VZCZCXRO2356
OO RUEHCI
DE RUEHKT #0796/01 2390920
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 270920Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0679
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000796 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: CONSTITUTION UNLIKELY TO BENEFIT 
"UNTOUCHABLES" 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Nepal's most disadvantaged group, the 
"untouchable" Dalit caste, has successfully organized 
political and advocacy NGOs over the past two decades, but 
Nepal,s political parties have traditionally limited their 
political influence.  Nepali Dalits are seeking legal 
protections in the constitution currently being drafted, but 
political party leaders are preventing the Constituent 
Assembly from considering Dalit concerns.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Charge met a group of four leading Dalits August 
26, including: Bishendra Paswan, Constituent Assembly (CA) 
member and Chairman, Dalit Janajati Party; Bhakta 
Bishwakarma, Chair, Nepal National Dalit Social Welfare 
Association; Moti Nepali, Chairman, Dalit Welfare 
Association; and Durga Sob, President, Feminist Dalit 
Organization. 
 
ONE FIFTH OF POPULATION 
----------------------- 
¶3.  (U) Dalits, or "untouchables", are considered the lowest 
rung in the Hindu caste hierarchy.  They account for 
approximately 20 percent of the country's population, and are 
spread across every district.  They were quick to tell the 
Charge they do not consider themselves an ethnic group; there 
is no ethnic Dalit identity, per se.  Instead Dalits are a 
historically disadvantaged group.  They are often the poorest 
people in a community and have only minimal legal rights. 
Dalits have the highest poverty levels in Nepal and the 
lowest literacy rates and life expectancy. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Durga Soba, from the Dalit Feminist Organization, 
said Dalits face legal discrimination, such as prohibitions 
on where they can go.  The current interim constitution has 
provisions prohibiting Dalit discrimination in the public 
sphere but is worded in such a way that many types of private 
discrimination still persist, especially in villages where a 
person's caste is common knowledge. 
 
POLITICALLY ACTIVE BUT INVISIBLE 
-------------------------------- 
¶5.  (SBU) Since 1990, numerous Dalit advocacy NGOs have been 
established across the country. (Note: In 1990 Nepal eased 
restrictions on establishing non-governmental organizations. 
End Note.)  The NGOs estimated there are currently 12 
national-level Dalit organizations and over 500 local 
organizations.  Local-level organizations have focused on 
changing social discrimination within villages and districts, 
while national organizations advocate for legal protections 
and an end to social discrimination.  According to Bhakta 
Bishwakarma, these organizations are politically involved but 
do not endorse political parties. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) All the guests expressed frustration with the major 
political parties.  They explained how the major parties 
wooed Dalits during the 2008 elections but have since ignored 
their concerns.  In the 601 member CA there are 49 Dalits. 
They are in all the major parties--23 Maoists, 11 Communist 
Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninists, 9 Nepali Congress 
(NC) members, and several from smaller parties.  However, the 
guests agreed these CA members were toothless tigers.  They 
were chosen by the parties because they were weak politicians 
or because their allegiance to the party was stronger than 
their concern for Dalit issues.  Bishwakarma noted that of 
the 25 political parties, 19 are headed by Brahmins. (Note: 
Brahmins are Nepal's highest Hindu caste and represent 
roughly 12 percent of the population.  PM M.K. Nepal, NC 
party leader G.P. Koirala, and Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal 
Dahal are all Brahmin.  End Note.) 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Dalit members cannot easily speak out on Dalit 
issues in the CA.  Moti Nepali explained the parties are each 
allotted specific periods of time for their members to speak, 
but the party leadership must divide that time amongst its 
members.  None of the parties prioritize Dalit concerns, and 
any member deviating from the approved talking points will 
quickly find his or her voice permanently silenced in the CA 
 
KATHMANDU 00000796  002 OF 002 
 
 
hall.  The only CA member free to speak on Dalit issues is 
Bishwendra Paswan, who is the sole CA member from the Dalit 
Janajati Party. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) While there is a "Dalit Caucus," the group exists 
in name only, as the large parties do not allow their members 
to attend Dalit caucus meetings.  CA member Paswan said all 
the parties feign interest in Dalit issues, but tell their 
members the best way to improve the lives of Dalits is to 
focus on party ideological agendas.  Feminist Dalit leader 
Sob said Dalit groups strongly believe in peaceful advocacy, 
which is why no one pays attention. 
 
WANTING CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS 
----------------------------- 
¶9.  (SBU) Dalit advocacy groups are focused on improving 
their situation through the new constitution drafting 
process.  Unlike other major demographic groups, Dalits are 
scattered throughout country, and thus are not advocating a 
"Dalit state" in a new federal Nepal.  The Dalit Welfare 
Association, in coordination with other Dalit NGOs, has a 
charter with four major demands for the new constitution, 
including an end to the culture of "untouchability", 
providing land to landless Dalits, creating an 
affirmative-action education program for Dalits, and 
requiring Dalits to be proportionally represented in all 
areas of government and in political parties.  They are 
pessimistic this can be accomplished however, as all of the 
major parties have largely ignored Dalit concerns in the 
drafting process. 
 
REQUEST U.S. ASSISTANCE 
----------------------- 
¶10.  (SBU) The group thanked the United States for its 
support of Dalit causes over years, including efforts to hire 
Dalit employees at the Embassy, creating a Dalit intern 
program, and USAID assistance programs focused on improving 
the lives of Dalits.  They asked the Embassy to take a more 
active role in supporting Dalit rights in Nepal, particularly 
in the drafting of the constitution, but did not respond when 
Charge asked what specific steps the U.S. government should 
take to assist. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Dalit marginalization from the 
constitution drafting process is a telling indicator of the 
power wielded by political parties.  Political battles within 
the CA are intense, but they rarely cut across party lines, 
even on issues of group rights.  Equal rights and 
anti-discrimination concerns will likely be addressed in the 
constitution, as other powerful ethnic groups and religious 
groups have similar requests.  However, Dalit demands for 
special programs are unlikely to gather much support. 
MOON