Nepal: Defenders of Dalit cause have never visited our community

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