Tezpur (Assam): Can a village, consisting of members of a single family be imagined at the present time? This is rarely seen because in today's age people rarely live as joint families or live next to each other.
But, there is one such village in Assam, which is made up of members of a single family with as many as 1200 members of the family set to exercise their franchise in the upcoming Lok Sabha election 2024.
The village of Phulguri Nepali Pam in Rangapara assembly constituency of Sonitpur district of Assam has a population of around 2500 belonging to one big family tree of 300 families.
The head of this family, Rann Bahadur Thapa made a living by cultivating land in Phulaguri. Later the place came to be known as Phulguri Nepali Pam. Rann Bahadur had five wives- Hari Maya Thapa, Pobi Maya Thapa, Horokha Maya Thapa, Kali Maya Thapa and Khaji Maya Thapa. Rann Bahadur and his five wives had a total of 12 sons and 10 daughters. The number of their grandchildren has increased with the big family evolving into an entire village.
Rann Bahadur Thapa passed away in 1997. At present, Nepali Pam is a full-fledged village with 65 grandsons and 70 granddaughters of Rann Bahadur Thapa settled in the village. It is learnt that the family used to live jointly for up to 50 members, but with time they started living separately but in the same village. The sons of Rann Bahadur living in the village are Thamane Bahadur Thapa, Ram Prasad Thapa, Purna Bahadur Thapa, Dhan Bahadur Thapa, Charki Bahadur Thapa, Til Bahadur Thapa, Jeet Bahadur Thapa, Julfe Bahadur Thapa, Jote Bahadur Thapa, Masin Bahadur Thapa, Leela Bahadur Thapa and Dhanlo Bahadur Thapa.
Til Bahadur Thapa, son of Rann Bahadur Thapa told ETV Bharat that six of his siblings have died and six are still alive. Only two of this family do government jobs while the rest of the new generation of boys or grandchildren are all working under various companies outside Assam, he said.
The husband of one of the daughters of the family (who did not wish to be named) told ETV Bharat, "Being a part of this family is not a special thing. It's as natural as others, the only thing that makes us or everyone wonder is how a person is able to take care of such a large number of family members which is completely impossible or unimaginable in the present situation.
Pertinently, as many as 1,200 members of the family are set to exercise their franchise during the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held on April 19.
