By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
18 May, 2016
Countercurrents.org
Understanding untouchability and castes question in Nepal
As I started from Delhi to visit Kathmandu to participate in World
Conference against Untouchability organized by International Humanist
Union, London and Nepal Dalit Commission along with Society for
Humanism in Nepal, the issues raised by one of respected Dalit rights
activist Mr Hira Lal Vishwkarma’s assertion that manual scavenging
does not exists in Nepal and that it is a lucrative business in
Kathmandu. The statement was contradictory as it admitted that there
is manual scavenging but what shocked me was his further emphasis that
this work is now done by the Brahmin and Kshetris too as this has lots
of money. In the conference I raised the issue and Mr Bishwkarma
responded to it in the similar way as he had said in his response to a
group mail circulated among the Dalit groups. Many of our friends
working on manual scavenging in India were very disturbed with this as
how come a person speak of such a language. During the conference, I
had the opportunity to interact Hira Lal Bishwkarmaji and other
friends and in the next few days, I decided to explore things further
by meeting diverse groups of people and that too from different
regions of Nepal. That apart, I tried to find it with the people in
Kathmandu valley who are engaged in the sanitation work employed by
the municipal corporation and government hospitals mostly. Most of the
places, I found the output of the toilets are linked to local open
nullah and just as you pour water, the entire excreta is flown into
it. Most of the places it was stinky and dirty too. So, if not today,
I feel Kathmandu city will have a dangerous situation if the sewage
situation is not dealt with. Despite denial of people, one question
that always haunted me as who clean toilets and latrines in Nepal ? If
manual scavenging does not exists here, it means there is no caste
system or the country has developed a fairly good sewage model on the
lines of European countries only then there was a possibility of non
existence of manual scavenging. On both the counts Nepal remain
negative. The sewage system need to be seen and the caste system of
brahmanical variety exists in Nepal in much stronger way than it is in
India. It need to be understood and seen where it is not visible and
why ? Ofcourse, Nepal is a very diverse country and caste system
differ in forms and actions in each regions and hence all cant be put
in the same bracket. Yet, I was never satisfied by the arguments that
friends who suggested me, ‘ I should not look Nepal from Indian eyes
and that they were different’. As a person who has been visiting
Nepal for long and love that country the issue of Dalits,
discrimination and caste system can not be put aside simply under the
nationalistic boundaries when the issue has become international and
need people’s response. Yes, it is true that the ‘big’ brother
attitude of Indians with their ready made solution would not work in
Nepal and it is clear that they have to find answer within their
national frame work satisfying the international laws too which speak
against injustice and are for social justice.
For next two days, I decided to explore on my own and met a number of
friends from hills, Tarai and Newari community and what transpired in
our conversations was absolutely eyeopening and will definitely give a
new direction to the movement for social justice and participation of
various Dalit communities in nation building. These conversations of
mine with Nepal Communist Party leader Mr Tilak Pariyar, leader from
Dom community and now Central committee member of Naya Shakti Mrs
Sunita Dom, Dalit activist from Tarai Mr Amar Lal Ram, activist from
Badi Community Mr Gopal Nepali and a conversation with Deula community
members engaged in sanitation work at the outskirts of Kathmandu will
be put online soon and will definitely help create an understanding of
the issue and take the discourse further.
I visited Deula community locality in the Indraiani colony in the
Maharajganj region of Kathmandu city to have a firsthand look to the
issue, I was shocked to say the least. I thought that Hira Lal
Vishwkarma ji is right because the houses were great and in much
better place unlike India. Over 25 families were living and each one
had well established home of nearly three storied construction. Some
of them had bigger than that. They claimed there was no untouchability
with them when I asked pointed question. Most of them were working
with municipality to clean roads, public toilets and hospitals. A
government job provided them about NR 10,000 to 15,000 which they
considered a better job option. I was a bit frustrated. At the town, I
met a gentleman Mahadeb Deula who runs a public toilet at the
Vasundhara chowk. The human excreta from his public conveniences is
flown into the open drainage which stink all the time. Mahadeb pay NR
Three Thousand for the contract and earn around NR 7000 a month. He
has no issue with untouchability as he says he does not face it. We go
along with him to his Indraiani Colony of Deulas. Bheku Lal works
with Mahanagar municipality and his day start from early morning at 5
am and finish at 8. Later he has to go again at 1 pm and finish at 6
pm. At this age of about 50 he gets about NR 16,000/- per month.
