Dalit agenda in the SAARC Summit: A must for its next round

New Delhi, April 3. The 14th SAARC Summit was inaugurated today in the presence of heads of the member governments/states, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Bangladesh Chief adviser Fakhruddin ahmed, Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonopo Khandu Wangchuuk, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Maldivives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Nepalese Prime-minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Pakistan Prime-Minister Shaukat Aziz and Sir Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. The dignitary delegates from China, Japan, South Korea, United States America and European Union also participated as observers in the summit proceedings.

In order to make a representation of Dalit issues in the SAARC summit program, Motilal Nepali and Rem Bishowakarma from World Dignity Forum and Dalit NGO Federation –Nepal visited Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, India, the venue of the 14th SAARC Summit. A declaration was made by SAARC leaders at the end of the summit.

The SAARC’s regional cooperation seems to be forging ahead towards right direction endorsing the several important issues; however, SAARC still lacks social vision to address Dalit issues as they relate to the rampant regional social problem victimizing more than 250 million people across the region, and to include in its agenda as well as in the its summit declaration.

In order to have SAARC deceleration encompassing the Dalit rights, we would have to have first intensive lobbying exercise with relevant stakeholders so as to gain enough regional attention focussing on the SAARC social charter towards the human dignity, democracy and other entities relevant to Dalit issues.

On the initiative of World Dignity Forum (WDF), a campaign for addressing Dalit issues had began in Kathmandu by way of urging concerned people discussing the SAARC agenda before the summit. As part of this campaign, WDF submitted a memorandum addressing Dalit issues to SAARC General Secretary in Kathmandu and also in SAARC diplomatic missions in New Delhi. In New Delhi over an interaction program held on April 3, WDF Founder Mr. Ashok Bharti demanded inclusion of Dalit issues in the SAARC agenda and implementation of a visionary program by South Asian countries to address them. WDF also organized a protest program about Dalit problem for its inclusion in the SAARC social charter during the SAARC conference at Vigyan Bhavan. WDF also presented the memorandum to the journalists during “Meet the Press Program held in Ashok Hotel, New Delhi on 3 April. Although no positive sign was forthcoming for including the Dalit issues in the SAARC deceleration, this has created some awareness about 250 million people languishing in the region as the oppressed lot, who cannot be ignored anymore in the regional level of cooperation. This was the first effort for Dalit advocacy in SAARC. The next step is to build some space and environment for listening to the Dalit voice in the next round of the SAARC summit slated for Maldives. It was felt that there was a need for reorganizing the Dalit movement taking its agenda to the regional level. In this way, an appropriate advocacy for Dalit representation approaching and lobbying with concerned diplomatic missions through proper channels well in advance would eventually lead to recognition of Dalit agenda as a regional issue. This is a must for the next round of the SAARC Summit.

Motilal Nepal
World Dignity Forum
Secretariat Office,
Kathmandu
April 6,2007

A Memorandum for Addressing Dalit Issues submitted to 14th SAARC Summit, New Delhi, India April 3-4, 2007 by South Asian World Dignity Forum

New Delhi, March 4. A delegation of South Asian World Dignity Forum led by its Convenor Motilal Nepali submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chair of the 14th SAARC Summit held in New Delhi with a demand to address various Dalit issues at the regional level. The memorandum was submitted through the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu and the press media in New Delhi. The contents of the memorandum follow:

SAARC came into existence more than two decade ago. However, continuing frictions and impediments have restrained its growth. As a result, it has still not been much productive as compared to numerous other regional organizations. After the end of the cold war, while the rest of Asia and elsewhere have sprung up their position, especially smaller SAARC countries especially have recorded slow growth, as they could not capture the much needed attention on the global stage. Owing to the often strained relationship between its two biggest members, India and Pakistan, several summits could not even be held pushing the expected development to the wall. Political upheavals and social conflicts ongoing in the region did not lend themselves to support its betterment. The Hindu orthodox social order with unjust caste discrimination has been prevailing especially in Indian subcontinental area of South Asia. The feudal outlook handed down from Manu has provided power, product and national resources to the high castes, while the so-called low caste people, the victims of the untouchability practice have always been kept away from power, product and decision from the state. The same situation is still rampant in the power structure of the most countries.

Huge part of the population in the region has been socio-economically and politically oppressed for long time, and they are now named as Dalits. Particularly in Nepal, the past oppression meted out to a significant population of victims by the old autocratic regime cannot be undone by disruptive activities. However, now on, there is a window of opportunity for the country to expedite a transformation process for reintegration of its nationalities, national building processes, including the elimination of untouchability. All forms of repressions and oppression of the dictatorial rule of the old regime has lasted long enough. Even today, a detrimental legacy of old feudal autocracy is still lingering one.

SAARC is composed of developing as well as least developed countries with their own setup of feudal type socio-economic structures where unwanted inequalities and heterogeneities still persist across segments of their society. There has not been solid and practicable programs in place at the regional level in order to address these inequalities and heterogeneities. Ironically, during the whole of two decade long history of SAARC ever since its genesis, the single most outrageous socio-economic injustice continually meted out to a large segment of the region’s population resulting from rampant untouchability practice has not even been identified under the social agenda of the SAARC Charter. Over a period of more than 20 years of its existence, SAARC has never demonstrated that it really represents any of socio-economically victimized and politically excluded population of 250 million Dalit people languishing across the South Asia, the voice of Dalits being totally unheard.

The time of has changed dramatically with the turn of the century to a new millennium. In order to realize SAARC truly as the organization of regional cooperation meant for mutual benefits of all people across the region, it must be inclusive in all respects. Towards this end, we put forward the following set of demands to SAARC that must be fulfilled in order to make credible achievements especially in addressing Dalit issues throughout the region:

1. All citizens of SAARC countries must be allowed a free passage to any of its member countries without hindrance or visa restrictions to facilitate a free exchange of their knowledge, talents and skills for their mutual benefits. The people of weaker sections of society must be provided special programs for learning as well as work experience across SAARC countries.

2. SAARC must constitute a Regional Level Commission against Untouchability and Racial Discrimination to oversee Dalit issues across its member countries.

3. SAARC must guarantee “Freedom from Hunger” to all citizens of its member countries, irrespective of where they live.

4. SAARC must adopt a policy for elimination of nuclear armed suppression conflict, feudal autocracy oligarchic monopolies hegemony in order to ensure the 21st century’s people’s dignity, democracy and peace prosperity.

5. SAARC must adopts a policy to remove all kinds of social barriers based on myth, theology, superstition, religion and orthodox fundamentalism from its member countries maintaining a regional social order achieved through a cultural struggle.

6. SAARC must explore the collective measures to provide common “Resource, Product and Space” to 250 million SAARC Dalit who have been downtrodden for centuries.

7. SAARC endorsed a long term vision for “SAARC Dalit Strategies” for Dalit enhancement.

8. SAARC declares open a regional level “SAARC Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University” for enhancing education to Dalit people who have the lowest rates of education across its all member countries.

9. It is high time to Dalit issues finds a central place in SAARC frame work of the South Asian Social structure.

10. SAARC formulates a plan similar to erstwhile Colombo Plan specifically targeted to the development and exchange of Dalit human resources for the economic development of its member countries.

Motilal Nepali
Convenor
South Asian World Dignity Forum
Kathmandu
Email, motidwa@ntc.net.np