Washington DC (United States), December 7- Human/ Dalit rights activist Mr. DB ‘Sagar’ Bishwakarma of Nepal received the ‘Community Human Rights Award 2007’ awarded by United Nations Association (UNA) of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA), Washington DC over a human rights luncheon program held here today. The honor was awarded in recognition of his dedication as an activist in the struggle against caste-based discrimination in Nepal over the past two decades. His involvement in advancing human rights across South Asia has led him to establish the International Commission for Dalit Rights (ICDR), which has developed a broad-based outreach in motivating communities in South Asia and around the globe.

On his selection for this distinguished award, “It is a credible honor for ICDR and his dynamic personality who has made significant contributions to the human rights and democratic movement in Nepal, while his outstanding leadership skills exemplify what a social entrepreneur should be like”, described Wendy Serafin, the Secretary General of International Commission for Dalit Rights (ICDR).

The human rights honor program took place at the Cannon Building of US Federal government in Washington DC. The US Senator Honorable Tom Harkin, Director United Nations Information Centre (UN) William Davis, UNA Vice President Richard Griffis and awardees including Mr. Bishwakarma highlighted on global and local human rights, social justice and democracy issues in the program. Mr. Bishwakarma appealed international community, US government and UN to draw serious attention towards hidden social justice agenda to ensure the fundamental rights of nearly 260 million Dalit people in the world especially in South Asia. “Caste-based discrimination is a major cause of social conflict, poverty and human rights violation in South Asia”, he added. He also urged for special collective efforts from the international community towards sustainable inclusive democratic system and equal representation of Dalits in Nepal.

Several high-level dignitaries from US government, UN, International Agencies/organizations, scholars and civil rights activists attended the award program. Mr. Bishwakarma was honoured with a UN medal and certificate of Community Human Rights award in the program along with other human rights leaders around the globe who received various awards. The program was incredibly important to draw high-level political attention both in US and global social justice movement. Mr. Bishwakarma is the first Nepalese national to receive suh a UNA Human Rights Award in the US Capital.

Bishwakarma’s Bio:

DB Bishwakarma is focused on strategies for the Dalit movement that promotes the ‘transfer of their sovereign power from the vote bank to political strength’ under the broader principle of inclusive democracy and fundamental human rights in the changing political situation in Nepal.

D. B. BISHWAKARMA (Email: dbsagar@yahoo.com), popularly known as ‘DB SAGAR’ was born and brought up in poor family and remote village of Nepal. DB has been serving as a Founder and President of International Commission for Dalit Rights (ICDR), a newly formed international forum to establish Dalit Rights in the contemporary world.

In 1996, DB, along with colleagues, formed the Dalit National Federation (DNF) of Nepal as a national apex organization of Dalit NGOs and organizations. The goal was to incorporate diverse Dalit’s perspectives and to give individuals a voice in the fight against casteism, social inequalities and exclusion. He served as the National President of DNF from 2002 to 2007. He is also a founder President of Dalit Human Rights Organization and Founder of Jana Utthan Prathisthan (JUP), Nepal, respectively. He is widely associated with national, regional and global forums such as the World Conference against Racism, International Dalit Solidarity Network, People SAARC, the World Social Forum and other mediums. DB has regularly briefed the UN and EU agencies, international human rights institutions, government, political parties, and media about the atrocities against Dalits. He is currently appointed as a Member of the National Development Council of Nepal Government.

In 2004, DB initiated and organized “International Consultation on Caste-Based Discrimination” in Kathmandu Nepal. The main outcome of this consultation was the “KATHMANDU DALIT DECLARATION, (KDD)”.

In 2001, DB was arrested by the police while he was leading a national mass demonstration against the caste-based discrimination and jailed 24 hours in national capital. He has been actively involved to restore inclusive democracy (LOKTRANTRA), rule of laws and human rights in Nepal particularly in great people movement-I and II (1990 and 2005/’06, respectively). He was highly targeted and threatened by Royal Regime immediate after the Royal Coup 2005.

Mr. Bishwakarma is currently attending American University and working toward a Master in Sociology.

For further information, please contact:

Wendy Serafin, Secretary General
or
Laura Hudson, Program Officer.
International Commission for Dalit Rights (ICDR) Secretariat, Washington DC, USA
Email: icdr_dalitrights@yahoo.com

nepaldalitinfo adds:

The nepaldalitinfo international network heartly congratulates DB Sagar Bishwkarma for bagging this special award, which is expected to draw greater attention of the US government, UN, other International Agencies/organizations, scholars, civil rights activists and people at large in and around Washington DC to the core problem of caste - discrimination in Nepal.

