It has been 22 years since the Kamaiyas were liberated from the age-old clutches of bonded labour from the five Tarai districts of the mid- and far-western part of the country, namely Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur. But their living condition has not changed even after their emancipation from the traditional system, which was akin to that of modern-day slavery. Most of the people who under the Kamaiya pratha came largely from the Tharu community, an indigenous people of the Tarai region. While declaring them free from the Kamaiya pratha, the government relieved them from all sorts of debts that they owed to their masters and also promised a plot of land for housing along with livelihood support until they became self-reliant. As per the statistics provided by the government, as many as 27,571 families from the five Tarai districts were freed from the semi-slavery system that had haunted them for centuries. Their children used to work as cow-herders for free with no access to education. After their liberation, the government formed many commissions one after another to provide them land for housing and livelihood support. But they failed to lift them out of extreme poverty. Some of them are still found to be working as bonded labourers, albeit informally.

A report from Kailali district states that as many as 953 freed-Kamaiya families have yet to be rehabilitated. Out of the total 8,975 freed-Kamaiya families, 8,022 families have so far received a piece of land for housing while others are waiting for land at different locations. Those who are waiting for land for housing purpose are living in makeshifts in forests and river banks in destitution with no access to basic amenities, such as health care, education to their children and livelihood support. Some of the freed-Kamaiyas have lamented that they have been denied the Freed-Kamaiya Identity Card while 173 families have got their ID scrapped for no reason.

While announcing the abolition of the slavery system some 97 year ago, then Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher provided land and money to the freed slaves from the treasury of the Pashupatinath Temple for their livelihood. A democratic government, which is credited for taking a bold step in abolishing the Kamaiya pratha, should have learnt a lesson from Chandra Shumsher as to how poverty-stricken families could be rehabilitated in the society.

If Chandra Shumsher could use the treasury of the Pashupatinath Temple, the democratic government could have also used other resources for their rehabilitation. Till date, a total of 25,195 freed-Kamaiya families have got land only for housing purpose.

What is most worrying is the government's lackadaisical approach when it comes to dealing with the freed-Kamaiyas, whose voices are unheard in the power corridors of Singha Durbar. Abolishing the semi-slavery system was an important step in a free and democratic society. But it was more important for the government to ensure livelihood support to them until they became self-reliant. The government should also provide free health care and education to their children so that they will no longer have to rely on government largesse when they grow up.

Kidney racket

Human trafficking is a serious problem facing Nepal given the long open border with India. Until recently, human trafficking was synonymous with girl trafficking, and hundreds of thousands of young girls and women have been sold into Indian brothels over the decades after being lured by false promises of good jobs. But human trafficking is now also taking place for other purposes, with children and youths forced to work in sweat shops for little or no pay. And of late, trafficking people with the intention of extracting one of their kidneys and selling them in the vast Indian market has become lucrative.

In the latest operation, the police was successful in busting a kidney racket in the capital, with five arrests made for trafficking homeless people aged 19 to 32 to India with the intent of selling their kidneys to prospective buyers in Kolkata, India. Two of the traffickers themselves had sold a kidney each and were influencing poor people to do the same as one could lead a perfectly normal life with one organ. This is not the first time a kidney racket has been busted. Since such tricksters prey on people living in abject poverty, the authorities must keep vigil at such places.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 20, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.