December 5, 2023, will be marked as a glorious day in the history of the Dalit struggle for freedom. As an editorial of The Kathmandu Post stated on December 7, the “court kindled hope” of social justice for many poor Dalits and other marginalised groups.

Justice Khadga Bahadur KC of the West Rukum District Court defied all suspicions and sentenced to life the 23 “upper caste” people found guilty of lynching Nabaraj Bishwakarma and five of his friends as BK had allegedly attempted to elope with his “upper-caste” girlfriend in May 2020. The girl and two others involved were also fined and jailed for two years for their crime of practising caste discrimination.

In fact, this is just one among many violent crimes perpetually committed against the so-called “low caste” across the country, mainly for their infringement of the traditional caste laws. Dalits are frequently humiliated, physically attacked and maimed. Additionally, Dalit women are violated and raped, if not killed. No Dalit or their property is safe in a society defined by caste hierarchy.

What’s more, just a few crimes impelled by caste hatred are picked up by the national media. Even the grievous incidents involving the torture and murder of innocent Dalits fail to ruffle the feathers of our communities. Very few cases of caste violence are taken to court, and hardly any criminal is punished.

Fear, anger and distress have been the way of life for most Dalits, even in today’s so-called secular democratic republic. All these adjectives are hollow in the everyday experience of the oppressed folks.

In most instances, leaders and influential members of political parties misuse their powers to derail the legal process and protect the “upper caste” criminals. Besides, many police officers, lawyers and judges believe in caste hierarchy, and they consciously or unconsciously normalise caste violence.

Dramatically, though, the Soti murder case became quite an infamous and iconic one. It untypically drew the attention of not just the national but also international media. The BBC, The Guardian, and The Independent, among others, published the horrifying story.

International human rights groups, including the UN, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, condemned the merciless bloodshed of innocent young men and called for justice for them. I am sure international pressure also helped deliver justice to the victims.

Finally, justice was established, albeit after much delay. The case was sub-judice for three and a half years. Most judges there refused to finalise the case, mainly due to tremendous political pressure. It was common knowledge that the powers that be were doing everything they could to set the criminals free.

Much of the pressure to deny justice to Dalit victims and their two non-Dalit friends came from the CPN (Maoist). The killers included the ward chairman from the Maoist party and his relatives. Many people suspected that these individuals were being protected by Janardan Sharma, a senior Maoist figure and local parliamentarian. He drew the ire of the Dalits by stating in Parliament that the victims had just died from drowning in the Bheri River (and thus not due to the attacks from the villagers).

I visited Nabaraj BK’s home and met the families and kin of most victims in Jajarkot two and half years ago, where I found simmering anger, deep frustration and hopelessness. Bishwakarma’s parents were still so traumatised and distressed by the brutal murder of their only child that they intended to kill the main culprits should the court release them.

Though unable to launch a sustained political campaign for justice, the Dalit community generally was enraged about the Soti murders, especially the political protection offered to the then-accused. So much so that the Soti murders became a defining case of the relations between the state and Dalits. Social media was rife with Dalit calls to arms. Some even intended to form armed outfits to fight for justice should the criminals walk scott-free.

The largely unexpected and landmark court verdict in West Rukum has alleviated Dalit distress and anxiety to a degree. This has provided some hope to the hopeless. It appears justice is not completely dead for us after all! But it is too early to celebrate. Dalits should not lose sight of the fact that this is just one successful treatment of the symptoms of the disease. The actual disease has yet to be controlled and caste viruses killed.

It is time the mainstream Dalit movement woke up to the fact that caste discrimination, including caste violence, is not just a legal issue. The lack of enforcement of anti-caste law is part of the problem, but not the whole problem. In essence, as I have been stressing for a few years now, caste discrimination is a religious and cultural matter. Religious texts and traditions are the taproot of the problem, and this reality should not be overlooked.

I am sure most of the attackers involved in the Soti murders were cognisant of the principle of human equality and dignity. They also knew about anti-caste discrimination legislation. Still, they became furious when a blacksmith boy dared to marry their daughter or sister. The underlying causes are religious beliefs and cultural practices. Nabaraj Bishwakarma and his friends were victims of a kind of honour killing. The upper caste villagers wanted to preserve their prestige and honour—and to please their gods—by resorting to violence.

Some verses of the Manusmriti clearly dictate that if any man from the Shudra (impure or low caste) community has a relationship with a woman from the high caste, his reproductive organs should be destroyed, he should be killed, and his property confiscated. Any marital relations with a lower caste people is considered so inauspicious and impure and degrading that it prevents one from going to heaven after death.

Angry Thakuris from Soti attacked Nabaraj Bishwakarma not because they did not like him as a person but because his interest in marrying their woman was perceived as offensive to their lineage deities and other gods. When offended, these deities would cause much death and destruction in the concerned family and community. Thus, aside from the loss of prestige and honour in society, the young woman’s family would be inviting the wrath of the gods if they allowed her to marry the Shudra man. Thus, the horrific public lynching of Nabaraj and his mates was a preventive strike.

Dalits should understand the principal source of caste hatred and bigotry and act accordingly. Importantly, they should apply pressure on the state to change things. Unless the state reforms the Hindu religion and culture and removes its casteist elements, no amount of prison sentences will change society and ensure human dignity and equality.