Film critic and journalist Yangesh has been awarded with the Pahichan Puraskar for his debut book  Bhuiyan. Conferred by the London-based Pahichan Puraskar Kosh, the award comes with a cash prize of Rs 202,002.

Bhuiyan is a non fiction work that retells the stories of marginalised communities in the Tarai. More than a story of suffering, the book recounts the struggle of people as they fight against the feudal system that still plagues several communities in the region.

Historically, the Rana rulers of Nepal had distributed several thousand hectres of land in the Tarai to people close to the court, limiting the role of the native people to that of bonded labourers. The book narrates the struggle of these bonded labourers as they fight to get what they rightfully deserve. The title, Bhuiyan, in Tharu dialect means the ground beneath one’s feet.

“The idea for the book was first conceived during a Women’s Convention, which took place in Chitwan in 2011. There I met one of the characters represented in the book. I wrote her profile and published it in a newspaper,” said the author recalling the inspiration behind the book.  And, in the process of writing the book, Yangesh discovered that while men have been the catalyst for political change in Nepal, women have largely helmed the social struggles in Nepal. All of the 10 subjects in the book are women.

Though the book is not a history book, it does offer a reading of Nepal’s history that is different from the text book narrative of history. “This book chronicles the plight of the downtrodden who have had to bear the brunt of systemic injustice for ages,” Mohna Ansari, member of the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal, said during the launch of the book in September of 2017, and added, “This book deserves to be included as a required reading in sociology departments in Nepali universities.”