-Hiralal Bishwakarma

The caste system and a communal orientation have seen to it that practically all avenues for the all round development of the Dalit community remain closed. With the policy makers of the country, the planners, politicians, academics and intellectuals never showing any sensitivity towards these communities, their overall situation has remained unchanged. Even during the l3 years of democracy the Dalit community which numbers 3.2 million has not been able to enjoy freely and fearlessly the basic rights provided for under the constitution. This is borne out by sundry incidents that the Dalits have had to put up with.

It is both sad and astonishing that the democracy which was won through the historic popular movement of 1990 remains outside the reach of the Dalit community. For the Dalit community the bitter truth is that democracy seems to have materialized only for the high and mighty who have hogged the reigns of government from the time of the Ranas. The stigma born of communalism which has been a tradition in society became confined to the Dalits alone. The cunning and clever in society took advantage of this and hatched all manner of ploys aimed at restricting the Dalits to a distinct social structure and subjecting them to domination. As a result the all round development of the Dalits became stymied.

Even the religious scriptures ended up providing for segregation against the Dalits, and this in turn became conducive to their being trampled upon still further. The wisdom based on the Manusmriti also became a medium for assaults against the rights of the Dalits. This resulted in a comprehensive check on the social advancement of the Dalit community.

Few people are unaware that the constitution of 1990, which was framed after the restoration of democracy looks upon Nepal as a multilingual, multi religious, multiethnic and multicultural treasure. But the constitutional provision against anyone practicing untouchability on the basis of caste, community, language or gender has become confined to paper only. There never was any initiative from an aware citizenry to give this provision concrete shape. Though belonging to the same society, someone from the downtrodden, Dalit classes became untouchable simply by virtue of his or her birth.

With Dalit students unable to learn on par with other students at school and the way Dalits are kept at arm’s length by the upper castes at water taps, wells and other public places, they end up feeling that society as a whole is out to keep them within narrow confines. Society may be in a state of disintegration partly because those who are educated do not appreciate the dignity of labor while those for whom labor is their forte do not realize the significance of education. If labor could be accorded due significance and education given priority, a situation would not arise where anybody needs to feel discriminated against.

The Manusmriti, which was prepared by its authors to foster their own interests, upholds a system that mandates that the shudra castes and women be kept well away from education, property and the exercise of governance. It can be asserted that Dalits and women have to suffer indignity within society today because of frightful legal strictures under which shudras and women would have their tongues cut off if they read the Veda scriptures, molten lead would be poured into their ears if they so much as listened to the Veda mantras being recited and they would face slaughter if they harboured such mantras in their mind. History is witness that on this very basis Lord Ram put the sudra Sambuk to death. Because of the declared enforcement till the end of the month of Shrawan, 2020 Bikram Era of arrangements under which the social reformer king Jayasthiti Malla, Ram Shah and the country code proclaimed by Jung Bahadur Rana in 1910 Bikram year deprived the Dalit community of education, property and any role in governance, Dalits have remained backward in all areas.

Ninety percent of the uneducated people in the country are Dalit, and 97 percent are Dalit women. The bitter reality in our country is that 70 percent of the Dalit community remains deprived of education because of poverty and unemployment. Of the 10 percent of the Dalit community which is educated, 27.7 percent has had primary education, 8.4 percent secondary education, 0.8 percent School Leaving Certificate level and 0.4 percent higher education. The government has provided for free education for children of the Dalit community up to class 10 with the objective of bringing about thoroughgoing change in the educational situation of this community. Since 2052 Bikram Era, the government has also allocated Rs. 29 million a year to provide scholarships to Dalit students at primary level. This scholarship amount, which is distributed at the rate of Rs. 250 per month, works out at 68 paisa daily, which is absurd. It has to be asked what kind of encouragement this will provide the students. Apart from this the government has also been setting aside a quota of four seats for doctors and two for engineers for Dalit students.

Although the life expectancy of the Nepalese is 58 years, severe lack of a balanced diet and penury have brought this figure down to an average of 52 years among the Dalits. Dalits also account for some 90 percent of the child mortality rate of l65 per l,000 and the maternal mortality rate of 850 per l0,000. More than 70 percent of Dalit children are victims of malnutrition. Out of the 47 percent of the Nepalese population which lives under the poverty line, 90 percent is from the Dalit community.

