The society, which has been actively organized since 2052, has complained that it has not been addressed yet despite continuously raising the demand for listing for the past 25 years.
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The marginalized Kirat Aathpahariya community residing here has drawn the government's attention by demanding that they be listed in the National Foundation for the Upliftment of Indigenous Peoples. The community submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister on Tuesday through the Chief District Officer of Dhankuta, saying that the state has not been sensitive to the demand they have been raising for a long time.
The Kirat Aathpahariya Society Central Committee sent the memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office through Dhankuta Chief District Officer Binod Kumar Khadka. The society, which has been actively involved since 2052 BS, has complained that the demand for listing has not been addressed so far.
According to Ashta Bahadur Aathpahariya, the central president of the society, the Aathpahariya community has complained that the state has not given official recognition to it despite having certified documents including its own language, costume, culture, tradition and script. 'We are a historically established community, but we are still being ignored by the state on the issue of identity,' he said.
Kirant Aathpahariya Samaj's founding president Dhruv Chhara commented that the state has neglected the Aathpahariya community, which has been living in the Dhankuta region since the unification of Nepal, by not listing it. He said that the historical geography of Aathpahariya, which is under the traditional 'Kipat' system, extends to 10 wards of the present-day Dhankuta Municipality.
Community member As Bahadur Aathpahariya stressed that since the Aathpahariya are a community with a distinct ethnic identity, they should be listed separately and not mixed with others. There are 19 castes within the Aathpahariya community, including Chhara, Hombarak, Kimdahang, Lengsuwa, and Pangsung.
Kirant Aathpahariya Samaj's central general secretary Komal Aathpahariya said that although the state has been practicing an inclusive policy, in practice some communities are still excluded. 'Our demand is not new, it is a matter of historical justice. The state should formally accept our identity without delay,' he said. He said that due to the lack of listing, the Aathpahariya community has been deprived of various social, educational and economic upliftment programs of the state.
