anti-caste

NEW COW SLAUGHTER LAWS IN TWO STATES WITH HINDU-RIGHT GOVERNMENTS TARGET MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS, TRIBALS, AND UNTOUCHABLES

Of Laws, Cows and People’s Mutinies: Will the beef ban in BJP-ruled states fuel a new Mutiny? by Cynthia Stephen (Round Table India)

“The Gau-Vansh Vadh Pratishedh (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak (Prohibition of slaughter of cow-progeny Bill) just passed in Madhya Pradesh empowers the government to prosecute any person found slaughtering a cow or even transporting the calf for the purpose of slaughter. [...]

“In March 2010, the Karnataka assembly passed the The Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill 2010 by voice vote after uproarious scenes, and a four-hour acrimonious debate. [...] According to the Deccan Herald, the bill prohibits slaughter of cattle, sale, usage and possession of beef, puts restriction on transport of cattle and also prohibits sale, purchase or disposal of cattle for slaughter.

“The BJP governments in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh may have brought these laws with the intention of putting pressure on the lifestyle and livelihoods of the minorities. But are these bills acts of political bravado on the part of the BJP? According to the Economic Times, 6th Jan 2012, beef is the most popularly consumed meat in India – 26 lakh tons annually. In comparison, only 6 lakh tons of mutton and 14 lakh tons of pork were consumed in India. The article quotes the US Food and Drug Administration, saying India is in fact the third largest exporter of beef in the world, exporting as much as 1.28 million tons of it!

“In Madhya Pradesh, in particular, there is a large population of tribals - 13 million - for whom beef constitutes a staple. In Karnataka as well, large sections of the state's population will be affected directly once the bill passes into law, including farmers, milk producers, leather workers, most of whom are Dalits and Muslims, and of course the common man. [...]

“James, a young Dalit Activist, is more graphic. ‘You (upper castes) take the best of the cow - its labour, its milk, its offspring, and sell it after you have no use for it. When we find ways to use this resource, you attack us and even kill us (referring to the killing of 5 Dalits in Jhajjar, Haryana, in 2008, who were skinning the carcass of a cow after purchasing it). You are taking our livelihoods from us, even though we make it out of the waste you discard. Is this justice?’

“‘This law will take away food from the poor who cannot afford to buy chicken or mutton’, says another Dalit activist. ‘The cost of mutton, already high, will go up to one thousand rupees’, said Siddaramaiah, leader of the Opposition, during the Assembly debate. ‘Thus you will be thrusting vegetarianism on the people. This is only possible in Hitler's regime. Is yours a Hitler's regime?’”

See also:

Cow Dung Blocks Nuclear Radiation (and Why We Don’t Eat Horses) by Eric Randolph (Kikobor, January 12, 2012):

“An article in The Hindu newspaper yesterday made a pointed comparison to the condition of people in Madhya Pradesh, which has the country’s highest rate of infant mortality and lowest rate of literacy. [...]

“The law has come into force a decade after riots in the state that erupted when Hindu nationalists took to the streets over reports Muslims were secretly killing cows. The riots helped bring the BJP to power in Madhya Pradesh a year later, in 2003.

“The BJP’s campaign against cow slaughter is seen by some analysts as part of its ongoing attempt to create a pan-Indian nationalism out of the myriad identities that exist in India.

“‘Outside a small section of modernised Indians, many still think of themselves not as Hindus, but in terms of caste, language and sect,’ said Ashis Nandy, a leading social theorist with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi.

“Promoting a ban on cow slaughter, he said, ‘is an attempt to steamroll these other forms of identity and have people think of themselves purely as “Hindus”. It is a cynical attempt to consolidate political support.’”

And see:

Bajrang vigilantes cry cow-slaughter, beat, humiliate Muslim trader (Indian Express, January 7, 2012):

“A Muslim cattle trader’s son was beaten and part of his head, one eyebrow and half his moustache shaved off by alleged Bajrang Dal workers in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh after he refused to give them money to allow him to ferry cattle which the attackers alleged were meant for slaughter.

“Police rescued the 25-year-old victim, Anish Aslam Kureshi, but charged him with unlawfully transporting cattle for slaughter under a state law for preserving cattle, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. A sessions court in Chhindwara ordered his release on bail today.

“His attackers, whom the police identified as Bajrang Dal workers, were also arrested, but were charged with minor offences. They were released almost immediately by the Bichhua police station.

“On December 22, a tough new Madhya Pradesh anti-cow slaughter law providing for seven years in jail for eating beef, empowering police to carry out raids on mere suspicion, and putting the burden of proving innocence on the accused received presidential assent.”

