High Level Taskforce for Revision of the Official List of Indigenous Nationalities of Nepal has recommended to the government to list 85 nationalities of Nepal as indigenous nationalities or "Janjatis".

The taskforce, headed by noted sociologist and indigenous leader Dr. Om Gurung, added 29 new nationalities in the earlier listed 59 ( from which three indigenous nationalities has been written off) to finalize 85 nationalities as "indigenous" in its new report.

The report finalized after ten months of field researches and interaction was submitted to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Thursday.

According to the report, Bankariya was merged into Chepang, whereas the two other groups-Frees and Chhairotans-have been omitted from the lists since no any member of them were found during the field visits.

On June 19 last year, the government formed the taskforce with the mandate for reviewing and updating the indigenous peoples' lists and submitting its report within four months.

But the committee extended its term twice in the past after 'Hindu elite caste' Brahmins and Chhetris sought for recognition as an indigenous, some media reports quoted a member of the taskforce as saying. Nepalnews.com