Himalayan News Service

Tikapur, May 25

The Dalits of Achham, one of the remote districts in the far western region, are still being discriminated on the basis of their caste and untouchablility continues to haunt them.

They are discriminated not only by individuals from the so called higher caste but they are forced to wash plates that they eat on in hotels and prohibited to enter inside. In hotels, they are asked to stay outside and sit down on the floor to eat or drink anything that they buy in the hotel.

Karne Bhul, a resident of Ward no-5 in Layoti Village Development Committee (VDC) of Achham district, who had walked for two days to reach Safebagar says, “What can we do, this is the custom here”. The hotelier first asks where you from are and what’s your caste. We don’t like to hide our caste without our own countrymen. But after knowing our caste the hotelier asks us to stay outside, wash the plates and drink water without touching the glass with the mouth, laments Karne.

We are discriminated all the way from the village to the cities. Construction of separate water taps for Brahmins and the low caste people gives light to the state of neglect that we have been compelled to live with, says Ratan Ukheda, vice-chairman of Shera VDC.

Forget about the innocent Kamis and Damais, I am the vice-chairman of my village, but Brahmins don’t drink the water that is served by me, adds Ratan. The ones who speak loud against caste discrimination and untouchablility are those who practice it in their daily life.

The laws and regulations formulated by the government to abolish such social anomalies should not only be limited to paper but put into practice effectively, adds Ratan.

Krishna Prasad Jaisi, chairman of Achham District Development Committee (DDC), said he is against the caste discrimination and that the DDC has been running awareness programmes in the villages for the nationalities as well as the people’s representatives.

This is not only a problem of Achham district but still exists in the entire Nepali society, Jaisi said and expressed confidence that the practice would gradually evade away in pursuance to the time and circumstances.

The problem has been found to be a very big problem in majority of the villages in the remote hilly districts of the far western region and the discrimination by the upper caste against the lower caste seems to have created a huge obstruction in the socio-economic development of the entire region.

Probably this could also be one of the reasons that have been hindering development of the far western region in comparison to other regions in the country.

This is not only the case, the people from the upper caste usually take credit for good works carried out in the society but put the blame on the lower caste people when anything wrong happens. The Dalits and low-caste people of this region are also barred from taking part in any religious and cultural activity and in case they are allowed in they have to face discrimination and insulted.

Intellectuals and people from these communities feel that the government should take some stern steps towards putting an end to such inhumane treatment of a person by another person and abolish caste discrimination and untouchablility from the country.