Regina (Canada), October 31- The founding moderator of nepaldalitinfo international network Dr. Drona Rasali has been actively taking on his new role as an Advisor of Non-Resident Nepalis- Canada (NRN-Canada) in its National Coordination Council. Dr. Rasali was named one of the two advisors of the National Coordination Council during its first National Convention held in Toronto on August 23-24, 2008, along with the other Advisor Dr. Kunjar Sharma, who is the Honorary Consul General of Nepal to Canada.

Speaking as a guest speaker in an interaction on the NRN issues held recently in Calgary city, Dr Rasali said that historically Gautam Buddha could be the first well-known NRN who gained divine knowledge and enlightenment in India after he left his country more than 2,500 years ago. The development of Non- Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), however, was connected with FNCCI (The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry) which attracted NRNs around the world for investment and socioeconomic development in the country. He also highlighted some of the events and activities that are currently being carried out by NRNA globally and Canada. In Canada, Census 2006 recognized Nepalese people for the first time as a distinct ethnic group, even though the population of Nepalese reported from the Census sample seemed to be underestimated. He realized that the understanding and cooperation of Nepalese people living across Canada was phenomenal. There are hurdles and challenges ahead but Dr Rasali appeared more optimistic for achieving NRN’s goals. Click here for >>> More on this story .

Dr. Pramod Dhakal, an another member of nepaldalitinfo network has been elected as the National Coordination Council Member of the NRN-Canada and its Executive Member responsible for international affairs, during the First Convention held in Toronto on August 23-24, 2008. Another member of nepaldalitinfo Prakash Mugrati has be unanimously elected as a National Coordination Council Member representing the city of Montreal in Quebec province of Canada.

RELATED ITEMS:

NRN-Canada Website

Non-Resident Nepalis- Canada National Coordination Council, 2008-2010

October 29, 2008, Washington, DC- Suvash Darnal, a prominent activist for Dalit rights in Nepal has been selected as a member of the Board of a Washington DC based non-profit organization The Advocacy Project (AP). He is joining the Board along with two other new board members, Soren Jessen-Petersen, who served as the United Nation’s Special Representative in Kosovo during the run-up to the country’s independence, and Devin Greenleaf, a former AP Peace Fellow in Nepal.

Suvash Darnal has played a leading role in exposing caste discrimination against the Dalit in Nepal, and insisting on social change. He founded the Jagaran Media Center (JMC) in Kathmandu and served as Coordinator of the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP), a network of over 40 Nepalese human rights groups. Mr Darnal is currently a Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington DC.

“I feel very proud to be the first AP Board member from a partner (organization),” said Mr Darnal. “AP is doing fantastic work in many conflict-affected areas, and partners are key toward achieving the goals of AP.”

Devin Greenleaf brings the perspective of AP fellows to the Board. He spent last summer as Peace Fellow with the JMC in Nepal and helped to train the JMC’s network of field reporters.

“During my fellowship I experienced the exhilaration of working with grassroots organizations on the ground, but also the inherent challenges that come with it,” he said. “I relate to the concerns of AP’s fellows and I look forward to advising the Board on how to best guarantee their success.”

The selection of three new members of AP Board, each representing an important AP constituency, signals an increased role for the Board as the organization prepares for 2009. Mr Jessen-Petersen will explore synergies with the UN system. Mr Darnal will represent AP’s community-based partners. Mr Greenleaf will speak for AP volunteers (Peace Fellows).

The three new members join Mr Scott Allen, Ms Teresa Crawford, Her Excellency Claudia Fritsche, Mr Iain Guest and Professor Susan Martin on the AP Board.

>>> More on this story

Communal farming gives hope to dalits

RSS

KHALANGA (SALYAN), Oct 28 - Dalit families in Salyan district have been attracted to communal farming. Many ultra-poor Dalit families in Salebaltakura VDC-7, which is adjoined to district headquarters Khalanga, have been earning a decent living through the communal farming of off-season vegetables, goat raising and bee keeping.

The families have created a fund and maintained a bank account of their own. The fund is used to lend loan to the members in times of need, said Nokhi BK, a member of Ghatterani Dalit Forest Group.

The 20 Dalit families of the village collect Rs 25 daily from each family in the fund.

They have maintained Rs 7,000 in a bank account and invested Rs 10,000 among the members.

The Dalit families began communal farming some five years. The district forest office has provided 2.32 hectares of land to the group on land and district livestock services office has provided goats to the group for income-generating activities.

The members of the group said they feel very happy to work in group and they were committed to develop the village into a model.

