Dalits lack empathy of non-Dalits

Written by Kishor Pradhan

Imagine how would you feel and react as a Newar or a Brahman or a Chettri or a Gurung or a Tamang or any other caste or ethnic group if you are socially discriminated on the basis of your caste or ethnicity. Do some soul searching on what would you do if your are not given a room to rent in Kathmandu or elsewhere in Nepal on being a Dalit. Or in a village you cannot fetch water from the common community water source. How you would feel and react to all these forms of caste-based social discriminations should not be any different from how the historically, religiously, socially, economically and politically discriminated Dalits would feel and react. As whether you are a Newar, Brahman or so-called Dalits we are all first humans. But it is unfortunate that due to other non-Dalits or so called higher caste and ethnic groups’ failure to empathise caste-based discrimination in Nepali society the inhuman acts of caste-based discrimination resulting brutal rapes and murders of Dalits persists.

Rem Bahadur BK, a Dalit rights activist says, “The government declared Nepal as caste-based discrimination free country more than a decade ago. The Civil Act abolished caste-based discrimination long ago and it is a punishable crime. But in real social action we don’t see it.” He questions, “How long Dalits have to be victims of caste-based discrimination and raped or killed?” What Rem says is evidenced by the facts as according to the monitoring data recorded by the Dalit media organisation Jagaran Media Center on incidents of violence or untouchability on Dalits only during the lockdown period of two months in Nepal there were 25 cases.

The recent incident of six adolescent boys being brutally attacked and killed in far-western Nepal in Rukum with regard to a love affair between a Dalit boy and so-called higher caste Thakuri girl has drawn the attention nationally on the ills of caste-based social discrimination. The Dalit civil society and the activists have been out on the streets in Singha Durbar protesting and appealing to the authorities for rendering justice to the victims and their families. But Rem says, “Champions of human rights and civil society leaders have not taken the Rukum incident seriously and joined hands with us in the protest.”

“The issue of caste-based discrimination of Dalits in Nepal is not supported whole heartedly by non-Dalits. Non-Dalits do not own and see the subjugation of Dalits to caste-based discrimination as an overall Nepali society’s social problem, but just as a Dalit community’s problem,” says Rem. He adds, “Political parties and their leaders have always said in their political manifestos and speeches that caste-based discrimination is not acceptable at all.” It has been more than a decade since Nepal was declared untouchability or caste-based discrimination free country. “The political parties, their leaders who fought for social justice in Nepal and are in government now have not walked the talk,” says Rem. 

Regarding an incident preceding the Rukum one, in which a young Dalit girl was raped and who later committed suicide as reported, a gender expert on condition of anonymity says, “The case of 17-year old Dalit girl in Rupandehi being raped and later reported as committed suicide by hanging herself is a case of caste-based murder.” She adds, the young girl would not have committed suicide if she had not been forced to get married with the rapist. It was a double social injustice to the raped Dalit girl by the society and the authority.

The killing of the Dalit boys in Rukum had occurred just few days before the George Floyd’s killing by the law enforcement in Minneapolis in Amercia. We all know how much of unprecedented global protest George’s case has drawn as has never been seen in America and the world over. Parallel to the “Black Lives Matter” movement for justice for George and once and for all ending racial discrimination in America, in Nepal also Dalit activists have started “Dalit Lives Matter.” But unfortunately besides the protests in the districts in far west, and the Dalit activists submitting appeals to ministers and other national level authorities and the home ministry forming an investigation committee which is working on its investigation in the field at the moment. Unlike the George Floyd case of racial-discrimination which has drawn global attention and solidarity, in Nepal Dalit Lives Matter has not been able to gain much momentum and bring to the streets bevy of protests all over Nepal. It is unfortunate, as Rem rightly says, “Dalits lack empathy of non-Dalits in Nepal.”

People’s participation in development is a must

The other day there was a news report in Kantipur daily that there was a protest by the locals against building an electric crematorium in Ward 11, Manido Tole, Shankhamul, Patan. The plan for building the crematorium at Shankhamul was first announced by the authorities of the Lalitpur Metropolitan and reported by the media way back in 2017 (https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/…/lal…/news.html.twig), “We came to know about the plan to build the electric crematorium in our Tole only few months ago when there was a news about it in the media. We were never consulted by the metropolitan,” says Rajendra Tandukar, chairperson of the Manido Tole Development Committee.

Amongst others, the Local Government Operational Act 2017 (LGOA) requires the annual municipality and ward level development plans to be participatory, in the sense that any development plan or activity that directly effects a local community are properly consulted and that it incorporates their participation and ownership. The mandatory requirements of the participation and consultation of the local community in the development planning and implementation process has been included not only for facilitating participation and ownership but for upholding the principles of transparency and good governance in the spirit of the Constitution of Nepal 2015 and the whole idea of decentralized and people centered development.

The chairperson of the Ward 11 of Lalitpur Metropolitan, Indra Man Maharjan claims, “I had spread the word around regarding the plan to build the electric crematorium in Ward 11 in Manido when it was decided.” The chairperson had signed the agreement and the approval with the metropolitan in this regard as the Ward level development plans and activities are required to be agreed and approved by the ward level authority.

The local residents of the Manidol Tole where the electric crematorium is being planned to be built by buying 1 ropani 3 Anna land from a private land owner, are of the views that they were never properly consulted and asked to participate in the planning and decision-making process. “Why is the electric crematorium is planned to be built in a land which falls in a town planning area?” questions Swayambhu Man Dhakwa, a local resident. According to law an area or land developed as town planning by the Town Development Board representing the government cannot be used for purposes like operating a factory or other activities like electric crematorium that creates pollution or disturb the residential ambience. “Our problem is not with the electric crematorium technology. But the land or area where it is being planned to be built. Electric crematorium can not be built in a densely populated area,” says Narayan Tandukar, Secretary of the Manido Tole Development Committee. “It can be built in a land or area which does not fall in a residential area. Or it can be built in the area where the old crematorium ghat is currently located in Shankhamul,” he adds.

With the building up of the protest by the local community the ward chairperson as the local elected representative of the people along with the local delegation submitted a protest letter to Chiri Babu Maharjan, Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan, requesting to cancel the electric crematorium project at Manido. “We have already done a study for building the electric crematorium. Electric crematorium is environment friendly. The plan is almost final now. We will consult the local community now on how to build the electric crematorium building,” said the Mayor in the meeting with the delegation. “The protest has been may be because we (metropolitan) failed to convince the people or the people failed to understand the advantage of electric crematorium than the traditional cremation that requires wood,” he added.

The participants in the delegation however were not ready to agree with the Mayor and asked why the local residents were not properly consulted in the process. Why the electric crematorium is being planned to be built by buying a private land and not in a land already available in the old traditional crematorium ghat at Shankhamul managed by the guthis?

Looking into this issue of development plan being protested by the affected resident community, an inclusive participatory development planning expert is of the opinion, “This happened because the people were not consulted. The approach was top down.” Such arbitrary development planning by both the national and the local governments have resulted in protests and discontinuation of development in many urban and rural municipalities. National and local governments should understand people’s participation is a must in development planning and decision-making, he added.