Nepal, Feb. 18 -- On February 4, 2025, Naya Patrika daily published a front-page report that angered the Dalit community and unsettled, to some extent, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Police Chief Basanta Bahadur Kunwar and perhaps the entire government and police force.

The report was entitled "Excesses on a Dalit youth for marrying inter-caste under instructions from the Home Minister". It was a story of the long and incredible suffering of the lovers Satyendra Ram (a Chamar man) and Neha Rauniyar from Sarlahi district due to the allegedly irresponsible and illegal actions of the police officers.

The issue has been debated to a degree in the federal Parliament. Some Dalit activists, including ourselves, have protested on the streets and ...