Secretary of the group Durga Nepali however lamented lack of support from government bodies except the forest and livestock offices.

Dashain-Tihar celebration, an annual event organised by the Srijanshil Nepali Samaj in Aldershot, UK, featured Nepalese cultural programme, food, drinks and a short formal session involving some speeches. And of course, the event gave emphasis on the informal get-together, which was indeed the best part.

It was however, sad to learn that the Nepalese people settled in the UK still have not given up their stereotype against the people of so-called low caste. They explicitly or implicitly show their casteist behaviour, an extreme form of undeclared racism.

- Mitra Pariyar
University of Oxford

I was invited to a Dashain-Tihar celebration organised by the Srijanshil Nepali Samaj in Aldershot, UK. The annual event featured Nepalese cultural programmes, food, drinks and a short formal session involving some speeches. And of course, the event gave emphasis on the informal get-together, which was indeed the best part.

It took me more than an hour by train to get to the place from my place Oxford. On arrival, I felt as if I had actually gone back to my country. One would almost always bump into Nepalese people on the streets. I knew it was one of the Nepalese hubs in the UK as a result of having a Gurkha establishment for a long time, but I did not know that so many Nepalese live in the area! Thousands of Nepalese, mostly Gurkhas, live in Aldershot and nearby Farnborough areas.

The President of the organisation, Sher Bahadur Sunar, himself a former Gurkha, was somewhat different from many other Gurkhas. He was well aware of the political developments in Nepal and was in fact involved in politics through local sister organisations. He is one of the few people from our background in the UK recognised by London. Sunar is enterprenual as well. He runs a restaurant which features lok dohori, particularly over the weekends. I thought he is doing an emulative work of promoting Nepalese interests in the UK.

When he launched his organisation in 2007, many had advised him to label it as a “Dalit” organisation. Many had also suggested him to limit the association to his own caste group - Bishwakarma. But he rejected both ideas and named it Srinjalshil Nepali Samaj (Creative Nepalese Society). I rather prefer this alternative not least because “srinjalshil” is potentially a better replacement for the term “Dalit”. It evokes a more forward-looking and positive image of the so-called low caste. Needless to state, our tradition is one of creativity, without which societies in the past would not run. We are a bunch of people with craftsmanship in our blood. This is still the case with most low caste in the rural parts of the country, although the feudal social system has deliberately projected our traditional occupation as profane.

And his effort to include people from across the caste groups is something to be learnt by everyboday. One of the reasons for the failure of so-called Dalit movements is our inability to rise above our caste, partisan and familial interests. We still have not learnt to get united; divided as we are, our case is bound to remain feeble and uninfluential.

The cultural programme was also quite good. It was good to know that the young kids who have been here for a while had not forgotten their culture and tradition. The diaspora must indeed make sure that the cultural package from our society/civilisation comes with us and stays with us for many generations. Our culture defines who we are and where we come from. If we lose our culture, we fear losing our identity.

It was also an opportunity to see for myself how the Gurkhas had settled in the UK. This is a relatively recent development. British Gurkhas are considered fairly well off in our society in Nepal. It was clear that many of them wish to go back at a certain point, possibly when their children would be able to look after themselves. They badly miss their good life back home. They are rather frustrated that they have to work hard once again, even after retirement, to make a living in this costly land. Specially, the spouses had an unusually hard time compared to their much-privelaged life in Kathmandu or Pokhara or Dharan. May I state, the term Lahureni has become an icon for the extravagant women in Nepal.

It was however, sad to learn that the Nepalese people settled in the UK still have not given up their stereotype against the people of so-called low caste. They explicitly or implicitly show their casteist behaviour, an extreme form of undeclared racism. The UK is a country where you can not discriminate against people on the basis of their race or colour or origin. But the Nepalese people’s habits die hard. This is an issue that deserves serious attention. I am sure the UK Government would be willing to look into it if the residents made formal complaints in an organised manner. I am not sure what the situation is in other European countries and across the Atlantic.

RELATED ITEMS/NEWS:

Srijanshil (Dalit) Diaspora Celebrates Dashain in UK

The nepaldalitinfo expands networking collaboration in UK

BBC Sajha Sawal: CA member Padamlal Bishwakarma debates for secular state. He opposes the state supporting Hindu religion which made him suffer as an untouchable below the human dignity for hundreds of years.

