Where change is yet to come - SURESH YADAV

Mushahars are the most marginalized community among Nepal’s Dalits

‘Musa’ means mouse in Nepali. And they are called ‘Mushahar’ as they depend basically on mouse for ‘ahar’ or food for survival. As they have little access to other food items due to poverty and lack of awareness, Mushahars are found digging the earth to collect rats in their free time. That is how Mushahars, scattered over 24 districts in the Tarai, have been living for ages. They are grouped in many sub-castes, such as Sada, Sawari, Sadaya, and Majhi, among others.

There is no dearth of underprivileged communities in the Tarai. But the Mushahars stand out, mainly due to their reluctant attitude to change! Unlike other marginalized peoples, such as the Chamar, Khatwe, Pashwan and Tatma communities who also come under the category of Dalit, Mushahars have stayed ‘change-proof,’ say analysts. Meet them and they make it clear that they live and think as they used to decades ago. As poor and underprivileged as they are, yet no worries wrinkle their faces! Youths in Janakpur are as competitive as the peoples from other parts of the country in seeking jobs in foreign lands. There are one or more migrant laborers from almost every home in the district. But Mushahars don’t seem to care about it.

Simultaneously, their occupation, which is working in the fields of landlords, is quite endangered now. Due to modern tools, fewer Mushahars are engaged in manual labor for digging wells, constructing roads and leveling fields before cultivation. Mushahars work hard in these areas and during breaks they hunt for rats – their favorite and only special meal.

According to Professor and media person Shyam Sundar Shashi, the Mushahars’ ancestral occupation is on the verge of extinction due to the growing use of modern automatic machines in the agricultural sector. Consequently, there are fewer mice in the fields now, or the corners of wells and ponds, for Mushahars to catch.

“In this situation, they need to look for other occupations. But they aren’t interested to embrace change. Apart from the negligence of the state, their own mentality is responsible for their chronic poor status,” Shashi observes. “Social and economic changes in other Dalit communities are visible but the Mushahars are still there where they have always been.”

There is a saying to illustrate the psychology of the Mushahars. It is ‘Mushahar jan, Parewa dhan’ which means a Mushahar and a pigeon are similar in temperament. A mushahar is restless, just like a pigeon, which does not bode well for a secure future. Actually, the community is believed to have no worries about tomorrow, it is just for the present.

But an interesting thing happened to the Mushahars of India in the last general elections. And the wave also touched the community across the border in Nepal. Probably for the first time, Mushahars in Nepal got some reason to believe in themselves after Jitan Singh Majhi was elected as Chief Minister of the State of Bihar in India. The change of government in Bihar gave the Dalits in Nepal an opportunity to celebrate. So, while Bihar was rejoicing the victory of the Dalit leader, Musahars and other Dalit communities were equally euphoric.

“The situation of Mushahars is pathetic among Dalits. It’s basically due to the lack of education,” commented Binod Mehra, INSEC representative in Dhanusha District. “After the leadership was taken by a Dalit in Bihar in India, the communities here too saw it as an example. They could see they were no less capable.”

As per Census 2011, the total population of Mushahars in the country is only 4,000. And they are scattered in 24 districts of the Tarai. Only seven percent of the people are literate and that hardly includes women. The data says less than point zero percentage of Mushahar women is literate.

And the lack of literacy level has have made adverse impacts on their health. According to the data, the health condition of the Mushahar is grim. Malnutrition is common among all the people.

A social organization called Bhor which has been doing research on the social, economical, religious and political aspects of the Mushahars confirms that they are the  most marginalized among the marginalized communities in the Tarai.

“They are the ones who made us rich. They ploughed our fields. Their sweat and blood have been shed for us since ages. But they are still where they are. They can’t manage two meals a day without favors from others,” said Rajkumar Mahato, President of Bhor. “Except for a few families, all Mushahars are landless,” he added.

Mahato feels that the people are too naïve to seize opportunities. “And this is due to their lack of access to education and politics,” he said.

Chandreshwor Sada, President of the organization of Mushahars, Rashtriya Mushahar Utthan Samaj Nepal, puts the blame on the state. He is particularly angry at the serious flaws in the national data.

“I myself was leading the study and our survey had shown that there are 2.7 million Mushahars in 27 districts of Nepal. But you see the record in the census data: Only one forth of our populations is shown on the chart,” said Sada. “The state is doing that level of discrimination against us.”

Sada is the only officer-level government employee from the community. He said there are a few Mushahars in the government but working generally as peons. Similarly, except for one or two persons, it is not possible to find students pursuing higher education from the community.

Remarkably, Asarfi Sada had made it to the Interim Constitution Drafting Committee, as the Janamorcha Nepal Party had nominated him up as its representative for the appointment. But except him, no Mushahar has ever had any say in politics, says Chandreshwor.

He adds that there is no alternative to investing in education in order to change the prevalent Mushahar scenario.

“Even though the government announced school education to be free, this alone can’t help the Mushahar community. Our children can’t go to school on empty stomach,” he stated. He suggests that the government should have different approaches to facilitate education for the poorest groups.

Even though the state has not come up with any ambitious plans for the Mushahars, the society headed by him has been making efforts for the sake of the people, claims Chandreshwor.

“We’re trying to take our community to the mainstream through education. We’ve been setting up hostels to facilitate our youths for education,” he said. “Every year, 1,500 Mushahar students will be encouraged to higher education,” he concluded.

source:myrepublica.com/2014-10-1