News from ekantipur.com

Accolades, money showered on Kamal

BY PREM NEPALI

KASKI, June 27 - Kamal Nepali, 12, who rescued two-and-half year old Aradhana Pradhan from a 60-feet deep gorge in Pokhara on Wednesday at risk to his own life has been given a number of rewards and words of appreciations.

On Thursday, Nepali could not even attend all the functions organized to felicitate him for his bravery. His hectic schedule was proof that this young boy from a poor family had turned into a public hero.

Commending his valor, various organizations and individuals in Pokhara city were making preparations to felicitate him, but they could not get hold of him as he had already bought an air-ticket for Kathmandu. Since early morning, Nepali remained busy. Media jostled for an interview.

Amidst this hectic activity, leaders of the Democratic National Youth Union, Gandaki chapter were complaining that they only got five minutes to felicitate him. “We did not get time to even hand over the money collected in different places,” said Rajiv Pahari, president of the union, adding that the government should honor him for his valor.

Ashbir Nepali of Annapurna Mijar Society was complaining that he could not hand over to him a shawl and a token of appreciation. Many have been showing eagerness to sponsor his education and ensure him a successful future. His father Nil Bahadur, who makes shoes for a living, was more than happy to acknowledge all the appreciation together with his son.

“I had never imagined in my wildest dreams that he would win such rewards and appreciation at such a tender age,” he quipped.

Money pours in
Meanwhile, many organizations have shown interest in rewarding Kamal. Commending his courage in rescuing a child from a ‘death trap’, Everest Insurance Company Ltd on Thursday announced a cash award of Rs 101,001, along with a token of appreciation.

Industrialist and president of the insurance company, Rajendra Khetan, in a statement also pledged to give Rs 21,001 to the rescued child for her patience.

Likewise, Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN), an NGO involved with the rights of child workers, promised to award Nepali a cash prize of Rs 10,000 and commend his bravery. CWIN, in a statement, also wished speedy recovery to the rescued child. She is undergoing treatment at Pokhara-based Manipal Hospital.

Who is Kamal?

BY KULCHANDRA NEUPANE

POKHARA

Born in an impoverished family, Kamal Nepali is the youngest son of Nil Bahadur Nepali. Previously residents of Ram Bazaar, Kamal’s family now lives in Tutang since the their house at Ram Bazaar was sold to clear a debt.

Kamal’s family and friend know him as a restless and brave boy who scoots off into the neighborhood sometimes performs acrobatic stunts, wowing his friends and elders alike. His friends know him better as Michael. Kamal’s father, Nil Bahadur, who knew about his son’s heroic deed only after the whole thing was over, is proud of his son’s extraordinary feat.

“Kamal is very fond of children. This might be the reason why he risked his life to save the little girl in the first place,” said Nil Bahadur. Sumek Adhikari of Nepal Canoeing Association says, “Kamal projected incredible valor when I first saw him volunteering for this dangerous task.” “A brave son like Kamal is what a country like ours needs.”

Extraordinary tale of nation’s little hero

Until Wednesday, little did this 12-year old lad know he would rescue a toddler stuck some 60 feet below a treacherous gorge, just bigger than a rabbit hole, and be hailed as a hero nationwide.

Just like any other day, Kamal was home watching television, unaware that a baby girl Aradhana Pradhan was fighting for her dear life inside the gorge for almost two days. All this while the locals and rescue personnel from Nepal Canoeing Association from Kathmandu, along with Nepal Army soldiers were making rescue bids to save the child without success.

Kamal knew about the situation only after his elder brother Salum, who was actively engaged in the rescue bid since day one, brought him to the incident site to try Kamal’s petite physique into the narrow gorge to rescue the little girl.

Salum himself had staked his life in the gorge to rescue baby Aradhana but he could not make it below 25 feet due to the narrow hole beneath him. After hearing disappointed rescue personnel say that only a small boy could enter the slender hole, Salum had brought his brother Kamal to undertake the Herculean task.

At first, locals raised their eyebrows at Salum for trying to risk his own brother’s life by lowering him down the narrow gorge, where another minor was already trapped. But after Salum decided to go for it and Kamal too accepted the risk audaciously, locals accepted this bold step.
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Rescue personnel then helped Kamal to put on the safety harness and took him down till the spot from where the gorge got narrow. From there on all hope lay on Kamal. Two rescue personnel waited for Kamal outside the narrow passage of the gorge, while he lowered himself down following instructions from rescue personnel through walkie-talkie.

