February 12, 2009, Washington, DC: Nepali human rights activist Suvash Darnal laid out the case for affirmative action for the Dalit in a presentation Thursday at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington.

“There is poverty all over the world, but there is no discrimination like against the Dalit …the untouchable,” Mr Darnal said.

Mr Darnal, 28, is head of the Jagaran Media Center (JMC), an Advocacy Project (AP) partner that trains Nepali journalists and reports on caste-based discrimination. He also serves as a member of AP’s Board of Directors and is currently a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at NED.

Dalit, commonly known as untouchables, occupy the bottom rung of Nepal’s caste system. Mr Darnal said that caste-based discrimination against Dalit in his country stems from 3,500 years of ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, political and religious oppression.

Over the country’s volatile past 50 years, heads of state have distinguished Nepal as a “caste- discrimination-free area” four separate times, according to Mr Darnal, but oppressive practices continue.

Dalit comprise about 20 percent of Nepal’s population, yet hold less than one percent of senior political posts. Dalit are segregated from temples, educational institutions, hotels and restaurants in much of Nepal. Eighty percent of Nepal’s Dalit are landless and are subjected to “forced and bonded labor,” Mr Darnal said.

Mr Darnal called for an affirmative action program in Nepal to grant Dalit and all minorities equal human rights – including women, indigenous people and the Madhesi population in southern Nepal.

In 2008, the Maoists, who had waged a long civil war against the government, were swept into power during national elections. Many Dalit supported the Maoists, and Dalit candidates won about 50 seats in the Constituent Assembly.

Their representation ensures there will be strong support for outlawing caste as Nepal’s new constitution is drafted. But Mr Darnal insists that much more must be done if Dalit are to be free from the discrimination they face in other sectors of society.

“We want to lose the current identity of Dalit, the untouchable identity, and enter Nepali society,” he said. Inter-caste marriages, on the rise in Nepal, may be the “silent revolution” for his country, he said.