According to a report released by the National Human Rights Commission last week, there are 112 prisoners, both men and women, from the Chepang community in 12 prisons across the country.
What you should know
Youth from the Chepang community, who are extremely marginalized due to poverty, have been found to be exploited by drug traffickers and poachers.
Drug dealers and poachers have been using Chepang youth as porters. 112 Chepang youth are serving their sentences in various prisons on charges of drug and wildlife-related crimes.
According to a report released by the National Human Rights Commission last week, there are 112 Chepang prisoners, both men and women, in 12 prisons across the country. According to the report presented by the commission's officer Kiran Baram, there are 41 Chepang prisoners in Chitwan Prison, 40 in Makawanpur's Bhimphedi Regional Prison, 9 in Dhading Prison, and 7 in Nuwakot Prison.
4 Chepang youths are serving their sentences in Bhadragol Jail in Kathmandu, 4 in Birgunj Jail in Parsa, 3 in Nakkhu Jail in Lalitpur and 1 each in Rupandehi, Syangja and Rasuwa Jails on charges of drug trafficking and rhino killing. The report made public by the commission states that 17 Chepang youths are serving their sentences in Chitwan Jail on charges of rhino killing alone.
Drug and opium smugglers have arrested Chepang youths while they are being taken to India by the police. The commission's report states that they are forced to carry drugs due to poverty when they are offered good wages for carrying opium and marijuana.
The Chepang community is involved in illegal activities including drug trafficking and poaching as porters, according to the commission's report. Of the Chepang community prisoners in prison, 33 percent are on drug and 24 percent on forest-related cases. The conflict between the national park and the Chepang community has been ongoing for a long time. The report of the commission states that the Chepang community is in a situation where they are forced to live on public land and are not even receiving compensation for the animals they have brought.
The report made public by the commission after conducting field studies in four districts states that only 90 percent of children from the Chepang community enroll in school and more than 20 percent of children drop out. The report also states that child marriage is prevalent among the Chepang community.
The Chepang community is located in 26 districts of Nepal. According to the 2078 census, the population of the Chepang community in Nepal is 84,364. The population of Chepang is 35,637 in Chitwan, 23,650 in Makawanpur, 17,160 in Dhading, and 4,268 in Gorkha.
Only 39 percent of the Chepang community is literate. The female literacy rate is only 15 percent. Even now, about 10 percent of Chepangs are without citizenship. About 25 percent of Chepang families do not have a single piece of land in their name. Even the khoriya that has been irrigated and cultivated with their blood and sweat for a long time is not in their name. Not only that, they do not own the land occupied by the huts that block the sun and rain. Govindaram Chepang, president of the Nepal Chepang Association, said, “More than 25 percent of Chepangs are in a state of squatter.”
The Chepangs, whose lifestyle is based on natural resources, are facing a crisis in their identity due to natural exploitation. The commission has suggested that the government should run integrated mobile camps to provide citizenship and birth registration certificates to the Chepang community.
The Chepang community, who are far from the minimum basic needs, have not been able to experience democracy in their own homes and lives, said Santa Bahadur Chepang, a leader of the Chepang community and former Minister of State for Bagmati Province.