The crowd outside were on tenterhooks all this while until Kamal emerged from the gorge with Aradhana tucked inside a bag. Kamal emerged as the savior of Aradhana, he emerged as a hero. He won the hearts of the crowd.

But most of all Kamal won the hearts of Aradhana’s parents, John and Easter, by saving their only daughter from the death trap. Overjoyed by their daughter’s rescue at the hands of this little boy, they decided to regard Kamal as their son.

The doctors involved in the treatment of little Aradhana say the girl is doing fine and she shall be discharged soon.

Posted on: 2008-06-26 20:50:48 (Server Time)

the nepaldalitinfo special report

Baltimore (Maryland), June 23- Nepali-American Society for Oppressed (NASO) Community is holding its First Convention in Washington DC, United States on Saturday, August 9, 2008. A number of distinguished speakers will be giving their talk on contemporary issues relating to elimination of all forms of social oppression including caste discrimination and untouchability in Nepal, and relevant topical interactions among participants in the program are planned for the day.

“Even though we had organized a number of general meetings and interaction programs in the past, this convention is going to be a historical gathering,”, said Mr. Dharam Bishwakarm, the NASO President, “We are expecting participants to arrive from “Coast to Coast” and from North (Canada) to the South in Americas”

Watchout for further details of the Convention Programs at this page!

For more information, please contact:
Dharam Bishwokarma,
President, NASO Community
6485 Woodland Forest Dr
Elkridge, MD 21075
Phone: (443) 690-5677
Email: dbishwokarma@yahoo.com

RELATED SITES:

Nepali-American Society for Oppressed (NASO) Community’s Website

Nepali-American Society for Oppressed Community (NASO)

Nepal Dalit Information Resources

NEPAL: Living In a Republic

By Mallika Aryal

LELE, Jun 13 (IPS) - A week after Nepal was declared a republic, in the small sleepy town of Lele, some 30 km away from the capital Kathmandu, Dhurba Kumar Sunar, 41, goes about his day like any other.

Jeweller by profession, he is on a deadline to finish the last pieces of pendant that he has been working on for the last few days. “I don’t have time to think about politics, this is what buys our meals,” explains Sunar.

When Nepal was declared a republic last week, there were loud celebrations in Kathmandu. In Lele there were some low-key processions, but most people in the village did not really care. Lele used to be a predominantly Nepali Congress area but in the Apr. 10 constituent assembly election, Maoist Barsha Man Pun Magar defeated his Nepali Congress counterpart Uday Shamsher Rana (15,329 to 14,011 votes).

“Not many in these villages know that Nepal is now a republic, and even those who do know don’t really understand what it means,” says Sunar. Once a staunch supporter of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist), the third largest party in the present constituent assembly, he joined the Maoist party a few years ago and is now the Lele secretary of the Dalit Liberation Front.

“The Maoist party has done a lot to end discrimination against Dalits and other suppressed groups in the village,” says Sunar recalling days when his family was looked down upon, how he was not allowed to sit with high caste people at a tea shop and how he had to wash his tumbler after drinking tea at local tea shops.

Sunar’s wife Laxmi chooses her words carefully. “It is not enough that the king is gone, the political parties have to prove to the people that they are better than him,” says Laxmi adding, “until the living standard of people improve, unless there are roads, development, construction, until our kids can go to schools for free and we won’t have to worry about health-care, the king, the Maoists, other political parties are all the same for poor people like us.”