Kanchi worked in Mahanagar Palika and now retired. Its not good work
but they don’t get anything else says a young boy who is working in a
hospital. He could not study after high school. Another girl Pushpa is
a 9th drop out and sit at home. I asked her as why she not pursued her
study, she had no answer though the young boy of the community clearly
mentioned that they do not get any other work.
What surprises me was while those I met (I do not deny they having
political influence) did not utter much about untouchability and
discrimination, yet the issue is whether they realize what is
discrimination when they do not get any other work. Now they are
complaining that the work is not there as mechanization is happening
and work is being given to contractors. ‘It is a fact that the
contractors are mostly the high caste Hindus as Dalits do not have
that much of money. These high caste Hindus take the contract work and
employ the untouchables to do the sanitation work like cleaning of
septic tanks, roads and toilets. They extract huge money and pay the
people lowly’, said Mr Tilak Pariyar who is the Central Committee
Member of Nepal Communist Party (ML).
But Padam Bishwkarama, who is editor of monthly journal ‘Dalit
Sandesh’ as well as valley coordinator of Dalit Liberation Front of
Nepal, says that Nepal’s Dalit question need to be looked carefully
according to regions. He feels that the Parliamentary system is never
helpful to Dalits and it coopt them. He talks of revolution and unity
of all the Dalits. According to Padam, Dalit question is not the issue
of ‘Untouchability’ but that of participation at all level. Sometime
the upper caste want to convert it into an untouchability issue which
is wrong, says Padam Bishwkarma.
However Gopal Nepali, who belong to Badi community of Nepal and one of
the most marginalized and outcaste community feel that when we speak
of proportionate representation system, it cannot be just in the
context of Dalits and non Dalits as we assume. He thunders, ‘Where is
my space as a Badi with in the Dalit movements. Where are jobs for us
in the government services, in Parliament or at the National Dalit
Commission? They have formed a committee for the ‘welfare’ of Badis
and therefore most of our friends feel that we do not need to have a
space in the National Dalit Commission dominated by one or two
communities’, he says.
Actually, manual scavenging in the hills were carried out by the
Deulas who are part of Newar community which has a tribal status. You
cannot really understand the peculiarity of the issue if you feel that
it is a Newar issue as many of them have now become economically well
off. Newar janjati itself has its own varna system and therefore
Deulas among them are the sanitation workers. In the hills there was
not much manual scavenging but the towns of the hills like Kathmandu
has this community engaged in the work. There is a dire need to
monitor the work in the smaller town.
In Nepal, the tragedy is that the issue of manual scavenging has not
become dominant because the whole Dalit discourse is dominated by the
hill people while communities such as Doms, Mushahars, Chamars,
Mehatars, Halkhors, which are mostly based in the the Tarai or Madhesh
regions remain outcastes with in the movement. The crisis of Hills
verses plain has also helped to aggravate the issue. The cultural gap
is big and need to cover up. As Kathmandu valley has dominant hill
people and definitely manual scavenging in hills cannot be compared to
that in the Tarai yet one cannot ignore the dark realities. I am not
sure how great is the sewage system of Kathmandu and elsewhere but
definitely people clean street, toilets and some day the septic tanks
and as suggested by many earning a ‘good amount’ but definitely now
with the machines coming up in the market, it has affected the job and
bargaining powers of the community like Deulas as they only have the
sole ‘monopoly’ over the sanitation work in Kathmandu. Now the
contract work is taken by the powerful people who lease it to Deulas
and make money at their cost and we feel that the community has gained
a lot. When I tried to find out the reason of the community’s good
housing, I was told that Deula’s had land from the very beginning and
they had built these houses long back as the land belong to them. It
would be difficult for any sanitation worker to construct those kind
of houses in todays time when everything is so expensive and there is
no security.
However, it would not be fair to blame to the social movements in
Nepal, most of them dominated by caste Hindus who needed a few
‘Dalits’ to ‘showcase’ to their donors. As Mr Hira Lal Vishwkarma told
me about a big organization working on Land Rights actually worked to
ensure land for Brahmins and Kshatriyas in a village, in the name of
‘land reform’. It was shocking, said Hira Lal ji that when he found
that Dalits and Janjati people did not get any land under the claim
‘land to the landless’. Perhaps, it is here we must realize the
importance of the caste and merely citing ‘class’ will not work.
