The Nepali state has not recognized the Indigenous Peoples of Nepal. It has only partly recognized the Indigenous Peoples by identifying them as nationalities, and according recognition of their difference. It recognized 61 nationalities communities only in 1999. However, the state has defined the nationalities conservatively by calling them groups that face socioeconomic and cultural backwardness. Most of these nationalities' communities are Indigenous Peoples as well, and Indigenous Peoples define themselves as nationalities as well. Social scientists believe that there are more Indigenous Peoples / nationalities' communities than recognized by the state. An in depth anthropological-sociological survey is necessary for ascertaining the truer number of such communities and Peoples.
Nationalities define themselves as Indigenous Peoples and those with distinct cultural identities, languages, traditional religions, customs and cultures, traditional territories, and those who do not fall under the traditional four-fold Hindu varna classification. According to the 1991 census the nationalities'/ Indigenous Peoples comprised 35.6 percent of the total population. However, the Indigenous Peoples and nationalities allege deliberate undercounting of their communities and tempering of the census to project a larger Hindu and Khas-Nepali speaking population. In fact; many indigenous activists claim that they form a majority. The fact that the 1991 census recorded only 26 of the 61 Indigenous Peoples/ nationalities' separately and remaining small communities were lumped in the 'other' category is an example of systematic undercounting of Indigenous Peoples.
