The Jagaran Media Center (JMC) has organized a week’s training for young Dalit journalists in the eastern city of Dharan, followed by a consultation with some representatives of the Nepalese press.

One of those invited is a former editor of the popular daily Kantipur who broke a sensational story about Dalit some years ago. He learned that the Dalit in Lahan, an eastern town, had refused to bury the carcasses of dead cows, which is one of the unpleasant menial tasks traditionally done by Dalit. In retaliation, the local population imposed a total boycott on all Dalit and refused to serve them in the markets and hospitals.

The Dalit organized in protest and the newspaper Kantipur sent its top reporter out to Lahan. His stories caused a national and international sensation. Untouchability was apparently alive and well in Nepal.

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It is impossible for an outsider to understand what it means to be a Dalit, but Suvash Darnal, the chairman of the JMC, tries to educate me over a traditional Nepalese meal of rice, dahl, and curried vegetables. I find it useful to distinguish between the external labels which are imposed by society and religion, and the more subjective way that Dalit choose to view their own identity.

This Dalit man is forbidden to work alongside other non-Dalit colleagues

The Hindu religion recognizes four scheduled castes – Brahmin (priests), Chettri (government servants and warriors), Baishya (business) and Shudra (Dalit). The Dalit have traditionally serviced the other three castes. The 1991 census put the number of Nepalese Dalit at around 13% of the national population (about 24 million), but Dalit activists say it is higher.

A good number of Nepalis are not Hindu, but Nepalese society has gladly embraced the notion of caste and the Dalit are also officially divided into 22 sub-castes, based upon traditional occupations. These start with the Bishwokarma (ironsmiths and goldsmiths) and descend to sub-castes like the Dom and Chamar who do sanitation work and take away dead bodies. Somewhere in the lower rungs are the washing men (dobies) that we met in Sri Lanka.

Dalit are not distinguishable by any of the usual markers of color, race, religion, accent, dress or even income (There are some rich Dalit). In fact, the only outward form of identification is the surname, but even some Dalit names are interchangeable with Brahmin names. Some Dalit change their names to escape the stigma, but Suvash Darnal, the chairman of the Jagaran Media Center, did the reverse and reclaimed his Dalit name while still at school. Suvash is proud of his background. The Darnal sub-caste has traditionally made cloth and musical instruments.

When exactly does the label of Dalit become a form of abuse? When it condemns someone to an occupation and place in society against their will, or causes discrimination and prejudice. This is less likely to happen in urban areas, where society is relatively mobile and educated, than in villages. There also appears to be an important economic difference between the Dalit in Kathmandu Valley and those who live in the Terai, the arid southern zone of Nepal. One forthcoming study by the Dutch agency SNV is said to find incredible levels of poverty among the Terai Dalit.

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Nepalese society has its own ways of reinforcing the caste system, and some would be very familiar to an American or European. During the Dharan conference we visit one of Nepal’s most exclusive private schools. Set above the town, with a stunning view, the school has 900 students, of whom only 10 are currently Dalit. Given that the Dalit may account for one-sixth of Nepal’s entire population, this is striking.

The headmaster explains that it is not deliberate. He says that Dalit families rarely apply for admission, out of shame or because they cannot afford the fees (the equivalent of $12 a month). Intelligence has little to do with it (The school gives three scholarships to Dalit boys every year, and this year’s scholars are doing fine).

Nepal is not the only country where private education perpetuates social distinctions and makes it harder for minorities to move up the social ladder. It is a powerful argument for affirmative action.

The face of privilege: students at a private school

These, then, are some of the ways by which Nepalese society identifies its Dalit. My question is why the Dalit themselves appear to buy into it, even as they denounce the discrimination? Why, for example, do they accept the official system of categorization into 22 Dalit sub-castes?

I ask this at one meeting after the participants list the eight sub-castes that are present. Why are they so insistent on using these labels, I ask? They reply with a gale of laughter. Two young men even start to argue the merits of their respective sub-castes, and make them sound like rival football teams. I begin to think that membership of a sub-caste can be quite empowering.

And of course it can be, if those affected chose to make it so. The problem comes when others use caste to isolate, discriminate, exclude and impoverish. And for all the camaraderie of this meeting, Dalit activists say that the higher Dalit sub-castes are capable of extreme discrimination against those at the bottom, like the Dom.

This is why Suvash Darnal likes to tell visitors that he comes from a lower sub-caste than his deputy at the Jagaran Media Center. The JMC loses no opportunity to undermine the system, even as it promotes Dalit pride. I’m beginning to understand that there is no contradiction in this.

Tomorrow: Dalit advocacy