Awaiting Resettlement

The socio-economic condition of many ex-Kamaiyas (bonded labourers) staying in several western Terai districts of Nepal does not seem to have changed for the better even after 22 years of their liberation. Then government, also led by Sher Bahadur Deuba, had declared Kailali, Kanchanpur, Dang, Banke and Bardiya as Kamaiya-free districts on July 17, 2000. It was really a historic move when it comes to dealing with the protracted issue of bonded labourers. But the problem is that many people have not been rehabilitated so far. Reports show that more than 950 freed-Kamaiya families have been awaiting their resettlement. They are leading a difficult life as they are even deprived of a piece of land to build a permanent residence. Most of these underprivileged people are uneducated and have no personal property. They also do not have any regular source of income. 

The Kamaiya and Kamalari practices had been in existence in the western Terai of Nepal since the 18th century when a lot of members of the ruling elite had got land grants. They had been allowed to collect revenue from those using the land. Most of the land tillers were the indigenous Tharu community people. Under the Kamaiya practice, males had to work as bonded labourers. The government had announced the abolition of the unjust Kamaiya practice in 2000 following massive protests against it. The Kamalari practice that used bond females was also officially eliminated in 2006. These unwanted practices were associated with unequal social relations between the money lenders and borrowers. The landowners used to give loans to people without land or work, enabling them to sustain a minimum livelihood. And for that, the debtors had to live and work on the landowners’ land as a kind of slaves. The landlords used to impose exorbitant interest rates on the money borrowed by the poor. 

As the amount of debts used to get multiplied within a short span of time, the entire household was bound to work as a slave for many years or generations. Thus, the debt trap used to lead the borrowers to a vicious cycle of poverty. According to a news report published in this daily on Monday, many freed Kamaiyas in Bipatpur of Kailali Rural Municipality have been going through numerous hardships while desperately waiting for the government to give them land for constructing a permanent residence. They had to reel from a worsening situation when their temporary settlement caught fire about three months ago. The Emancipated Kamaiya Society states that many ex-bonded labourers have been facing problems related to health, education employment and others. Only few of former Kamaiyas living in urban areas have found their condition improved. 

There are a total of 27,571 freed-Kamaiyas in the five districts. Of them, 25,195 have received land for resettlement. However, some 2,375 ex-Kamaiyas (953 in Kailali, 129 in Kanchanpur, 1,245 in Bardiya and 48 in Dang) are still waiting for land to build home. As of now, only Banke district has seen all the ex-bonded labourers rehabilitated. The process of resettling the freed-Kamaiyas has not moved ahead after the responsibility of their resettlement was given to the local levels in 2018. The government had set aside necessary budget for the relocation of the ex-bonded labourers. This issue must not be prolonged further in view of the difficulties faced by them. The authorities concerned must resume the task of providing the ex-Kamaiyas with proper rehabilitation and relief packages at the earliest possible.