Whenever I come across the word ‘caravan’, my mind retrieves the Eric Valli-directed Oscar nominee movie of 1999, which brought the facet of upper Dolpo region to the limelight, and made us realize the acting prowess of Thinle Lhondup.

Here in 2015, I happened to get acquainted with yet another ‘caravan’, which was not theatrical by any means. As a matter of fact, it had a direct correlation with the ongoing statute drafting and finalization process in Nepal.

On 22nd of July, 2015, more than twenty ex-bonded laborers (activists) from mid and far-western region of Nepal set off in a bus from Dhangadhi city of Kailali, a district in the far-western plains of the

nation. The caravan, comprising freed Haliyas, ex-Kamaiyas and former Kamlaharis, included representatives of four people’s based organizations, namely National Federation of Societies of Liberated Haliyas (RMHSFN), Kamaiya Practice Abolition Society (KPUS), Freed Kamaiya Women Development Forum (FKWDF) and Nepal National Dalit Social Welfare Organization (NNDSWO). They headed towards Kathmandu with a sole purpose of directing the attention of government and Constituent Assembly (CA) members, so as to incorporate their rightful demands in the forthcoming constitution of the nation.

The caravan was not a sashay or gaffe, for it aimed at optimizing the concern of stakeholders towards the long-term progress and development of minorities in Nepal - who have been subdued for ages and have faced relative deprivation in one way or another.

During their week-long stay in Kathmandu, the caravanning team visited various ministries. Notably, the freed bonded laborers submitted a reformative memo to the Ministry of Land Reform and Management, which is considering devising a much-required Integrated Bonded Labor Prohibition Act in the near future.

The almost sixteen hundred kilometers of journey, which happens to be the two-way total, was in itself an epitome of resoluteness of the ex-bonded laborers. It is overtly evident that these impoverished people have not still stepped out of the grips of servitude.

Their socio-economic positioning, cultural and educational rights are yet to be addressed. They have meager alternatives for themselves, so the state - as the primal guardian - has to provide them with a sense of true liberation.