The death of Nawaraj BK, Ganesh Budha, Sandip BK, Lokendra Sunar, Tikaram Sunar and Govinda Sahi in Rukum has once again highlighted the tragic stories of caste-based discrimination in Nepal. Along with what happened in Rukum, the story of 13-year old Angira Pasi, a young girl who was raped, then married to her rapist and found dead the next day has shocked millions. Their stories along with the many murders and violence against people due to caste based discrimination has led to many calling for more support and justice for the Dalit community.
George Floyds death has sparked Black Lives Matter protests across America and the world and many Nepalese people are also having the much needed conversation around racism in Nepalese society and caste-based discrimination. The tragic stories from Rukum and Rupandehi came in the final week of May and along with Black Lives Matter, we are seeing a huge outpour of outrage online and offline with #DalitLivesMatterNepal becoming a commonly used hashtag.
Taking inspiration from other websites, I have decided to list the different ways you can support Dalit lives to ensure that they get justice and for us to educate one another and challenge assumptions of family members and wider society. There is a lot of unlearning and learning that we need to go through as a society and whilst it may be uncomfortable; we need to do this.
Here are the different ways you can help:
- Read about what happened first – find out why people are angry, protesting on the streets across Nepal and sharing countless social media posts on Dalit Lives Matter.
- Bodies of two Dalit men recovered from Bheri River – The Kathmandu Post
- Killing in the name of caste – Record Nepal
- Bherima Bageka Sapanaharu (in Nepali) – Kantipur Daily
- Rukum Ghatna: Gauley le kutirahe, prahari heri rahyo (in Nepali) – Kantipur Daily
- Supposed ‘suicides’ point towards police incompetence – Record Nepal
- Pani Prem ra Bihey Aswikar, tara Dalit Chori Mathi Balatkar (in Nepali) – NayaPatrika Daily
- Donate to support the affected families
- Sign the petition
- SMS/TEXT Campaign in Nepal (Continue to add pressure – copy and paste, send to the number)
- “माननीय गृहमन्त्री ज्यू, कर्णाली प्रदेशको रूकुम पश्चिम लगायत नेपालका विभिन्न स्थानमा दलित विरूद्ध भइरहेका हिंसात्मक घटनाको सत्यतथ्य छानविन र विद्यमान कानूनी व्यवस्था अनुसार दोषीलाई हदैसम्मको कानूनी कारवाही गर्न माग गर्दछौं।“ CONTACT: गृहमन्त्री मा. रामबहादुर थापा ९८५१२१३०२६
- “माननीयमुख्यमन्त्रीज्यू,कर्णाली प्रदेशको रूकुम पश्चिममा दलित विरूद्ध भएको हिंसात्मक घटनाको सत्यतथ्य छानविन र विद्यमान कानूनी व्यवस्था अनुसार दोषीलाई हदैसम्मको कानूनी कारवाही गर्न माग गर्दछौं।” CONTACT: मुख्यमन्त्रि मा. महेन्द्र बहादुर शाही ९८५११७७७३३
- Stay informed, keep reading the news, tweet/message newspapers on the progress of the investigations and keep these people and organisations for close reading:
- Mohna Ansari – Twitter
- Gagan Thapa – Twitter / Instagram / Facebook
- Pradip Pariyar – Twitter
- Baburam Bhattarai – Twitter
- Rem Bahadur BK – Twitter
- Sarita Pariyar – Twitter
- Ujjwal Prasai – Twitter
- Films and documentaries you can watch (please share more)
- Pandit Bajeko Lauri, Bato Muniko Phul, Bato Muniko Phul 2, Prasad, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Article 15, Saairat, Dhadak, Aarakshan, Manjhi – The Mountain Man, The Bandit Queen,
- Further Reading:
- What is and isn’t in a word? – Suresh Bishwokarma (please read if you are confused about using the word Dalit)
- Lying to survive: Dalits in Urban Life – Gauri Nepali
The Word Dalit – further reading
One of the most important things you can do is to educate yourself on why this continues to happen… I might not be able to change the mindset of people in Rukum but I know that caste-based discrimination is rife within the Nepalese communities in the UK. I know of the challenges that people my age face in marrying the ones they love, whether they be Gurung, Thakuri, Limbu or Shrestha. There’s huge discrimination that continues to take place and we can start by having these difficult conversation with ourselves and with our loved ones. The more we learn about ourselves, we’ll find out what we want to speak up for and what we stand for. That can be the beginning for many…. and please, keep an eye on the news websites, social media, ask your favourite influencers to read about this, ask for their views and for them to also share widely.
I worry that this too will slowly fade away, as often many things do… but I hope you also keep tabs on me and continue to remind me because we all know that caste-based discrimination is not something we can change overnight – we need to be persistent.
HUGE THANK YOU TO DALIT LIVES MATTER NEPAL TEAM FOR SUPPORTING THIS ARTICLE
This video by UntoldKatha comes from the UK
