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They too have dreams in their eyes, just dreams!! |
Who are the Dalits?
There are 165 million Dalits in India-about 1/6th of the total population. Dalit means "broken people."Dalits were formerly known as "untouchables."
Dalits live at the bottom of India's rigid social order known as the caste system.
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What is the caste system?
The caste system originated around 7 A.D.Caste is determined by birth, not race.Caste is based upon the Hindu belief that a person's position in life is based upon the good deeds and sins of their past life.Caste determines Indians' spouses, friends, occupations and residence.
Isn't Untouchability illegal?
The preamble to the Indian Constitution proclaims the goals of social justice and equality.Article 14 sets forth the principal of equality and prohibits discrimination in employment and education.The Constitution does not set forth a casteless society as a national goal.No law has been passed abolishing untouchability.The practice of untouchability is a punishable offense, but the law is rarely enforced.
What does it mean to be a Dalit in India today?
Dalits endure segregation in housing, schools and access to public services.
Dalits are denied access to land, forced to work in degrading conditions and are routinely abused by the police and upper-caste members.Dalits suffer discrimination in education, health care, housing, property, freedom of religion, free choice of employment, and equal treatment before the lawDalits suffer routine violations of their right to life and security of person through state-sponsored or sanctioned acts of violence, including torture.Dalits suffer caste-motivated killings, rapes and other abuses on a daily basis.Between 2001-2002 there were 58,000 registered egregious abuses against Dalits and Tribals.2005 government report stated there is a crime committed against a Dalit every 20 minutes.Dalits comprise most of the agricultural, bonded and child laborers in the country.2007 government report found 77% of all Indians live on less than $.50 a day and most of them were Dalits.Dalit women face additional discrimination and abuse, including sexual abuse by the police and upper caste men, forced prostitution, and discrimination in employment and wages.Dalit children face continuous hurdles in education. They are made to sit in the back of classrooms and endure verbal and physical harassment from teachers and other students. The effect of such abuses is confirmed by the low literacy and high drop-out rates for Dalits.
Crimes against dalits rise 245% in last decade
CHANDIGARH: Crimes and atrocities against dalits in Haryana have gone up by about two-and-a-half times during 2004-2013, compared to 1994-2003 period.
Figures complied by National Confederation of Dalit Organizations (NACDOR) from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports suggest amanifold increase in the number of cases related to assault, murder and sexual assault of Dalit women, especially incidents of gang rapes, over the past four years.
According to data released by NACDOR, a total of 3,198 cases related to atrocities on dalits have been registered between 2004 and 2013 as against 1,305 from 1994 to 2003. Haryana DGP S N Vashisht admitted to the increase in crime against dalits.
"But this is not a reflection of increase in crime or atrocities against a particular community. Rather, it means that every incident is reported and cases are registered. Secondly, there had been amendments in Acts related to atrocities on dalits, which also result in registration of more cases. Timely challans against the accused in the court and strong prosecution are basic ingredients for speedy justice and conviction," Vashisht said. On the contrary, Dalit leaders termed the increase as an outcome of accused-friendly policing, leading to lopsided investigations and poor prosecution and poor follow-up of cases. Some organizations working for Dalit welfare even termed atrocities as a ploy of upper caste sections to deprive the socially backward from getting good education.
Ashok Bharti, national convener, NACDOR, said, "This has forced us to start an awareness drive. We have been raising this issue with Congress leaders and Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda."
Kalyani Menon Sen, an activist attached with NGO Women against Sexual Violence and Repression (WSS), justified her allegations saying, "Dalit children going to government schools in villages are the first layer of victims. They stop going to school after any girl falls victim to such a crime. They are not rich enough to go to any other school. Hence, they will remain educationally backward. Once they are educationally backward, they will not be able to compete with upper caste or those socially superior to them. Hence, sexual offences against dalits are being used as a tool now."
Rajat Kalsan, an activist of National Human Rights Law Network, elaborated on the incidents where they had to fight for justice for dalits. Kalsan had pleaded the cases related to Dabra and Baghana rape victims.
Why atrocities against dalits and adivasis continue?
Denial of justice to dalits (scheduled castes) and adivasis (scheduled tribes) and violence directed at them continues in India today despite official policies and declarations to the contrary. Considerable physical violence is inflicted on members of these deprived and marginalised communities as substantiated by official reports. Policing, far from being ‘the professional imposition of a coherent moral consensus on society’ is an intensely political activity with policemen often facilitating and participating in the violence not just against these two communities but against minorities, other weaker sections and women.
The case studies cited in the National Commission’s report, however, revealed disquieting features such as delay in reporting crimes against SCs and STs, or failure to register such crimes, delay in visits to the scene of the offence and delays in chargesheeting the accused. Only IPC and CrPC sections were usually cited in chargesheets, omitting the provisions of social legislations. Cases took ages to be disposed of in court and the number of acquittals was very high. Often, the guardians of the law were themselves perpetrators of ‘atrocities’. The study took note of five such cases, four of them relating to custodial rape.
The worst case was one of gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl, leading to her death from injuries. When crimes were committed by the police, the police machinery was often misused to protect the perpetrators and to obstruct investigation.
Two sisters ordered to be raped? Shame on you India
Recently, international media brought to light the case of of 23-year-old Meenakshi Kumar, one of two sisters sentenced to be raped after their brother had eloped with a married woman from a higher caste.
Meenakshi and her younger sister were with their family in Delhi for a wedding when a neighbour called them, telling them not to return to their village as a village council, Khap Panchayat, dominated mostly by upper caste Jat men, had ordered the two young women to be raped and paraded naked with their faces blackened as punishment for their brother’s misdeeds.
Meenakshi was quoted as saying, “I can’t sleep, I’m very scared.”
Their brother, Ravi Kumar, 25, from a Dalit caste was romantically involved with 21-year-old Krishna, a Jat, for nearly two years. When both families discovered this, they did all they could to keep the lovers apart.
This is what India is all about, you have the chance of closing your eyes as all is going well with you and your loved ones, but yes others are suffering!!
#Satyam_Bruyat
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