Nothing wrong in helping the landless people of all the castes but
then why ignore the Dalits in this entire ‘class’ exercise. One has to
agree that the Dalit issue need to be understood beyond mere symbolism
even though many times they are important particularly in the regions
where they have been denied participation and right to be as a human
being with dignity. Of course, the Dalit movement needed as much
variety and inclusion of the most marginalized communities which are
victim of untouchability even with in the communities claim to be
Dalits. These questions cannot be place under the carpet in the
pretext of internal issues of the community or non-serious.
But can Dalit issue be just participation and not discrimination and
untouchability. We do understand the political participation but what
happens where Dalits are just a minority or that too of a miniscule
variety whose voices do not get heard in the din of ‘majoritarian’
politics? So, it is not just issue of participation but an issue of
human rights which has protection under all the international
covenants. Participation of Dalits as proportionate to their
population in polity and political structure is one issue but the
issue of untouchability and those who are on the margins cannot be
brushed aside under any pretext as Tilak Parihar says that the
Communist Parties failed in it as the representation inside the party
was a matter of great concern. He pointed out that though the
revolutionary politics fought for the Dalit rights and fight against
feudal oppression yet in terms of representation they failed the
Dalits. He also said that parties failed to understand the Dalit
issues and its complexity. ‘I was the member of the previously
constituted ‘Constituent Assembly’ and have seen in those discussion
that those who got elected in the name of Dalit communities only
raised the issue of their communities and not others. Therefore, I
never heard issues of Doms, manual scavengers or those of the Tarai
Dalits, as majority of us were from the hills. It is our failure’, he
says. Obviously, the issues of Dalits and Janjatis have to be resolved
within the framework of Nepalese constitution and with maintaining the
unity and integrity of the country. Last year an important leader of
Dalits from Madhesh region visited Indian and tried to create an
opinion about the Dalits in Nepal but now the Dalits in that region
complain that the minister has forgotten the Dalits of other
communities and only play his caste card.
Amar Lal Ram belong to Chamar community from Saptarni district of
Madhesh region. The influence of Saint Raidas and Baba Saheb Ambedkar
is now on the community. ‘The youngsters are going to school but
participation in the job is very low. In the Tarai, it is the Paswans
who dominate and they do not care for Dom, Chamars and Mehtars. In
fact, 25 families of Doms face social-economic boycott from the
Yadavas in the region who want these families to leave their homes and
settle elsewhere’, says Amar. We too had an economic blockade several
years back but now things are settled, he said. ‘Why is there a
blockade’, I asked. ‘ We live in the towns or in the villages and when
we do not follow their diktats they threaten us. Secondly, now with a
little money, they feel we are obstacles and need to be thrown away so
that they can live without seeing us or touching us.’ But is there any
manual scavenging in your region and if yes who are engaged in it, I
ask. According to Amar, even after the government’s efforts, manual
scavenging is there and mostly mehtars, halkhors and Doms are engaged
in it. ‘ If there is any death of an animal, people will not pick up
as they will only wait for a dom, he says and add that our pain is
that while the upper castes have been willful against us but the
powerful communities of Vishwkarmas and Parihars have taken our share
as they are heavily present everywhere from government bodies to NGOs
to IGOs. In fact, this sentiment is reflected by Gopal Nepali too who
said that when the government appoint a committee and yes it is a
committee he says not a commission yet it was not liked by dominant
dalit leaders here. What do we get he says. As a person from Badi
community which is less than forty thousands in Nepal, Gopal is the
first person doing his M.Phil from Tribhavan University, says with
pain visible on his face that we remain untouchables even today.
Though, none know my caste in Kathmandu but if I inform any one about
my caste that I belong to Badi community, I might not even get a house
and people won’t even like to share space with me. Our pain is that
our women and men were into music profession. They danced and yes the
feudal exploited our women too. Later it became for all when there was
no employment so many came in the prostitution and exploited by all.
How Hippocratic it is that we are untouchables but there is no
untouchability in sex. Yes, untouchability exists in our water, in our
kitchens and at the marriages, he says painfully.