Fulltext of the article published in the Inter Press Service

nepaldalitinfo special report by Bhakti Nepal

July 11- Today, the people of Nepal witnessed a much awaited moment of the deposed king Gyanendra and his family leaving the Narayanhiti Palace at the end of 15-day deadline set by the Constituent Assembly (CA) while declaring Nepal as the Federal Democratic Republic ending formally a history of 240-year long monarchy rule of Shah dynasty in the country. The autocratic rule of Shah dynasty and its subordinate Rana dynasty was largely responsible for precipitating the Hindu system of caste discrimination and untouchability in the country. In 1854, the Government of Nepal under joint rule of these two dynasties headed by all powerful Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana had introduced a civil code called Muluki Ain that formalized caste discrimination and untouchability victimizing hard working occupational castes (Karmajans). The country’s statutes have now abolished caste discrimination and banned untouchability in the eyes of law. However, the practice of caste discrimination and untouchability is still rampant at all levels, and wounds of victimization inflicted to the people of artisan castes are still deep seated among the victims. A state apology from the Government of Nepal for having made statutory provision of caste discrimination and untouchability against the hard working occupational caste people was long over due. Therefore, one of the main agenda of the nepaldalitinfo network right from its inception little over five years ago was to demand this state apology. The victimized people of Nepal, who make up at least 13% of the Nepal’s total population, are asking the Government of Nepal this long over due state apology along with appropriate compensation package for them to be able to stand equal to the rest of the population. In the new era of Nepal as Federal Democratic Republic, this demand will be pursued more vigorously until the responsible government meet the demand fully.

Neither the deposed king bothered to make an apology on behalf of his ancestral monarchy nor the people of victimized castes and communities considered pressing this demand important at this juncture, depite the fact that the monarchy under the Shah dynasty of Nepal was largely responsible for the historical statutory provision leading to the current state of caste discrimination and untouchability practice still being rampant in the country even in the 21st century. Ironically, the opening sentence of the farewell statement read out by the Gyanendra Shah over a press conference attended by national and international media just prior to his departure started with “Char Varna Chhattis Jat ko Phulbari….” (the garden of four Varnas and 36 castes..- playing with the words originally used by the first King Prithvi Narayan Shah to describe the diversity of people of Nepal), but he did not relate to what were the serious consequences of delineating the castes into highly discriminatory hierarchical caste groups throughout the rule of his dynasty. This leaves behind a histroy that Nepal’s monarchy, despite being largely responsible for maintaining caste discrimination throughout the country, ended without apologizing to its victims of caste discrimination.

On the other side of the globe, today is also the day, when the Prime Minister Stephen Harper on behalf of the Government of Canada expressed a formal apology to the aboriginal peoples of Canada for its past wrong doing against more than 100,000 aboriginal children by forcefully separating them away from their families and communities to place them in the state-run Christian boarding schools in the name of assimilating them into the dominant culture. The children so separated were harmed, tormented and sexually and physically abused during their stay in the residential schools.

“Two primary objectives of the residential schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture.” The state apology says, “These objectives were based on the assumption aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal.”

Click here for: the Canada’s state apology statement.

RELATED NEWS:

Ex-King Gyanendra leaves Narayanhiti

PM cites ’sad chapter’ in apology for residential schools

FEDO programme on discrimination of Dalit women (Video clip)

The Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), a national level organization dedicated to the rights of Dalit women and the Working Women Journalist (WWJ) jointly organised an interaction programme where discrimination of Dalit women journalists by other journalists and the ways to stop it were discussed - CA member Binod Pahadi speaking.
Presented by: Bureau Report, Nepalnews.com

अब त गणतन्त्र आई सक्यो !

- तेज सुनार

ए, मन्दिर प्रवेश गर्न डराउनेहरु हो,
होटेल वा चिया पसल वा रेष्टुरेन्टमा बाहिर बसेर खाने,
अनि भाँडा आफै माझेर लुरु लुरु जानेहरु,
धारा, कुवा, इनारमा पालो कर्ुर्नेहरु वा
लाचार भएर छुट्टै धारा प्रयोग गर्नेहरु हो,
विद्यालयमा पछाडिको बेन्चमा वा अलग्गै बस्नेहरु
वा
खानेपानीको भाँडा नछुने, चमेना घर भित्र नपस्ने
र सरस्वतीको पुजामा अलग्गै बस्नेहरु हो,
यी सब तुरुन्तै बन्द गर अनि चुडाल बन्धनहरु,
अब त नेपालमा गणतन्त्र आइसक्यो !!

ए, अरुको हलो जोत्ने हलिहरु,
भाडा औजार बनाउने र लुगा सिलाउने बालिघरेहरु,
अनि अरुको डोली बोक्नेहरु हो ।
अब त शोषण विरुद्ध आफ्नो अधिकारको लागी जुरमुराउ !!
ब त नेपालमा गणतन्त्र आइसक्यो !!

