All children from Dum community at school at women’s initiatives

Lahan, July 28: There is a school some 200 metres ahead from Santosh Marik’s house at Diman VDC-1 but he never went to school. 
The 10-year-old boy, who had been supporting his father in making handicraft goods without going school for lack of awareness and disrespectful behavior in the society, has started going to school continuously for the past one year due to initiatives of local women. Another boy, Arjun Marik, 12, has never gone to school till the age of 12. 
Santosh and Arjun, who are fourth graders at a local Diman Secondary School, said that they have access to education due to local leading women. Not only Santosh and Arjun, all 12 children from the Dum community, deprived from education, are now enrolled in the school. 
Children from the Dum community still do not have access to education. Dum is considered as the lowest caste in the Dalit community. Women active in social sector said that they had to really work hard to convince the parents of these children to bring them to school. 
Jyoti Kumari Bhandari of Diman VDC-1 said that in the beginning, guardians from the Dum community did not allow their children to go to school, but have now agreed after the women exerted pressure by forming women group. 
She said, “It was very difficult in the beginning. But now the guardians have started sending their children to school continuously.” Now, guardians are excited after their children started going school. 
Locals said that the cases of caste discrimination are decreasing at the initiatives of women, associated with the Janajati Samajik Pariwar (Ethnic Social Family) formed at Diman-1 under the Empowerment Campaign run at the support of Overall Development Service Centre. 
Now, all women in the village are also leading social development and income generating works in the villages. Bhandari said, “Untouchability is a superstition. It will only hold back the human society from moving ahead.” 
Chairperson of the Pariwar and woman leader Chandan Devi Bhandari said, “In the beginning, we used to look down upon the women from Dum community due to ignorance. Now we all sit together and drink tea along with them.” 
Ranjana Yadav, a member of the Pariwar said they have now launched a campaign against caste discrimination and untouchability in the village after being aware that a legal action is taken against those involved in such activities. 
She said, “There is a settlement of Dum community near my house. Earlier, we did not establish any relations with them. Now, we are feeling like members of the same family after we started talking and living together.” 
Yadav further said that they share feelings with each other and the village has been developing gradually. 
The women from the Dum community, also having poor financial status, have been involved in income-generating works by forming women group. The women, who suffered from pain of discrimination and superstition, are now happy after participating in development activities of the VDC. 
Urmila Devi Marik (Dum) said, “Being humans, we were isolated from society; now, we are happy as we all Dalits and non-Dalits live together.” 
Out of 21 members associated to the Pariwar, eight are from the Dalit community. Every member in the Pariwar deposits Rs 50 every month and they invest the amount in income-generating activities like animal husbandry, vegetable farming after taking loan on one per cent interest. 
Dalit leader and Dum Upliftment Society Chairman, Yuktilal Marik, said, “The campaign against untouchability launched by non-Dalit community at a time when the caste discrimination between non-Dalit and Dalit communities has not been completely wiped out from the country, should be appreciated and supported by all.” 
Marik said the society should move ahead by learning the historic and courageous step of the not-Dalit women. 
Leaders said that evils and aberrations taking place in the society would be ended and the country would move ahead towards the path of development if non-Dalits moved ahead taking the Dalit community together. RSS