Samata Foundation, a think-tank dedicated to Dalit issues, brought together, for the first time in Nepali history, academics, activists, politicians, lawyers, NGO workers and students from Nepal. Academics and activists from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the US were also present. The various topics discussed included Dalit in South Asia, Human Rights and Dignity, Identity and Dalit Politics, Globalisation and Dalit Social Movement, Development Paradox, and Constitution Building and Peace Process. The range of topics discussed raised many important questions such as defining Dalit identity, socio-economic empowerment, political inclusion and regaining dignity.
Among all the pressing questions, Dalit identity emerged as the most urgent one. After about 60 years of struggle, Nepal’s Dalit movement faces the challenge of redefining Dalit identity. While the Dalit movement fights for social inclusion, questions on whether the movement itself is inclusive of all the subgroups within the Dalit communities were raised. Amid debates on federalism and heightened sensitivity to diverse identities, the Dalit community needs to recognise the heterogeneity within itself when creating a common identity for a united movement. There are Pahadi Dalits, Madhesi Dalits, women Dalits and Dalits within Dalits. Furthermore, what the term Dalit means in Sri Lanka is not the same as what it means in Nepal. This heterogeneity and fluidity of Dalit identity dominated the three-day conference to a large extent.
Ahuti, a Dalit CA member, said that party-led factionalism was the primary weakening factor for the Dalit movement. He said this on the first day of the conference. But by the third day, it became evident that the Dalit movement was divided for a more fundamental reason—Dalit identity. From day one, at almost every question and answer session, Madhesi Dalit activists, women Dalits or Dalit activists from the Far Western Region raised their hands to either ask about their representation in the movement or to claim that they were more oppressed than Pahadi Dalits.
Ram Lakhan Das of Sarlahi, president of the Madhes Dalit Adhikaar Samiti, said, “The struggle is more difficult for Madhesi Dalits. First, we are Madhesis, and on top of that, we are Dalits.” His friend Shiv Kumar Mahara of the Madhesi Dalit Morcha, Siraha, said, “Madhesi Dalits and Pahadi Dalits are separate although they are both Dalits. The Dalit movement should, of course, be united; but the two identities should be understood as separate. They should work in parallel.”
Prof. S.K. Thorat, who teaches economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, conceptualised Dalit identity as those who have been historically deprived of their rights and discriminated against for their caste or rather, for not having one. But Dalits have been discriminated against and oppressed for thousands of years. Their identity has evolved with time and varies with place.
Therefore, a greater priority would be to build a common Dalit identity rather than mitigate party-led factionalism. To build a common Dalit identity, it needs to be redefined. This redefinition is imperative if Dalits, who compose about 13 percent of Nepal’s population, want to have a stronger influence in the constitution writing and nation building process. If the conference highlighted the challenge of building a common identity, it also put forward a step to be taken. All the participants agreed that more knowledge on all aspects of Dalit life needs to be produced.
Production and exchange of knowledge about all the subgroups of in the Dalit community can help in creating a common identity. Mahara said, “Madhesi Dalits don’t have a history. So we don’t have an identity. Our history needs to be written whether from the inside or the outside.” Mahara doesn’t need to have studied Foucault to recognise the importance of knowledge production. Suvash Darnall, director of the Samata Foundation, said, “Information is power in today’s world.”
Knowledge production will not only contribute towards building a common Dalit identity, it will also contribute to making knowledge-based or evidence-based policies on social justice for Dalits. Knowledge-based policies will, hopefully, take into account ground realities unlike, for example, the current government’s policy of providing monetary compensation for inter-caste marriage. Furthermore, knowledge production will help non-Dalits understand the oppressed conditions of Dalits. Dr. Vivek Kumar, a sociologist at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said, “You don’t have to burn your finger to feel the pain.” He added that it was the first time that the Dalit community had been dissected at such depth at an international conference, and so events with a similar purpose should be organised more frequently.
If the Dalit community wants to mobilise itself effectively, it needs to build a common identity; and in order to build a common identity, efforts to produce subaltern knowledge, in this case, on all the subgroups within the Dalits, need to be intensified. Despite complaints that only researchers and organisers of such conferences benefit from donor funding, a conference such as this is extremely important if the Dalit movement wants to keep up with the changing landscape of Nepali politics and be better prepared for the future.
source: ekantipur
(The author is a Master’s student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs)
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