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NEPAL: Dalits beaten up and forbidden to enter village temple

February 6, 2004

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

6 February 2004
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UA-15-2004: NEPAL: Dalits beaten up and forbidden to enter village temple


NEPAL: Inequality; caste discrimination

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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned at receiving information of yet another case of discrimination against Dalits in Nepal. A number of Dalits were beaten up and forbidden to enter the village temple in northwest Ajagaibi Village Development Committee, Rautahat district on 28 January 2004. Furthermore, at the village panchayat meeting on the following day, it was decided that the victims should pay a Rs. 1000 fine, to "purify the temple."

AHRC notes that acts of discrimination against Dalits occur with disturbing consistency, without the perpetrators being punished or redress offered to the victims. Such discrimination is in violation of both domestic and international law. Your urgent action is required to urge the Government of Nepal to take immediate measures against caste discrimination.

Urgent Appeals Desk

Asian Human Rights Commission

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CASE DETAILS:

Names of victims:

Shubhanarayan Mahara Chamar, Jayamangal Mahara Chamar, Sukhdi

Mahara Chamar, Sukhdi Mahara Chamar and family members

Place: Maisthan temple, northwest Ajagaibi VDC, Rautahat district, Nepal

Names of perpetrators: Kashi Raut Kurmi and others

On 28 January 2004 Shubhanarayan Mahara Chamar, Jayamangal Mahara Chamar, Sukhdi

Mahara Chamar, Sukhdi Mahara Chamar and their family members were beaten up as they were entering the local Maisthan temple. "The former president of the village development committee, Kashi Raut Kurmi, his cronies and other people from the so called high caste propel stopped us from entering the temple and beat us up," said Jayamangal Mahara Chamar. "According to these high caste people, low caste people do not have the right of access to the temple."

Jayamangal had given a bhaakal (promise made to offer something) to visit Maisthan for his wife and son's health. As both enjoyed good health, he along with his family had decided to fulfill his bhaakal on January 28. But Kurmi, Nepali Congress activists and other high caste people prevented him from fulfilling his promise. Jayamangal said that Kurmi and his supporters had taken away and destroyed their worship materials- cups, nanglo (worshiping tray), watches, lighters, fruit and lamp in the temple premises.

As a result, a huge conflict had issued in the village in the name of caste. A panchayat was held a day after the incident, which decided that the Chamars should pay the fine of Rs.1000 "to purify the temple." However, the Chief District Officer of Rautahat, Mohan Prasad Acharya has said a complaint has not been registered yet.

Even though the caste system was officially abolished in 1963 and the 1990 Nepalese Constitution rejects caste-ism and untouchability, and makes their practice an offence punishable by law, only rarely is this law enforced. The Nepalese government has also endorsed and ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination on 30 January 1971. However, the Nepalese government has failed to implement these laws to protect the rights of Dalits. On the contrary, the state and law enforcement officers like police have frequently broken the law themselves.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write a letter, fax or email to the authorities below expressing your concern at this situation.

1. Hon. Surya Bahadur Thapa
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Singha Durbar, Kathmandu,
NEPAL
Tel: +977 1 228555 or 227955
Fax: +977 1 4 227 765 / +977 1 227286
Email: hmg@es.wlink.com.np

2. Mr. Padam Singh Bishwokarma
Chair Person
National Dalit Commission
Thapathali, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Phone: 977-1-4245 325, 4245 919
Fax: 977-1-4229236
Email: ndc@mos.com.np

3. Mr. Nain Bahadur Khatri
Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission
Pulchowck, Lalitpur
NEPAL
Tel: +977 1 5 547 974 or 525 659 or 547 975
Fax: +977 1 5 547 973
Email: nhrc@ntc.net.np

4. Mr. Shyam Bhakta Thapa
Inspector General of Police
Police Headquarters, GPO Box 407,
Naxal, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 441 55 93 or 1 4415594

5. H.E. Gyan Chandra Acharya
Ambassador to the United Nations
Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Nepal,
81 rue de la Servette, 1201 Geneva
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +4122 7332722
E-mail: mission.nepal@ties.itu.int

6. Mr. Doudou Diene
Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
Room 4-041
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais Wilson,
Rue des Paquis 52, Geneva
SWITZERLAND
Tel: 41 22 9179271
Fax: 41 22 9179050

Sample letter:

Dear

RE: Dalits beaten up and forbidden to enter village temple

I am writing in concern at the treatment of Dalits in Nepal. I received information about a Dalit family being beaten up and forbidden entry into a temple by so called higher caste individuals. Furthermore, the victims are now being asked to pay a fine of Rs. 1000 to "purify the temple."

On 28 January 2004 Shubhanarayan Mahara Chamar, Jayamangal Mahara Chamar, Sukhdi

Mahara Chamar, Sukhdi Mahara Chamar and their family members attempted to enter the local Maisthan temple in northwest Ajagaibi VDC, Rautahat district, Nepal. However, the former president of the Village development committee, Kashi Raut Kurmi, his cronies and other people from the higher caste stopped them from entering the temple and beat them. Jayamangal Mahara Chamar said that, "According to these high caste people, low caste people do not have the right of access to the temple."

The caste system in Nepal was officially abolished in 1963 and the 1990 Nepalese Constitution rejects caste-ism and untouchability, and makes their practice an offence punishable by law. The Nepalese government has also endorsed and ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination on 30 January 1971. Therefore, I urge you to order the immediate investigation of this case, with the perpetrators being brought to justice and the safety of the victims' family ensured. The local district administration must take up this case seriously. While the Chief District Officer has said no complaint has yet been made about this case, it must be realized that Dalits fear police brutality, and in most cases state and law enforcement officials are themselves guilty of breaking the law.

I further urge the Nepalese government to take strong measures to implement the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination into domestic law. The Nepalese government should create all possible and speedy mechanisms to abolish caste discrimination in Nepal.

Yours truly

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Urgent Appeals Desk

Asian Human Rights Commission

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-15-2004
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.