Ganesh Bk
Rastriya Dalit Network, Nepal

This is a presentation about the Dalits (Lower castes) in Nepal. It is recognized that Dalits (lowest castes in the Hindu caste system-deigned to be only menial workers) have been socially, economically and historically excluded. We show that the Dalits continue to be an excluded community. It is important for social movements to address the Dalit question in Nepal.

A. Political Sectors

• Lack of inclusion in political parties : 
  • No major post 
  • Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) has 24 out of 341
  • Nepal Congress (NC) 5 out of 85
• Lack of inclusion in parliamentary bodies : 
  • Federal Government: Minister. Only 1, province -0
  • Federal MPs: 19 (16 female and 3 male)
  • Province MPs: 34 (29 female and 5 male)
  • District Chair 6 (77), deputy Chair 3 (77)
  • Mayor 5, Deputy mayor  9 (393)
  • Village Chair 3 (753), Vice Chair 7(753)
  • Ward Chair 300 (6743), Dalit Women 5653(6743)
  • No Dalit became/chosen as a minister (2007 to 2057 BS).
• Lack of inclusion of administrative bodies :
  • CDO 1 (77)
  • Secretory 0
  • Judge 2 (No one in Supreme Court)
  • Joint Secretory 1
  • Planning commission (0) despite 70 years history.

B. Economic Sectors

• Landlessness : 
  • 44% Terai Dalits, 15% Hill Dalits 
• Malpractices :
  • Haliya, Harawa\Charawa, Balighare
• Unemployment:
  • There is no fact based data.
  • Only a reservation 45 equals 100

C. Social & Cultural Sectors

• Lack of education (Dalit Literacy rate:33% (National average 54%)
• Impunity (16 Dalits are killed)
• Untouchability ( 1000s of case found).

New Constitution of Nepal and Dalits

• The Preamble:
  It mentions non-discrimination and elimination of all forms of caste discriminations and untouchability.
• Fundamental Rights and Duties includes 31 various rights relating to civil and political, economic, social and cultural rights; as well as right to development.
• We have JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY & FRATERNITY.
• It makes clear that Identity, Accessibility and Representation in the constitution.
• Constitutional Dalit Commission.
  1. Right to Freedom:
  2. Right to Equality:
  3. Right against Preventive Detention:
  4. Right to Women:
  5. Right to Dalit (Rights to land, empowerment, Health, Education, Housing)
  6. Right to Inclusion:
  7. Right to Social Justice:
  8. Right to Remedy: The Article 51 for the right to constitutional remedy and enforcement of fundamental rights is the weakest provision of the Constitution, ever made in Nepal.

But when 3 types of governments were formed but despite this, there has not been any significant change in the benefits or staus of Dalits. There has been no added value for Dalits in production relations, and no creation of value. There is no priority for the much needed land reforms in the country. The land reform issues has been converted into land management and agrarian development. In this connection we are demanding a: Dalit Rights Decade (2020 to 2030).

The Nepal Dalit movement requires:

Productive Transformation

• Productive transformation that contributes to creating value of production, better jobs as a result of all sections of society working together.
• We have many challenges: accumulation of productive capacity, technology adoption, quality education for competitiveness, safe and stable environment, Dalit friendly infrastructure and sustainability, among others.

Human Rights and Social Justice

• Structural change & Ownership patterns for Dalits.
• The global economic system and integration of Nepal
• Global value chains,
• Influence of the financial market and the new corporate governance system.
• The political economy of technology upgrading.
• Industrial policy, including its political and social dimensions
• The practical design of structural upgrading strategy, including the development of appropriate indicators
• Rights discourse and claims by marginalised groups.

Productive effects of contemporary neoliberal economics:

• Polarization of labour market.
• The number of high-education jobs (Doctor, Engineers) and middle-education jobs (clerks, machine operators, assemblers) is declining.
• Number of low-education service occupations,
• Technology was incorporated performed by middle-skill workers, causing substantial change.
• Lack of Free Competition
• Reservation or affirmative action has been insufficient.
• Class problem, where there is a convergence of caste and class.

Mode of production, change in the future of work

• Introduction of multifunctional robots has been most extensive in the developed world and gradually being transferred to the developing countries.
• Massive investment to implement these labour displacing technologies is required and expenditure for social sector is diverted.
• Collaborative economic models need to be researched.
  Intelligent machines will be increasingly capable of carrying out high-skill and possible non-routine tasks.

Impact in labor market

• Industrial production, concerns about the potential displacement of labour emerge.
• Displacement or productivity- will dominate in the artificial intelligence era?
• New industries have also emerged, with a net positive impact on employment.
• Past industrial revolutions in the west suggest that in the short run the displacement effect may dominate, but in the longer run, when market and society are fully adapted to major automation shock, the productivity effect can dominate and have positive impact on employment
• The lesson from the west must be learnt.

Ways to integrate social issues & guarantee security for all?

• The ability to use the technological advances for the benefit of their work requires developing particular digital skills through well designed policies
• Policymakers will need to develop a framework of rules for the operation of machines and AI system.
• Collective consultation with affected parties and experts.
• Comprehensive debate on the regulation of the liability, safety, security and privacy of these technologies.
• Updating of relevant skills and training program working with these new technologies.
• Equilibrium approach- focus on automated technology, the industrials robots, and their impact on employment.
• Respect/improve cultural norms and values of indigenous production system.

Challenges and opportunities

• Accumulation of productive capacity.
• Technology adoption.
• Education for competitiveness.
• Safe and stable business environment.
• Infrastructure.

Summing up

• Looking at the labour displacement and productivity effects of AI on employment, the middle-level jobs that require routine manual and cognitive skilled are the ones that are most at risk.
• In the long run, initial labour displacement effects of job with routinized manual or cognitive skills, as in previous industrial revolutions, will be compensated for by the growth in non-routine jobs at the high and low end of the economy.
• Need to take into account that firms’ market strategies and investment are endogenous to technology shocks.
• Nepal needs stronger affirmative action to include Dalits into the political and economic and governance structures in Nepal.