http://www.advocacynet.org/cpage_view/DalitIssues_dalit_59_396.html
Dalit
student thrown out of his rented house
By the Jagaran
Media Center
Shalik Ram
Kharel threw Binod Pariyar of Bulingtar VDC - 3 of Nawalparasi district
out of
his house after he found out that Binod was a Dalit boy.
Pariyar had
rented a room at Kharel’s house situated near Janaki Higher Secondary
School of
Gaindakot to sit the upcoming SLC examinations. Binod and his friend
Prakash
Giri rented the room on 13 February 2006 for two months.
However,
after 13 days, Kharel asked both students to leave his room. Kharel is
an
accountant at the Janaki
Higher Secondary School .
Later Binod
moved to the house of Om Bahadur Pun. According to Binod, Kharel
confessed that
his parents do not accept even the food he serves.
However
Prakash Giri said Kharel threatened him, accusing him of bringing a
Dalit boy
to his house without prior information.
This was
the information that Binod faxed Jagaran Media Center (JMC) Central
Office at Kathmandu. JMC District
Reporter for Nawalparasi, Shivaji
Gayak, was then informed of the case and Gayak took the responsibility
to look
after the case.
Working
with the JMC district reporter, Binod organized a press conference on
13 March
2006 to publicize this incident. During the press conference Kharel
said the
incident happened because of his wife. While the principal of the Janaki Higher Secondary
School
condemned the incident saying the it was unimaginable.
After the
press conference, the news was highly covered by local as well as
national
media. Having seen the story in Kantipur Daily, Mr. Mohan Bahadur Mahat
of Kathmandu offered Rs. 5,000 (Five
Thousand) to Binod to
continue his education via the reporter of Kantipur Daily.
Still, many
Dalit students disguise their real identity when house owners question
them
about their caste before providing rooms.