DIPAYAL, NEPAL, September 20, 2006: More than 50 Dalits (“Untouchables”) were injured in a scuffle while trying to enter a Hindu temple in far western Nepal on September 17. Non-Dalits pelted Dalits with stones and bricks, protesting their entry into and worship in the Shaileshwor Temple, at the Silgadhi bazaar of Dipayal. Organizer Min Bahadur Bam said in a telephone conversation that the non-Dalit mob also directed abuse at journalists and local rights activists alleging that they were supporting the Dalits. The Federation of Dalits’ Women’s Organization and Semi-Development Center organized the program to open the temple for Dalits for the first time. Earlier, on Sept. 7, non-Dalits held a rally and chanted slogans against journalists, Dalits, NGOs, and political parties following the demands of the Dalits that they be allowed into the temple. After a memorandum was handed over by Dalits of six districts in the far-western region to the administration office on Sept. 11, chief district officer Baldev Prasad Bhatta had assured them that the temple would be opened to Dalits from Sept. 17, Bam recounted, saying the temple priest personally allowed the Dalits into the temple for worship. Chief district officer Bhatta, who was also contacted by telephone, assured the victims that the authorities would investigate the incident. Necessary action would be taken against the culprits, he added. Within the Dalit community of Nepal, there are eight major caste groups and 25 identified sub-castes. Some NGOs estimate the Dalit population at 4.5 million, or 21 percent of Nepal’s population. Despite their significant numbers, they continue to suffer from discrimination and human rights abuses by reason of their caste.
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