- Sarojdillu Vishwokarma

The hilly and vertical trail of Maanidada of Bhojpur, from the Pakribas of Dhankuta, we may usually find, a 30 kilo’s Dalit boy carrying more than 50 kg load on his back walking bared foot. Sometimes, he has to carry double his weight in the short destination. Can we imagine? Obviously… ! that is 14 yr old-Lalchandra Charmakaar of Sikhuwa Deurali, climbing weekly there with the heavy cargo.

The Dalit child, Charmakaar has the regular duty to carry the heavy load for solving his family’s daily hand to mouth problem. He is also a 6th grader and goes to school only 4 day a week and rest of the day, he regularly carries the goods of local traders. After the class on Thursday, he comes to Falante Haat and from early of tomorrow morning, he starts to carry the loads for earning only five hundred rupees cash, then feeds his family and pays for his brothers and sisters’ schooling and other pocket’s expenses. His foot is deeply torn and over exercised by walking up and down the vertical and rocky hills. He neither knows about the government giving incentives nor some development organizations working for the Dalit children. He has no information of scholarship provision of his school as well as he knows nothing about ‘What is Dalit’. Only he knows that he has to usually carry the load to fulfill his domestic needs for feeding five of his smaller siblings.

His father works as farm labourer in the village and uses his earning for drinking daily as much as much he gets. And mother is half-mind, so she doesn’t do anything. Sometimes, the father collects the skin of dead animal and sales those in the Falante Haat. Therefore, his whole family has been dependent on Lalchandra’s earning.

He has been doing this job ever since when he was 10 yr old. He generally gets Rs 20 per kilo load he carries, but he spends Rs. 500 a day for the lodging along the way. Despite his father is shoe maker, Lalchandra hasn’t got to wear a pair of the shoes yet on his feet. Sometimes he has to walk miles away on bare feet, as he can’t save the money to buy a pair of simple sandals.

Most of people along his way know him as the Saarki Keto (shoe-maker boy), therefore he has to stay at the out side the local dwellings every night, because the higher castes’ dwellers don’t allow him to stay inside the local hotel no matter how the summer session goes, likewise the winter passes over.

One of his younger brothers also has just started carrying the small load. And, he hopes that the small sister will also help on his job, after 3-4 years. Then, they will feel easier to survive their life.

At the moment, I remember to those who are doing the dhandaa (business) of children rights throughout the country and earning adequate name and fame on the name of these Dalit and such children, and I would like to ask -why they can’t recognize Lalchandra and such others.

Now, we should comprehend that there is disparity between children of these ages, who have to carry the heavy load daily only for surviving their life on the one hand and some others, who are working for child rights, their children generally fly by plane nationally and internationally for study. Then, we can consider how the Dalit children’s education status would grow up and how they can access the better opportunities as the higher castes. Let’s think about him- maybe, will he cross the SLC board exam? Or, should he always to carry the loads for the best part of his life? Many of the Dalit Children are compelled to do so just as the job of Lalchandra. If government and other development stakeholders do not realize to the misery of such Lalchandras, they will be forbidden from better opportunities and will remain excluded from the national incentives and are out of their rights.

Reporting from Thulodumba, Bhojpur