NEPAL: Fresh series of attacks on Dalit temple worshippers 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the fresh spate of attacks on Dalit temple worshippers and Dalit representative organizations by religious fundamentalists on 17 September 2006, in the Doti district, Nepal.

On the morning of 17 September 2006, Dalit worshippers attempted to enter the local Saileswori temple of Dipayal, Silgadhi, under the direct protective supervision of the District Administration Office (DAO) and the District Police Office (DPO) of Doti. However, in practice, Dalits have been prohibited from entering the temples because they were believed to pollute them.

Their worship was disrupted when upper caste people started protesting against their very presence in the temple, vandalizing the local offices of Dalit representative organizations, and physically attacking Dalit worshippers with swords, knifes and other weapons. Frenzied higher caste protestors vandalized and set fire to the local offices of the Educational Development Centre (EDC) and the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), as well as the DAO of Doti District. Up to 60 Dalits and 5 policemen, including District Superintendent of Police (DSP) Moti Singh Dhami, were injured and are in serious condition.

The present situation in the town of Dipayal, Silgadhi is so tense, that some Dalit families are choosing to seek refuge in a safer place, well outside the town limits.

All this comes on the heels of the previous events of 26 August 2006, in which Dalit women were harassed by the priest of Shivalaya temple and local non-Dalit men, when they attempted to worship there on the occasion of Teej, a Hindu festival. Eventually, they were barred from even entering the temple. A public protest was held on the September 7, by local non-Dalits against all Dalits, Dalit representative organizations, Dalit supporters and the like. Local authorities took no action in dismantling this protest. In response to this, local Dalits organized various rights-awareness programs at the local grassroots level, and submitted a memorandum to the DAO of Doti, demanding that action be taken against the protestors, who were in direct violation of the Nepalese constitution that clearly prescribes any caste-based discrimination as a crime. Thereafter, on September 17, the District Administrative Officer in coordination with seven political parties, the Maoist Communist Party of Nepal, civil society organizations, district administrative authorities and temple authorities, made the formal ruling that Dalits have the right to enter and pay worship at public temples, and that those who choose to discriminate on the basis of caste, in whatever form, will be prosecuted under the law. However, this clearly failed to take effect as seen in the later events of September 17, as outlined above.

In a parliamentary session held on September 19, members of the parliament (MPs) urged the government to take firm disciplinary action against all responsible individuals and groups in the events of September 17 in Doti. On September 20, local Dalits, Dalit rights activists, human rights activists and the like organized a public protest march on Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s residence, in which they also called for the immediate resignation of Nepal’s home minister. The primary purpose of the protest march was to submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Koirala, openly condemning the Doti incidents. However, over 33 Dalit protestors were arrested by security forces during the course of the protest, and then detained at the Bhairavnath Barracks at Maharganj, Kathmandu.  They were released after 3 hours.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The caste system was officially abolished in Nepal in 1963. Then, on 30 January 1971, the Nepalese Government ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This was later endorsed in Nepal’s domestic legislation, under the 1993 declaration by the House of Representatives (HoR) which prescribed any and all caste-based discrimination as a criminal offense – a move which was much applauded by the international community. Unfortunately however, contrary to the Constitution, cases of caste-discrimination and violence are a common occurrence in Nepal. Take for the example, the case of Shubnarayan Mahara Chamar and his family, who were severely beaten and then forbidden to enter their local Maisthan Temple, by the former president of the village development committee, Kashi Raut Kurmi, his “local thugs”, and other members of the “high castes” on 28 January 2004, in the Northwest Ajagaibi Village Development Committee in the Rautahat district (For more information, see: UA-15-2004).

However, due to the recent high-pitched democratic atmosphere since the king’s step-down by the people’s movement in April 2006, Dalits have begun to more actively raise their voices for their rights and against the unlawful practice of the discrimination against them. However, it seems that their actions clash with upper castes who want to retain the discriminative social order. It is a critical moment in Nepal now as to whether Dalits are included as members of the society and their rights are progressively realized. Substantial international support to Dalits is more needed than ever before.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below, expressing your grave concern for the clear violation of the Nepalese Constitution in regards to caste-discrimination and violence targeted towards Dalits, and for the subsequent failure on the part of the local administrative authorities in the Doti district to take proper action against those who were directly involved in the assaults, vandalism, protests and public harassment of local Dalits and Dalit representative organizations. We also urge that you apply the necessary pressure on the relevant judicial and law-enforcement authorities in Nepal to provide more secure protection to local Dalits, as well as adequate financial compensation to Dalit victims of caste-discrimination and violence.

 

 

 

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