The per capita annual income in the country is 210 US dollars, but this figure plummets to 39 dollars for the Dalits. While 22 percent of the total Dalit population is landless, 21.1 percent has enough land to see them through their foodgrain requirements for three months of the year, 19.5 percent has enough for six months, 15.4 percent for 11 months and 5.1 percent for the whole year. Among Dalit landholders, 42.7 percent have over 5 ropani, 14.9 percent have over 10 ropani, 11.8 percent over 20 ropani and 8.8 percent over 21 ropani. Out of the total agricultural labor population in Nepal of two million, 75 percent are from the Dalit community, and the daily income of a Dalit laborer is said to be Rs. 30 to 80.

The open economic policy adopted by the government has had an impact on domestic cottage industry. Traditional cottage industries of the Dalit community such as products in metals and leather and readymade garments find themselves in a hopeless situation. Government policy has brought about direct losses for the Dalits. On the political front, figures show that only five percent of Village Development Committee members represent the Dalits. While the membership of the upper house of parliament has included the odd Dalit, representation in the lower house is nil. Regrettably also, the Dalits have no access to appointments among the constitutional bodies, the corporations, diplomats posted abroad and foundations and academies. As long as the Dalits are not represented at the policy making level in government, it will be ridiculous to envisage their advancement.

Dalits make up only 1.4 percent of the 1,556 editors at printing houses in the private and public sectors, 0.4 percent of the 496 publishers, 1.4 percent of columnists, and only 0.9 percent of the approximately 3,500 active journalists. It is not that past governments have not implemented various kinds of reform programs with the aim of drawing the Dalit community into the mainstream of development. But these programs have not materialized at a practical level, leaving high and dry any Dalit hopes of improved living standards. Part of the blame can go to the strategy adopted by some resourceful individuals within the Dalit community itself. Many are the Dalit notables who have taken it upon themselves to act on behalf of their community for its upliftment and development but have failed to prevail upon government leaders to give teeth to the reform measures.

The Dalit community, which has remained backward for lack of expected levels of participation in the social, economic, educational, medical, political and other areas of life, has now come under the gaze of the international community also. Foreign donor agencies have been implementing various programs aimed at the upliftment and development of Dalits. But the results have been just the opposite. Opposite in the sense that it is the clever and cunning among the Dalits themselves who are close to the donor organizations and who have made their focus not the upliftment of the Dalits but the advancement of their own kin and, even more, of themselves.

The Dalits who have borne the brunt of centuries old discrimination and developmental neglect can surely breathe the air of liberation if only we can set aside extraneous matters to concentrate body and mind on the Nepalese scene and take the initiative towards effective implementation of government programs. Hand over heart, let us embrace self respect from this very day and take along with us on our journey a community of our own society.

Synopsis of a conversation with Mr. Padma Singh Bishwakarma, Chairman of the National Dalit Commission constituted by His Majesty’s Government on Chaitra 6, 2058:

The commission has worked out programs for uplifting the living standard of the Dalit community. In this connection we organized seminars in the five development regions on a schedule of the Dalits in order to identity who are to be counted as Dalits. The Dalit list has now been prepared and our program will be prepared on the basis of that list.

Such aid has definitely come in. Donor organizations have invested large amounts of money for the wellbeing of the Dalits in Nepal, and continue to do so. We have adopted a strategy of monitoring the investment made by government, non-government and donor organizations so that such funds are used properly and in a transparent fashion. This is mentioned in the terms of reference of our commission. However, particulars on which organization has spent how much have not yet been established. We are thinking along the lines of expediting matters in this direction also.

In the wake of the Maoist people’s war, we carried out study tours to l6 different districts to learn about the actual condition of the Dalits in the Maoist affected areas. The study tours have been completed in Humla, Jumla, Rukum, Achham, Dang, Banke, Dhading, Siraha, Sindhuli, Terhathum, Syangja and other districts. Our intention is to prepare a properly adjusted report on our findings and submit it to the bodies concerned. We are working to make the report public before long.

Some individuals may have been dissatisfied. They should carry out investigations to see how many of our kin there are at the commission. We do not feel that there is anything amiss. One or two instances may have occurred. But so far the commission has been operating with temporary staff as it has yet to acquire legal status.

Since the National Dalit Commission set up as per a decision of His Majesty’s Government of Chaitra 6, 2058 belongs to all Dalit brothers and sisters in the country, we express our determination to ensure legal, social and religious justice if they forward to us any problems they encounter. Even now we make on the spot inquiries into incidents of a communal character taking place in various districts and take action against the guilty as far as possible. I am confident this will go a long way towards realizing the objectives of the commission.

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