Click at the link below: पदमलाल विश्वकर्मा, सपना मल्ल, प्रत्युष वन्त र दीनबन्धु पोखरेलसंग-5.10.08

- प्रकाश चन्द्र परियार

दशैको लगतै हामी नेपालीहरुको अर्को ठुलो चाड तिहारको संघारमा आईपुगेका छौ । तिहारको शुभकामना आदान प्रदान पनि शुरु भई सकेको छ । यही मेसोमा विश्वभरीका आदरणीय दलित दाजुभाइ तथा दिदी वहिनीहरुमा म पनि यही अपिल मार्फ शुभकामना अर्पण गर्न चाहन्छु ।

प्रसंग तिहारकै हो तर म हरेक तिहारको धार्मिक तथा आर्थिक हिसावले र्सवाधिक महत्व मानिने गाई तिहार याने लक्ष्मिपुजाको दिनलाई विशेष स्वागत गरिरहेको छु आर्थिक र धार्मिक मानेमा होईन सामाजिक अँन्दोलनका युग पुरुष, जातिवादी विरुद्धका प्रणेता , नेपाली साहित्यका पिताममह, दक्षिण एशियाका सिद्धहस्त चिन्तक, राष्ट्रवादलाई केन्द्रीय महत्वका साथ शिक्षामन्त्री वनेका महाकवि लक्ष्मिप्रसाद देवकोटाको स्मृतिमा ।

ति महान व्यक्तित्व जसले व्रि्रम संवत २ हजार २ सालमा यो सताव्दिकै चर्चित साहित्यिक कृति मुना मदनको रचना रचना गरे ।

विकीका हिसावले समेत प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठान र साझा प्रकाशनको दर्तामा मुनामदन आज सम्मकै र्सवाधिक विकी र सवैभन्दा वढी छापिएको साहित्यिक निधिमा किर्तीमानी कायम छ । तिनै महान व्यक्तित्व लक्ष्मिप्रसाद देवकोटाको जन्म जयन्ति आगामी १२ गते याने अक्टोवर २८ गते मनाईदैछ । राणा शासनको समय जति वेला छुवाछुत प्रथा कानुनी दायरामा लादिएको थियो त्यतिवेला मानिस ठुलो दिलले हुन्छ जातले हुदैन भन्ने महान विचारलाई नेपाली झर्र्र्रो भाषामा साहित्यिक श्रृजना गरेर नेपाली जातिवादी, संकर्ीण्ा भाग्यवादी, विभेदकारी र दास युग विरुद्ध शब्द वुनेर त्यसको अन्त्यका लागि धावा वोल्दै नेपाली समाजलाई समानता, भाइचारा र मानवताका नाताले दिशा निर्देश गर्न राणा शासनको खप्कि व्यहोर्दै कलम चलाए अथवा त्यति वेलाको अवस्थामा राणा शासन विरुद्ध जघन्य अपराध गरे र त्यसको परिणाम पनि भोगे, जेलको काल कोठरीमा ।

उनै महान व्यक्तित्वको जन्म जयन्तिलाई नेपाली दलित आन्दोलनका सारथीहरु, समतावादी चिन्तनका अगुवाहरु, मानवतावादी आन्दोलनका नेतृत्वकर्ताहरु , जीवनवादी दर्शनका पक्षपातिहरु र सामाजिक आन्दोलनका नेताहरु, मानवअधिकारका अभियनताहरु मात्रै होईन जातिवादी, छुवाछुतप्रेमी र हिन्दू धार्मिक अतिवादको खिलापमा जान अन्जान अग्रपंक्तिमा रहेका समस्त नेपालीहरुको अग्रजका रुपमा महामानव लक्ष्मि प्रसाद देवकोटालाई सम्झना गर्दै उनको योगदानको उच्च सम्मान र नेपाली सामाजिक आन्दोलनमा उनले खेलेको अतुलनिय भुमिकालाई हामीले कसरी संस्थागत रुपमै मनाउन सक्छौ - साहित्यिक महारथीका रुपमा विख्यात चरचा पछि साहित्यक क्षेत्रमा अचाक्ली श्रद्धा कमाएका देवकोटा साहित्य अनुरागीहरुका लागि मात्रै सम्झना योग्य हुन त - अथवा उनी कविहरुका लागि मात्र पुजनिय हुन त्यसमा पुनरावलोकनको जरुरी महसुस गरेको छु । अथवा व्यत्तित्वका अगाडी महाकवि पद धारण गरे पछि सामाजिक क्षेत्रले उनलाई साहित्यकारको पेवाकै रुपमा छोडी दिएका त होईनन प्रश्न गर्न मन लागेको छ ।

