Musahar kids turn school-goers

JHAPA: People of Musahar community, enlisted as Dalits have started education campaign in their communities. Realising that their backwardness was due to lack of education, parents have taken initiation to send their kids to schools.

Chandreswor Sada, central chairperson, Musahar Utthan Society-Nepal, said, “We have started sustainable education campaign in our community.”

He added, “We were humiliated as the media also highlighted our community as a mice collecting community.’’ He claimed that the media can now see their children in schools.

About the campaign, Sada said, “We have a policy of boycotting parents from the society if they do not send their kids to school.’’ Balaram Sada, eastern regional coordinator of the community, said that each village will have a chief to see whether the guardians send their

children to school or not. Sada added, “There is no Musahar representative in the Constituent Assembly but we

hope that the new statue would also be

in our favour.”

The total population of the Musahars is around 10,000 in the district. According to the earlier census, the Musahars inhabit some 18 districts of the country. Likewise, a national report puts the total population of Musahar at 178,300. However, the community claims that their population is above a million.