Despite being the son of a former Kamaiya (bonded laborer), Banshi sports trendy clothes and rides a motorcycle, unlike other Kamaiyas.[break] However, what makes him stand out from other Kamaiyas is not only his flamboyance but the way he inspires all young people in his community to get educated.
Banshi himself worked as a Kamaiya for a number of landlords as his father did. He did everything that Kamaiyas formerly believed they were destined to do. Initially, Banshi worked as a Kamaiya to help his father Paltu Dangora Chaudhary get rid of Saunki -- the loans landlords lend to poor Tharu villagers and make them work as bonded laborers all their life. But as Banshi grew up, he worked to support his study.
Well before Banshi´s birth, Paltu had taken a loan of Rs 15,000 to feed his joint family of 17 members. Paltu could never pay off the loan. The moneylender, who lent Paltu the loan, sold him to other landlords. Until the abolition of Kamaiya system, Paltu was sold to over a dozen moneylenders.
As Banshi became able to work, Paltu was ordered by his masters to bring along his son to graze their cattle. Paltu was in no position to defy his masters´ commands. However, he somehow managed to persuade the masters to send his son to school.“It was the most precious favor my father ever did me,” Banshi says. As he went to Nawa Durga Primary School in Dhangadhi, his yearning for education only grew stronger. “I somehow passed grade five, enduring all difficult moments.”
By that time, Paltu was sold to another landlord in Malakheti village of Kailali and the entire family shifted to Malakheti. But, Banshi stayed back in Dhangadhi, asking his father to leave him behind to continue his studies. Once his family left, he ended up becoming a rickshaw-puller.
He was admitted at grade six in Tri Nagar Higher Secondary School in Dhangadhi. Every evening, after school was over, he used to take out his rickshaw and carry passengers till late night. “Sometimes, I would pull rickshaw even till midnight,” he recollects.
He pulled rickshaw for two years. After grade seven, he moved to Malakheti where he completed his schooling. In Malakheti, he started earning some money by tutoring local students. Rameshwar BK, an English teacher in a local school, helped him hone his English language, which enabled him later to run a language institute and work in an English-medium school. After SLC, as an English language instructor, he earned money to study up to BA.
Banshi says it is the education that transformed his life from a bonded laborer to someone whom all former Kamaiyas in Kailali look for today whenever something goes awry. “I would have become a laborer had I not endured all hardships to continue my studies,” he says.
Banshi has recently built a two-room house in Attariya -- a feat that for many former Kamaiyas is still a distant dream. Most Kamaiyas are still living in makeshift camps provided by the government.
Surprisingly, his father was not upbeat when Banshi had passed SLC exams. “My father did not understand what passing out SLC exams meant,” he says. “By now, my father has realized that I was doing something great. People look at my father with respect.” Now, Banshi gives his father Rs 2,000 every month.
Last year, when a United Nations Mission to Nepal (UNMIN) vehicle ran over freed Kamaiyas, killing two and injuring one, Banshi was the one who dealt with UNMIN officials, claiming compensation as per international standard.
“UNMIN officials wanted to settle the issue providing compensation in accordance with Nepal´s law,” he says. “I opposed. I argued that they also should draw salaries as per our practice, if so.”
Finally, UNMIN agreed to provide Rs 2.5 million each to families of the two killed in the mishap. Likewise, an injured freed Kamaiya got Rs 1.5 million for treatment.
Owing to his growing popularity and his courage to speak for his community´s rights, Tharuhat Struggle Committee (TSC) fielded him as a candidate in the CA elections. He did not win. But he says it was a chance to inspire all former Kamaiyas to fight for their rights.
Change is apparent in Banshi´s life. He works as a program manager in an NGO called Kamaiya Pratha Unmulan Samaj. He drives his own motorbike in Dhangadhi´s roads where he once used to pull rickshaws. “I have even lent loans to some of my former masters,” he proudly asserts.
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