DLMGA launches March2Justice campaign to resist caste-based violence, discrimination

KATHMANDU: Dalit Lives Matter Global Alliance (DLMGA) has launched a 100-day campaign, March to Justice (March2Justice), to commemorate the 60th International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, observed on March 21.

Seventeen-year-old Rinku Sada of Siraha district, who was brutally gang-raped and murdered, remains without justice as the legal process continues to stall without resolution. In another incident, Satyendra Kumar Ram (Chamar) and Neha Rauniyar of Sarlahi district were forced to flee the country after their inter-caste marriage was met with violence by the local administration. Additionally, on Wednesday, homes belonging to Dom community were bulldozed during a religious ceremony (Mahayajna), displacing families under claims that they had 'polluted' the event. In response to such persistent caste-based violence and discrimination, the March2Justice campaign aims to build a fair and inclusive society.

The campaign commence with a conversation featuring Bezwada Wilson, National Convenor of Safai Karamchari Andolan (Sanitation Workers Movement) in India. Wilson, a prominent figure in the fight to end manual scavenging, was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2016 for his contributions to human rights and social justice.

The March2Justice initiative will feature events focusing on resisting caste-based violence and discrimination, amplifying stories of resilience from Dalit and marginalised communities, offering legal aid to victims pursuing justice, and advocating for the enforcement of constitutional rights. The campaign also seeks to engage youth through digital platforms to raise support and advocate for Dalit communities, spotlighting their experiences and perspectives on caste-based exclusion and inequality. As part of this initiative, the Dalit Lives Matter television programme 'Caste Conversation' is currently airing every Thursday on Himalaya Television.

The historical roots of March 21 stem from South Africa, where the Black majority population was subjected to oppressive rule by a white minority. The discriminatory ‘Pass Law’ introduced by the regime sparked protests in Sharpeville on March 21, 1960. The apartheid regime responded with a massacre, killing 69 protesters. In honour of the victims of this atrocity, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 1965.

Observed globally as a day of justice and equality, March 21 also marks a time for reflection and resistance against caste and racial discrimination in Nepal. The DLMGA’s 'March2Justice' campaign will run until Nepal’s National Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and Untouchability on June 4, 2025.

DLMGA, a global movement advocating for the end of caste-based violence, exclusion, and discrimination, was founded in response to the 2020 Rukum West Massacre, where Nawaraj BK and five of his friends were brutally killed while attempting to pursue an inter-caste marriage on May 23, 2020.

The DLMGA emphasises that the caste system is not an issue confined to specific communities but a grave injustice that tarnishes humanity as a whole. The alliance calls for meaningful participation, collaboration, and solidarity from all castes and communities as the only pathway to eliminating caste-based inequality.

The organisation has issued a call for support, solidarity, and cooperation from all sectors of society.