Kamalari and Vankaraiya Communities Demand Rights and Management from Government

Kathmandu. The freed Kamlari and Vankaraiya communities have submitted a memorandum to the government, stating that they have not received proper management and rights even after 13 years of being declared freed. They drew the attention of the current government to their resettlement, land rights, and justice by organizing a press conference in the capital on Thursday.

Former Central President of the Freed Kamlari Development Forum, Hira Moti Chaudhary, complained that although the then government declared them freed, the issues of basic needs and justice have remained only on paper to this day. “The perpetrators of murder, violence, and rape against Kamlaris by their owners before 2070 BS should be investigated and punished,” Chaudhary said.

According to her, out of 12,769 freed Kamlaris in Nepal, only 9,490 are in government statistics, and only 7,435 have received identity cards. Kanchanpur District President Sita Dagaura and Kailali President Indra Chaudhary informed that the condition of those who received identity cards is also dire, and many have not yet received identity cards. In Kanchanpur alone, out of 1200 freed Kamlaris, only 362 have government identity cards.

Similarly, the endangered Vankaraiya community, residing in Musedhap, Ward No. 4 of Manahari Rural Municipality in Makwanpur, has also demanded their permanent management. They are in fear of displacement as the 20-year period for occupying the 6 hectares of land given by the state for settlement in their ancestral homeland in 2062 BS is about to end.

Twangre Dada Vankaraiya Development Association President Santamaya Vankaraiya said, “We went to meet Prime Minister Balen Shah, but the staff took the letter and sent it. Our demand is not to be displaced from our ancestral homeland.” Bimla, Suresh, and Kanchhimaya Vankaraiya have demanded that the land deeds of the land where they have been living since time immemorial should be in their own names. They have submitted memorandums to the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Forests, and the Ministry of Land Reform.

The Vankaraiya caste, with a population of only 94 people from 24 households in Nepal, is one of the 10 endangered indigenous peoples. For decades, Tharu girls from Bardiya to Kanchanpur were enslaved as Kamlaris in the homes of landlords due to debt. The victims, stating that the liberation declared on Asar 13, 2070 BS has not been implemented, are now demanding compensation for past suffering along with arrangements for education, health, social security, housing, and land.