By Mannu Shahi

Haatemalo Collective is a team of dedicated individuals belonging to the Dalit community and indigenous nationalities supporting the Dalit Bahujan Movement for the elimination of caste-based discrimination through mutual aid and public discussions.

The firm organised an online event on March 13 with the aim of connecting Dalit Bahujan Adivasi artists and activists across the world in the fight against what they called the “caste system, Brahminical patriarchy and imperial structures.”

The space was used as a medium that helped the participating artists, scholars and organisers honour and recognise the knowledge and experiences of their ancestors while revealing the power of the Dalit Bahjuan Adivasi’s collective love and dreams.

The performing artists that day were Indu Tharu, Amazumi, Vyoma, Jerusha Rai, Abhaya and the Steam Engines, Body and Data, Ashwini Raj Darnal, Aryan Rajak, Elena Gurung, Ganga Thapa, Guru Sharan Sada, Kletos, Nindramaya, Hira Nepali, Nirmala Ghising, Phiroj Syangden, Rabin Kumar Chepang, Rajkishor Rajak, Shreya Rai, Sumnima Subba, Anudeep Dewan, Ujjwala Maharjan and Jhuma Limbu.

The scholars and activists who spoke on the occasion were Chandeshwar Das, Dr. Benjamin Linder, Dr. Mona Chettri, Dr. Mabel Gergan, Govinda Sah ‘Azad’, Milan Rai, Lex Limbu, Professor Michael Hutt and Pandav Mahato. The event was supported by Parcha Productions.

The funds received from the event went directly to the mutual aid GoFundMe account started by artist Jerusha Rai for the families of the individuals murdered in the name of caste hierarchy. Rai is a US-based singer, songwriter and music producer who has been extremely vocal against the biased social structures and inhumane class struggles prevalent in our country, as she puts it.

She started the mutual aid in 2020 during the worldwide lockdowns and restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, many stories were being reported of the rape of Dalit women, murder of Dalit men and other forms of violence linked to caste and societal problems from various parts of the world.

The event ended up raising US$ 2,009, excluding the international transfer fees and the fees charged by the GoFundMe platform.

All in all, through the GoFundMe process and other pledges, four families from Saptari and Siraha received a total of US$ 2,434.66 which amounts to approximately Rs. 280,076.

The entire process of fund generation and transfer is quite transparent for anyone interested to look into, if required, and the artists involved remain quite determined to eradicate the ill-practices from our society that most people living in the privileged end of the spectrum deny exists.

Art thrives when it serves a meaningful purpose, when it is bigger than a single person’s desires or dreams. Sometimes art becomes so powerful that it can shape an entire community and its outlet on life, and so, this movement and the artists involved whole-heartedly are creating a history and moulding the world into a more accepting, more empathetic, more loving place to live in.

Meanwhile, the Haatemalo Collective has been organising various talk shows and events every week, talking about the injustice Dalit Bahujans residing in the country have to face, even in today’s day and age.