The study discusses the multi-local livelihoods adopted by conflict-induced internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the background of the government’s proposal to rehabilitate them in their places of origin. It is based on fieldwork conducted between 2006 and 2009 in five urban districts of Dang, Banke, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur. Findings of the three-year field study suggest that a family’s decision to return depends on various factors within the host community as well as on the situation at the origin. Contrary to the government’s intentions, it is the IDPs’ present situation in urban areas that determines whether they want to remain in their present destination or return to their place of origin. 

Ghimire, A. 2010. European Bulletin of Himalayan Research. 35-36, 91-106.