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Dalit activist bags UNA Human Rights Award

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THT Online

Kathmandu, December 6 - The society cannot make progress unless people are [recognized] on the basis of their ethnicities [and their problems addressed], Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel said at a programme here on Wednesday. Addressing an interaction on Democracy, Dignity and Peace Regarding Dalit Emancipation in Nepal, organised by the World Dignity Forum here to mark the fifth World Dignity Day, the minister said the government is committed to meeting demands of the Dalits. Dalit activists blamed the political leaders for remaining indifferent to their demands.

Dalit activist Binod Pahadi accused political parties and the government of remaining indifferent whenever rights of Dalit people are violated. “After toppling Gyanendra, time has come for us to fight against the kings in guise of seven-party leaders,” he said. He also accused the United Nations Office in Nepal of contributing to conflict by awarding projects to the accomplices of King Gyanendra. Dr Nanda Bahadur Singh claimed that political leaders are nothing, but political contractors working for self-interest. “They cannot look after the society and the nation; they can only work for personal gains,” he said, calling on the Dalits not to be carried away by “mesmerising speeches of leaders”. “Peace cannot prevail where there is injustice and suppression,” he added.

Meanwhile, a central committee member of the CPN UML-Bhim Rawal devoted all his time defending the role of political parties.

Representative of Richard Bennett and representative of the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights Dr Chitralekha Massey said the peace process will be in question if the issue of human dignity is not addressed properly. Hannes Siebert, director of the Peace Appeal Foundation Nepal, said the people’s war was not only the movement of the Maoists but the way out of mounting dissatisfaction of the downtrodden people. “There cannot be peace without justice and democracy without dignity.”

Earlier, to celebrate the World Dignity Day, the South Asia regional office of the World Dignity Forum, an organization coordinated by Mr. Motilal Nepali, called a mass rally from Ratna Park.

Source: The Himalayan Times, Kathmandu.

Dalit Rights in the Context of Republic and Proportional Representation – An Interaction Program

An interaction program was organized jointly by Nepal Dalit Mukti Morcha (Unified) and Tamu State Committee, Pokhara on Dalit rights in the context of republic and proportional representation system. Speaking as the chief guest, the member of interim parliament Hon. Tilak Pariyar concluded that without these both, Constituent Assembly (CA) cannot ensure the right of more than 6 million Dalits. “Dalits are deprived of their basic rights to live as human beings”, he said, “there cannot be equal competition between unequal people.”

पोखरा, कास्की मंसिर १९ गते । नेपाल दलित मुक्ति मोर्चा (एकीकृत), तमुवान राज्य समितिको आयोजनामा आज “गणतन्त्र र समानुपातिकताको सर्न्दर्भमा दलित अधिकारको सवाल” बिषयक राज्य समिति स्तरीय वृहत अन्तरक्रिया कार्यक्रम भव्यताको साथ सम्पन्न भएको छ ।

