Is RSP overlooking Dalit issues?

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) convened its first General Convention in Chitwan, attracting thousands, particularly youth and Dalits, eager for alternative politics. However, the party faces criticism for failing to address contemporary Dalit issues during the gathering.

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The RSP convention has failed to seriously consider the issues Dalits face contemporarily.

An overview of the RSP government's performance in its first three months offers little optimism regarding caste discrimination and untouchability. Critics contend that the party leadership, largely composed of urban upper castes, appears insensitive to the struggles of Dalits. While Prime Minister Balen Shah, from a lower-middle caste, leads the country, his perceived lack of engagement with caste hierarchy issues, possibly due to his upbringing and marriage, is noted.

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The RSP leadership seems not to acknowledge caste as a problem at all.

The article highlights that the party's urban upper-class leadership has not experienced or witnessed the lives of Dalits in remote areas, leading to insensitivity towards caste exclusion and humiliation. Furthermore, the education system is criticized for perpetuating caste blindness through curricula that neglect the analysis of rigid caste hierarchies rooted in texts like the Manusmriti.

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I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if the party chairman, Rabi Lamichhane, used his excellent oratory skills to show great sympathy towards Dalits in his concluding address to the convention.

Past promises by party chairman Rabi Lamichhane to address Dalit issues and apologize on behalf of the party and government are dismissed as insincere. The article states that these were lies, as no substantial reform measures have been taken to promote Dalit rights, and a state apology should come from the prime minister, not the party chair.

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Sadly, these were lies.