PRIESTS, GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WALLOW IN THE FILTH OF CASTE-RIDDEN TRADITION

The Leftover God (Outlook India)

“The annual Champa Shasti festival held over November and December at the Kukke Subramanya temple in Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka has an unusual tradition. On all three days, the Shivalli Brahmins are served a multi-course meal in seclusion in the temple precincts. And after they are through, instead of clearing the spread plantain leaves on which the food’s served, Dalits, backwards and local tribespeople are allowed to roll on the leftovers.

“The belief is this ritual will cure the ‘devotee’ of ailments, especially skin-related ones, and will gift a child to those praying for a baby. It’s also considered an ideal form of thanksgiving to the local deity after ‘wish fulfillment’. The ritual, called ‘maade snana’ in Tulu and Kannada, is said to be over four hundred years old but there are no written records to prove such a claim.

“As the tradition reinforces and ‘enacts’ caste hierarchies, where even a Brahmin’s ‘jhoota’ [food ritually contaminated by contact with another’s mouth] is bestowed with powers to cure people from subaltern communities, it had been catching a lot of flak since last year from progressive groups in the state. Especially as this was being allowed in a temple that belongs to the muzrai department, a state-run body which administers Hindu temples.

“Last week, though, saw protests heating up more because after the huge outcry last year, the local administration had promised to end this ritual which violates basic human dignity. Apparently, under ‘pressure from devotees’, the administration allowed the practice from November 28 onwards. Nearly 4,000 people joined up to roll over the leftovers.

“What took the row beyond the usual temple affairs level was muzrai and higher education minister Dr V.S. Acharya’s statement that it was a ‘faith-based ritual and banning it was tantamount to hurting the sentiments of the people’. People immediately started questioning not only his credentials as a trained medical doctor, but also his RSS roots. They began asking if he would similarly allow dowry, child marriage and other social evils as they are also faith-based? [...]

“The complexity of the issue unravels itself when we take into consideration the largely illiterate Malekudiya tribe’s support for the ritual. When the local administration hinted at a ban, members of the ST community went on a rampage, even declaring that they would stay away from building the deity’s chariot, a traditional activity they have performed for years during the festival season. (If the chariot is not built, the festival will remain incomplete without the final procession of the deity.)”

LOW-CASTE NAMES, HIGH-CASTE NAMES

‘Dalit’ kids getting normal names (Republica (Nepal))

“In recent times, the Dalit community has started giving children normal names as opposed to past practice of giving kids odd names so that the names did not match with those of people belonging to higher castes.

“The recent political changes and the ensuing social changes have emboldened the community to give kids normal names.

“‘In the past, priests themselves did not give good names to our children,’ said Chokat Majhi, son of Aghan Majhi of Chorni-7, Parsa. ‘But I named my daughter Pooja,’ he added. Pooja, who is a nursery student, is very happy with her name, he further said.

“Many children who were given odd names are too ashamed to tell their names to people, said Matar Majhi. ‘My father´s name was Tula. But I names my son Raju,’ he added.

Dasai Chaudhary of Bakuliya, Bara, said the Dalit children, in the past, were named according to their color, build, month of birth, day of birth, or behavior.

India Dalit boy ‘killed over high-caste man's name’ (BBC News, December 2, 2011)

“A low-caste Dalit boy has been killed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh for sharing a name with a man of a higher caste, police say. [...]

“Mr Chaudhary, who belongs to a higher caste, had given several warnings to Mr Sumer to change the names of his boys.

“On 22 November, Neeraj left home after dinner to watch television at a friend's house. His body was found the next day.

“Police said he was strangled.”

CASTE BIGOTRY KEEPS UNTOUCHABLE CHILDREN OUT OF SCHOOL

‘Untouchable’ in the classroom by Sukhadeo Thorat and Nidhi Sadana Sabharwal (The Globe and Mail)

“The pain is perceptible in nine-year-old Shankar’s voice as he recounts how he’s made to sit at the back of the class with other children from a ‘low caste’ group. He says his teacher doesn’t wish to accidentally touch them, keeping them as far away as possible from the rest of the children. His peers from the ‘upper caste’ call him an ‘untouchable’; when he complains to the teachers, they see no issue. ‘You are untouchable – what else should they call you?’

“His sister, who is 8, is asked to clean the classroom – that’s her task because she’s a girl and an ‘untouchable.’ At lunch, Shankar says the children from the other castes are served food provided by the government, while his fellow caste children are asked to wait outside the classroom; should any food remain after the teachers and ‘upper caste’ children have eaten, it may then be offered to Shankar and other children from ‘lower castes.’

