HYDERABAD:Dalits in Nepal should be given proportional representation in education, jobs and politics and all the provisions given to dalits in the Nepal constitution should be implemented, Binod Pahadi, a Dalit leader from Nepal, who was a former member of Nepal Parliament has said.
“Dalits of not just Nepal and India, but all nations in South Asia face the same problems and there should be a concerte effort to address these problems,” he said while delivering the fifth SR Sankaran Memorial Lecture here on Saturday organised by the Centre for Dalit Studies (CDS).
“Thirteen percent of Nepal’s population is Dalit. Besides implementing reservations, compensation should also be paid to Dalits. There needs to be a close cooperation between India and Nepal on all fronts ranging from politics to culture as both nations share many similarities,” he further said.
BK Rem Bahdur, director of Jagaran Media Centre, Nepal, speaking on the occasion pointed out that there should be more discussions and coordination among academia from South Asian nations on Dalit issues.
“A beginning has been made in addressing the Dalits problems in Nepal but we need more steps in view of abject poverty and difficulties faced by Dalits,” he added.
Secretary of Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) RS Praveen Kumar, director of Scheduled Castes Development MV Reddy, TJAC chairman Professor Kodandaram, former bureaucrat K Madhava Rao, activist and founder chairman of CDS Mallepalli Laxmaiah and others were present on the occasion.
Lakshmi Venugopal award was presented to Nandini, who topped in class X in TSWREIS schools on the occasion.