Abstract
This article focuses on the imposition of modern education upon the foraging
Raute people and the ways in which this project has been both reluctantly accepted
and actively resisted by the Raute. The Nepalese government established schools for
Raute children as part of the nation-state development policy. However, it has refused
to incorporate their cultural values, traditions, customs and language into the school
curriculum. This paper argues that in attempting to create forms of domination through
the educational process the state fosters inequality. Such an arrangement is met with
everyday forms of resistance through non-collective and unorganised behaviour of
Raute children at school. The Raute’s silent reaction against the government policies
typifies the cultural disposition and ethos of the Raute community. This paper is based
on research methods that include observation, interviews, informal discussions and
document analysis, and outlines the interconnections between family, social class,
students and state agency as they relate to education. In particular, it explores the
Raute’s own narratives, perspectives and reactions with regard to their educational
processes. This case study is presented in an effort to better understand the relations
between resistance and reproduction of knowledge in foraging societies.