“The children’s parents point out that a child who’s gone hungry for several meals is unlikely to be able to pay proper attention to classroom instruction. Shankar’s eyes well up with tears as he responds to questions about life as a Dalit child attending the local school. Other Dalit children tell of similar discrimination, complaining that the teachers don’t pay attention to them, call them outcasts and run down their abilities and enthusiasm for education. That’s why the Dalit children rarely go to school; their visits reinforce the feelings of persecution and discrimination.”

See also anti-caste: CHILDREN BOYCOTT SCHOOL WHERE TEACHERS TREAT THEM AS UNTOUCHABLE (April 25, 2011)

BARRIERS TO CIVIL MARRIAGE IN INDIA TARGET INTER-CASTE AND INTER-RELIGIOUS COUPLES

Thwarting a union (Communalism Combat)

“It is important to mention that any unmarried, sane, consenting adults (where the bridegroom is over 21 years of age and the bride is over 18 and who are unrelated within the degrees of prohibited relationship), irrespective of faith or caste, can get married under the Special Marriage Act. The couple from Rajasthan, who come from an inter-caste background, could have done so too. So why did they decide to have a religious marriage ceremony? It was almost certainly because they wanted to make sure their parents did not receive any intimation about their marriage through the official notice – as would any couple who anticipated threats to their life and liberty. [...]

“Barring Delhi, all other states follow the dangerous practice of sending a copy of the notice of intended marriage to the permanent addresses of the marrying couples [in non-religious ceremonies under the Special Marriages Act]. Thanks to the initiatives of the Delhi government and a landmark judgement by Justice S. Ravindra Bhat of the Delhi high court in April 2009, the practice of sending notices to the homes of couples desirous of solemnising their marriage under the Special Marriage Act was curbed. However, it has not been completely discontinued, as the officials fear the wrath of the parents of marrying couples.

“The administrations in Ghaziabad, Noida and Gurgaon in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are not even willing to bear the expenses of dispatching notices and they insist that couples provide pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelopes beforehand. Couples also have to publish an advertisement of their proposed marriage in a leading newspaper and submit a copy of the published advertisement to the marriage officer’s office. In Gurgaon, the concerned deputy commissioner’s office has taken the pains to add a column for specifying the applicants’ religion in the ‘Intent to Marry’ form and an additional point about the citizenship of the applicants in the declaration form. I wonder why religion should be mentioned at all in the one legally recognised marriage procedure intended to be outside the realms of faith or caste.

“The Gurgaon office also requires that couples provide envelopes bearing the names and designations of the marriage officers in districts where the applicants permanently reside. I can only speculate on the amount of homework a couple has to do before they file their application. A marriage cannot be solemnised under the Special Marriage Act without receipt of a verification report from the concerned tehsildar; and the report will not, of course, be issued as a matter of routine. The couple has to take great pains to ensure that the report is in fact released by the tehsildar’s office.

“Looking at just a few of the requirements essential for marriage under the Special Marriage Act, one can safely say that no couple would choose to go through the traumatic experience on its own. So those couples who are still determined to get married under the Special Marriage Act are forced to engage an advocate and shell out a large sum of money for his/her fees. Unfortunately, the majority of couples cannot afford the services of an advocate and thus, confronted by various hostile and complex sociopolitical pressures, they are forced to opt for a religious form of marriage.”

UNTOUCHABLE, BACKWARD-CASTE, AND MUSLIM HOUSE-SEEKERS ROUTINELY TURNED AWAY

Hyderabad: Caste and religion of the tenant come into play
(The Hindu)

“What usually begins as the rider ‘Vegetarians Only' scribbled on the rental sign, progresses further into the name, surname, home-town and antecedents of the home seekers till the caste is narrowed upon.

“‘Restrictions in terms of diet are often a ruse. If the prospective tenant has an upper caste tag to his name, he will be given the house despite his diet. The sign is put up only to keep Dalits off,’ says Mallepally Lakshmaiah, a noted Dalit journalist, who found himself in many such situations.[...]

“‘I was spurned by at least 12 landlords in Gachibowli-Madhapur vicinity apparently due to my caste. Majority among them directly enquired about my caste, while a few others said they would prefer vegetarians. It proved to be a Herculean task for me to obtain a house,’ says P. Sudhakar (name changed), a scholar from University of Hyderabad.[...]

“‘I had harrowing experiences during my search for house. An upper-caste landlord in Alkapuri invited us inside the house, and offered coffee before accepting the rent in advance. But once he came to know of our caste, he began to sound evasive. He first said his wife had to be consulted, and asked us to wait. Next day, we went only to receive the money back, that too from outside the main-gate,’ says N. Srihari Madiga, preparing for his Civils exam.[...]

