Marginalised Dalits in International Labour Migration: Reconfiguring Economic and Social Relations in Nepal

Abstract

International labour migration continues to rise in Nepal affecting the livelihoods of many people. In this article, I draw on ethnographic research with Dalits, a marginalised group, to examine the role of international labour migration in altering migrants' economic and social space in their places of origin, once affected by Maoists' ‘people's war’. In particular, I explore how Dalits have used their agency to contest caste institutions by mobilising financial, human and symbolic capitals accumulated through migration. Much of the existing studies highlight the economic side of migration paying little attention to the social and cultural dimension. This article seeks to complement these analyses by illustrating how Dalits repudiate caste relations that have shaped their experiences of exploitation and domination.

Keywords:

• Caste
• Dalit
• Labour Migration
• Nepal
• Resistance

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Kumar Darjee for his intellectual company and assistance during the fieldwork. I am thankful to the research participants for sharing their experiences of living in a caste society in rural Nepal, where I also grew up with similar experiences. I am grateful to the three anonymous reviewers for comments and suggestions. Thanks to Prof. Katsuo Nawa, Prof. Tatsuro Fujikura, Dr Megan Poore, Monira Ahsan, Anupama Mahat, Trixie Tangit and Jyotsna Tamang for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article. Of course, any errors remain my own.

Notes

[1] Dalit’ is a collective noun for people who were called ‘untouchables’ and have long been marginalised and excluded on the basis of caste hierarchy nurtured in Hindu religion. The population of Dalit in Nepal is about 3.7 million (approx. 14% of the total).

[2] I have disguised the real names of places and peoples throughout the article to ensure their anonymity.

[3] There are different lower castes that represent Dalit in Nepal but only Pariyars are living in Kuka. Since Damai sounds derogatory, they wanted to be identified as Pariyars.