Society

Deprived and underrepresented—this tale of Dalits in Nepal has been known for a long time. To rectify this historical marginalization, the constitution of Nepal provided a “proportional inclusion” of the community. “Dalits shall have the right to participate in all agencies of the state based on the principle of proportional inclusion,” reads the constitution’s Article 40 (1).That goal, however, remains unattained. Recently-concluded polls also could not proportionally include the Dalits in the legislature. In the House of Representatives, Dalit representation is 5.81 percent with only 16 Dalit candidates representing the community, if the lists of PR candidates sent to the Election Commission are not changed by Monday, the deadline given to correct the names. Only a single dalit candidate won the election under the first-past-the-post system. Clearly, the composition of the new Parliament doesn’t reflect the population of Dalits in Nepal, which stands at 13.12 according to the 2011 census.