160 million Dalits live in India, 250 million in South Asia and 300 million around the world. They are living and facing all kinds of atrocities and discrimination.

Five Dalit youth were lynched and stoned to death by another caste, for carrying a dead cow. Dalits earn their livelihood by selling the skin and mending shoes. The mob stoned them thinking that they were skinning a live cow. The body of the dead cow was sent for post mortem and the Dalits bodies were not. The life of a cow is more valuable and important than the lives of Dalits says a leader from Hindu Munnani a section among other bodies who promotes Hindutuva.

At Thinniyam, three Dalits were made to feed each other human excretion for demanding Rs. 2000 which was paid to get housing. The ex-president of the village refused to pay. For demanding their money the 3 Dalits were branded with hot iron rods, beaten up and made to feed each other with human excrement.

Dalits of Kootharambakkam village demanded their rights over the common resources. They wanted the chariot of their god to be brought to their streets. It was refused – by those saying that the streets of the Dalits are dirty so the God chariot will not be taken to the streets. Dalits got into the panel to get their share, they were severely beaten up, their houses were damaged by the other caste who were the majority in that village. The temple festival was celebrated with police force without including the Dalits.

Where is justice?

Where are our human rights?

Where are the protective laws for Dalits?

At Rangapuram village, 40 Dalit Children were stopped from going to school. The public pathway has been blocked – claiming that it is private land owned by another caste. Dalits resist in an attempt to regain their rights; the result is arson - burning their houses and assualts. A peace committee was formed, but they are still not letting the children use the same pathway but forcing them to go around walking - 2 kms more than they have been walking. The pathway issue is not settled.

Dalit Rights are Human Rights. Dalit activists, especially Dalit women activists, were not treated as ‘Humans’. Dalit women were planning to submit a petition to the president of India, during his visit to the neighboring town, Dalit women were arrested, kept in police station stripped naked, searching for ‘black flag’ which the Police suspected they had. Dalit women face harassment and are abused with filthy languages.

The State Government of Tamil Nadu has brought a new ordinance called anti-conversion. This ordinance is controversial and hostile to the minorities and to Dalits. This ordinance curtails the constitutional safeguards of Dalits and minorities. The article 25 of the Indian constitution envisaged freedom of speech, freedom of religion in the Indian constitution. The ‘anti conversion ordinance’ is an assault on the rights of Dalits. This ordinance is used to protect the existing Hindutuva ideology of Varnashrama Dharma and to keep Dalits under subjugation, in order to maintain the hierarchical Hindu Caste system.

As per this Varnashiram, the Dalits are outside the caste system. They are treated as outcastes. Dalits are not born from the body of Brahma. Dalits are treated, wherever they are as outcastes, untouchables. The concept of pure and impurity plays an important role in everyday life. Dalits beat drums, clean the villages, towns, sweeping the roads, cleaning toilets, manual scavenging, shoe making all kinds of inhuman jobs for lower wages. They earn less than a dollar. No other unemployed from other communities will take up the jobs that Dalits are undertaking today.

In every day life, Dalits are humiliated and treated like slaves. They have to work hard for the landlords in agriculture. Their food and water is served in their hands. They are not allowed to take water from the well. They cannot enter temples. Separate glasses are kept in Tea shops. No inter caste marriages. A Dalit boy and a girl from other community were tied to trees, and forced to swallow poison. After their death they were burnt and no one permitted to talk about this incident.

The Caste system, the practice of treating people as untouchable, is an age old slavery system existing in India. This caste system created a vulnerable situation for more than one third of the Indian society. This caste system is promoted, sustained by Brahminical social order through Hindutuva ideology which is controlling the politics of the Nation today.

The ideology is promoted to hate other religions. The state promotes these ideologies and massacre other minorities. Burning of churches, raping nuns, and not to forget about the state sponsored genocide that took place in Gujarat.

Strong Dalit women’s resistance movements are saying no to the caste system and working towards abolishing the practices of the ‘untouchables’ system.

During the world conference against Racism, the caste issue was internationalized but the Indian government refused to recognize caste discrimination as racial discrimination to find a solution to it. We request solidarity with human rights defenders to internationalize the issue, expose it, oppose it and join us in the struggle.

Fatima.N.

30.9.2003