To Belong: An intimate self-portrait of the life of a Dalit in Nepal

‘Do the gods also discriminate?’, asks Kumar Darnal in To Belong. The film is an intimate self-portrait of the life of a Dalit in Nepal. Dalits or ‘untouchables’ are members of the lowest level of the Hindu caste system, which, despite being legally prohibited in Nepal, continues to affect the daily lives and structural socioeconomic advantage of Dalits.  

Self-filmed during a Covid-19 lockdown – during which instances of caste-based discrimination rose by 50 per cent in Nepal – Kumar shows us scenes from his daily life as he reflects on a life affected by caste-based discrimination. 

As we watch Kumar and his family farm around their home and spend time together, Kumar relates early experiences of discrimination that eventually led him to convert from Hinduism to Christianity – a religion with no concept of caste or ‘untouchability’.  

Christianity is the fastest-growing religion in Nepal, with 65 per cent of its converts being from the Dalit community. Though this ameliorated a sense of exclusion from the Hindu faith, conversion is not without its own consequences; his parents were disowned by relatives for practising a foreign religion, and Kumar, although pleased to have found a God that doesn’t discriminate, feels that ‘wherever I go my fate follows me’. 

To Belong was filmed by Kumar Darnal and produced by Shailendra D. Karki and Amy Benson.