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Today in the Nepali calendar marked two historic moments in terms of the efforts for progressing towards a just society with the abolition of two discriminatory practices in the West Terai and the Madhes.

On Shrawn 2, 2057 BS (July 17, 2000) the government made an announcement to ban the kamaiya system, a form of a bonded-labor prevalent in Kailali, Kanchanpur, Bardiya, Banke and Dang of western Nepal.  With the government declaration, over 32,500 individuals belonging to impoverished and marginalized communities in these districts were freed from the modern form of slavery.

After two decades of the banning of the kamaiya system, on Shrawn 2, 2079 BS (July 18, 2022) the government came up with a significant announcement declaring the liberation of Harawa-Charawa, the bonded laborers in the agriculture sector in the Madhes region.

But the grievance of former kamaiyas is that their real liberation from modern forms of slavery has not been realized yet.

According to Kamaiya system abolition movement leader Pashupati Chaudhary, it has been 23 years since the abolition of the kamaiya system, but still over 2300 freed kamaiya households in five districts in west Nepal are forced to live a wretched life. "The government's claim is that it has already carried out the rehabilitation of former kamaiyas, but it has not taken place in practice."

"The KP Sharma Oli-led government handed the responsibilities of rehabilitating the freed kamaiys to the local government, since then the process has remained stalled. As a result, former kamiayas have been pushed towards vulnerable works," he said. 

The Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Act, 2058 (2002) bans all sorts of bonded workers and traditions, but the sustainable liberation of them has not been possible yet, people concerned said.

Rights activist Sanjaya Mahara said the abolition of bonded labor, forms of modern slavery, was indeed a welcoming and historic step, but the persistent lack of availability of sustainable means of livelihood for them continued to affect the target groups adversely.

The Ministry of Land Reform and Management amassed the details of kamaiyas in 2057 BS and 2059 BS and categorized them in four groups from A to D. As per the government data, 27,021 former kamaiyas were provided land and shelter.

Vice-Chairperson and Spokesperson of the National Land Commission, Naresh Khadka, said complaints are receiving that Kamaiya have not still got rid of problems in lack of rehabilitation even after being freed from Kamaiya since long.

He said that the problems could be resolved to some extent if landless Dalits, landless squatters file complaints within the jurisdiction of the Commission.

Spokesperson Khadka said, "Although the Commission's jurisdiction does not incorporate freed kamaiya, haliya and harawa charawa, land ownership certificate of the land they are using can be provided keeping the problems and recommendations pointed out by study task force formed in different times."

He further said the government should resolve the problems through an appropriate work procedure as they have been receiving some complaints that the land provided by the government to free Kamaiya is only on paper.

Harawa charawa of Madhes are also worried thinking their problems might not be resolved for years like the freed kamaiya.

National Harawa Charawa Rights Forum, Darshan Lal Mandal, said although the government declared Harawa Charawa free one year ago, data collection and rehabilitation programmes have not been moved ahead so far.

He urged to forward the rehabilitation programmes immediately as per the four-point agreement signed with Forum.

Similarly, Advocate and Right Activist Balaram Bhattarai pointed out that the government has to take effective steps for appropriate rehabilitation of Harawa Charawa as keeping bonded labour is an insult to democracy and against the constitution.

The government announced the end of all practices related to bonded labor after promulgation of Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Act, 2058 on February 21, 2002.

As per this, the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government on September 6, 2008, had announced the free- Haliya system. 

Similarly, the announcement of free-kamalahari system was made on July 18, 2013.

South Asian nations are facing challenges in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to ending hunger, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture. Malnutrition is described as the greatest form of violence and a weapon of mass destruction. Shakeb Nabi, Country Director of Nepal of Welt Hunger Hilfe (WHH) says, “Two millions people die around a year globally of hunger i.e. 5,500 people per day die of hunger.”

The regional consultation meeting on “Promoting Nutrition sensitive Agriculture for improving Nutrition security and Health of Smallholders in South Asia” was held for a two-day period on 12-13 July 2023 in Kathmandu, with the goal of addressing malnutrition and food security as well as identifying major Nutritional Sensitive Approaches (NSA) in South Asia. 

The event, organized by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Welt Hunger Hilfe (WHH), brought together stakeholders from the food and agriculture industries, government representatives, and experts in the field to discuss nutrition-sensitive approaches in the region.

Dr Tamanna Ferdous, the Regional Nutritional Advisor, emphasized the need for a multi-sectoral approach to combat child malnutrition in South Asia. She provided alarming statistics on global hunger and malnutrition, highlighting the insufficient consumption of necessary food groups by children in South Asia. “According to the Global Hunger Index research, world hunger is increasing and most children in South Asia do not consume enough of the necessary food groups,” she said that over 7m individuals experience regular hunger, and 2 out of 3 women who are of reproductive age have at least a micronutrient deficiency worldwide. Globally, 50m  children are wasted, 150m children are stunted, and 30 percent of women of childbearing age have an iron deficiency. 

Bedu Ram Bhusal, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development, attended the event as a special guest. Stephan Russek, Head of Development Corporation and Economics at the German Embassy, emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts and a multi-sector approach.

Minister Bhusal said that we should focus on indigenous crops to minimize hunger and malnutrition issues.

During the event, country representatives presented papers on the nutrition situation in their respective nations. Issues such as poor meal diversity, lack of micronutrients, improper cooking techniques, and increased marketing of unhealthy food were discussed. Progress reports showed improvements in reducing underweight, child wasting, and anemia in Nepal. However, challenges such as poor policy implementation, lack of coordination among stakeholders, unregulated pesticide use, and pre- and post-harvest losses still hinder Nepal’s nutrition-sensitive approaches.

