Birth is a beginning…not an end, unlike how the Caste System in Nepal treats it.
Nepali society suffers greatly from the legacies of our long casteist history. One of the legacies is that caste can be triggering. What it triggers and how depends on the individual and more importantly on their caste. However, the abysmally poor quality of education system and poor level of education of the population of Nepal means that most don't know much about that, and worse react inappropriately when those who are triggered speak up.
BUT those who don't know, can learn about all that from those small numbers who are speaking up. All that is required of them is to listen! That's it.
I am NOT surprised by the fact that so many of the systems in Nepal are so thoroughly corrupt. Reason? Select ethnic/caste groups(s) monopolizing State structures continuously for centuries, as had been the case in this country, is itself one of the root causes -- if not THE root cause -- as well as evidence of corruption.
The judiciary is no exception.
One of the many legacies of the long casteist history of the country is the major structural issues Nepal continues to face. Evidences abound! But I keep coming across hill so-called High caste Hindus who can't see or refuse to see the evidences for what they are.
This is about one such man, a professor at a medical college no less!
The caste system has corrupted the minds of Nepalis. Here is an example of how it has corrupted the minds of the Hill so-called High Caste Hindus.
Blinded as they are by structural privilege and their sense of entitlement their social group has enjoyed for generations, they demonstrate subtle internalized casteism stemming from their unconscious sense of superiority.
We don't have a dearth of Nepalis who frequently make the mistake of interpreting what someone else is saying, writing, and/or doing from only where they stand -- culturally, economically, socially, experientially, emotionally, intellectually etc. -- and, in the process, miss a lot of where the person is coming from and also the value in their message and/or their act.
This is an example of that from twitter.
On May 23, 2020, a mob of 50-60 so-called higher caste villagers lynched half-a-dozen Dalit males. Not long after, the story mostly disappeared from mainstream media in Nepal. But that's NOT surprising in a society of people whose minds have been corrupted by the Caste System.
Nepal needs a revolution...a revolution of the mind.
The caste system is highly corrupting. It has corrupted the minds of so many Nepalis for so long that, even while taking pride in the country as the birth place of Buddha who introduced compassion to the world and denounced the system, we are very short on compassion.
And this blog post documents just one example of that: responses to a tweet by a Dalit woman desiring "to live as a human being today."
Reproduction of a performance at UWC-USA early this century by a friend and colleague, and I, two teachers at the school. Written by us two, it looks at social realities of the world today through the eyes of two teachers from vastly different cultures. It reflects and exposes the stark inequalities and incredible diversity prevalent in the world today.
Nepal is a highly unjust and inequitable society. The Coronavirus pandemic and the country's response to it has dramatically demonstrated that again for all to see.
One set of data which has done that is the administration of the COVID-19 vaccines by Province.
Province 2 got shafted...for obvious reasons...as far as I am concerned!
Studying, living, working abroad, unconstrained by closed and inward-looking Nepali culture, society, and people, I questioned a lot of what I had been taught in Nepal.
One was the Hindu-mythology-based beliefs, practices, and values.
One lesson was taught through the story of Eklavya and Dronarcharya. We were taught that the story was about model discipleship. But after deeper questioning I have come to the conclusion that its more of caste supremacy than model discipleship.
