A Nepali social activist who was awarded a prestigious anti-slavery award for his contribution in rehabilitating bonded labourers was arrested here Tuesday for leading a protest march.Dilli Chaudhury, honoured by the London-based Anti-Slavery International with its Anti-Slavery Award for fighting to get minimum wages for Nepal's kamaiyas or bonded labourers, was arrested while attempting to stage a protest in front of Singh Durbar - the seat of the government where parliament, the prime minister's office and the key ministries are located.
Along with Chaudhary, often called the Abe Lincoln of Nepal for his campaign against slavery, nearly 100 freed kamaiyas were also arrested from the demonstration.
Kamaiyas are agriculture workers who belong to the Tharu community, one of the most underprivileged sections in Nepal. Once owners of their own land in the terai plains, they were ousted in the 1960s when the malaria eradication programme began, and became virtual slaves, working for 18 to 20 hours for the landlords who had upstaged them.
Though Nepal abolished the kamaiya system in 2000, it is still in practice, as the freed "slaves" have no means of livelihood. Despite promising them land, a succession of governments, including King Gyanendra's regime that came to power last year through a coup, disregarded their pledge.
In 1991, after a democracy movement had ended the absolute power of the Shah kings, Chaudhury formed the Backward Society Education (BASE) in Dang district in mid-west Nepal. It started with a movement in five villages, where the labourers refused to work for the landlord unless they were paid Nepali Rs.50 a day.
On May 1, 2000 - International Labour Day - BASE launched a series of demonstrations, including protests before parliament here, leading the government to abolish the system.
"In spite of this, thousands of kamaiya continue to be enslaved as bonded labour," Chaudhary said in his acceptance speech before the Anti-Slavery International. "The landlords who keep them must be punished as required by law."
BASE plans to take such landlords to court and is also striving to get basic education and healthcare for the thousands of kamaiyas who have no identity cards and live in shanties.
"Human beings are born free, they die free and they should have the right to live free," is Chaudhary's watchword. (IANS)