Sujan Dhungel, senior monitoring and evaluation officer, presented a progress report on the state of anemia, stunting, and wasting. Within a five-year period, the prevalence of underweight decreased from 48 to 19 percent, child wasting decreased from 11.3 to eight percent, while anemia among children under the age of five decreased from 53 to 43 percent. 

Sachin Jain, Secretary Bikash Samiti of Madhya Pradesh in India, highlighted the significance of nutrition-sensitive micro planning and community engagement. He emphasized the importance of equal participation, prioritization, implementation, and continuity in the community. Project Coordinator of WHH Nepal, Deependra Chaudhary, shared insights on a behavioral change approach to address malnutrition, specifically discussing a successful 15-day nutrition camp that educated the community on health and nutrition.

In a panel discussion, Sabnam Shiwakoti, Joint Secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, identified weak strategic implementation, sectoral funding distribution, and inadequate reporting and monitoring as obstacles to improving nutritional security programs. Dr Dipika Agrahar, Principal Scientist at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), highlighted the lack of value placed on micronutrients in South Asia due to financial constraints.

The conference celebrated the collaborative multi-sectoral strategy called ‘Nutrition Smart Community,’ involving various stakeholders. It also resulted in new policies and recommendations to promote nutrition security in South Asian countries, taking into account the contextualized nutritional status of each country and the challenges discussed during the event.

A total of 22 rhinos died during the last fiscal year in Chitwan National Park.

Of them, two died due to poaching and 20 of natural causes.

A rhino and a calf were killed in early January by poachers at the Narayani River Bank in Madhyabindu Municipality-2, said information officer of the park, Ganesh Prasad Tiwari.

However, the number of rhinos dying due to natural causes has been decreasing. Altogether 43 rhinos had died due to natural causes in the fiscal year 2075/76.

This number decreased to 26 in the year 2076/77, 39 in 2077/78 and 35 in 2078/79.

According to the latest count, there are 694 rhinos in Chitwan National Park.

Bakhat Bahadur Thapa is a 58-year-old novelist who began writing at the age of 32. He has written several novels, including ‘Pardesh’, ‘Kuiro ra Kaag’, ‘Kaalchakra’, and ‘Jungey’. He has also penned three short story anthologies. Thapa is a computer hardware technician by profession. In Nepali literature, he has gained fame for his style of using technological expertise to portray societal themes. Babita Shrestha from ApEx spoke to Thapa about his experience as a novelist.

What made you want to write?

After finishing school, I went to India to acquire technical vocational skills. There I struggled a lot. Later, after my return to Nepal, I used to tell my friends about those days and they would listen to me with great interest. One of my friends happened to be a journalist at the time and he asked me to write some stories. That was the turning point for me to pursue a career in writing. But later I couldn’t get in touch with him so I published the work myself. That was how ‘Pardesh’ came out in 2001. 

How many books have you published so far?

My first book ‘Pardesh’ is centered on facts regarding the brain-drain in Nepal. It explores various psychological aspects as well as illustrates the plight of Nepalis living abroad. I then published ‘Kuiro ra Kaag’. It’s about polygamy in the western part of Nepal. Following that, I released ‘Kaalchakra’ in 2007. The novel subtly highlights the Maoist insurgency period while making references to the corruption, fraud, and slavery in Nepal. I published ‘Jungey’ in 2014 to reflect the political and economic situation in rural areas in Nepal. After three years, I released its sequel, ‘Jungey ko Diary.’ I authored ‘Deshan’ in 2021. It’s about an epidemic and environmental issues. Besides that, I have written three collections of short stories, including ‘Computer Aatanka’, ‘Sheershak Sangai Sarita’ and ‘Aaghat’.

Can you run us through your writing process?

The majority of storylines and events are inspired by incidents I experience. Turning many social situations into fiction, in my opinion, is the primary method of creating a novel. Take ‘Pardesh’ for instance. My experiences of traveling from Dailekh to Delhi, as well as my first encounter with electricity, trains, and electrical devices, have all been turned into a novel. Simple events establish a plot and I embellish it with words and my own sense of style. As I write, I also strive to balance the plot with themes, give the words a deep meaning, and use figurative and metaphorical language.

Being a novelist yourself, what sorts of novels do you enjoy the most? Are there any authors or novels that have had a significant impact on your writing?

For me, reading literature is about making room to educate, entertain, and inform oneself. So I like novels which embrace social issues, impart knowledge, and have logic. I enjoy narratives that are humorous. I’m passionate about reading. I became a fan of Diamond Sumsher Rana after reading ‘Seto Baag’. I also enjoy reading Maxim Gorky. He is another one of my favorite authors. What really impresses me about these author’s works is how well they portray the story while incorporating fresh vocabulary and deep implications.

What is the most rewarding aspect of being a novelist?

When people acknowledge me for my contributions, I consider that to be my greatest success. There was a time when I had to go to Tribhuvan University to fix a computer. The person I was supposed to meet didn’t recognize me at first but she later came up to me to ask if my stories were included in the Grade 12 curriculum. When I confirmed her suspicions, she told me that I was well-known throughout the institution. Hearing that was like music to my ears.

Thapa’s Picks

‘Alikhit’ by Dhruba Chandra Gautam

It’s Nepali fiction first published in 1983. It’s the story set in an unidentified village in the Tarai region of Nepal.

‘Aama’ by Maxim Gorky 

The Nepali translation of Mother by Maxim Gorky was published in 2018. It’s a story about the lower class women working in a Russian factory and it highlights the struggles and poverty of the society in the Russian Empire.