Dalit Development Authority is for protection, promotion of rights of Dalit community: PM

Kathmandu- Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said that a provision has been made for the Dalit Development Authority in the policies and programmes, and the budget for the upcoming fiscal year for the protection and promotion of the constitutional and statutory rights of the Dalit community.

The PM said this while addressing an interaction entitled ‘Declaration of Nation Free of Untouchability: Opportunities, Implementation and Challenges’, organized in the context of the National Day for the Elimination of Caste Discrimination and Untouchability here today. On the occasion, Prime Minister Dahal expressed the government’s commitment to ensuring the rights of the Dalit community.

“Programme and budget have been managed for operating the ‘poor and meritorious scholarship scheme’ for encouraging the Dalit students to study technical education, as well as for running the ‘artisan entrepreneurship special programme’ in all seven provinces for modernizing and commercialization of the traditional skills, knowledge and profession of the Dalit community,” he added.

Pointing out the need of setting up the ‘untouchability watch and monitoring mechanism’ at all the three tiers of the State for banishing the practice of untouchability, the Prime Minister stressed on the need of the State and its agencies presenting themselves in a responsible manner for the effective implementation of the constitutional rights and privileges of the Dalit community that has been suffering from oppression and exploitation.

He directed all the responsible State strata and agencies to implement in an effective manner the laws against untouchability, as the acts like untouchability and caste discrimination are punishable by law as serious social crime. PM Dahal called on all the three tiers of the government to be responsible for the effective implementation of the untouchability-free nation declaration.

“I make a special appeal to all the three tiers of the government to develop Dalit empowerment programmes in their policy and programmes, and budget, and to effectively implement the Act against Untouchability,” he added. The head of the government emphasized on the State providing special rights along with compensation for upholding the political, economic, social, cultural rights and equality and for the overall development and progress of the Dalit community while freeing them of the evil of untouchability and caste-based discrimination.

According to him, the foundation of reparation for the injustices done by the state apparatus in the past and of equality can be built only through the process of positive discrimination. On the occasion, Prime Minister Dahal released ‘Mero Jeevan Ra Sangharsha (My Life and Struggle)’, a book based on the life and works of Province Chief Tilak Pariyar, a fighter of the communist movement and a leading personality in the country’s Dalit movement.

Stating that in the past the state authority had denied the Dalit community of their political, economic, social, cultural rights in all aspects of their life by making discriminatory policies and laws, PM Dahal acknowledged that compared to other communities, the Dalit community is backwards in all sectors of social life. As he said, he has been consistently stressing on adoption of a policy of special rights to the Dalit community in all the state organs, sectors and agencies as well as in the overall sectors of the social life.

The PM also recalled that he had continuously struggled within the party saying special rights, along with additional rights in the proportional representation, should be given to the Dalit community as compensation with the objective of their development at a par with other communities, as the self-dignity of the Dalit community has been undermined. He reiterated that this topic of providing special rights to the Dalits has been largely established of late.