1. On March 9, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) issued its Concluding Observations regarding India’s compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Committee’s report found that “de facto segregation of Dalits persists” and highlighted systematic abuse against Dalits including torture and extrajudicial killings, an “alarming” extent of sexual violence against Dalit women, and caste discrimination in post-tsunami relief.
The report also documents routine violations of Dalits’ right to life and security of person through state-sponsored or sanctioned acts of violence, including torture. Dalit women face multiple forms of discrimination and are frequent targets of sexual abuse. State and private actors enjoy virtual impunity for these crimes.
2. New York-based Human Rights Watch said more than 165 million Dalits -- once known as untouchables -- were "condemned to a lifetime of abuse simply because of their caste".
"Dalits endure segregation in housing, schools, and access to public services," the report titled "Hidden Apartheid: Caste Discrimination against India's Untouchables" said "They are denied access to land, forced to work in degrading conditions and routinely abused at the hands of the police and upper-caste community members who enjoy the state's protection."
The report detailed specific instances of abuse. It said Dalits were still forced to perform jobs considered too "polluting" for others -- 1.3 million dalits, mostly women, were employed to remove human waste from pit latrines manually.
Dalits make up around 160 million of mainly Hindu India's 1.1-billion population.
… by Reuters
3. Presently in India, more than 70% of Christians are Dalits. – Outlook, India
Why is it that India doesn’t seem to bother about an issue, which even international communities have pointed fingers to?
We may ask, of course to America if they forgot the horrible treatment they meted out to their Black slaves! And look at the condition of their own poor black people today, as seen recently during the New Orleans Katrina cyclone.
But, let’s put that question aside. I don’t believe that since America did something wrong once, we can still continue doing that. For that matter, they, as a nation had accepted this as a problem, and had put in laws and legislations to stop or fight the issue.
So, what does India do? They brush the subject and push it below the Kashmiri carpet in a cozy air-conditioned living room of a healthy wealthy socialite.
And why am I bothered? As I wrote in my last post, I love my India…but I don’t see it shining.
Ok, so let’s read this:
1. The Indian Express on 27th March 2007 reports – “A Dalit village in Tirunelveli (TN) got restoration of bus service after 11 years, thanks to the Madras High Court’s order which also directed the police to give adequate protection for operating the buses.”
2. "The Dalit is not only forbidden to enter the home of a Brahmin but he must also not draw water from the same well, nor eat from the same pot or plate. He must not glance at or allow his shadow to fall on the Brahmin. All these acts will pollute the 'pure' Brahmin. The Dalit 'is not only Untouchable, but also Unseeable, Unapproachable, Unshadowable and even Unthinkable', writes by V.T. Rajshekar in his book DALIT: THE BLACK UNTOUCHABLES OF INDIA.
(V.T. RAJSHEKAR is recognized worldwide as one of India's foremost human rights activists and a spokesperson for the Indian Dalits)
Let me give you a personal example:
I was a guest with a family in Vizag (rated one of the up-coming cities in India). There the utensils are washed by a maid, but someone from the house puts them in a small little place away from the house, where the maid is allowed to come, sit and do the cleaning. After that, she puts them in a big container and leaves that near the kitchen door (outside the house). Now, the lady of the house will take a bucket of water and throw that into the container containing the cleaned utensils. After she is sure that the utensils are now purified, she then takes the container inside.
The maid is never allowed to enter the house, and she literally catches the food at the end of her work, which is thrown to her from the kitchen door by my hostess.
After seeing this for a couple of days, I asked the lady of the house why she did that. Not only was she very surprised with my question, she also thought I came from an uncultured family without proper values.
Just to note here, the 3 children that this lady has, one is a school principal, the second works with IBM and the 3rd is a Major with the Indian Army. And no one seems to have any problem with this exercise going on since ever.
I have a few questions.
1. What is it that we, the ‘enlightened, knowledgeable’ ones, the so-called Future of India, the ones who are aware of all our democratic rights, doing about it?
2. Why is it that 70% of dalits are Christians? Is it because Hinduism is too insensitive, or that Christianity too accommodating?
3. Is this issue less important than say a Nandigram, or a Puducherry?
4. Or, are we all those real son-of-a- …. who pretend to be concerned but at the same time cannot think of letting go the comfort of having someone cleaning our shits?
I know no one would be comfortable giving the answers; but can we please start with asking the right questions?
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