With the objective of mainstreaming the Dalit agenda at the national level, the Dalits in Nuwakot is planning to hold an “Untouchability-Free District Declaration Assembly” on 30 Chaitra 2069 (April 12, 2013).[break]
Dalit activists affiliated to various political parties are convinced by the idea of the declaration, and a 13-member main organizing committee has been formed to materialize the plan, according to Dhan Bahadur Mijar, Coordinator of the Declaration Draft Sub-Committee of the Untouchability Free District Declaration Assembly Organizing Committee (UFDDAC).
Dalits have been suffering due to the feudal state structure of ruling elites, and a latent policy of “disintegrate and rule,” says Mijar.
“There is severe caste-based untouchability discrimination against Dalits in Nepali society and the Nuwakot District is no exception,” he said, adding, “Dalits have not only been deprived of state facilities, they have also been seen as second citizens.”
Though the state has declared untouchability a social crime, the practice still persists extensively throughout the country.
Nepal formulated [the amended] Muluki Ain (Civil Code) in 2020 BS (1963) which declared practice of untouchability as against the law. But that never managed to make an impact. It was followed by many governments vowing to abolish the system. Even the reinstated House of Representatives on Jestha 21, 2063 declared Nepal an untouchability-free state and incorporated it in the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063, Article 14, and on the basis of which the CA formulated/endorsed the “Caste-based discrimination and Untouchability (Crime and Punishment) Act-2068.
This is a big achievement in the Dalit movement, feels Mijar. “However, it’s not enough.”
He said that the main objective of declaring Nuwakot an untouchability-free district is to mainstream the Dalit agenda. “One of the objectives is to make a state mechanism sensitive enough on Dalits’ issues and ensure their adequate representation at the local level,” he said.
As per the latest census, there are 40,000 Dalits out of a population 273,000 in Nuwakot where Mijars, Bishwakarmas and Pariyars are the majority Dalits.
Related story
Nuwakot police arrest woman on charge of forcing girls into fle...
