SIRAHA: A Dalit family that had been living in a small roadside hut for about 25 years in Aurahi Rural Municipality-5, Siraha, was forcefully displaced last month, allegedly to make way for a religious Mahayagya.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage and calls for justice from Dalit rights activists and civil society organizations.
The Malik family, belonging to the Dalit Dom community, had been living near the East-West Postal Highway when their hut was demolished on February 22 at the instruction of Bajrangi Baba, the mastermind behind the Shri Shri 108 Shri Vishnu Mahayagya, which was set to begin from March 30.
The demolition was carried out using the municipality’s bulldozer, under the direct orders of Aurahi Rural Municipality Chair Shivaji Yadav.
According to reports, the Mahayagya organizer and the chairman considered the presence of Dalits near the event impure and demanded their relocation.
Not only was the hut demolished, but the ground on which it stood was excavated two feet deep to purify the site, with the soil disposed of in a nearby river.
After the demolition, the Malik family was moved to a new location near Shree Sundar Janata Secondary School, where a two-room hut with a tin roof was hastily constructed. However, Deepak Malik and his wife Anita expressed their grievances over the dire conditions at the new site.
“There is no electricity or water here. I have been begging for water from the village for a month. Since there is no electricity, I am forced to cook and eat during the day,” said Anita Malik.
The family of seven, including their teenage children and a newlywed daughter-in-law, now lives in a makeshift shelter with no basic amenities.
The earlier hut had been replaced with a concrete building five years ago under the Janata Awas program, but it was also demolished as part of the relocation.
Anita Malik said that the family was pressured by Rural Municipality Chairman Shivaji Yadav and former Ward Chair Dilip Yadav to vacate the premises in the name of the religious ceremony.
“They demolished our house when we were not at home. What could we, the innocent, do to resist?” she said.
Chair Yadav admitted to the demolition, stating that a tender had been floated for Rs 30 million to establish an agricultural market on the site, which required boundary walls to be built.
The controversy attracted media attention and prompted Chief District Officer Basudev Dahal and District Police Chief Ramesh Pandit to visit the site.
Superintendent of Police Pandit reported that the Mahayagya had been ordered to halt, as it had become highly controversial. Efforts to contact the event organizers and the rural municipality chairman proved futile, as they had reportedly fled the area.
Dalit rights activists condemned the incident as a clear violation of human rights, labeling it an act of untouchability and discrimination.
They have demanded legal action against the main orchestrators, including Bajrangi Baba, Chairman Shivaji Yadav, and former Ward Chair Dilip Yadav. They have also called for the involvement of the National Human Rights Commission and the National Dalit Commission to investigate and ensure justice.
As the Dalit family struggles to adapt to their new living conditions, rights organizations continue to demand accountability from the local government and religious organizers. The incident has once again highlighted the entrenched caste-based discrimination that persists in parts of rural Nepal.
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