Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, March 20:

Just about 80 km west from Kathmandu is Chitwan — a place where time lingers in the medieval ages and where dalits are not allowed to enter temples. The infamous incident where 40 people were injured in Madhupatti of Saptari district, is a case in point, in terms of social discrimination. The government has failed to book the culprits in these social crimes.

“The government is protecting them,” alleged Padma Lal Biswokarma, member secretary of the National Coalition Against Racial Discrimination (NCARD). Biswokarma, who also heads the Dalit Liberation Front, said there was no serious legal provision to safeguard the rights of people. “Existing laws are not effective as the government is reluctant to enforce them. Instead, the government protects wrongdoers.” According to him, Nepali Dalits had begun celebrating March 21 as the International Day Against Racial Discrimination for the last eight years at a grassroot level as a movement.

However, the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) has just begun to mark the day from this year only. “Actually we were not aware of the significance of the day. Now we are taking it as a movement, along with various concerned organisations to fight racial discrimination,” Dr Om Gurung, NEFIN general secretary said. Biswokarma lauded the role of the communities in trying to end all forms of discriminations from society. Referring to the present context, he said that the so-called upper class people have long been suppressing the voice of Dalits in the name of state of emergency. Meanwhile, probably for the first time, around 70 organisations are jointly organising a talk programme to mark this very day.

Seminars and workshops will also be part of the jamboree. Convenor of the joint

preparation committee formed to mark the 40th International Day Against Racial Discrmination, Biswokarma further said the ongoing meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission at Geneva should also assess the worsening situation of HumanRights in Nepal. In his message, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said that despite decades of efforts, the virus of racism continues to infect human relations and human institutions in all parts of the globe.

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is being organised on March 21 in memory of 69 demonstrators who were shot dead in Sharpeville, South Africa 45 years ago, during a non-violent protest against apartheid.