Marginalised Dalits in International Labour Migration: Reconfiguring Economic and Social Relations in Nepal

Abstract

International labour migration continues to rise in Nepal affecting the livelihoods of many people. In this article, I draw on ethnographic research with Dalits, a marginalised group, to examine the role of international labour migration in altering migrants' economic and social space in their places of origin, once affected by Maoists' ‘people's war’. In particular, I explore how Dalits have used their agency to contest caste institutions by mobilising financial, human and symbolic capitals accumulated through migration. Much of the existing studies highlight the economic side of migration paying little attention to the social and cultural dimension. This article seeks to complement these analyses by illustrating how Dalits repudiate caste relations that have shaped their experiences of exploitation and domination.