त्यसैले पर््रार्थनीय साहित्यकारहरुमध्ये पनि भिमनिधि तिवारी,महानन्द सापकोटा, छविलाल पोखरेलहरु९ जन्म भने निधि, सापकोटा, पोखरेल र देवकोटाहरु कथित उच्च जातीय कुलमा जन्मिएका हुन जस्ता संकर्ीण्ा जातिवादी विरोधी कलमवाजहरुका पनि शिर्षथ र पुजनिय व्यक्तित्व लक्ष्मिप्रसाद देवकोटालाई किन सामाजिक आन्दोलनका प्रणेतका रुपमा हामीले उच्च कोटीको सम्मान गर्ने परम्परा नवसाल्ने भन्ने चिन्तनको विजारोपण गर्दै कार्यान्वयनतर्फ दृष्टिगोचर होस भन्ने अभि प्रायका साथ यो अपिल वहसमा ल्याउन चाहेको हु“ ।

महा मानव देवकोटाको जन्मजयन्तीलाई जातिवाद विरुद्धको आन्दोलनका रुपमा मनाउन जातिवादवाट राष्ट्रिय अन्तराष्ट्रिय जीवनमा पछाडी पारिएका दलित आदिवासी जनजाति र गैर व्राहमण सुमदायलाई क्रमशः यो आन्दोलनमा ऐक्यवद्धता जनाउदै अवैज्ञानिक जातिवाद विरुद्धको अभियानमा हातेमालो गर्न देवकोटा जयन्तिको मन्चलाई उपयोग गर्न हामी पछाडी परिरहेका त छैनौ - पैरवी र टिप्पणीका लागि सकारात्मक सकारात्मक हुन सक्छ ।

देवकोटाकृत मुनामदन काब्यमा आधारित चलचित्र पनि वनिसकेको छ । त्यसलाई पर््रवर्द्धन गर्न राष्ट्रिय चलचित्र विकास वोर्ड , चलचित्र कलाकार संघ र निर्माता संघहरुले उल्लेख्य चासो जाहेर गरेनन, नत चलचित्रको विषयवस्तु जातिवाद विरुद्ध छ र त्यसलाई पर््रवर्द्धन गरेर जातिय विभेद विरुद्धको अभियानमा उपयोग गर्ने रणनीति दलित जनजातिहरुले गर्ननै सके ।

Lately, I have been contemplating about dalit issues and their future in the new Nepal, and I am haunted by the thought of dalit-issues or causes being forced to disappear in the thickness of buzzwords like equality, proportional representation, justice etc. The reason I am worried is that through out the history of Nepal, dalits have been given just lip services of nice sounding words and promises but no concrete results. That has been the modus oprandi of all the past governments whether it was Panchayat, Nepali Congress or Communist governments. Generally speaking, Dalit status in Nepal has not undergone any perceivable change. Educational, economical or employment disparity between dalits and brahmins or any other ethnic group for that matter is rather staggering. Remember this disparity has been at work even before Nepal became what we call Nepal, some time 240 years ago.

Maoist government no doubt have been instumental in showing signs of forming an inclusive government at least in spirit, with almost 50 members elected/selected from dalit community for the constitutional assembly, however, they have no minister from dalit community inducted in their own cabinet. In a recent visit in the NYC to attend the 63rd UN General assembly the PM Prachanda, touted over the diverse group of Nepalese being represented in the constitutional assembly and the current cabinet, and that Nepal has set the bar high when it comes to female representation. He stressed that Nepal will solve Nepalese problems in Nepali way so that the world will one day use Nepal as a model. However, amidst such positive indicators I want to warn the dalit community and its leaderships to be extremely cautious and must not start celebrating yet. I want to remind them the story of “macha macha bhyaguta” .

