Dalit Students’ Rental Problem in Kathmandu
Kathmandu, August 19 - The nation has already declared “Untouchability Free Nation” through the proclaimation of the reinstated parliament in the aftermath of the success of Peoples’ Movement-II. Now, the country is heading toward the Constituent Assembly to create “New Nepal”. However, Dalits are still suffering from various forms of caste discrimination in the country.
On 19 August in Kathmandu at Chahabil, Ward no 7. near Pasupati Temple, a case of rental problem for Dalit Studenst has come to light, though it was not an isolated incident in Kathmandu Valley. Mr. Surya Kumar Bishwokarma, inhabitant of Chitawan, presently studying at MBS-II year at Shankar Dev Campus is the victim of the incident. His house owner named Ms. Shobha Gautam asked him to leave the house after getting the information that Mr. Bishwokarma belonged to Dalit Community. In his response, Mr Bishwokarma reciprocated on why he was forced to leave the room inhumanly without any reason. The house owner said and accepted blatantly that he is not willing to rent his house room to any Dalit.
Mr Bishwokarma shared this experience of inhuman behavior faced by him after the incident for justice with all the concerned organizations including Dalit Students Organizations, Sister Organizations and Non Governmental Organizations, Right activists, Media persons and individuals who are working for Dalit Rights.
Today early in the morning, around 30 people from different organizations gathered at Chahabil to make an inquiry about the case and met the perpetrator to know why he did so.
After serious discussion with the perpetrator, he accepted his blunder and ready to beg an apology on this case in front of public after mounting pressure from the groups. This group converted into mass meeting. Speech against such caste discrimination and inhuman behavior was continued to sensitize the locals of the same place where the perpetrator made an apology on the case publicly in front of Media Persons.
This incident shows that the level of sensitization to the general mass even in Kathmandu against such caste discrimination from the government and other organizations concerned is still poor. So the government authority and concerned organizations must take stern action and initiate the campaign to sensitize the general people for not repeating such inhuman crime in future.
Report by:
Suman Poudel
My thought to this problem would be:
Let us put pressure on the government that it makes mandatory regulation for those landlords putting their properties (rooms/flats etc) in rent to register at the District Admin Office and sign a contract stating they will not discrimate any occupants regardless of caste, color, creed.
Landlords failing to register their properties and given in rent should be punished and also tax should be levied from those landlords for their income from rents.
Bishnu Pariyar
North Yorkshire, UK
Hello Suman,
Let me extend my sincere appreciation and thanks to you for reporting the various developments at ground level. I always read your postings.
You are right, the level of sensitization is not going to be great or obvious in the current situation. The country will have to go through a lot of education and reeducation phase. You know, as well as every body that we have to impose such change in the general masses. For such a thing to happen, we have to demand the current government and fight for our rights.
Expecting an understanding from ruling feudalistic class(Brahmans/ Chhetries) of Nepal is like hitting your head on the wall with no results. It will only break your head. So we have to use various other means to demand our rights. We have to test the burgeoning real democracy of Nepal at this juncture.
One of the thing that I would like to purpose the current government of Nepal is to set up tribunal courts at local and national levels where people from all walks of life can file their grievances against any individual or organization for practicing discrimination based on caste system or any form of discrimination. Any incidents of discrimination, such as Surya Kumar Bishwokarma, have to be filed in this court which will have to prosecute such discriminating individuals with punishment that will not only include jail-time but also financial compensation to the discriminated one, if proven guilty in the court of law. This court will work in close association with Dalit watch groups. Cases of discrimination can go as far back as 50 years because we all pay for our past mistakes in the present. After all the whole basis of lower-caste being lower caste is based on their bad karma in the past life. However, democracy demands that one has to pay for their bad karma in this life.
In a truly democratic system, one can bring a case of any kind of discrimination against an individual or an organization even if that incident might have occurred several year ago. In America, a leader of the democratic world, a case of sexual harassment, which occured 15 years ago(?), was filed by Anita Hill against Judge Clearance Thomas before his nomination for Supreme Court Justice. Judge Thomas was tested and had to go through uncomfortable questioning by the Congress in public before he was finally nominated for the position. American legal system is replete with such examples.
In a truly functioning democracy the rights of the most vulnerable ones are protected. In today’s Nepal, so called lower-caste people are the most vulnerable people. Their rights have been confiscated by Brahmans/Chhetries and various other minority groups of Nepal for centuries. Even today when the country is going through so much change the so called lower-caste are facing discrimination, for instance, as Suman reported, recently Mr. Surya K. Bishwokarma was asked to vacate the space he was renting from Ms. Shobha Gautam because he is from a so called lower-caste.
Such cases are not new to us. We all have lived and been through such blatant discrimination. So, responsibility lies on us to demand the current
government for our rights. We must fight for it.
I welcome any comments on my suggestion from the reader of this blog.
Thank you.
Ramesh K. Sunar
USA.