Let's call a spade a spade. Well, it's a spade but it has been systematically oppressing club, diamond and heart for years.

When I was a kid, most of my friends were from ‘lower castes.’ The older people around me always tried to remind me of my social status and warned me to stay away from them. But they were my friends. I would say ‘Yes’ and secretly go to my friends’ place. The closest one was a guy named Prem Bahadur Tamang. Before I even knew what a caste actually was, I started eating in his home, especially ‘Thulo khasi.’ For a long time Prem couldn’t come inside my home. Not that he was not allowed to but he had a growing consciousness of where he ‘belonged’- this had been hardwired to him by the society.  

One time an elderly relative of mine saw me playing with my friends and he later told about it to my family. Being a teacher and a genuinely progressive person that he is, my dad laughed at the guy but didn’t say anything.  But I couldn’t contain myself.  I told him that my own teacher tells us ‘ मान्छेको कुनै जात  छैन. उसको जात मान्छे नै हो.’ Prem and I were very close friends until I left my home.

This morning when I talked to my dad and asked about the ongoing Janajati rally he was really worried about the direction the protests were going. प्रेम चिन्छ्स नि होइन ? त्यही तेरो साथी क्या . नारा लगाउदै हिंड्दै थियो अहिले फोनमा भन्न नि नसुहाउने. Do you think Prem would say such thing in front of me or when he was alone? I highly doubt it. But that’s a crowdsourcing of democracy for you. People in a rally tend to align to groupthink and exhibit mob mentality. A crowd has a completely different behavior than the sum total of individual behaviors. Although I would like to think these people are not genuinely against a particular race, think about what message does it conveys to our children – that the friends in his class with whom he shares his lunch are different and are to be hated.

I am not saying that racism based upon ethnicity has vanished. It’s not an overnight process. It’s a gradual process and requires generational changes. It took us a long time to come to this point but today we want to undo these changes and go back to 19^th century. Wait a minute… the country was already in 19^th century; maybe we are pushing it back to Stone Age.

There is no denying that ‘Khas’ people have benefitted due to Nepali language. But the claim that the state perpetuates the systematic oppression of other caste holds a very little ground. Also, I have been hearing about the opportunities only present to a particular ethnic group is equally ridiculous. I imagine Bill Clinton saying ‘It’s the socioeconomic condition, stupid.’  Does Karnali ring bell to anyone?

If you get a chance, go and analyze the ethnic mix of students in a government school. You’ll see them proportionately representing all ethnic groups. Most of us are struggling together. I blame it for centralization of resources.  I agree that the government failed to empower our demographics. Interestingly, the government has failed all ethnic groups and not only Janajatis.

A large number of people think that this marginalization and social exclusion can be overcome by ethnic federalism. I support federalism but not ethnic federalism. Nepal is made up of dispersed ethnic groups. So, pray tell me, how this ethnic federalism is going to ensure upliftment of everyone?  How come Dalits who have been most disadvantaged do not have their right assured ? Equally, how come it’s not apparent that this proposed structure sidelines Khas who make up the largest minority in Nepal? Fundamentally, who is going to guarantee the safety of all ethnicities in all federal states? Additionally, the variable of religion hasn’t yet come into picture. Let me ask you: Do you think America would have been here if it were divided into German, English, Scottish, Irish, Italian, African American, Hispanic, Asian American states etc?

हामी गरिब छौ. तेसैले हामी दरिद्र छौ. नेपाल कुनै जाति बिशेष को होइन. नेपाल सम्पूर्ण नेपालीको हो. जब सम्म हामी मेरो, मेरो जातिको बाट हामी सबै नेपाली हितको निम्ति सोचदैनौ तब सम्म हामी यस गरिबीको भुमरीबाट बाहिर निक्लिदैनौ. यहाँ धमिलो पानीमा माछा मार्ने राष्ट्रिय तथा अन्तरास्ट्रिय ब्वाँसोहरुको कमि छैन. यस घडीमा बिभाजन होइन, हामीले समाजन खोज्नु पर्छ र देशलाई पतन हुन बाट जोगाउनु पर्छ.

Certainly I do believe that we do need to empower under privileged people. It should not be in lieu of; it should be in addition of.

Disclaimer: The plural of anecdote is not data.