ETHNIC AND REGIONAL EQUITY

Hill Hindus of the Khas tribe (Brahman and Chhetri castes) and the Newar ethnicity dominated the civil service, the judiciary and upper ranks of the army throughout the Shah regime 1768-2008. Nepali was the national language and Sanskrit became a required school subject. Children who spoke Nepali natively and who were exposed to Sanskrit had much better chances of passing the national examinations at the end of high school, which meant they had better employment prospects and could continue into higher education. Children who natively spoke local languages of the Terai and Hills, or Tibetan dialects prevailing in the high mountains were at a considerable distadvantage. This history of exclusion coupled with poor prospects for improvement created grievances that left ethnic communities such as Tharu in the Terai and Kham Magar in the mid-western hills receptive to recruitment as foot soldiers for the Maoist opposition in the Nepalese Civil War.^{[citation needed]} The negotiated end to this war forced King Gyanendra to abdicate in 2008. Issues of ethnic and regional equity have tended to dominate the agenda of the new republican government and continue to be divisive.