The Dalits of Nepal and a New Constitution - ConstitutionNet

The Dalits of Nepal and
a New Constitution
53
in cash and 2kg if paid in grains, but the non Dalits men
get Rs. 75 if paid in cash and 6 kg if paid in grains, and
women get Rs. 50 in cash and 4 kg if paid in grains.
Not only the Dalit couple, other nine Dalit families of
the village are also facing same sort of treatment. And
every year, the money they borrow to sustain their lives
is mounting.
”I have fallen ill because of hard toiling in others’ fields,
and haven’t effective working skill in our traditional
occupation, i.e., tailoring. Now, my wife is hardly
managing to feed the whole family”, lamented Jeet
Bahadur Siwa, aged 57.
No Cooking Utensils for Dalit
Members
POLYANG- TANUHU DISTRICT, 15 February 2008. Buldi Goat
Development Committee (BGDC) had organized a
program to distribute goats to the locals on 11 February
2008. The guests of the program had to return without
having tea and snacks because the Dalit organizers
weren’t provided with cooking utensils.
When the organizers asked for the cooking utensils
available at the Buldi Multipurpose Cooperative Agency,
the Vice-President Urmila Khanal posed a bitter question
”Why the guests need to be fed?”, told Harimaya
Biswokarma, Chairperson of BGDC.
She further added that when they asked for the hall to
organize a meeting sometime back, they were asked
for money. Since then, they have been organizing their
meetings elsewhere. The hall is provided for free of
cost to Non-Dalit people.
There are 50 members in BGDC, and all of them are
from the Dalit community. 40 BGDC members are also
the members of Buldi Multipurpose Cooperative Agency,
the agency which denied hall and cooking utensils to its
Dalit members.
Dalit Student Prevented from
Worshipping
DIMAN, Saptari District, 11 February 2008. His belonging
to Dalit community prevented Sanjay Kumar Biswas Ram,
a ninth grader Dalit student of Janata Secondary School,
from worshipping Saraswoti on Shree Panchami (Day
when the goddess of education, Saraswoti, is
remembered) together with a priest.
According to the rules of the school, the best student of
the senior class should assist the priest in worshipping
the goddess, the local parents of the students told.
Though Sanjay Kumar Biswas Ram is the best student,
he didn’t get the chance to do so, as he is from Dalit
community. Instead, a Non-Dalit girl, Nirmala Shah, from
same grade was selected to assist the priest this year.
Dalit Milkmen Face Boycott
MAISTHAN, Mahottari District, 23 January 2008- After six
months, milkmen stopped taking milk from Dalit milkmen
stating hindrances to sell it in the market. Milk collected
from the Dalit families isn’t usable in the market.
Eighteen Dalit families of Maisthan Village Development
Committee have been rearing buffaloes through the
Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) Program. If they can’t sell
their milk, they can’t pay back their loans. Dalit families are
finding it hard to meet their family expenses as they have
no alternative source of income other than selling milk.
Hoteliers of Bardibas stopped taking milk collected from
Dalits when customers stopped drinking tea at their
hotels.