, some students may need to rent a room to stay close to their schools.  That is why we find thatsome places have less ME Tharu people with higher level of education than other places.