ए, टाढा रहेर रमिते भई
ताली बजाई आफ्नो सहभागीता जनाउनेहरु,
अब औपचारिक र अनौपचारिक हरेक निकायको हरेक तहमा खोज
आफनो समानुृपातिक प्रतिनिधित्व र सक्रिय सहभागिता
भुमि नहुने भुमिहीनहरु
र
राज्यको र्सार्वजनिक श्रोत र साधनमा पहँुच नहुनेहरु,
जल, जमीन, जगंल, जनावर र
जनश्रम बजारमा समान हिस्सा खोज,
किनकी अब त गणतन्त्र आइसक्यो !!

यदि तिमीलाई कसैले रोक्यो भने
सोध प्रचण्ड, गिरीजा, झलनाथलाई
अनि
उपेन्द्र, महन्त, नारायणकाजी
चित्रबहादुर र विजुक्छेहरुलाई
के गणतन्त्र तिमीहरुलाई मात्र आएको हो —

अनि खोज हिसाब
सेतु बिक, दीपक विश्वकर्मा, चन्द्र वयलकोटी
र जनयुद्धमा
एघार सय दलितले दिएको बलिदानीको
एवं
लाखौ दलितले गणतन्त्रका लागि पसिना बगाएको !!

गणतन्त्र

- तेज सुनार

गणतन्त्र त आयो नेपालमा,
यतिले मात्र पुग्दैन,
गणतन्त्रसँगै सुशासन, आउनुपर्छ,
कानूनको शासन, सहभागिता,
पारदर्शिता, जवाफदेहिता आउनुपर्छ,
त्यतिले अझै पुग्दैन समावेशीता,
सामाजिक न्याय, सकारात्मक विभेद,
समानुपातिक प्रतिनिधित्व सँगसँगै आउनुपर्छ,
त्यति मात्रले कहाँ पुग्छ र,
मानव मर्यादा, आर्थिक समुन्नति, सबैका लागि सबै मानवअधिकार
अनि समतामूलक अवसर र पहँच सबैका लागि आउनु पर्छ ।
यी सबै सँगसँगै लिएर गणतन्त्र,
राज्यको हरेक निकायको हरेक तहमा छिर्नु पर्छ,
मन्त्रालय, विभाग, अड्डा, अदालत, विद्यालय, क्याम्पस,
पार्टी, संघ, संगठनमा छिर्नु पर्छ,
अनि छिर्नु पर्छ नागरिक समाजमा, संघ संस्था र महासंघहरुमा
र निजी क्षेत्रहरुमा पनि
त्यतिले मात्र कहाँ पुग्छ ।
छिर्नु पर्छ एन.जि.ओ, आई.एन.जि.ओ .मा,
दातृ निकायमा, यू.एन. एजेन्सीहरुमा,
त्यतिले मात्र पनि अझ पुग्दैन,
यो. त पुग्नु पर्छ समाज, समुदाय, टोल टोल, घर घरमा,
व्यक्ति व्यक्तिमा र
व्यक्तिका पल पलका व्यवहारहरुमा,
अन्ताटÂ्रय सम्मेलन केन्द्रमा आएर अल्झनु हुदैन गणतन्त्र ।

Download and listen to woman leaders Jayapuri Gharti, Radha Gyawali and Arju Deuba discussed on contemporary situation of caste discrimination against Dalits in Nepal over “Sajha Sawal” (Common Issues) program in the BBC Nepali Service.

ऐतिहासिक संविधानसभाको चुनाव समग्रमा सफलताका साथ सम्पन्न भयो । चुनाव सकिएको दिनको मितिले ठ्याक्कै ४८ दिन पश्चात संविधानसभाको बैठक बस्न सक्यो । ढिलो गरी तोकिएको जेठ १५ गतेको तिथिमा पनि दिउँसो बैठक बस्न सकेन र ठूलो जनदवाबपछि रातको ९ बजे मात्रै बैठक प्ररम्भ भयो । ढिलैगरी भए पनि गणतन्त्र कार्यान्वयन गर्ने सहमतिमा बैठक बस्यो र बैठकले एक युगान्तकारी र ऐतिहासिक घोषणा गरेरै छाड्यो । यही वैशाख १५ गतेको दिनदेखि २४० वर्षपुरानो सामन्तवाद र सबै समस्याहरुको केन्द्र राजतन्त्रको अन्त्य भएको छ । नेपालको सबभन्दा उत्पीडित दलित समुदायको प्रमुख शत्रु पनि राजतन्त्र थियो । त्यसैले सम्पूर्ण दलित समुदाय गणतान्त्रिक आन्दोलनमा सरिक भएका थिए । अब नेपाल लोकतान्त्रिक गणराज्य भएको छ र दलित मुक्ति आन्दोलनले पनि एक कदम सफलता पाएको छ ।