“Faith begets a blunter refusal. Muslims are more often than not ghettoised to specific localities, whereas for Christians it gets more difficult if they are also Dalits.

“‘I encountered many refusals during house-hunting due to discrimination based on my faith. People seemingly willing to rent out hearing my fluent Telugu, would come up with all kinds of excuses after knowing my name. Some bluntly said they didn't want Muslims,’ recalled Syed Mohiuddin, a media professional.

See also:

Urban rules of untouchability (Media Voice, November 3, 2010)

HORRIFIC KILLING IN THE NAME OF CASTE PURITY AND PATRIARCHAL HONOR

Village watched as woman was set on fire by husband, in-laws (NDTV)

A married woman who tried to elope with her Dalit lover met a gruesome death when her husband and in-laws tried to hang her, then set her on fire in Madhya Pradesh.[...]

Guddi, who was married to Dhaniram, was trying to escape from their village with her lover. Her husband and his parents tried to hang her from a tree. When she survived, they allegedly beat her up, poured kerosene over her, and then tried to set her on fire. When that attempt to kill her also proved unsuccessful, they placed her on a wooden pyre and then lit a match.

She was finally killed near a temple while the whole village watched, police said.

See also:

Married woman killed for eloping with dalit (Times of India, October 25, 2011):

Guddi's younger sister Brijesh is married into the same family. She remained a mute spectator while Guddi was tortured to death. Police were surprised that Brijesh, an eyewitness to her elder sister's murder, refused to give a statement or talk about the incident. [...]

Guddi was married into the influential family of farmers more than a decade ago. She was about 15 years younger than her husband. She fell in love with a dalit youth Kamal Valmiki, who visited their village often. On October 2, Guddi eloped with Kamal to Delhi so that her husband and in-laws could not find her.

COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT FOR DEMANDING PAYMENT TO PERFORM TRADITIONAL CASTE-BASED ROLE IN FESTIVAL

Dalits face boycott for refusal to beat drums (Express News Service)

“Dalit families in Kasuvanahalli village of Nagamangala taluk who demanded money to beat drums during the Ganesha idol immersion have been socially boycotted. Upper caste members had approached two Dalits, Shivaraj and Seetharam, to play drums during the Ganesha idol immersion procession.

“When they demanded Rs150 per person as wages, they were summoned near Mayamma temple by the village headmen and abused. When they further refused to play the drums, village headman Mudde Gowda, Parigowda and others abused their caste. They were forced to fetch water from a borewell were cattle are fed.

“The Dalit families were denied entry into the village. In fact, Dalit women have been removed from the self-help groups and humiliated constantly.

“As there was no electricity, the Dalit women had to collect water from a tank only to be threatened by upper caste youths that they would be paraded in nude.

“Meanwhile, MLA Suresh Gowda, who hails from Kasuvanahalli, held a meeting with the two groups and appealed to them to bury their differences. Shivaraj and Mayanna lodged a complaint with Nagamanagala town police station, charging that they fear for their lives and property.”

See also:

‘Rebel’ Dalits ostracised in Mandya (Deccan Herald, October 11, 2011)

DISGUSTING ATTACK TO ENFORCE SYSTEMATIC REFUSAL OF SERVICE ON THE BASIS OF CASTE

Barber cuts dalit’s nose in Mandya (Times of India)

“A barber and his father allegedly severed the nose of a dalit when he went to them for a shave in Kirugavalu of Malavalli taluk on Sunday.

“Police said Chikkamanchaiah, 51, requested Mahadev and his father Mariyayya to shave his beard. The duo not only refused to do it, but also asked him to leave the shop. A quarrel ensued, and Mariyayya grabbed Chikkamanchaiah's hands and Mahadev chopped off his nose. He was rushed to the district hospital where doctors reattached the nose.

“Chikkamanchaiah said poor dalits in the village are not allowed to enter shops. According to him, only rich and powerful dalits have access to barber shops. He requested police and the district administration to act against the culprits and put an end to untouchability.”

COMMENT ON A REFERENCE TO CASTE in William Dalrymple’s “Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India”

“One of Dalrymple's strengths is his refusal to render judgment, but when it comes to the question of caste, he throws in the towel. In a section about a sacred dance form called theyyam, he tells us that the performers who take on the aspect of the gods are ‘the shunned and insulted Dalits.’ When the performers remove their costumes, he tells us, they're no longer treated like gods but, once again, like untouchables:‘In the presence of persons of the upper castes,’ he writes, ‘Dalits are still expected to bow their heads and stand at a respectful distance.’”

