Let Dalits Lead A Dignified Life

Parmeshwar Devkota

Today is the Caste-Based Discrimination and Untouchability Eradication Day. On this auspicious day, we must remember those people who had waged endless struggles without respire for epochs and lost their lives in the course of their fight against the caste-based segregation and inhuman untouchable practices prevalent in the Nepali society. 

As an outcome of the long struggles and sacrifices, the Caste-Based Discrimination and Untouchability Offence and Punishment Act was introduced on June 1, 2011.  The law has ended the caste-based discrimination and untouchability for good in this country at least in public places. But, it is still in existence in two pockets of our society. It is still practiced by the people with traditional mindset. Those who are unaware of the changed contexts can be awakened by punishing them even in minor slipshod they make at public places.

The second pocket area is the old victims themselves. They must understand that they are free and should work to restore their dignity by changing their old attitude. They reform their parental professions and skills in accordance with the changed situation and demand of the market. The state has provisioned social security allowances to them. So, they are economically sound and socially free. But, some of the Dalit people are seen below normal standards externally and internally. The children in some Dalit families are found poorly clad while the parents appear to be more alcoholic than those belonging to other communities. Some speak slavishly as before. Even women are found addicted to alcohol. So, they hardly have saving cash and kind.

Stable and responsible behaviour is another major component to acquire dignity in the society. If one member of a family is not responsible, s/he may create problems for other members and the restoration of the dignity becomes costly. 

Therefore, on this important day, the families of the aforementioned categories and Dalit community leaders should vow to eradicate such shortcomings. They must introspect and promise to change their wrong and untimely attitudes. If the weaknesses are not treated in time, they help degrade the whole community below standard, irrespective of the countries they live in. 

Here are some examples from the ethnic history. Though renowned Dalit scholar BR Ambedkar wrote the Constitution of India with the help of Sir Benegal Narsing Rau, millions of Indian Dalits still feel that they are not in the mainstream of the Indian society. It is because they lack modernisation in dress, attitude and behaviour. Similarly, France and South Korea are among the most developed countries in the present-day world. But Cagot community of France and Baekjeong community of Korea are considered second grade citizens. 

Likewise, Ohuhu and Osu communities of Nigeria and Al-Akhdam of Yemen lie in the lowest rung. The history of Roma people is even more pathetic. Roma people are of Indo-Aryan ethnic groups who fled to Europe from Rajasthan of India as Mahmud of Ghazni invaded India at the beginning of 1000 CE. By number, Roma people are in millions scattered almost all directions in Europe, but they are still considered self-centred and of the second category by all European nations. They are yet to get the right role in EU countries. So, the people who have been facing caste-based discriminations and untouchability should start working on restoring their dignity either by sacrificing the facilities they have been enjoying or by changing their age-old attitudes.