In a private meeting with the PM in NYC, I personally asked the PM for a formal state apology to dalits to be declared by the Government in order to legitimize the dalit issue in the New Nepal and he offered NO ANSWER. Instead, he likened dalit plight to a cultural phenomenon which will take a long time to go away. Such statements simply remind me of maintaining the “parampara” according to the Mulki Ain. He then went on to say that in the new Nepal dalit should be offered compensation package of some sort (no details) rather than establishing a reservation systems modeled after India or the USA for the upliftment their discriminated class. His argument was that the system of reservation has ” the smell of satisfying a beggar” and the system of compensation has the smell of dignity. While I accept the “smell” factor associated with reservation system, however, in the lack of any details of compensation system I am forced to raise doubts. Reservation system has effectively been at work in
India and the USA for long time, and has brought staggering changes in the lives and status of discriminated class of these country. One of the reasons why reservation system has been successful in these countries is because the governments of these countries are proactive in discrimination issues. They have developed strict laws to protect dalits or discriminated class’ rights and enforced them with serious consequences if violated– it particularly so at least in the USA if not entirely in India. So, considering the history of Nepal, dalit intellectuals must be vary wary of such beautiful sounding words like equality or justice and start celebrating. We will have to monitor the government’s commitment on our issues. As far as compensation package is concerned we must demand the new government to provide details and give us a road map to achieve equality or justice which the new government so proudly touts. To give dalit their dignity back, Maoist led political revolution in Nepal is just not enough. It will require cultural and psychological revolutions. If Maoists are the true followers of the supreme leader Mao Zedong of China, then bring about a real cultural revolution also. In my opinion depending on the temporal factors to solve the cultural problems is like passing the buck and maintaining the Mulki Aine laws of Panchayat system. The reason I believe so is because people in general do not give up their culture if it provides them a lot of benefit in their economical and political life. Caste system offers a serious economical and political cache to privileged class of Nepal. There is no incentive for them change. They need to be forced to change through strict laws and their enforcements. China is presently reaping the fruits of Mao’s cultural and political revolution in form of economical and political success in the world arena. They achieved this, because they did not depend on the temporal factors to solve their problems but because the government of China was and is proactive in social, cultural, and political life of the society. The new Nepal must start the new Nepal with a healthy dose of enforcement of laws in its true sense. This will awaken, condition and prepare the people of Nepal for the future society where equality and justice for all truly mean something tangible.

RKS

KATHMANDU, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) — Nepali Prime Minister Prachanda Thursday committed to institutionalizing the rights of Dalit people (marginilazed group) from the Constituent Assembly.

Prachanda said that number of people from Dalit community representing in the Nepali Constituent Assembly are not satisfactory.

Speaking at a program organized by Nepal Dalit Liberation Front (Unified) in Nepali capital Kathmandu, he said that Dalit community contributed to end feudalism and imperialism, reported Nepali National News Agency RSS.

Prachanda added that Dalit community had special contribution to establishing pro-public society.

He also said that Dalit protest will always proceed as it is an issue of traditional revolution.

He said that the liberation movement was necessary to launch social transformation. “Class struggles should be institutionalized through the continued revolution,” he said.

According to Nepal Dalit information center, 23 million population in Nepal are suffering from age-old socio-economic and political oppressions based on Hindu caste discrimination. It is believed that caste discrimination is the root cause of civil war in Nepal.

News Source: www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-23 19:53:25 . Editor: Zheng E

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Nepal: UN conducts training to help give excluded groups a voice

20 October 2008 – United Nations human rights officials today convened a workshop in Nepal’s west today with the aim of giving traditionally marginalized groups a greater say in how the Asian nation rebuilds after its decade-long civil war.

The training, held together with the National Human Rights Commission, was conducted with organizations representing groups largely excluded from decision-making processes on how the State should address the consequences of the conflict, a process known as transitional justice.

Women, members of the Tharu community, former Kamaiyas and Dalits were some of the groups represented at the workshop.

More on othis story

A 58 year old Dalit has been beaten and abused by non-Dalits for him having made offerings to a public Durga temple during this Dashain in Rupendehi district of Nepal, much like what happened in a Bihar temple. This incident of atrocity to Dalits is just one more of numerous occurrences happening in Nepal and India on every day basis, and the governments in both the countries do not fully realize how tormented are the victims of these incidents. The Nepaldalitinfo network deplores all such incidents.

-राजु रसाली

पाल्पा, October 14- दुर्गा मन्दिरमा पूजा गरेको निउँमा रुपन्देहीको मधुवनी गाविस वडा नं ६ महिलवारका मसिना हरिजन माथि कुटपिट भएको छ । कहरिहवा गाउँमा रहेको र्सार्वजनिक दुर्गा मन्दिरमा पूजा गरेको भन्दै ५८ बर्षीय हरिजनलाई रामेश्वर थापा, मोहन यादव लगायतले गाली गलौज गर्दै कुटपिट गरेको हरिजनले बताएका छन् । र्सार्वजनिक मन्दिरमा पूजा गर्न पाउने आफ्नो अधिकार भएको हरिजनको भनाई रहेको छ । साथै यस्ता घटनाका दोषीलाई कडा भन्दा कडा कारभाईको लागि जनउत्थ्ान सामुदायीक पुस्तकालय पाल्पा सबैलाई अनुरोध गर्दछ ।

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The nepaldalitinfo condemns the heinous killing of a Dalit in a Bihar temple