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Who are Dalits? 1. Introduction Dalits are the artisan caste group of Nepal . At the outset, it is noted that the Nepali Dalit as a whole is not a homogenous group. Like other ethnic/caste groups in Nepal , their population is equally divided and their heterogeneity extends to language, religion and culture.
A brief introduction of Hill and Tarai Dalits is given below. 2. Dalits in the Hill Community There are only three major Hill Dalit groups in the Eastern and Central Regions: Kami (Blacksmith or Ironworkers), Sarki (Cobblers or leather workers) and Damai (Tailors and Musicians). In the Western, Mid-western and Far-Western Development Regions, there are many groups within them such as Gaine (singers and musicians), Badi (dancers) and many subgroups within the broad cultural groups of Kami, Damai and Sarki. Linguistically, the mother tongue of this Dalit community is the Nepali language. They claim themselves as Hindus but employ their own priest (each cultural group has their own priest) to perform various rituals. The low caste Hindu groups or untouchables recorded in the Far-Western Hill region (Dahal et al., 1991) are as follows:
This is the largest Dalit community in Nepal in terms of population size (1,619,434 in number or 73.6 per cent of total population within Dalit group). The three major Hill Dalit groups - Kami, Damai and Sarki are scattered in almost all 75 districts of Nepal . The Hill Dalit groups with the population size of more than 25,000 are observed in 28 districts, and Jajarkot, Surkhet, Acham and Dailekh districts have the highest percentage of Hill Dalits living among these districts. 3. Dalits in the Tarai C ommunity Traditionally, the Dalits or untouchable groups in the Tarai are as follows:
The Tarai Dalit community as a whole can be grouped into three broad linguistic groups: the Maithili, Bhojpuri and Awadhi. The Dalit of the Eastern and Central regions speak Maithili as their mother tongue whereas the Dalits part of the Central and Western regions speak Bhojpuri and the Dalits of the Western and Far-Western regions speak Awadhi as their mother tongue. By tradition, they are Hindus and employ their own priest to perform rituals. The total population size of Tarai Dalits was 582,347 according to the 1991 census, which is 3.1 per cent of the total population of Nepal and 26.4 per cent within the Tarai Dalit population. But the census had not given figures of various Dalit groups of the Tarai such as Batar, Tatma, Dom and Halkhor. Among the Tarai Dalits, the population of Chamar is highest (9.3%), followed by Mushahar (6.4%) and Dushad (4.2%). The Chamar population with more than 10,000 is noted in 10 districts of the Tarai, whereas Musahar population is observed only in 6 districts. The Tarai Dalits with more than 20,000 population is noted in 13 districts. The highest of percentage of Tarai Dalits among the Tarai districts are: Saptari, Siraha, Parsa, Bara and Mahottari. <source: National Dalit Strategy Report>
3.Forms of Discrimination/exclusion that Dalits are facing • Denial (Entry, services, access to resources, kinship or other relationship, participation) • Forced or Discriminatory labor (traditional occupation, bonded labour- haliya, pay balighare pattern, hh or farm works without wages, shepherd) • Dominance (Wish Jadau, show due respect, consider as dirty caste, use of abusive language/words ) • Atrocities (Murder/violence, Rape, Physical injuries/disabilities, False allegations, Torture: Physical/mental) • Social Boycotts (If traditional occupation should not be maintained, enter into inter-caste marriage relationship, rebelled against traditional norms and values) • Attitudinal Untouchability (Deny to accept existence, give good jobs, Belief that Dalits lack qualification) • Discrimination (occupation, Educational institution, political rights, government policy and programme, government and NGO Offices, Development programmes and donors, religious and culture) • Attitudinal Untouchability (Deny to accept existence, give good jobs, belief that Dalits lack qualification) • Discrimination (occupation, Educational institution, political rights, government policy and programme, government and NGO Offices, Development programmes and donors, religious and culture)
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