Nepal, April 27 -- One of the prominent news headlines in recent days has been the suspected custodial death of a young Dalit man in Sindhupalchok district, which has been linked to his inter-caste marriage. The police claim that it was a suicide, whereas the deceased's family and Dalit activists allege that the police murdered him in custody, under the influence of the girl's family.

I argue that the suspected police crime and the events that have followed are a lens to understand the persistent apathy of the state, of the newly elected Rastriya Swatantra Party government in particular, towards Dalit suffering. Furthermore, one can discern how shallow the Dalit movement itself has become.

What happened?

Shreekrishna Bishwakarma of Sin...