नेपाली दलित मुक्ति आन्दोलनले यो संविधानसभाको चुनावसँगै नयाँ किर्तीमानी र इतिहास निर्माण गर्न सफल भएको छ । विगतमा भएका संसदीय चुनावहरुमा दलितहरुले प्रत्यक्ष उम्मेदवारी पाएर जितेको इतिहास एक अपवाद बाहेक छैन । २०४८ सालको आम चुनावमा बाँकेबाट नेपाली काग्रेसका कृष्णसिङ्ग परियारले चुनाव जितेका थिए । त्यो भन्दा अघि र पछि कुनै पनि दलितले राष्ट्रिय चुनावमा प्रत्यक्ष उम्मेदवारी मार्फ चुनाव जितेका थिएनन् । ब्राह्मणवादी, सामन्तवादी र रुढीवादी चिन्तनले ग्रस्त दलका नेताहरुले दलितले जित्नै सक्दैन भनी आम जनतामा भ्रम पैदा गरी चुनावमा टिकट दिदैनथे र दलितलाई सधै भोट बैंकको रुपमा मात्रै प्रयोग गर्दै आए । तर २०६४ साल चैत्र २८ गतेको संविधानसभाको चुनावले त्यो भ्रमलाई पर्ूण्ा रुपले चिरिदियो । सबै खालका भ्रम, गलत मानसिकता र गलत प्रवृत्तिहरुलाई च्यात्दै पहिलो हुनेले जित्ने प्रणालीबाट सातजना दलितका होनाहार योद्धाहरुले विजयी हासिल गरे, जसमा दुइजना दलित महिला छन् । दलित महिलाले उम्मेदवारी दिएर प्रत्यक्ष चुनाव जितेको यो नै पहिलो रेकर्ड हो । कास्की क्षेत्र नं. ४ बाट विजयी सभासद् दुर्गा वि.क. सबभन्दा कान्छी सभासद् बन्नुभएको छ । उहाँको उमेर २६ वर्षमात्र पुगेको छ । २६ वषर्ीय दलित महिलाले प्रत्यक्ष चुनाव जितेर पुरानो सोच, चिन्तन र रुढीवादी परम्परालाई ठूलो झापड दिएको छ ।

प्रत्येक्षबाट ७ र समानुपातिकबाट ४४ गरी ४९ जना दलितहरु ऐतिहासिक संविधानसभामा सभासद् बनेका छन् (मन्त्री परिषद्ले चुन्ने २६ जनाको छनौट नहुदै) । यो ६०१ सदस्यीय संविधानसभा सदस्य संख्याको सालाखाला ८.७१ प्रतिशत मात्र हो । सरकारी पुरानो तथ्यांक अनुसार नेपालको कुल जनसंख्याको १३ प्रतिशत दलितहरु छन् । दलित आन्दोलनको माग उनीहरुको अंशमा २० प्रतिशत प्रतिनिधित्व हो । दलित आन्दोलनले २० प्रतिशत सहभागिताको माग गरिरहेको अवस्थामा सरकारी तथ्यांकको १३ प्रतिशतसम्मको पनि सभासद् संख्या नपुग्नु विडम्बनाको कुरा हो । तथापि पुरानो युगबाट भर्खर नयाँ युगमा प्रवेश हुन लागेको यो संक्रमणकालिन अवस्थामा ४९ जना दलित सभासद्हरु संविधानसभामा पुग्नुलाई पनि सकारात्मक रुपमा लिन सकिन्छ ।

