‘Dalit’ kids getting normal names (Republica (Nepal))
“In recent times, the Dalit community has started giving children normal names as opposed to past practice of giving kids odd names so that the names did not match with those of people belonging to higher castes.
“The recent political changes and the ensuing social changes have emboldened the community to give kids normal names.
“‘In the past, priests themselves did not give good names to our children,’ said Chokat Majhi, son of Aghan Majhi of Chorni-7, Parsa. ‘But I named my daughter Pooja,’ he added. Pooja, who is a nursery student, is very happy with her name, he further said.
“Many children who were given odd names are too ashamed to tell their names to people, said Matar Majhi. ‘My father´s name was Tula. But I names my son Raju,’ he added.
Dasai Chaudhary of Bakuliya, Bara, said the Dalit children, in the past, were named according to their color, build, month of birth, day of birth, or behavior.
India Dalit boy ‘killed over high-caste man's name’ (BBC News, December 2, 2011)
“A low-caste Dalit boy has been killed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh for sharing a name with a man of a higher caste, police say. [...]
“Mr Chaudhary, who belongs to a higher caste, had given several warnings to Mr Sumer to change the names of his boys.
“On 22 November, Neeraj left home after dinner to watch television at a friend's house. His body was found the next day.
“Police said he was strangled.”
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