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Seen in the photo: L to R ( Birbahadur and Sujit Mainali). | |
Birbahadur Roka
Kavrepalanchok District, Nepal
Mr.
Birbahadur Roka represents the Sharki community of Nepal. This
community falls under the Shudra domain of the Hindu caste system and
they are regarded as the member of the Dalit community.
The
Telegraph Weekly and its online edition telegraphnepal.com this time
decided to give outlet to the concerns of this highly deprived and
marginalized community of Nepal. For this purpose, we approached this 65
years old man from the Sharki community without approaching any
Kathmandu based self proclaimed Dalit campaigners. We do what other
ignores. We possess honor and respect for the ignored ones.
For
this purpose, our special correspondent Mr. Sujit Mainali visited the
Sharki village of the Koshidekha VDC and interviewed this man of the
community who are largely unnoticed by even those who claim themselves as the champion of the issues of those marginalized people. Below the excerpts of this exclusive interview: Chief Editor.
TQ1: What you do to earn your daily livelihood?
Birbahadur: I prepare rope by
bringing raw materials from the nearby forest. This is the only thing
that keeps me engage the whole day. I sell the prepared rope in the
market and earn some money.
TQ2: How much money do you make by selling ropes?
Birbahadur: I earn near about 500 rupees per month.
TQ3: Is this peanut amount sufficient for you to maintain your livelihood for the entire month?
Birbahadur: I don’t have any
option either. I am alone in my family. All of my sons are living
separately with their respective wives and children. So, with this
income, I hardly manage expenses of the whole month. I have to.
Sometimes
when I have not even a single grain left in my house, I sleep with
empty stomach. We are habituated to remain with empty stomach since our
childhood. Furthermore, I posses a
small chunk of land as well and this further helps me to maintain my
livelihood. This is how my life is going on.
TQ4: Our country is
said to be undergoing through the historical upheavals. Do you have
experienced any change in your personal life during the past 5-6 years?
Birhabadur: Life was more
difficult in the past. Sometimes, we had to wait for many days even to
get maize as food. But now, we often consume rice as our daily meal.
This is the big change I have ever experienced in my life. [Maize is
taken as inferior food than rice in Nepal's hilly region: Chief Editor.]
TQ5: What other people of your community do for earning?
Birbahadur: Most of them prepare 'Samidha' (small pieces of dried wood used in Havan,
the holy fire ritual of the Hindus). For this purpose, they bring the
branches of tree as raw materials from the nearby forest.
TQ6: Where do they sell the Samadhi?
Birbahadur: Pashupatinath temple of Kathmandu purchases almost all the Samidhas produced here. Further, people from Palanchock Bhagwati temple also come here for purchasing it.
TQ7: I am sorry, but don’t they hesitate to purchase the materials used in highly sacred activities from your community?
Birbahadur: Lots of changes have been brought here. The
problem related to untouchability is gradually declining. I don’t have
experienced the people from Pashupati and Palanchock Bhagwati temple
feeling uneasy while purchasing Samidha from here.
TQ8: Which religion do you follow?
Birbahadur: Of course I am a Hindu. Some people of our community have already become the followers of Christianity.
TQ9: So, how is the present state of untouchability in your society?
Birbahadur: Lots of positive changes have been brought
here. In the near past, we had to wash the dishes after eating tea and
meal in the hotel as well. People from [so called] upper caste do not
use to offer us water in the glass of their kitchen. We used to drink
water from our own hand (Aanjuli) when we feel thirsty working at their
house. But these things no longer exist now.
TQ10: That means the problem of untouchabilty no more exist here?
Birbahadur: Of course, it still exists. But its sphere
has lessened considerably, I mean to say this. But some flaws lay with
us as well. People of our community do not care about the hygiene and
cleanliness. Because of this, other people refuse to even drink water
from us.
TQ11: Does any sort of
cleavage or animosity exist between people of so called lower and upper
community in the society you live?
Birbahadur: Not at all. After all why should we quarrel with them? They do their own jobs and we do our own. I don’t see any point to fight with them. Isn’t it?
TQ12: Probably yes.
There are a number of activists in Kathmandu who claim that they are
working for the welfare of Dalit(s) people like you. Do you know them?
Birbahadur: Are there such people as well? I don’t know about it.
TQ13: They even
receive huge sum of money from abroad for what they say 'their campaign
against untouchabilty'. Don’t you have any idea?
Birbahadur: I have heard this for the first time. This is
totally new thing for me. Not any people from Kathmandu have yet come
in my door to share that money. But sometimes, people from outside come for providing vocational training to the people of our village.
TQ14: How much aware you are about the politics?
Birhabadur: Of course I know about politics. When you
were entering my house, I was listening to the radio. The news in radio
was narrating about the issues regarding the reinstatement of the
Constituent Assembly (CA).
TQ15: You look quite smart. What else you know about politics?
Birbahadur: Politicians often tell lie. They say that
they will go for the fresh election and again they change their voice
the next day and they start talking about the reinstatement. They
dissolved the CA without drafting the news constitution. Nonsense
politicians, aren’t they?
TQ16: That means you are not happy with the political parties?
Birbahadur: How can I be happy with them? After all what
they have done for me and my community? We cast vote to the Maoists in
the previous CA election thinking that they will make sincere efforts
for easing our troubles. After bagging victory, they brought electricity
in our village. But afterwards, they vanished like the UML and
Congress.
TQ17: Do you know any political leader?
Birbahadur: Yes, I know Tejbahadur Mijar (local level
leader) personally. Whenever I see him, I greet him with 'Namaste'. He
also knows me personally, really.
TQ18: Do you know any leaders at the national level?
Birbahadur: I have heard about some of them, but have
never got chance to see them in person. I have heard about Surya Bahadur
Thapa, Lokendra Bahadur Chand. Girijababu (Girija Prasad Koirala) is no
more now. I have heard about him as well.
TQ19: How many parties are active in your locality?
Birbahadur: All the three parties are active here.
TQ20: Three party means?
Birbahadur: The Maoists, [Nepali] Congress and the [CPN] UML.
TQ21: Do you have any expectation from the State?
Birbahadur: It is becoming difficult for me to maintain
my daily expenses by selling the rope only. It would be better if the
government provides me a goat so that I nourish it and can sell it
afterwards. This much will be enough for me.
interview and picture credit to telegraphnepal.com
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