Addressing caste discrimination and untouchability questions are
important to create an egalitarian society but it is important to
handle them with great sensitivity. A solution which might be
applicable in the hills might not be applicable in Tarai. The issue of
Newari community is entirely different. Constitution of Nepal has
recognized Dalit as an issue and as communities. Positive side is that
constitutionally, they did not use the term ‘scheduled castes’ and
scheduled tribes’ as in India but Dalits and Janjati which is positive
as it will remind people of the historic wrong. Padam Bishwakarma is
very clear about that when he says that Dalit question cannot be
resolved unless we talk of honorable compensation for historical wrong
done to us but do the revolutionary politics understand it, I ask. He
says, yes, the only answer to discrimination against Dalit is the
revolution against the feudal caste structure as Parliamentary
democracy will not bring our true representatives and there the
success of a few is shown as the model for all.
While Tilak Pariyar candidly understand that these brahmanical Marxist
parties are not really Marxists as they fail to understand Dalit
question and only talk of class when caste is an important factor of
oppression in our society, Ms Sunita Dom, who is now in Nayi Shakti
party of former prime minister Babu Ram Bhattarai, exposes the
character of the ‘revolutionary’ parties when she said that her father
being an important member of the Central Committee of the Maoist Party
faced caste discrimination. It was sad that party leaders would not
eat along with him and he was always served in a separate plate
outside the dining hall. This is scathing attack on the brahmanical
desease that exists inside these closed quarter of ‘revolutionary’
parties. I was shocked to hear this from a woman who hail from Dom
community who are even untouchables among untouchables. Most of these
parties have kept their door closed for the Dalits but as both Tilak
Pariyar and Padam Bishwkarma mention that the revolution happened in
Nepal because Dalits supported and participated in it. My point was
that is great but why you need Dalits as rag pickers of your parties
and not at the highest level. How come people are unable to come to
the highest level despite sacrificing their lives.
Yet, it is also true that merely condemning the parties will not work.
Nepal’s Dalit now look for change through revolution alone. Those who
are ‘mainstreamed’ in NGOs and INGOs may have a few success stories
while mainstream political parties busy with their vote calculations,
Tilak Pariyar is simply not satisfied with the constitution. It talks
a lot but gives nothing. For the 275 strong Parliament, 165 Members
will come through First Past The Post system while rest 110 from
Proportionate Electorate System. Now, most of the mainstream parties
says that constitution is giving everything as per proportionate at
every level (it is mentioned in the constitution and Nepal that way
shows inclusive constitution but it has a long way to go) but there is
no assurance of reservation or protection of seats for Dalits in FPTP
as no seat is reserved for them. It means that a majority of seats
would be open for manipulations during the elections and prone to
encourage corrupt practices as happens in India. Among all this
proportionate, how do we ensure that Badi, Gandharba, Chamars,Halhors,
Doms, Mehtars and many other communities get their due. How will there
be a representation of Deulas from among the powerful Newar community.
Nepal’s Dalits are separated from each other on regional lines. There
might not have been any interaction with them and definitely the
brahmanical political parties whether Congress variety or
revolutionary one cannot escape from being blamed. As far as social
movements is concern, the big INGOs have spoiled independent movement
to grow and very unfortunate part is that upper caste still play
patronizing role in ‘developing’ Dalit movement. We still here
discussion similar to ‘return to Vedas’ of Vivekanada and that varna
system was ‘scientific’ and was based on your work and not that of
birth. People quote copiously from religious texts to prove that Vedas
are sacrosanct and everything is a late entry. That shows the
influence of Brahmanism on thoughts and process of politics, academia
and society. While Ambedkar is reaching there yet being used in a very
‘limited’ way as both the revolutionaries and Congress variety of
parties have realize the danger to the brahmanical order from a
radical Ambedkarite movement. The oppression has been very high and
people were made to believe that they are fighting a ‘class’ war and
not a brahmanical caste oppression hence villages are isolated and
deeply entrenched in caste system.
We would not like to give our solution to Nepal as it has to come from
their communities and within the frame work of its constitution but
unless Nepalese parties understand the whole issue of Dalits and their
participation, things will not succeed. Nepal revolutionary politics
will not succeed unless it understands the aspirations of those
communities who have been denied their dignity and rights for
centuries. In the 21st century, Nepal need to show the world that in
our continent revolution is not possible without smashing Brahmanism
and the illegitimate social order that it has created to suppress the
Bahujan working masses in our societies.
Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social and human rights activist.
He blogs at www.manukhsi.blogspot.com
twitter @freetohumanity Email: vbrawat@gmail.com
