Dalit Lives Matter Global Alliance

Dalit Lives Matter is a leading social movement dedicated to ending caste-based inequality and advancing the fundamental rights and dignity of Dalit communities. By fostering strategic local, regional, and global alliances, the movement seeks to collectively dismantle the systemic injustices historically faced by Dalits. In Nepal, the Dalit Lives Matter Global Alliance (DLMGA) serves as the movement’s vanguard and implements intersectional framework-based programming anchored in inclusivity, participation,,and a people-centered ethos.

DLMGA's mission is to initiate and amplify the efforts towards a just, equitable, inclusive, and diverse society by creating knowledge, strengthening leadership, supporting networks, building alliances, inspiring people, and celebrating multiculturalism to bridge the divides and achieve dignified lives.

DLMGA aspires to:

Strengthen the struggles and movements of socially excluded communities – Dalits, Indigenous, LGBTQI+, and marginalized groups

Promote, Engage, and Engender inclusive leadership

Equip stakeholders with the necessary knowledge, research, and documentation

Engage civil society, community-based organizations, and networks to bridge the divides

Promote people-centric narratives and initiatives through mediums of expression and creativity

Activities:

Paint the Revolution is an expressive but creative agitation against division, discrimination and distrust carefully crafted in solidarity with grassroots movements through the promotion of local knowledge and cultural heritage. Through Paint the Revolution, DLMGA engages with artistes around the world to create thought provoking art and performance that amplifies community resistance and resilience against (caste) inequality, injustice and indignity. In the last two editions, over 50 artists and activists created over 15 mural paintings, and wheat paste in different locations across Nepal. These artworks have been exhibited in different national and international forums such as the World Social Forum, Nepal Social Work Symposium, One-Day Feminist Conference, and many more. These impactful visuals gained significant attention and were also featured on the BBC and other national media.

DLMGA convened Diversity Carnival: vividhatako utsav 2025 to celebrate youth power and diversity; marking the International Youth Day 2025. The one-day youth assembly united young people from diverse backgrounds across Nepal to collaboratively address the intertwined challenges of diversity, equity and inclusion across intersections of caste, gender and climate justice. The innovative approach integrated dialogue, creativity, and collective action, providing a unique platform for youth from diverse background to delve into the issues that matters the most to them all the while putting in collective efforts to find actionable solutions.

Justice Summit 2025 is a platform for transformative dialogue, bringing together lawmakers, legal practitioners, experts, and civic actors to address deep-rooted issues of systemic discrimination and exclusion. The summit focuses on three important topics: Constitution, Federalism and Electoral System for Inclusion and Development - Allyship beyond Caste: Defending Rights, Justice and Dignity, and

Justice and UPs: Dalit Women.

Caste Conversation is a safe space to hold constructive dialogue on the caste system, its experience and intersections aimed at addressing the systemic, social, and personal impacts of caste-based discrimination and inequality. This conversation pioneers a critical role in educating, engaging, and inspiring people toward collective action against caste-based inequality, indignity and injustice by amplifying people-centered narratives that challenge and deprecate harmful practices based on caste system. It promotes a deeper understanding of caste experience and instigates critical thinking by encouraging audience to self-interrogate their privilege and disadvantages as a direct result of their caste identity.

The first iteration of Caste Conversation brought together global activists and advocates to share their experiences and discuss the challenges in combating the caste system. Over 14 insightful episodes, experts delved into a wide array of topics, such as the intersection of caste with gender and queerness, the critical role of reservation, the political economy of caste and gender, and much more. Second Iteration – The first of the talk series in 2023 featured renowned scholar and activist Dr. Suraj Yengde, author of the bestseller Caste Matters and a Harvard Du Bois fellow. Dr. Yengde shared profound insights on caste dynamics, drawing from his research and experiences to highlight the complex intersections of caste with social and political life. In 2025, Mr. Bezwada Wilson, Ramon Magsaysay 2016 awardee and a celebrated Indian activist and the National Convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) shared his learning from the experience of building a movement of sanitation workers in India with Nepali youth. The third iteration of Caste Conversation culminated into a 12-episode national broadcast and engaged 84 young people aged 18-30 years representing diverse caste, gender, geography, physical abilities, and profession to openly discuss the caste and its intersections including gender, wellbeing, and climate change.

Structural Transformation against Racism, Inequality, and Discrimination: Exemplars in Global Health (STRIDE) is a collaborative global research initiative that aims to identify settings that have been exemplary in reducing health inequities driven by racism and structural discrimination among marginalized and underrepresented populations. Conceptualized and supported by the O’Neill–Lancet Commission on Racism, Structural Discrimination, and Global Health, in partnership with Exemplars in Global Health, the study is being implemented across multiple countries, including Nepal, Bolivia, Brazil, and Kenya. McGill University (Canada) and the O’Neill Institute at Georgetown University serve as cross-site research partners, supporting methodological rigor and comparative learning across contexts.

In Nepal, the qualitative study is led by DLMGA and focuses on identifying health system practices that have demonstrated exceptional progress in improving maternal health outcomes among Dalit communities in Madhesh Province. The study examines three key maternal health exemplars: Antenatal Care (ANC), Postnatal Care (PNC), and Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA), using a qualitative research design across six districts. Data collection includes 20 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 30 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), alongside concurrent literature and policy reviews. The expected outcomes of the study include evidence-based documentation of effective caste-sensitive health equity strategies, actionable policy recommendations for national replication, a deeper understanding of intersectionality in health service delivery, and strengthened capacity for inclusive and equitable health governance.

Under DLMGA initiatives, a platform titled “Asian Sanitation Workers” was convened, bringing together workers, activists, journalists, and human rights defenders from across Asia. Participants from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and South Korea shared the situation of sanitation work and workers in their respective countries. The platform highlighted that sanitation work is not merely a labor issue, but one intrinsically linked to caste, class, and descent-based discrimination.

Immediate Plan:

DLMGA is launching Nepal’s first wellbeing support system to build resilience against the trauma of caste-based experiences.

Future Plan:

Advocacy for Human Rights and Justice

Creating Next-Generation Leaders

Advocacy for Social, Political, and Economic Rights

Advocacy for UN recognition of Casteism

Knowledge production and dissemination

A safe house for the survivors of caste-based violence