अन्तरक्रियामा नेपाल दलित मु्त्तिm मोर्चा (एकीकृत) का केन्द्रीय अध्यक्ष तथा अन्तरिम व्यवस्थापिका संसदका सदस्य क. तिलक परियारको उपस्थितिमा सम्पन्न उक्त कार्यक्रममा गणतन्त्र र समानुपातिकता विनाको संविधानसभाको निर्वाचनले दलितहरूको अधिकार सुनिश्चित नहुने निश्कर्षनिकालेको छ । प्रमुख अतिथिको रुपमा बोल्दै अध्यक्ष परियारले बहुमतीय वा मिश्रति निर्वाचन प्रणालीले मुलुकमा मान्छे भएर पनि मान्छे सरह जीवन जिउन नपाउने बाध्यतामा रहेका ६० लाख भन्दा बढी संख्यामा रहेका दलित समुदायको अधिकार सुनिश्चित हुन नसक्ने तर्क गर्दै असमानहरू बीच समान प्रतिश्पर्धा गराउने प्रणालीमा मुख्यतः नेपाली काङ्ग्रेस उद्यत रहेको चर्चा गर्नुभयो । उहा“ले राजनीतिक रुपमा मुलुक दुइ ध्रुवमा विभाजित नहुन र काङ्ग्रेस जिम्मेवार भएर प्रस्तुत हुन आग्रह समेत गर्नुभयो । अध्यक्ष परियारले दलित मुक्तिका लागि राज्यका सबै क्षेत्रमा दलितलाई समानुपातिक प्रतिनिधित्व र विशेषाधिकारको सुनिश्चित गर्न पनि समानुपातिक निर्वाचन प्रणाली र गणतन्त्रको घोषणा अपरिहार्य भएकाले हालै अन्तरिम व्यवस्थापिका संसदबाट समेत बहुमतले पारित सो प्रस्तावलाई नेपाली काङ्ग्रेसको नेतृत्वमा रहेको सरकारले कार्यान्वयन गर्नुको विकल्प नरहेको चर्चा गर्नुभयो । त्यसैगरी अखिल नेपाल महिला संघ (क्रान्तिकारी) का केन्द्रीय सदस्य तथा तमुवान राज्य समिति संयोजक क. सुसिला सिम्खडाले सामन्ती-व्राह्मणवादी पितृसत्तात्मक राज्यसंरचनमा रहेका महिला, दलित तथा अल्पसंख्यक समुदायलाई राज्यमा समानुपातिक प्रतिनिधित्व गर्न समानुपातिक निर्वाचन प्रणालीको अपरिहार्यता रहेको चर्चा गर्नुभयो । तमु राष्ट्रिय मुक्ति मोर्चाका महासचिव लालबहादुर तमुलेे नेपाली जनताले दिएको जनादेशलाई नेपाली काङ्ग्रेसले उल्लङ्घन गरेको चर्चा गर्दै नेपाली काङ्ग्रेसले हलो अड्काएर गोरु चुट्ने प्रवृत्ति रहेको चर्चा गर्नुभयो । कार्यक्रममा नेपाल राष्ट्रिय दलित मुक्ति संगठनका कास्की जिल्ला अध्यक्ष नारायण रसायिली, स्वतन्त्र व्यक्तित्व दर्गाबहादुर सुनार, नेकपा (माओवादी) का जिल्ला सदस्य जनार्दन नेपाली, लगायतका वक्ताहरूले अवधारणापत्र माथि छलफल टिप्पणी गर्नुभएको थियो ।

नेपाल दलित मुक्ति मोर्चा (एकीकृत) का केन्द्रीय उपाध्यक्ष तथा तमुवान राज्य समिति संयोजक क. डम्बरबहादुर विश्वकर्माको सभातपित्वमा सम्पन्न उक्त कार्यक्रमको सञ्चालक केन्द्रीय सदस्य भुवन सुनारले गर्नुभएको थियो । कार्यक्रममा नागरिक समाज, राजनीतिक पार्टी प्रतिनिधि, पत्रकार, पेशाकमी, प्राध्यापक लगायत सैयौ व्याक्तित्वहरूको उपस्थिति रहेको थियो ।

प्रस्तुतिः विनय, नेपाल दलित मुक्ति मोर्चा (एकीकृत)
केन्द्रीय कार्यालय सचिव

- DB Sagar Bishwakarma
American University
Washington DC

Over 6 decades, Dalit movement has been continuously fighting for social justice, humanity, proportionate representation and inclusive democratic phenomenon in Nepal. Overall, the dominant state policies, mechanism and socio-cultural ideologists, paradoxically, accelerated the emergence and widespread acceptance of collective identity of socially excluded groups such as Dalits, ethnic/indigenous, Madhesi (Indian-origin Nepalese), minorities and etc, etc. Therefore, it has been an urgent issue to reconcile casteism in the standpoint of social exclusion towards justice, equilibrium and equality, which can explore common identity with respect and power. For this, sociologists and Dalit rights activists have to redefine, examine and advocate the term “Dalit” from the standpoint of self-dignity, which could supply social honour/respect, recognize values /cultures and positive perspectives as “a Community of Dalits in Nepal and South Asia, who are rich in traditional arts, skills, culture, human capital and are considered as a social scientists or architects of the society”. Despite these high social values, productive capability, and inherited skills, the shameful social reality is that Dalits are still bearing the historical legacy of so-called “untouchability” or “impurity and inferiority” ascribed to them by the Hindu social stratification system, with resultant segregation and exploitation by so-called “superior castes”[1] even in the modern Nepalese society; this is disgraceful. The issue of caste relations is dominated by a ‘Indo-Aryan’ group known as ‘Bahun[2]’ or Hindu Pundits and they manipulate and misinterpret, as part of their cleverness, calling it a “Dalit Problem”. Dalit is not a problem; problems are poverty, illiteracy, lack of access, unemployment, dominations, discriminations, exclusion and so on that are handed down to Dalits by the traditional social fabric. The pathology of caste relation in the Nepalese as well as South Asian society is characterized by both prejudice and discrimination as a tool of domination by the perpetrators over the persons of so-called bottom level caste groups like Dalits or other social excluded groups. The term “Dalit” is already established as a symbol of common identity of millions of people, and as a result, it is eventually becoming a means of political power of the people known as Dalits. Knowing this implication, Bahuns are heavily are involved in misinterpreting the term ‘Dalit’.

