Grade Level:
10th-12th Grade

Key Questions:
Whose fight is this?

What role does identity play in political conflict?

Objectives: 
Students will read and critically analyze documents.

Students will work cooperatively.

Students will explore the concept of identity and its influence on politics.

Materials:
Selected articles from web addresses provided.

Activity:
Divide students into groups of 4.  Provide each group with an article.  The articles should be from a variety of sources. 

In small groups students should summarize their article and discuss what they think the article reveals about the Maoist uprising.

Once completed students should count off by 4’s in their groups.  All the 1’s should find each other, 2’s, 3’s etc.

In these groups students should share what the information that the read in their various articles.  A recorder in each group will keep track of the similarities and differences they notice in each account of the present situation ion Nepal.

Each group will then share their observations.

As a class the students will begin to list what parties are involved in this conflict and what their interests are.

Evaluation: 
Students will respond to the following question:  What role does identity play in political conflict?  They should cite examples from the class discussion to support their opinion.
 

Maoist Uprising Web Sites
http://www.preventconflict.org/portal/nepal/nepal_portalhome.php
A wealth of resources from a variety of media sources, this site is maintained by  the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. The objective of this site is “to offer users reliable and updated articles and resources on the political and social situation in Nepal.”

www.nepalembassyusa.org
Web site maintained by the Nepali embassy in Washington DC.

www.worldrevolution.org
Grassroots social movement aimed at engaging in a global dialogue about the following issues: peace, development, human rights, and the environment.  Site has articles organized by country on these issues.

www.maoism.org
Site provides a link to the Communist Party of Nepal web site, in addition to other political organizations with similar missions.

www.humanrights.de/n/nepal/
A collection of news articles chronicling the Maoist insurgency in Nepal.

www.saag.org/papers2/paper187.htm
A position paper for SAAG on Nepalese Maoist movement by Dr. Chitra Tiwari, the co-author of Nepalese Political Behavior. Currently, he works as an independent consultant on international affairs in Washington, D.C. 
Objectives and Aims of South Asian Analysis Group  “The objective of the group is to advance strategic analysis and contribute to the expansion of knowledge of Indian and International security and promote public understanding. “

www.himalmag.com
English language regional magazine.  Articles dating back to 1997 on the insurgency in Nepal.

www.cnn.com/specials/2002/nepal.maoists
A web site including press releases, articles, video clips of the Maoist insurgency from 1996-present.

www.nepalresearch.com/politics/index.htm
Maintained by Lhakpa Doma Salaka Pinasa Sherpa and Karl Heinz Kramer, a general commercial site on Nepal with articles on the Maoists.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/world/asia/southasia/nepal/ 
The  Washington Post page on Nepal.

www.usis.usemb.se/human/2001/southasia/nepal.html
The United States Embassy in Stockholm has written a report on Human rights practices for 2001 on Nepal.  This report deals with documented abuses by all parties in Nepal and is released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. State Department.

www.nepalinews.com
Site of the English language newspaper, The Nepali Times .