Instead, he was mercilessly beaten by two Thakuri men in Jubitha-4 of the district last Saturday just because he had lit a cigarette from a cooking stove of an ‘upper-caste’ household. Sunar died succumbed to his injuries the following morning while being rushed to hospital. These kinds of incidents are taking place despite the country having laws that bar untouchability and legal provisions that require criminal prosecution of those engaging in caste-based discrimination.
That the law must take its due course and the culprits must be tried for no less than murder is indubitable, for the incident sends a chilling message that you can still be killed for your caste in Nepal. The wounds that Sunar died from—apart from injuries all over his body, irreparable damage to his testicles and kidneys—are evidence of the extreme hatred his assailants harbored against him.
The Thakuri men, who according to police were acquainted with Sunar but had no prior grudges, pounded upon him with a sense of entitlement they drew from the mere fact that they belonged to a presumed upper caste. Min Bahadur Shahi and Deep Bahadur Shahi acted like champions and defenders of a discriminatory caste system that has held back the country for centuries.
It would be an overstatement to say that hatred for the lower caste and practice of untouchability prevails all over the country. The incident took place in Kalikot, one of least developed districts in Nepal. But again, awareness campaigns to root out discrimination and untouchability have, in the past, focused precisely on districts like Kalikot. The incident, therefore, lays bare the fact that awareness and acceptance that all humans are equal is yet to permeate rural Nepal.
The incident also warns of the dangers of ignoring small incidents of discrimination. In Kalilot district, the practice of treating the Dalit community as untouchable is still widespread, according to our news reports. We believe tolerating small incidents of discrimination led to Saturday’s excesses. We, therefore, strongly urge the district administration encourage locals to report every single incident of discrimination based on caste, and quickly prosecute perpetrators. The trials of Min Bahadur and Deep Bahadur should send a clear message that caste-based discrimination, in any form, will no longer be tolerated.
Related story
Representation of Dalit community declines in 2022 local electi...
