To What Extent are Dalits discrimminated against in post-Independance India (original) (raw)
Related papers
Caste Discrimination, Deprivation and the Socio-Economic Development of Dalits
Voice of Dalit, 2010
India is unique in its social structure. In the Indian social order, caste plays a crucial role in every sphere of human life. It is estimated that there are around 260 million people affected by the inhuman practice of untouchability and discrimination based on birth and occupation. In other words, discriminatory, inhuman and degrading treatment of these disadvantaged sections of people has been justified on the basis of caste. In our caste-ridden Hindu social order the suppressed sections of the population, especially the dalits and tribal groups, are considered to be inferior social beings and are treated as subhuman beings or lesser human beings. 1 In caste ridden Hindu society the cow is in fact considered to be more sacred and valued than the dalit human beings. In view of the fact of the age-old caste prejudices which are so severe that the dalits are physically and socially isolated and excluded from the rest of the society, Ambedkar observed that dalits belong to the Hindu religion, but not to the Hindu society. The caste-based exclusion and discrimination is essentially structural in nature and it involves denial of equal opportunities particularly to the disadvantaged dalit groups in multiple spheres. 2 Caste-based discrimination and exclusion violates all human rights norms. Socioeconomic discrimination perpetuated under the caste system in India has no parallels in human history. The discrimination and exclusion against these disadvantaged sections is practiced by the upper castes and some dominant caste groups on a scale, the extent of which is impossible for an outsider to imagine. In every respect, casteism rejects the notion of human equality and thus justifies enclosure of each caste within its own boundaries on the basis of graded inequality. 3 In fact, this caste-based discrimination and exclusion is extended to all aspects of dalit life, such as in employment, education, health, land holding, security etc. This practice relegates dalits to a lifetime of discrimination, exploitation and violence including severe forms of torture perpetrated by state and private actors in violation of the rights guaranteed by the constitutional and legal provisions in India. That is why some activists consider the caste system and its discriminatory inhuman practices as a peculiar form of racial discrimination. Higher
This speculative paper argues that the caste system of India could be seen as a present-day remnant of 'tribal apartheid' which came into being when Indo-European warlike nomadic pastoralists overran and dominated an earlier urban Dravidian peoples. This form of discrimination based on identity is akin to racism. The enduring salience of caste and colour consciousness among Indians forms one of the great modern paradoxes that have resisted Indian governmental attempts to bring about social change. It is a truism that any statement made about India even when backed by some adduced facts can be immediately contradicted by equally probable deductions and countervailing information. This sense of intellectual confrontation has been heightened to painfully shrill levels of late, and everything is now being called into venomous political question and public debate. Paintings, literature, theatre, cinema, and even scholarly works on prehistory are seen as deliberate and malicious insults to one community or other. In such a charged social atmosphere, it is impossible to raise debates on the fraught question of the Indian Caste System without immediately igniting attack. Hence, most Indian scholars avoid exploring this question after routinely passing a comment condemning it, and decrying its continued social observance, though outlawed by law. However, because of its singularity as a socio-religious system, its discriminatory hold over the civic life of over two-hundred million people, and its constant fueling of heinous violence in India, the caste system deserves to be studied with whatever intellectual honesty is possible, and not only through the lens of inflamed bigoted passion, derogatory or defensive.
‘DALITS’ AND THE CASTE SYSTEM OF INDIA Some Explorations and Conjectures
2011
This speculative paper argues that the caste system of India could be seen as a presentday remnant of ‘tribal apartheid’ which came into being when Indo-European warlike nomadic pastoralists overran and dominated an earlier urban Dravidian peoples. This form of discrimination based on identity is akin to racism. The enduring salience of caste and colour consciousness among Indians forms one of the great modern paradoxes that have resisted Indian governmental attempts to bring about social change. It is a truism that any statement made about India even when backed by some adduced facts can be immediately contradicted by equally probable deductions and countervailing information. This sense of intellectual confrontation has been heightened to painfully shrill levels of late, and everything is now being called into venomous political question and public debate. Paintings, literature, theatre, cinema, and even scholarly works on prehistory are seen as deliberate and malicious insults to...
DALITS IN INDIA: DISCRIMINATION AND DEVELOPMENT
This study seeks to examine the lives of Dalit people in 21st century. Dalits are excluded and discriminated in the society from decades but the state has provided safeguards for them. So the study tries to focus mainly on two sectors education and employment sector where positive discrimination has been provided by government to analyze the state of Dalits. The main objective of the paper is to provide evidences which can show that caste based discrimination is still prevailing in India. Also an attempt is done to access reservation system of India and what lessons can be taken from international experiences regarding the affirmative actions. The study utilizes the available data and literature to analyze the aforementioned objectives.
Dalits in India: From Marginalisation to Inclusion
It is said that that India is at the threshold of a Dalit Revolution, dalits being the most marginalised people in India. This paper opens a debate on participation and poverty of dalits in India's social and economic spheres by introducing the lens of 'inclusion' to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the issue. It highlights and discusses the present conditions and challenges of India's 167 million of oppressed and marginalised sections of society who – by and large – have for thousands of years – remained neglected and ignored in the social milieu. The dalits have suffered cumulative domination, protested several sources of deprivation, political powerlessness, exploitation and poverty. These protests and movements have no doubt given organisational shape and resulted in social awareness and political consciousness to develop self-respect and feelings of power-sharing. Economic and social " welfare measures " , along with political reforms have tried to address vital issues in dalit resurgence. There is some transformation in this sense. The revival of 'Ambedkarism' and dalit movement should be assessed in this context. Despite political empowerment dalits live in situations of social discrimination, physical violence and abject poverty. Around 50 per cent of the quantum of welfare measures is still unfulfilled. We need to explore social, cultural, political and economic factors (e.g. caste, class, gender, education, state, etc) in the context of dalit people's access to rights, resources, employment and security. The focus now needs to be on dalit emancipation, rights and inclusive growth, both within 'dalitology' and the new pedagogy of inclusive growth. Political reality – whether in case of agitations or administration – must admit social equality within caste dynamics. This indeed is a challenge.
International Journal of Research, 2014
Under-educated, severely impoverished, and brutally exploited, Dalits struggle to provide for even their most basic daily needs. Dalits must also endure daily threats to their physical security from both state and private actors. The violence by upper-caste groups against Dalits have two major causes: the “untouchability” and discrimination upper-caste community members practice on a daily basis and the desire of upper-caste community members to protect their own entrenched status by preventing Dalit development and the fulfillment of Dalits’ rights. A review of the political, social, economic, and cultural status of Dalits in India shows the State Party to be in violation of its obligation to respect, protect, and ensure Convention rights to all individuals in its jurisdiction. India routinely denies Dalits the rights and privileges that many of its other citizens take for granted. An attempt has been made in this paper to high light the issues and problems of India as a country that has failed in its duty to eliminate caste discrimination and ensure the full enjoyment of the fundamental rights and equality before the law of Dalits guaranteed by Article 5. A review of the political, social, economic, and cultural status of Dalits in India shows the State Party to be in violation of its obligation to respect, protect, and ensure Convention rights to all individuals in its jurisdiction.