फेरि, हामीले बुझनै पर्ने कुरो के पनि हो भने भौतिक उपस्थितिले मात्रै पनि पुग्दैन । मुख्य कुरो त सही र दलित सवालहरुलाई ठोस रुपले अडानका साथ राख्न सक्ने व्यक्तिहरु त्यहाँ पुगे कि पुगेनन् भन्ने कुरा महत्वपूण हो । यसपटक दलित आन्दोलनबाट स्थापित तथा राष्ट्रिय राजनीतिमा खारिएका दलित हस्तीहरु दलित समुदायको प्रतिनिधित्व गर्दै संविधानसभामा पुगेका छन् । त्यसैले दलितका सवालहरु गर्मागर्मी रुपले संविधानसभामा उठ्ने छन् र नयाँ संविधान दलितहरुको हितमा लेखिने छ भन्ने पक्षमा आशाबादी हुन सकिन्छ । तर दलित समुदाय पूण रुपले ढुक्क भएर बस्नु भने गल्ती हुने छ । बाहिर रहेका सम्पूण दलित समूदायले उनीहरुलाई सडकबाट दबाबका साथ सचेत र खबरदारी गरिरहनु उत्तीकै आवश्यक छ । किन कि विगतमा दलित आन्दोलनले दलितको प्रतिनिधि बनाएर पठाएका थुप्रै नेता तथा अगुवाहरुले धोका दिएकोे उदाहरणहरु हामीसँग प्रसस्तै छन् ।

उदाहरणको लागि हामी टाढा जानु पर्दैन । दोस्रो जनआन्दोलनपछि बनेको सात दलीय गठबन्धन सरकारमा काग्रेसी मानबहादुर विश्वकर्मा दलितको प्रतिनिधित्व गर्दै राज्यमन्त्री बने । तर उनले दलितहरुको हकहितमा सिन्को पनि भाँचेनन् । त्यसै गरी दोस्रो जनआन्दोलनको सफलता पश्चात् बनेको अन्तरिम संविधान मस्यौदा दयारी समितिमा दलितको सहभागिता नभएपछि दलितहरुले आन्दोलन गरे । त्यसपछि मीन विश्वकर्मालाई सहभागी गराइयो । तर उनले गाईलाई राष्ट्रिय जनावर कायमै राखिनु पर्ने कुरा अन्तरिम संविधानमा उल्लेख गर्नुपर्छ भनी सम्पूण नेपाली र दलित समुदायको भावनालाई कुठाराघात गरे ।

निवर्तमान अन्तरिम विधायिका संसदमा पनि दलित समुदायका १८ जना विधायकहरु थिए । कहिले जनजाति आन्दोलनका कारण त कहिले मधेशी आन्दोलनका कारण नेपालको अन्तरिम संविधान-२०६३ तीन पटकसम्म संशोधन भयो । जनजाती आन्दोलनका कारण अन्तरिम संविधानको तेस्रो संशोधन मार्फ जनजातिहरुले प्रत्यक्ष र समानुपातिक दुवै निर्वाचन प्रणालीबाट प्रतिनिधित्व हुन नसकेका आदिवासी/जनजातीका जातीहरुलाई मन्त्रीपरिषद्बाट मनोनित गरिने २६ जनाको सिटबाट अनिवार्य प्रतिनिधित्व गराउने व्यसस्था तत्कालिन सरकारले ग-यो । जसको फलस्वरुप २६ जना मध्येबाट १० जना सभासद् जनजातीका छुटेका जातीहरुबाट छनौट गरिने पम्का भएको छ । जनजातिहरुले यसरी चलाखी गरिरहदा दलित विधायकहरुले यसको भेउ पाएनन् वा मुक दर्शक भएर बसेकाछन् ।

संविधानसभाको समानुपातिक प्रणाली मार्फ चुनिने कुल ३३५ सिटको २० प्रतिशतभन्दा कम सूची पेश गर्ने दलहरुले समानुपातिकको सिद्धान्त लागु गर्नु नपर्ने प्रवधान थियो । पछि मधेश आन्दोलनको दवाबमा यसको प्रतिशत बढाएर ३० पु-याइयो । यो प्रवधानले दलित सभासद् संख्यालाई घटाउने निश्चित थियो । तर यसमा पनि तत्कालिन दलित विधायकहरुले कुनै क्रिया, प्रतिक्रिया वा चासो देखाएनन् । मात्र मुक दर्शक भएर बसे । यी र यस्ता खाले प्रवृत्तिगत घटनाहरु, जसले दलित समुदायमाथि खेलवाड गर्छ, नव निर्वाचित प्रतिनिधिहरुले पनि नदोहो-याउलान् भन्न सकिदैन । त्यसैले सचेत दलित समुदायले यो संविधान निर्माण प्रक्रिया चलिरहदा खबरदारी र दवाबका लागि र्सतर्कताका साथ बस्नु पर्ने देखिन्छ ।

