AUTHOR: Dr. Amit Kumar Sakha,PhD

(Dental Assistant)

Introduction:

The Musahars are indigenous cast of the Eastern Terai mainly survive in Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Mahottari, and Dhanusha district. Musahars are the Terai Dalit community living in plain areas; basically Southern part of Nepal. Majority is living in government land and worked as a wage labor to sustain their life.They have their own culture and traditions. Their name itself, Musahar or eater of rats, alludes to their position within society. Musahars are basically came from India. They are brought in Nepal by rich land lords for their farm work and housework. In the 2011 census, Musahars were the second to last in terms of literacy with a rate of just around 20 percent, after the Dom community. A vast majority of the community is landless and they are still victims of untouchability and ethnic discrimination. Across the border in India, things are marginally better for Musahars. Although they still face discrimination, they have been able to access assistance from the state government. In Nepal, Musahars face difficulty even obtaining citizenship cards.

Socioeconomic Status:

The Mushar community primarily mainly works in agriculture. But a decline in agricultural work in Nepal and Bihar has led them to migrate elsewhere for work. Despite facing problems in education, health, employment, and access to justice, Nepali Musahars have begun migrating to Qatar, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia for employment. Musahar children also work in the labour markets of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Calcutta. Similarly, many Indian Musahars come to Nepal for work, finding jobs as daily wage labourers and in brick factories. Their landless situation combined with poor education (7.3% literacy; less than 50% of primary-age children in school) have traditionally forced these Tarai Dalits* to be farm labourers, accepting very low wages due to their poor bargaining position. They depended on seasonal agricultural work and seasonal migration, with children working to contribute to the family income. They don’t  have a reliable regular source of income and there were no reserves for hard times. The study found that educational status of Musahar community was very poor because still 93.8% people could not read and write. There was improvement in use of toilet by 47.3% (before 15 years 85.8% had no toilet but now 38.5% had no toilet) though still 38.5% households are doing open defecation which should be strictly restricted because it is hazardous for the health and environment. The people from Musahar community are economically very poor, socially disadvantaged and politically back warded. They are bound to live separately in such a way that they are the living things from outer world. They cannot participate together in cultural and religious function with so called upper class. They cannot collect water together, not allow to eat together and even not allow to enter in the house of upper class.

Oral Health Status and NDSHA Activities:

There is no any single study of oral health related on Musahar community in Nepal.  According to field visit, they are not interested on brushing teeth and maintaining oral health. Some people use Datiwan for daily cleaning their teeth. They are not literate about oral hygiene and healthy food.  When the NDSHA team distributes free brush and paste on the occasion of World Oral Health Day 2024, March 20, they were interested on it.  NDSHA team teaches them how to brush in proper way and how to take care of oral hygiene in local way.   

Conclusion:

Musahar are the deprived from the various development activities due to their weak socio-economic status.The socio-economic situation of Mushar is depended on the access of land and opportunities of job holding of Mushar community people. Generally, the Mushrs who lack access to land and other non-farm employment opportunities away from the village economy occupy the lowest economic position. Mushars have their own identity. Though poor in economy, they are rich in their culture and custom. They are physically strong and motivated people. There should be some initiation from private & government sector for improvement for their oral health. Free dental camp and awareness program should be launched in near future. Researchers and scholars should be study in proper manner for improving Musahar’s livelihood.