Crafting Inclusive and Resilient Nepal: Revisiting Sociological Imagination

Abstract

Although Nepal has undergone major political transformations, the idea of an inclusive and federal “New Nepal” remains uneven in practice, as everyday institutions and social relations continue to reproduce exclusion. This paper explores how social inclusion, exclusion, and resilience are socially produced and experienced within Nepal’s changing socio-political landscape. It situates contemporary inequalities within long-standing structures of caste hierarchy, regional marginalization, and patriarchy, displaying how these intersect to shape the lived realities of Dalits, Madhesis, Adivasi Janajati, women, and youth. Relying on sociological perspectives, the paper conceptualizes exclusion as a relational and processual phenomenon embedded in power, while resilience is understood not simply as survival, but as the capacity for adaptation, negotiation, and transformation. Special attention is given to the uneven distribution of social capital and its implications for differential resilience across groups. Building on emerging forms of youth-led digital activism within the Generation Z movement, the analysis highlights how these platforms open new avenues for participation while simultaneously reproducing class-based inequalities in access and engagement. By revisiting C. Wright Mills’ sociological imagination, the paper connects personal experiences of marginalization to broader historical and structural forces, arguing that meaningful resilience in Nepal requires transforming entrenched power relations.