________________________________________
[1] Dalit NGO Federation (DNF), Nepal. Executive Report of International Consultation on Caste-based Discrimination, 2004.
[2] A priest caste group, who serves in the ritual functions and pray to the god for other caste groups, who claimed themselves as a so-called superior caste.

Uday Pariyar

There has always been a dearth of press coverage and articles on Dalit issues. Out of the few, many published opinion pieces on Dalits make one ponder over who might be the actual culprit behind the current plight of the so-called untouchables. Some highlight the importance of ending intra-Dalit hierarchy and segregation first, as a precondition for doing away with caste-based discrimination. To validate their arguments, the authors usually cite examples of Dalits discriminating against Dalits much the same way as non-Dalits treat them.

Though it is undeniable that Dalits are not a monolithic group and there is intra-Dalit hierarchy, not all would accept the mea culpa view. Indeed they would be in a much better position to get organised and rise against the discriminatory practices and traditions if they were not culturally and ritually divided. In an ideal world it would be a perfect thing to do. And there are many Dalit rights activists who have been advocating for the same.

But the main question is – is intra-Dalit hierarchy the absolute cause behind the perpetuation of the evil practice? Would Dalits be free from domination had there been no division within Dalits? Or are the intellectuals and writers simply projecting the issue in such a way that Dalits themselves can be blamed for their suffering? Could it be a part of their implicit attempts to eschew Dalit’s freedom?

In reality, there is no community in Nepal that does not have its internal hierarchy. Newars are an obvious example. Different clans of Bahuns consider themselves higher than other Bahuns. So, it is simply not true that only Dalits are divided along a hierarchical line. History also shows it was not Dalits who created the divisions amongst themselves. Clearly, this was a product of a divide and rule strategy adopted by the so-called high castes over centuries to ensure that those at the bottom of the social strata never unite for their common cause.

Do we then blame all high castes? If we hold this perception we would have to point our fingers at every member of the Bahun and Chhetri communities, including the impoverished and undernourished ones living in remotest parts of Humla, Jumla and Kalikot districts. Is this a realistic view?

History is witness to the fact that the Hindu religion prescribed the caste hierarchy and the state of Nepal applied it over the centuries. Those who did not follow the caste rules would be heavily penalised and tortured. For instance, if any member of Dalit community was found reading books during the Rana regime, his eyes would be destroyed. If he heard any sacred mantras, molten lead would be poured into his ears.

The Malla rulers started the strict implementation of Manubad and the Shahs, Ranas and Panchayati Rajas did their level best to ensure the practice continued. The rise of multiparty system in 1990 raised some hopes but it also proved to be a democratic façade. The party rulers promised a lot, made some changes to the constitution terminating caste based discriminations on paper, but did nothing significant to discourage the state-sponsored discriminatory practices.

Even now there are many cases of police refusing to register the cases on untouchability issues. Dalits are discriminated even at homes of the government ministers and senior administrators. Dalits across the country continue to be victimised. Nobody is bothered about such a serious abuse of human rights and attack on civil liberty. In essence, there is not much change.

On the surface, we could blame all those who discriminate against a certain segment of population on the basis of their caste background. But clearly the state is the main culprit. It means all those who ruled or are ruling are responsible for the inhumane practice. Even the Maoist party that stayed in power briefly cannot escape the blame. Everybody is cognisant of this reality.

This understanding makes it clear that those so-called intellectuals who recommend an end to the intra-community hierarchy within Dalits as a way of liberating them are simply not telling the truth. They are simply trying to evade the real issue and covertly endorse the inhumane practice. They are recommending medical cure for the limbs despite knowing that the real illness is in the head.

This is such a plain fact but even some Dalit activists and leaders appear to be confused. No doubt, the real culprit is the state. The real target should be the state. Of course, intra-Dalit hierarchy should be challenged but it won’t make much impact unless the very nature of the state is transformed. Simply altering the system of governance will not mean anything for the suffering masses, as evidenced by history.

The state should be forced to shed all the traditional caste-based principles and practices. The rulers should be made to stop discriminating against Dalits inside their homes and communities. Nobody working for the government should be allowed to practice untouchability. Only then would we begin to see some changes in the perceptions and practice of the grassroots people.
(ud.pariyar@gmail.com)

[Also published in “Newsfront Weekly, Kathmandu, Monday December 3, 2007]