JANAKPURDHAM: Chief of Madhesh Province, Hari Shanker Mishra, has said the effective implementation of acts and laws against caste-based discriminations and untouchability is still awaited.
Inaugurating the Madhesh Province-level Dalit Convention-2022 here today, the Province Chief said dalits and those in the bottom of the caste-based system continued to be subjugated to various kinds of discriminations due to lack of effective enforcements of relevant acts and laws.
It is said the objective of the event is to advocate for elimination of caste-based discrimination and untouchability and for economic, social and political transformations in the society.
“It has been long that Nepal illegalizes and criminalizes untouchability, but it still exists in practice,” he said, terming caste-based discrimination and untouchability as a social evil and underlined the need of combined effort to abolish it.
Accusations and counter-accusations will not help remove the practice, but collective efforts, and transformation in our thinking are necessary to achieve the goal towards social parity, according to the Province Chief.
He was of the view for fighting for rights with fulfilling given duties and responsibilities instead of pleading for it.
Newly elected Madhesh Province Assembly member Lakhan Das said, “The existing electoral system is capable of preventing the dalit community to the parliamentary politics that’s why full proportional representation electoral systems is needed to bridge such wide gap.”
Province Assembly member Das said, “Political parties do not give tickets to Dalits. There is no condition to win the election even after getting ticket. Dalits do not have money and political access. So election system should be changed.”
Saying although the country witnessed many political changes, oppression upon Dalit Community has not been reduced, Executive Director of Dalit Public Welfare Youth Club, Binod Bisunkhe, stressed that Dalit movement should be made a common movement.
He said the province-level Dalit conference was organized to carry out review of acts and laws brought by federal, provincial and local-level governments for Dalit community.
On the occasion, Madhes Province Coordinator of INSEC, Raju Paswan, and Professor Bijay Mishra presented separate working papers on the issue of situation of Dalit community in Madhes province.
Leaders of Dalit community if eight districts of Madhes Province have been participating in the conference organized by Dalit Public Welfare Youth Club, Lahan, Divya Youth Club Parsa, Women Empowerment Campaign Mahottari and Dalit Journalist Association Madhes Province with the support of Action Aid Nepal.
The conference would form a province-level committee to advocate in favour of Dalit community as well as declaration, shared Bisunkhe.
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