02-26-2005, 11:32 AM
An important point. The Nepal Maoist Uprising <b>IS</b> a Dalit Revolution. Except for most of the subcontinent, the rest of the world is aware of this, and are not backing away from tacit support. I think the UPA govt is aware and hence it explains India's decision to freeze military aid to the Nepali govt.
Regards.
Pathma
<b>Nepal's Dalits: Fodder for the Maoist machine</b>
ANAND SOONDAS
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2005 09:09:48 AM ]
KATHMANDU: Motilal Nepali grew up without drinking milk. His mom was
too emaciated to breastfeed him and he couldn't get cow's milk
because no one would sell it to him. He is a dalit in Nepal and
nobody sells milk to dalits here.
Or, for that mater, deals with the group in anything that is liquid.
Untouchability has a different meaning and dimension here. Even in
Kathmandu, a city full of hip dance bars, Versace showrooms and mind-
numbing stream of foreign cars, no one will let out houses to
dalits.
That is where the Maoists came in, turning a community into a
fearsome death force that until now was unable to deal with
deprivation and desperation ó a potent combination that has the
Royal Nepal Army on its toes.
Now the chairperson of Dalit Welfare Organisation, Nepali says the
Maoists got a ready-made army. "Any one could sense that dalits were
a force, imploding with centuries of hurt, waiting to be tapped. The
situation is proving to be a fertile ground for the movement," he
says.
Dalits in Nepal constitute 20% of its population, but own just 2% of
its land. Their literacy rate is a mere 17 % ó just 10% for women ó
and they die faster than any one else. The average life expectancy
for a dalit in Nepal stands at an unbelievable 42 years. Others,
higher in the social order, can expect to live up to 60.
While the per capita income in Nepal is $210, for a dalit it is just
$39. In the rugged zones of western Nepal, many of the dalits
continue to live as bonded labourers. For back-breaking work, they
are paid a sackful of maize and bits of meat during festivals.
The upper castes still believe dalits are beneath involvement in
cash transactions. And a dalit baby is in the control of some upper
caste man the moment he or she is born.
"You hand a gun to our people and they suddenly feel a surge of
empowerment. The gun is a powerful metaphor of power," says a dalit
student.
Though figures of dalit and tribals in the roughly 7,000 Maoist
fighters and one lakh active supporters is not known, most analysts
say it could be anything between 30-40% ó a lot of representation
for a community who have no officers, judges or bureaucrats and are
still not allowed into Hindu temples or into restaurants.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/artic...031622.cms
Regards.
Pathma
<b>Nepal's Dalits: Fodder for the Maoist machine</b>
ANAND SOONDAS
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2005 09:09:48 AM ]
KATHMANDU: Motilal Nepali grew up without drinking milk. His mom was
too emaciated to breastfeed him and he couldn't get cow's milk
because no one would sell it to him. He is a dalit in Nepal and
nobody sells milk to dalits here.
Or, for that mater, deals with the group in anything that is liquid.
Untouchability has a different meaning and dimension here. Even in
Kathmandu, a city full of hip dance bars, Versace showrooms and mind-
numbing stream of foreign cars, no one will let out houses to
dalits.
That is where the Maoists came in, turning a community into a
fearsome death force that until now was unable to deal with
deprivation and desperation ó a potent combination that has the
Royal Nepal Army on its toes.
Now the chairperson of Dalit Welfare Organisation, Nepali says the
Maoists got a ready-made army. "Any one could sense that dalits were
a force, imploding with centuries of hurt, waiting to be tapped. The
situation is proving to be a fertile ground for the movement," he
says.
Dalits in Nepal constitute 20% of its population, but own just 2% of
its land. Their literacy rate is a mere 17 % ó just 10% for women ó
and they die faster than any one else. The average life expectancy
for a dalit in Nepal stands at an unbelievable 42 years. Others,
higher in the social order, can expect to live up to 60.
While the per capita income in Nepal is $210, for a dalit it is just
$39. In the rugged zones of western Nepal, many of the dalits
continue to live as bonded labourers. For back-breaking work, they
are paid a sackful of maize and bits of meat during festivals.
The upper castes still believe dalits are beneath involvement in
cash transactions. And a dalit baby is in the control of some upper
caste man the moment he or she is born.
"You hand a gun to our people and they suddenly feel a surge of
empowerment. The gun is a powerful metaphor of power," says a dalit
student.
Though figures of dalit and tribals in the roughly 7,000 Maoist
fighters and one lakh active supporters is not known, most analysts
say it could be anything between 30-40% ó a lot of representation
for a community who have no officers, judges or bureaucrats and are
still not allowed into Hindu temples or into restaurants.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/artic...031622.cms