POKHARA: For over a decade, siblings Rama Thapa, 27, and Ravi Thapa, 25, have been fighting a battle that many in Nepal win by default — the right to citizenship.
Despite being born to a Nepali mother, raised on Nepali soil, and holding educational qualifications from Nepali institutions, the siblings continue to be denied citizenship by descent — all because their father is missing and untraceable.
Frustrated by the prolonged inaction of the government authorities, the siblings have now approached the Pokhara High Court for the third time, filing a contempt of court petition. They claim that government officials have deliberately disregarded the court’s previous orders directing the issuance of their citizenship.
The siblings had earlier filed a mandamus petition in the High Court, seeking legal intervention after repeated failed attempts at obtaining citizenship from the Area Administration Office in Lekhnath. In response, the court issued an order on July 4, 2023, instructing the authorities to process their applications without further delay.
However, the officials failed to act on this order. Instead, Rama and Ravi were made to restart the entire process. “After the first court order, we complied with all the requirements. Still, the authorities did nothing. It felt like they were simply waiting for us to give up,” said Rama.
Following this, the court issued a second order on February 6, 2024, mandating that the siblings be provided their citizenship certificates within a specific timeframe. With this directive, Rama and Ravi once again approached the District Administration Office (DAO) in Kaski, along with their mother, Rukmini Thapa. But this too proved to be another dead end.
“When we went to the DAO after the second order, we were told to come back with a filled form, a ward recommendation, and other documents, even though all these requirements had already been met,” Rama said. “What followed was a procedural trap that seemed designed to wear us down.”
In their recent contempt petition, the siblings claim that multiple institutions—including the DAO Kaski, Lekhnath Area Administration Office, the Ward Office of Pokhara-32, and police offices in Kaski and Tanahun—have collectively obstructed their right to citizenship. The process even reached the office of Byas Municipality Ward No. 5, but yielded no outcome.
“The truth is already established,” the petition reads. “We are the children of a Nepali mother, and the investigative process by the state has confirmed our eligibility for citizenship by descent. Yet, the officials have acted in bad faith—arbitrarily and unjustly—ignoring the orders of this honorable court.”
Rama and Ravi’s mother, Rukmini Thapa, was born in Bharatpokhari-2, Kaski, and obtained her Nepali citizenship in 1990. She is the daughter of Ram Bahadur Thapa, and the family has ancestral property in what is now Pokhara Metropolitan City-32.
Rukmini had married Shaiwal Ray, an Indian national who worked as a schoolteacher in Damauli. Rama and Ravi were born during their time in Damauli, but their father went missing around 2004 and has not been heard from since.
Despite the absence of a father figure, Rama and Ravi were raised and educated in Nepal. Rama completed her SLC from Shanti Varsha School in Damauli, her Plus-2 from Satyawati Secondary School, and a Master’s degree in Biology from Sanothimi Campus in Bhaktapur.
Ravi completed his schooling from Gogan Secondary School in Pokhara-32 and went on to earn a Physics degree from Patan Multiple Campus.
“Our entire lives are rooted in this country—our education, our community, our family. But despite everything, the state has treated us like outsiders,” Rama said, her voice heavy with emotion.
The contempt petition names several key officials for defying judicial orders. Among them are Akkal Bahadur Karki, Ward Chair of Pokhara-32, Srinath Poudel, Chief of the Lekhnath Area Administration Office, and the Chief District Officer of Kaski. They are accused of violating Article 126 of the Constitution of Nepal, which mandates all government agencies and officials to abide by the decisions and orders of the courts.
The petition further criticizes the failure of the state to determine the identity or whereabouts of the siblings’ father despite the involvement of the Nepal Police and administrative mechanisms. It argues that the legal system has not only failed to protect their rights but has also acted as a barrier.
One sticking point has been the use of the father’s surname, “Rai,” in their educational documents — a choice made during school registration. The siblings have since clarified that they are seeking citizenship in their mother’s name and intend to correct their documents accordingly once they are recognized as citizens.
While Rama and Ravi’s story is personal, it echoes the experiences of many others across Nepal — especially children born to single mothers, or those whose fathers are undocumented, stateless, or missing.
The country’s citizenship law, despite some reforms, remains deeply patriarchal, often placing the burden of proof on mothers and their children to an unreasonable extent.
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