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Dilli R. Dahal/Hindu nationalism and untouchable
reform: The status of Dalits in Nepali society
In
Nepal, the king is a symbol of the Hindu state,
and by and large, the people of Nepal identify
with Hindu notions of morality. Inasmuch as they
belong to the Nepali state and subscribe to the
social mores of Nepali society, dalits are a part
of a larger Hindu national identity. Dilli Ram
Dahal spoke about the Hindu enculturation of dalits
of Nepal and the tensions that arise in dalit
movements thereof.
In
the second half of the 20th century, there was
a deliberate move by dalits and janjatis towards
seeking inclusion rather than exclusion. Consequently,
untouchability was abolished in Nepal in 1962-63.
Yet, even today, dalits are largely treated as
untouchables. Simultaneously, however, despite
large scale NGO and INGO interventions, dalits
accept their status as untouchables and thereby
reinforce their untouchability.
As
the dalit movement gained pace, certain contradictions
with daily practice came to the fore. Thus, while
janjati groups have excluded themselves from the
Hindu fold, they too continue to treat dalits
as untouchables. On the ground, madhesis, janjatis
and dalits have been reduced to mere political
labels even though, in practice, dalits are still
untouchables, who continue to languish at the
bottom of the Hindu caste hierarchy in spite of
enabling legislation.
The
reasons for this are many, but the basic flaw
in analyses of dalit issues is that they concentrate
on the discourse of rights and the fact of untouchability
at the cost of the economic dimension, which is
the sustaining power behind caste hierarchies.
Dalits today continue to be the poorest section
of society, deprived of the agency that comes
from ownership of or access to resources. In such
a situation, it is inevitable that they cannot
survive outside established structures of caste
patronage, and so they too have an interest in
its continuation.
Because
dalits have varying degrees of access to economic
resources, depending on their geographic location
and urban/rural situation, the community is not
monolithic. Instead, it is hierarchically structured,
with hill dalits, Newar dalits and tarai dalits
occupying different rungs on the social ladder.
Hill dalit blacksmiths rank at the top of the
dalit hierarchy. In a place such as Kathmandu
Valley, which is more cosmopolitan than the rest
of Nepal, there is some scope for social mobility.
Thus, the numerically strong kasais in the valley
have been able to take on the surname of Sai,
which is traditionally a Thakuri surname.
At
present, going by the human development indicators,
dalits are the most deprived group in Nepal. Even
though data vary, it is evident that they have
a very high fertility rate, and large households.
Levels of literacy are lower than the national
average, and among dalits, the literacy rate for
tarai dalit women, at 11 per cent, is the lowest.
Landlessness is the norm, with very few exceptions,
but it is particularly true for tarai dalits.
Dalits also score very low in terms of health
and nutrition, with the average life expectancy
and the below-five mortality rate both below national
averages.
Not
surprisingly, dalits have low political participation.
In the 1991 parliament, there was only one elected
dalit. Now, however, political parties and the
palace nominate dalits to parliament. Currently,
there are four dalits in the upper house. At the
local level, representation continues to be poor,
with not even one of the village development committee
chairmen in the areas surveyed by Dahal being
dalit.
The
issue is not whether people accept water from
a dalit or not, which is what the untouchable-centricity
of the present discourse casts it as, but whether
dalits can make the higher castes validate an
elevated position in the hierarchy for them. However,
dalits accept their subordinate status, are exclusionary
in their own practices and, at the same time,
continue to protest against untouchability.
Criticising
the NGO-INGO positive action ‘schemes’,
Dahal said that the rights-based approach will
work in the long term by enhancing social and
political awareness, but is ineffective at the
advocacy level. The livelihood programmes try
to tackle the economic backwardness but are, in
effect, dependent capitalism. By pursuing an exclusivist
programme, dalit NGOs and Kathmandu dalits further
the caste system, and by and large, dalits continue
to be excluded in spite of being included at the
policy level. Democracy has enabled dalits to
make some limited gains but the system must be
instrumental in improving their status on the
ground.
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