Major Political Parties Reiterate Promises on Dalit Representation and Abolition of Untouchability in Election Manifestos

Kathmandu. The country is currently immersed in election fervor. As the date for the House of Representatives election, February 21, approaches, political parties have issued manifestos under various names. A total of 68 political parties are participating in the election for direct representation.

The issues concerning the Dalit community have been included in the manifestos of almost all these parties. However, major political parties including the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Centre), Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) have reiterated two key issues for the Dalit community: 'ensuring representation' and 'ending untouchability.' They have copied these from their old manifestos.

The Nepali Congress, the country's largest and oldest democratic party, stated in its 'Pledge Paper' published on Wednesday, 'Representation and access for Dalits in every level and body of the party and the state, along with the assurance of social justice, will be guaranteed.' This is the same commitment the party included in its 2079 (Bikram Sambat) manifesto.

The Congress manifesto published for the 2079 BS election stated, 'In accordance with the spirit and essence of the Constitution of Nepal, equitable representation of Dalits in various levels and bodies of the state will be ensured, and the principle of inclusivity will be followed.' However, in the dissolved House of Representatives, the Congress only ensured representation for five members from the Dalit community. During this tenure, not a single Dalit from the Congress had the opportunity to become a minister. Similarly, the recently published election manifesto of the Congress has copied the issue of 'ending untouchability' faced by the Dalit community from its previous manifesto.

This issue was also included in the manifestos for the 2064 and 2070 Constituent Assembly elections, and the 2074 House of Representatives election. However, according to Samata Foundation, which studies, researches, and publishes on Dalit issues, despite the enactment of the Caste-Based Discrimination and Punishment Act, 2068, 17 Dalits have lost their lives over issues like touching water, inter-caste marriage, or touching the cooking hearth. This community has been displaced and marginalized due to caste reasons.

Dalit activist Pampha Pariyar said, 'The issues of Dalit representation and ending untouchability are repeated by political parties in every election; the irony is that they do not implement them.' The CPN-UML manifesto states, 'The protection of Dalits, enabling them to live a dignified life, practicing democracy with human values, ending caste discrimination and untouchability, promoting social inclusion, ensuring a dignified standard of living and justice for all will be guaranteed.' This issue is also found in UML's older election manifestos. Only six Dalits from this party had representation in the dissolved House of Representatives. In the meantime, UML also failed to appoint a Dalit as a cabinet minister.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) mentioned in its manifesto, 'Ensuring political, economic, social, and cultural exclusion or marginalized Dalits are guaranteed proportional inclusion in all organs and levels of the state, ensuring equality in rights and opportunities, and participation.' Two Dalits from this party had representation in the House of Representatives. This party also did not appoint a Dalit as a cabinet minister.

RSP, regarding Dalit issues in its election citizen charter/pledge paper, stated, 'While ensuring reservation and inclusivity arrangements in accordance with prevailing laws and the spirit of the Constitution, more concrete legal, policy, and institutional reforms will be advanced to end caste-based discrimination against the Dalit community.' Two Dalit members of parliament were elected from this party. However, this party also failed to appoint a Dalit as a minister.

RPP has also copied the issues of increasing Dalit representation and ending untouchability from its old manifesto. Padam Sundas, a leader of the Dalit movement, opined that since political parties repeatedly raise these two issues for the Dalit community in multiple elections without implementation, the manifesto itself should include an implementation timeline. He stated that many problems of the Dalits would be solved if political parties could effectively implement the constitutional rights concerning the Dalit community by creating a 'Unified Law on Dalit Affairs.'

While raising the issue of Dalit representation in the manifestos, their representation in state bodies appears extremely weak. Representation from the Dalit community stands at six in the National Assembly, 16 in the dissolved House of Representatives, 30 in the Provincial Assemblies overall, 2.11% in the civil service, about 1% in the judiciary and foreign service, and an average of 5-9% in political parties.

However, representation in decision-making levels is extremely low, despite the Dalit community constituting 13.4% of the population. Currently, 42% of the Dalit community remains below the poverty line. This statistic reveals a deep gap between the parties' manifestos, the inclusive nature of the Constitution, and practical implementation.