From the 1990’s onwards, an interesting dynamics within the Nepali speech community is taking place both in Nepal and in India regarding ethnicity within which the issue of language is embedded. The present paper seeks to understand how the languages of the various nationalities3 in the different socio-political realities play a role in asserting identity, democratic values and norms, functions for the aspiration and the agenda of these dynamics. The language politics, policies, and practices vis-à-vis the role of the Nepali language in the contemporary Nepali speech community are examined in the contact, conflict and cleavages among the nationalities in these countries.