Nepal, March 12 -- Once, a Dalit scholar in India said that whenever he heard about an obese or a diabetic among fellow Dalits, he felt happy. The news implied that the person didn't have to be engaged in exploitative labour-cleaning a sewer, mending shoes or carrying bricks on a construction site in the sweltering heat or shivering cold-to eat bellyful on a regular basis. Once freedom from hunger was assured, eating well would follow and the person would learn to be careful about preventable diseases. I discovered the uplifting aspect of negative news last week.

On March 7, 2025, a bold headline on the front page of this newspaper's sister publication in Nepali-Kantipur Daily-caught my eye. Roughly translated, the header said: "A Madhes...