The 61st International Day for the Elimination of Caste Discrimination was celebrated in Nepalgunj with the slogan of effective mobilization of state structures for access to justice for the Dalit community. The day was celebrated on Saturday by organizing an interaction program with stakeholders under the auspices of the Women Empowerment Project of the Ministry of Social Development.

The stakeholders thanked the government for adopting the International Day for the Elimination of Caste Discrimination for the first time and organizing an interaction program with stakeholders. At the program, Lumbini Provincial Government Social Development Minister Janmajya Timilsina stated that ending caste discrimination is the government's primary agenda and said that legal provisions alone are not enough, but practical changes are necessary.

'It is not that change is not happening, there has been more change than before,' he said, 'We must stop thinking that we are weak. It is necessary to enter the arena of competition.' He also mentioned that the provincial government is moving towards building a discrimination-free society through inclusive policies, targeted programs and awareness-raising campaigns.

Rights activist Ishwori BK said that discrimination against Dalits and marginalized communities still persists at various levels of society and stressed the need for strict implementation of laws to end it.

Dalit Women's Association Banke President Nirmala Sunar presented the reality that women and Dalit communities face double discrimination and stressed the need to make empowerment programs more effective.

Rights activist Dil Bahadur Pariyar said that the role of education and awareness is important to remove discrimination rooted in the social structure and suggested that the implementation aspect should be strengthened as state policies and programs have not been able to effectively reach the target communities.

'Dalits do not have access to local government. There is a lot of politics there,' he said, 'The provincial government is beyond the reach of the people. That is why backward and marginalized communities like Dalits and the poor have still not been able to get their rights.'

Rights activist Bhim Nepali believed that the campaign against discrimination should be strengthened from the community level. ‘Political matters should be implemented,’ he said, ‘Article 40 of the Constitution should be implemented as soon as possible.’

Dalit rights activist Mohallal Sonkar said that it is necessary to bring the Madhesi community further forward. ‘Even within the Dalit community, the hill Dalits are a little ahead, while the Madhesi Dalits are still far behind,’ he said, ‘the provincial government needs to do the necessary work for this.’

The participants of the program emphasized that cooperation between the state, civil society, rights activists and the community is indispensable to translate the message of the 61st International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination into practice. They also emphasized the need to continue efforts to build a non-discriminatory, inclusive and just society.