nepaldalitinfo
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Kantipur FM interviews nepaldalitinfo
network coordinator
Kantipur FM 96.1 Mhz Radio aired an interview with Dr. DP Rasali, who is coordinating the international network of nepaldalitinfo)
live through a long distance call on April 23, 2005 Saturday at 8:15 PM (Kathmandu local time) for about 15 minutes within the Dalit Welfare Organisation (DWO)'s
Radio program, “The Voice of Dignity” produced by Dinesh
Pariyar, and anchored by Rupesh
Silwal and Pradip Pariyar. The salient features of the issues around which
the discussion went on the air are given below:
- What
is it? Why was it started?
- It
is conceptualized as an international network of Nepali Dalit intellectuals and friends of Dalits. It has two parts- the website and an informal
discussion forum (Yahoo! Group).
- To
bring together Nepali Dalit intellectuals and
interested friends of Dalits to a single
platform for interactions. This is one thing which can help the Dalit movement moving forward in Nepal
- To
disseminate the information on issues of Nepali Dalits
to the World especially international agencies and Universities seeking
their participation in the study and upliftment
of Dalits. As a result of this information
dissemination, we are particularly interested to see that there will be
more and more studies and research on Dalits,
their conditions and their issues in various renowned Universities and
institutions around the world. We are also hoping that more and more
international institutions getting involved in Dalit
development in Nepal.
- To
encourage Dalit youth in knowing about their
roots and the way forward in Dalit movement of Nepal.
Click for Audios >>> [Clip1A]
[Clip1B]
- Dalit
intellectuals of Nepal
got together to conceptualize this network two years back. Ever since the
website was started, I would say, the success has been tremendous in
terms of participation and cooperation by Nepali Dalit
intellectuals and friends of Dalits around the
world. The website also has achieved significant milestones- e.g. yahoo
web search with the key words “Nepal”
and “Dalit” yields nepaldalitinfo
comes out as No. 1 hit out of some 48,000 website hits. The website is
already listed in the links of library website of University of California,
Berkley,
and University
of Minnesota/University
of Winsconsin Digital Library. Several other
sites- personal sites, organizations’ sites and Dalit
international network sites have also included it in their links.
- As
far as participation is concerned, Yahoo groups is running effectively
and improving communications among its members. It will move forward.
Click for Audios >>> [Clip2A]
[Clip2B]
- How
do you get the information about the real conditions of Dalits in remote rural areas?
- This
is just the beginning, and we may not be able to collect all the
information from the remote areas, but are receiving information from
various sources. We are focusing on providing basic information to
world’s governmental and educational agencies and other institutions
about the oppression of our people and the deprivation of their human
rights for centuries, mainly due to the weakness of the state. Once, we
have our messages taken to world forum, more research and studies will
eventually come up for further exploration.
- I
appreciate the work of NGOs, whose efforts have brought much information
about to the fore in a short period. Nepaldalitinfo
endeavors to help bring more of such information.
Click for Audios >>> [Clip3A]
[Clip3B]
- We
are hoping that more and more youth from Dalit
communities will know about the website and its information discussion
forum, and will participate in them by way of contributing to information
from the remote villages as well.
Click for Audio >>> [Clip4A]
- How
do you think Dalits’ issues will be fully
addressed?
- A
strong political will is a must for Dalits’
issues to be addressed fully. However, our main stream political parties
are considering our problems not so seriously. They have recognized our
problems being deep rooted on the grounds, but many are still taking it
for granted that time will eventually bring the required social changes
on its own. But, we are not accepting that approach as the right one. We
need deliberate and strong efforts to make the differences.
Click for
Audio >>> [Clip5A]
- Do
you have anything to add at the end?
- We
are looking forward to having a peaceful but very effective Dalit movement. The three step path, “Educate, Get
organized and Struggle” as advocated by Dr. Ambedkar
is our path to go peacefully. We have to have all our Dalit
children going to schools, and then we will get organized for more
powerful movement. Then, our movement may get success.
Click for
Audio >>> [Clip6A]
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