The Urgent Need for State Accountability and Historical Reconciliation in Nepal

The 'One Hundred Point Governance Reform Agenda' unveiled by Prime Minister Balendra Shah's government included a commitment in point number five to formally acknowledge injustices, discrimination, and deprivation of opportunities faced by Dalit and historically marginalized communities at the hands of the state, society, and policy structures. It promised to announce reform-oriented programs along with a formal state apology within 15 days to lay the foundation for social justice, inclusive rehabilitation, and historical reconciliation. However, three weeks have passed without implementation.

This serious issue has not received priority from the country's media or intellectuals. Once such a commitment is made public, it becomes the responsibility of Prime Minister Balendra Shah's government to treat it with seriousness.

Governments in Canada and Australia have previously issued formal apologies regarding discriminatory state policies against indigenous peoples. However, the government of Nepal does not appear to have prioritized this critical matter.

The history of caste-based discrimination, social exclusion, and state policies that deprived Dalit communities of opportunities is a bitter reality of Nepal's history. The Balen government has now acknowledged this. No amount of condemnation is sufficient for the inhumane, state-sanctioned treatment of a community that makes up about 14 percent of the population and is forced to live below the poverty line at a rate of 42 percent.

Furthermore, the time has come for the government to account for state-sponsored discrimination against other castes and ethnic groups, and to move forward with apologies and corrective measures.

History shows that during the unification of Nepal by King Prithvi Narayan Shah 250 years ago, the people of the conquered states faced significant injustice and atrocities. While such atrocities are often short-lived in world history, Nepal's governments have historically pursued such oppressive policies over the long term. The frustration arising from this situation has led the Nepali people to endure it, often describing the country as 'cursed by a Sati'.

It is time to move beyond the past and chart a new roadmap for a new Nepal. The time has come to discuss state-level discrimination and policies of the past in a new way and to formulate policies and action plans for their timely resolution.

During the unification period under King Prithvi Narayan Shah and thereafter, state discriminatory policies intensified, leading to strong opposition from the people of the valley. Thousands of unarmed civilians were killed, and many were enslaved. Consequently, King Prithvi Narayan Shah was forced to flee the capital and establish his base in Nuwakot, on the border of the then Gorkha and Nepal states, where he eventually passed away.

His son, King Pratap Singh Shah, in such a serious situation, adopted local tantric culture and participated in festivals to focus on reducing the state's discriminatory policies. However, he died just two and a half years into his reign, which could not bring any significant change at the state level.

History records that his son, King Rana Bahadur Shah, sent offerings and prayers to major temples when his beloved queen, Kantivati, fell ill with tuberculosis. After Queen Kantivati's death, a grief-stricken King Rana Bahadur Shah turned against local religion and culture. He committed acts of heresy, such as insulting major deities and destroying their trusts and ornaments.

He declared the Taleju Bhawani, the patron deity of the Malla kings of Kathmandu, dead, removed the idol from the temple, and had it cremated at Aryaghat. He mocked the idol of Kumbheshwar in Patan by smearing it with excrement. He ordered the famous Pashupatinath temple to be blown up with cannons, though this was not implemented. He carried out the infamous 'Basathi Haran' scandal, seizing the trusts and lands of temples. These are just a few examples. This discriminatory policy against local tantric religion by a Hindu king had a major negative impact on local religion and culture.

During the time of his son, King Surendra Bikram Shah, social stratification reached its peak. His Prime Minister, Jung Bahadur Rana's government, issued the Muluki Ain in 1910 B.S., attempting to cunningly make social discrimination permanent. The government placed the Khas-Arya community in the high caste category as 'Tagadhari', while ethnic and Dalit communities were placed in lower castes as 'Matwali'.

The provision allowing the enslavement of Matwali castes was maintained. The buying and selling of slaves were legalized, which was later abolished by the government of Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shamsher. The Muluki Ain was prepared with a hierarchy of high and low castes, stating that food and water from high castes could be accepted by lower castes, but not vice versa. The act included detailed explanations of which castes could or could not share food and water, and established that doing so would be considered a serious crime. Punishments by the government were also written into the sections of that same act.

At that time, Hindu Brahmins of the Newar society, Tirhute Brahmins, and Brahmins who had recently arrived in Nepal from India—including Bhatta, Marhatta, Gujarati, Bengali, and Rajasthani—were declared Brahmins of unknown lands and placed in a lower tier than the Upadhyaya, Jaisi Brahmin, and Rajput castes of the Khas-Arya society. Hindu Brahmins of the Newar society were accused of practicing tantric religion and were prohibited from studying the Vedas.

The Newar community was included in the Vaishya varna. While such social and cultural discrimination existed informally in Indian society, it was not formally implemented by the Indian government through law, as was the case in Nepal.

It is the duty of the government to lift the people from the web of past discrimination, apologize for such history, and ensure that no one can discriminate against others in the future based on social justice. It is also the government's responsibility to implement plans that provide some form of compensation to the communities that were victims of such discrimination.

The need of the hour is to introduce a new cultural policy that unites the people of the country by abolishing the national policies of the past that were designed to enslave the governed and divide them in the name of religion and culture. The government should also support the revival of the Guthi funds and lands of the Newar community and others, which have been continuously operating since the Licchavi and medieval periods but were destroyed under the name of the Panchayat-era Land Reform Act, leading to the destruction of the country's tangible and intangible heritage.

The government must apologize for the state policies and national cultural policies that have subjected the general public to caste-based discrimination, social and cultural exclusion, and denial of equal opportunities. If the Balen government offers a bold, formal apology for this type of discrimination, it should be welcomed by the public, and the victimized communities should also show a big heart and forgive.

(Sharma is an independent journalist.)