Interaction on the Situation of Dalits in Koshi Province

March 24, 2026

Koshi Province

The Interaction Program on “The Situation of Dalits in Koshi Province” was successfully held on March 23 in Biratnagar, Morang, organized by the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) Koshi Province and the Dalit Women’s Association (FEDO).

The program was conducted in the context of the 61st International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, under the international slogan “Strengthen political will to end racial discrimination” and the national slogan “Effective mobilization of state structures for Dalit community’s access to justice,” with a comparative analysis of economic, social, and demographic conditions.

At the program, INSEC Koshi Province Coordinator Manohar Kumar Pokharel stated that a comparative analysis of the social and economic conditions of Dalit and non-Dalit populations clearly reveals how society is trapped in the caste and varna system.

Pokharel emphasized that analysis should be based on data such as education, birth and death rates, average lifespan, and economic status, and that the state should accordingly formulate policies and laws and ensure their effective implementation.

At the interaction program, Umesh Bishwakarma, Chairperson of Redef Nepal, stated that policymakers need to identify the necessities for transforming the economic, social, and cultural conditions of the Dalit community. He emphasized that instead of the state giving token budgets to Dalits in a traditional manner, all three levels of government should design programs and budgets based on the national census to address inequalities between Dalit and non-Dalit communities.

Sharmila Pariyar, Chairperson of FEDO Morang, noted that according to the 2022 census, there are significant disparities even in basic issues such as access to toilets between Dalit and non-Dalit communities. She highlighted the need for the state to invest in the Dalit community based on data analysis.

During the program, FEDO Program Coordinator Nar Bahadur Aauji presented a summary of the statistical report on Dalits from the National Census 2022.

Participants in the program emphasized that the state must invest in the economic, social, and cultural transformation of the Dalit community based on statistical data. They stressed that investment priorities should be determined according to the disparities observed between Dalit and non-Dalit communities, and between hill and Madhesi Dalits, in economic, social, and cultural conditions.

Participating journalists and human rights activists highlighted the need to raise Dalit issues to end discrimination, localize them to reach the general public, link Nepal’s Dalit movement with international movements, put pressure on the state, implement the recommendations given by the SARD Committee, and make the campaign a collective effort.

The program, chaired by INSEC Koshi Province Coordinator Manohar Kumar Pokharel, was facilitated by INSEC Documentation Officer Punya Prasad Adhikari.

On March 21, 1960, in Sharpeville, South Africa, the state killed 69 people during a peaceful protest against racial laws. In response to the global human community’s continuous alertness and solidarity against this massacre, the United Nations in 1966 adopted an international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination and declared March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Koshi Province Office

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