Methodologies for New Histories: Diwas Raja Kc Discusses Dalit: A Quest for Dignity

The end pages of Dalit: A Quest for Dignity (photo.circle and Nepal Picture Library, 2018) present scenes charged with resistance. Uma Devi Badi's historic "petticoat protest" in 2007 revealed the state's apathy to the plight of women in the Badi community in Nepal. In stark terms, they are relegated to prostitution, forced to endure untouchability and lack any kind of infrastructural support. Attempting to climb the gates of the government, Uma Devi is caught on camera as security personnel withhold her. The images presented are powerful—a culmination of weeks of peaceful protests by over 500 persons from the Badi community which went unheard—and a clear statement of the publication's intent: the photobook as a site for reckonings.

In this first part, of a two-part conversation, Diwas Raja Kc, Lead Researcher at Nepal Picture Library (NPL) discusses the methodological concerns, ideas and frameworks which shaped the development of Dalit: A Quest for Dignity, a volume he edited. This bilingual publication traced the histories, struggles and triumphs of Dalit persons and communities in Nepal through photography collections, journalistic documentation and archival matter. Diwas discusses the book's mandate of moving beyond the narrative of economic destitution towards understanding the reclamation of the labour, art and traditions of Dalit persons; and the challenges of negotiating an "image world" that reproduces social hierarchies.

Diwas Raja Kc is a researcher, writer and curator based in Kathmandu. At NPL, he works on building visual archives and presenting documentary images of historically obscured subjects. Besides the exhibition and publication on Dalit: A Quest for Dignity, Diwas has worked on various archival projects at NPL, notably the Feminist Memory Project and Indigenous Pasts, Sustainable Futures. He is also a documentary film editor and has worked with several renowned artists and visual anthropologists.

_{(Featured Image: Uma Devi Badi’s Petticoat Protest. Kathmandu, 2007. Jagaran Media Center. Courtesy of Nepal Picture Library.)}

Interview with Arushi Vats, 24th Feb 2021.

Watch the second part of this conversation here.