The Dalit Search for Dignity: State, Society, and Mobilisation from Below in Far West Nepal
Is mobilisation for dignity under the label ‘Dalit’ viable?
- Project status
- Ongoing
- Programmes
- Heritage, Dignity and Violence
- Departments
- International
Nepal’s Dalits (ex-Untouchables, population nearly 3.5 million) remain at the bottom of society by all measures despite huge changes in the last 50 years. The possibility of building on their artisan and artistic heritage is compromised by pervasive stigma; they continue to face discrimination and at times violence. Building on earlier research, this project brings together a highly experienced interdisciplinary team, including Dalit scholars, to investigate the experience of Dalitness in the Mid and Far West Nepal, the poorest and most conservative parts of the country. The aim is to understand from below the position of Dalits, and how far mobilisation for dignity under the label ‘Dalit’ is viable.
Research Team: Professor David Gellner, University of Oxford; Dr Krishna Adhikari, University of Oxford; Professor Biswo Kallyan Parajuli, PN Campus, Pokhara, Nepal