जातिगत रुपमा हेर्ने हो भन, राष्ट्रिय दलित आयोगले सूचिकृत गरे अनुसार, दलितहरुको २२ जाती देखिन्छन्, जसमा संविधानसभामा वादी, गर्न्धर्व, मुसहर, डुम, कुचे, महरा लगाएत ८/९ जातिको प्रत्यक्ष वा समानुपातिक दुवै प्रणाली मार्फ प्रतिनिधित्व हुन सकेको छैन् । अहिले मन्त्रीपरिषद्ले मनोनित गर्ने भनेको २६ जनाको भागभण्डा चलिरहेको छ । संविधानसभामा मुसहर र डुम जातिको प्रतिनिधित्व नगरिएको भन्दै सप्तरीको राजविराजमा सदाय संघ, डोम उत्थान समाज र राउत मेहत्तर समाजको नेतृत्वमा दलित समुदायले जेष्ठ ६ र ७ गते -याली, कोणसभा र पर््रदर्शन गरे । २६ जना मध्येबाट प्रतिनिधित्व गर्राईनु पर्ने उनीहरुको माग छ ।

दलित नागरिक आन्दोलनले छुटेका दलित जातिहरुको प्रतिनिधित्व मन्त्रीपरिषद्ले मनोनित गर्न बाँकी रहेको २६ सीटबाट गराइयोस् भन्ने माग राखी यही जेठ २ गते प्रधानमन्त्री निवास बालुवाटारमा धर्ना दिई प्रधानमन्त्री तथा प्रमुख दलहरुलाई ज्ञापनपत्र बुझायो । त्यसै गरी गर्न्धव सँस्कृति कला संगठनले पनि प्रधानमन्त्री र प्रमुख दलहरुलाई ज्ञापनपत्र बुझाई साँस्कृतिक कार्यक्रमसहित बालुवाटार र सिंहदरबारमा धर्ना दिए । संविधानसभामा २६ जना मनोनित गर्ने प्रावधान अन्तरगत दलितको १३ प्रतिशत अनिवार्य प्रतिनिधित्वको लागि पहल गर्ने भनी राष्ट्रिय दलित आयोतले प्रेश विज्ञप्ति जारी गरेको छ । राष्ट्रिय वादी अधिकार सर्घष समिति र नेपाल सरकारबीच भएको संझौता पुरा भएको छैन ।

यी यावत् मुद्धाहरुलाई उठान गर्न तथा कार्यान्वयन गराउन वर्तमान अवस्थामा पनि दलित जनसमुदाय आन्दोलित भईरहेको छ । तर यी सर्न्दर्भहरुमा दलित मुक्ति आन्दोलनको अगुवाई गर्ने संघ, संगठन तथा नेताहरु भने आन्दोलनबाट पुरै विमुख छन् । एक खालको संर्घष्ा अझै जारी रहदा प्रमुख दलित राजनीतिक संगठनहरु तथा डलरवादी संस्थाहरु भने रमिते पारामा चुपचाम बसिरहेका छन् । उनीहरु बीचमा नवनिर्वाचित सभासद्लाई अभिनन्दन गर्ने होड चलिरहेको छ । एक दिनमा पाँचओटासम्म अभिनन्दनका कार्यक्रमहरु राखिन्छ । यस्तो लाग्छ कि ४९ जना सभासद् भएपछि दलित मुक्ति आन्दोलन पुरा भयो र अब उनीहरुले नै मुक्ति दिलाउछन् ।

तर हामी दलित समुदाय र आन्दोलनका हिमायतीहरुले आन्दोलनबाट बिश्राम लिने बेला भएको छैन । हाम्रो मुक्ति हुन अझै धैरै संर्घषहरु गर्न बाँकी नै छन् । यतिबेला झन् दबाब र खबरदारीको आन्दोलन आवश्यक छ । देशको मुल कानुन संविधानमा दलितका सवालहरु जबरजस्त लेखाउनु पर्छ । यो महत्वपूण अवधिमा हाम्रो भुमिका कमजोर भयो भने हामी फेरिपनि पछि पर्र्छौ । त्यसैले पनि एकिकृत दलित आन्दोलन जारी राख्न जरुरी छ ।

राम नेपाली
अध्यक्ष
नेपाल स्वतन्त्र दलित विद्यार्थी संगठन
जेठ १७ गते, २०६५