Tackling Bahunbaad

You have a situation in Nepal where no matter which party wins or loses, the president is going to be a Bahun for the next 20 years. That is not a good thing.

The political proposals I have to make I have codified in the proposed constitution I have written and circulated. (प्रस्तािवत संिवधान) It is not a given that this document will gain wide acceptance. It is an uphill task. The status quoists from the 1990s are still calling the shots. Most of the appointments that have been made by the Koirala government smack of Bahunbaad plain and simple.

The non-Bahuns have their work cut out for them.

Three groups are going to have to form a strong political alliance: Dalit, Madhesi, Janajati.

Dalit

The Dalits have it real tough. They are a clear case for reservations. But how do you bring about a broad empowerment of the community? How do you bring about a basic social transformation?

I have been advocating a mass Dalit conversion to Buddhism. But it does not have to be Buddhism. It could be Christianity, or some other religion. In my mind it makes no sense to try to reform the caste system. The caste system, by definition, is hierarchical. You can end it, but you can't mend it. Can you end it? Is it easier to end it, or to stop having anything to do with it? I think it is easier and better to abandon it totally.

And so I am for Dalit conversion into other religions. It does not matter what religion.

Take the Ambedkar option. That is my message to Dalits.

Janajati

It is heartening to me that the Janajati groups in New York City are numerous and organized. It is freshening to me how openly someone like Karma Gyalden Sherpa talks about Bahunbaad. I am eager to build a strong Madhesi-Janajati coalition that would have implications for the power equation in Nepal.

That coalition will have to be issue-based. There is going to have to be a conscious effort made. Otherwise the Janajatis traditionally have had the tendency to present themselves as Janajatis to the Bahuns but as Pahadi to the Madhesi community. That will not fly. That will slow down their own path to empowerment, because power is in numbers, and the Janajatis do need the Madhesis to get there faster.

Madhesi

The Madhesi are few in number in the city, few in number in the positions of power in Nepal. The powers-that-be cultivate the token Madhesi to use against the Madhesi masses and against genuine Madhesi empowerment. We have to watch out for that.

The Madhesi challenge when the numbers are small is to fight internalized prejudice. That is different from the internal prejudices of the Madhesis, be it casteism, or sexism, or classism.

Here also the idea is coalition building around a simple common minimum program.

Are people willing to meet periodically? Will they have open discussions? Can they verbalize their experiences in prejudice? Are they willing to reach out to build coalitions with other groups?

MJ, MY

Laloo Yadav built a strong Muslim-Yadav coalition to turn things upside down in Bihar in terms of the power equation.

There is a need to build a strong Madhesi-Janajati coalition in Nepal to take over power. Democracy is not going to be enough. Social justice remains a major challenge.

A New York City Experiment

The city remains a choice place for that. When I went to the Memorial Service for the September 23 chopper crash victims, I was amazed by how many of them who had died in Nepal had family, relatives and personal friends living in the city.

Common Ground

In the context of the Nepali community in New York City, the real news might be the non-status of the Nepalis in the city's politics. The Bahuns might manage to express their Bahun attitudes in their mini Bahun circles, but they are just as insignificant as anyone else in local city politics. They are going to have to realize that and allow for a democratic organizing of the 40,000 Nepalis in the city. That would be a first step. The next step necessarily is coalition building with the other Global South populations in the city.

On The Web

Caste - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Indian caste system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Castes of India
Caste system in modern India
Social Castes
India's Caste System
caste: Definition and Much More from Answers.com
Caste and Varna
The Caste System in Hinduism
Behavior of the high castes
Caste - Wikipédia
India | Caste and cash | Economist.com
caste -- Encyclopædia Britannica
Kamat's Potpourri: The Caste System
Caste System in India
Sub-Castes Among Dalits
Nepal - Caste and Ethnicity
[PDF]Scheduled Castes 10.70 Special Central Assistance to Special ...
CASTE - SOUTH AFRICA
India's lower castes can now go to private schools | csmonitor.com
Castes in India by Damodar K.Mavalankar - Adyar Pamphlets No. 6
Blog Castes: The Real Ranking of the Blogoshpere « Change Is Good
caste -- Encyclopædia Britannica
Caste Matrimonial Sites - Indian Castes - Shaadi.com
Castes
Sample Chapter for Dirks, N.B.: Castes of Mind: Colonialism and ...
BioMed Central | Full text | Genetic affinities among the lower ...
NPR : India Pits Affirmative Action Against Castes
The Hindu : National : Upper castes dominate national media, says ...
Mayawati, BJP rush to woo upper castes in UP- The Economic Times
Dirks, N.B.: Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern ...
national scheduled castes finance and development corporatioin nsfdc
[PDF]Scheduled Castes (SCs) 10.67 Special Central Assistance (SCA) for ...
Energetics reveals physiologically distinct castes in a eusocial ...
Economic boom blurs lines among India’s castes « Ekawaaz - One ...
Orissa temple for all castes : HindustanTimes.com
Indian caste system: Information from Answers.com
'What more do the upper castes want?'
caste of the Honeybees
Castes – Le «blog personnel» de Joe Clark
Myrms Ant Nest - Castes of Ants
WWW Virtual Library Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka Caste System
India Together: Dalit Christians: Scheduled Castes or not? - 20 ...
National Commission for Scheduled Castes
Books on Dalits, (Scheduled Castes)