- Suresh Singh

In Nepal, if anyone wants to end caste discrimination and untouchability then he or she needs to work towards achieving the goal of making intercaste marriages as a widely acceptable norm. Only the laws made by state will not change the society.

I see the role of Maoists here in changing the society; it is the time now for them to act. They have an active YCL, let the YCL that is comprised of youth organize mass intercaste marriages in rural areas. It is going to have enormous impact, because the majority of Nepali people live in villages, the urban population being only 16 percent. I think YCL can do it because parents will give their daughters and allow their sons to go for intercaste marriage due to some fear cutting another fear just as ‘a diamond cuts diamonds’. In Nepal, young boys and girls involve in lot of love relationships but they do not marry due to fear of parents and society; once they get a support of a force like YCL then they could freely marry their lovers without fear of their parents.

Here is one example- about one year ago, in a village in Syangja, a Sunar boy married a Magar girl. Just after few days of their marriage, the parents and relatives of that girl came to take the girl with them. They offered some money to the boy’s family if they gave the girl back to them. All the non-dalits of the village united against the Sunars. They threatened to punish the Sunars for daring to make a Magar girl their daughter-in- law. However, the Sunars were saved by the intervention of Maoists, who said that since the boy and girl have married due to love people should allow them to live together. Late on, the Sunars went to police station and made a paper in presence of the girl’s father that none should harm the Sunar boy. I have heard that the girl’s family due to shame migrated to other area because the non dalits were making fun of the girl’s parents as their daughter has married a Sunar.

One or two cases of intercaste marriages will not change the society- only if majority of people opt for intercaste marriages then only society will change. Caste system is perpetuated and functions through the marriage system. If today a Bahun, Chhetri or a Magar or Limbu allow his daughter to marry a Dalit, and accepts a dalit girl as his daughter-in-law then naturally untouchability will vanish along with caste system.