The state has enacted various laws for stamping out caste discrimination and the practice of 'untouchability', but many cross-caste marriage couples are compelled to be displaced due to the weak implementation of these laws. Couples who defied the caste barriers and had the guts to tie the knot with a man or a woman from the so-called 'lower' caste have been displaced from home in Bhairahawa, Saptari, Myagdi, Baglung, Kalikot and Kavre districts as the government has not been able enforce these laws strictly. For instance, Laxman Pariyar of Palpa who eloped with a woman from the so-called 'upper caste' four years ago has not been able to go back home for fear of retribution from his in-laws. He and his wife are staying in Kathmandu operating a tailoring shop. Pariyar said that he has been receiving death threats on the phone if he returned home. On top of this, Pariyar has not been able to take the allowance that the government has been providing to the inter-caste marriage couples as an incentive due to the administrative hassles. Such couples are provided an allowance of 100 thousand rupees. Suman BK of Myagdi district who also married a girl from the so-called upper caste one year ago has similar experience. BK who has been living in Anamnagar since a year has not been able to go home due to the threat he faces from his in-laws side. He came to Kathmandu after he was expelled from his village for marrying a woman from the 'upper caste'. Dalit leader and President of Samata Foundation, Padam Sundas said that more and more inter-caste marriage couples are becoming displaced as the government has not enforced the Caste Discrimination and Practice of Untouchability (Crime and Punishment) Act, 2068 effectively. He called for special programmes for increasing the access of the Dalits to justice and ensuring their rights. Dalit rights activist Deepak Pariyar stressed the need for incorporating strict provisions in the Caste Discrimination and Practice of Untouchability (Crime and Punishment) Act, 2068 and for protecting the witnesses and the victims. A study on the status of caste discrimination in the country carried out by the Jagaran Media Centre shows that the rate of rejection of inter-caste marriage and excesses to inter-caste couples by society stands at 29 per cent. RSS