–Miranda Kennedy (NPR)

NEPAL: UNTOUCHABILITY MAKES ORDINARY LIFE A MINEFIELD

Dalit family thrashed for touching non-dalit's feet (The Himalayan Times)

“Members of a dalit family at Kalyanpur VDC-7 have been mercilessly roughed up after a daughter of the family happened to touch the feet of an upper caste woman. [...]

“Roji complained that Narayan Khadka, Yasoda Khadka, Bikas Khadka, Deepak Khadka and Bishnu Maya Khadka Rimal barged into her home and thrashed the family members. [...]

“The unruly group attacked Roji's family after Sujana Pariyar inadvertently touched the feet of Bishnu Maya while boarding on a bus. Sujana is a tenth grader at Ajingare higher secondary school, Kalyanpur.”

OPEN OR COVERT, UNTOUCHABILITY IS A FACT OF LIFE IN HISTORIC TEMPLE DISTRICT

2-tumbler system in a new avatar in Pollachi (Express News Service)

“The scenic environs of Pollachi-Coimbatore’s most well-known tourist destination may welcome outsiders with open arms, but when it comes to treating their own Dalit villagers, tea stall owners here follow the socially abhorrent practice of the two-tumbler system.[...]

“In many stalls, tea is served in disposable plastic cups to Dalit villagers, whereas for customers belonging to the so-called upper castes, it is served in a glass. Worse, tea shops in villages such as Guruvekoundenpalayam, Kappilipalayam and Mettuvavi, have come up with an innovative two-tumbler system to deceive authorities in case of a surprise inspection.

“‘At the tea stalls in these villages, separate tumblers for Dalits are identified by dots marked in green or yellow at the bottom. In some cases, there is a cut mark on the top edge of the tumbler for Dalits,’ alleged K Marimuthu, president, Makkal Viduthalai Munnani, a local outfit which fights for the rights of Dalits.

“Tea shop owners, however, are hesitant to admit that Dalit customers were discriminated against and claim that they do not have separate tumblers for the caste Hindus. But a visit to most tea stalls proved otherwise.

<blockquote>
“While elders belonging to the oppressed sections have accepted the practice, presumably out of fear for caste Hindus, Dalit youth have begun to assert themselves against the practice.”

ANNA HAZARE: SINISTER “ANTI-CORRUPTION” CAMPAIGNER PUSHES PRO-IMPERIALIST NEO-LIBERAL AGENDA WHILE SALUTING COMMUNALIST BIGOTRY AND AGE-OLD CASTE OPPRESSION

I’d rather not be Anna by Arundhati Roy (The Hindu)

“Who is he really, this new saint, this Voice of the People? Oddly enough we've heard him say nothing about things of urgent concern. Nothing about the farmer's suicides in his neighbourhood, or about Operation Green Hunt further away. Nothing about Singur, Nandigram, Lalgarh, nothing about Posco, about farmer's agitations or the blight of SEZs. He doesn't seem to have a view about the Government's plans to deploy the Indian Army in the forests of Central India.

“He does however support Raj Thackeray's Marathi Manoos xenophobia and has praised the ‘development model’ of Gujarat's Chief Minister who oversaw the 2002 pogrom against Muslims. (Anna withdrew that statement after a public outcry, but presumably not his admiration.)

“Despite the din, sober journalists have gone about doing what journalists do. We now have the back-story about Anna’s old relationship with the RSS. We have heard from Mukul Sharma who has studied Anna’s village community in Ralegan Siddhi, where there have been no Gram Panchayat or Co-operative society elections in the last 25 years. We know about Anna's attitude to ‘harijans’ [Gandhian term for untouchables]: ‘It was Mahatma Gandhi’s vision that every village should have one chamar, one sunar, one kumhar and so on. They should all do their work according to their role and occupation, and in this way, a village will be self-dependent. This is what we are practicing in Ralegan Siddhi.’ Is it surprising that members of Team Anna have also been associated with Youth for Equality, the anti-reservation (pro-‘merit’) movement [that opposes affirmative action on the basis of caste]? The campaign is being handled by people who run a clutch of generously funded NGOs whose donors include Coca-Cola and Lehman Brothers. Kabir, run by Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, key figures in Team Anna, has received $400,000 from the Ford Foundation in the last three years. Among contributors to the India Against Corruption campaign there are Indian companies and foundations that own aluminum plants, build ports and SEZs, and run Real Estate businesses and are closely connected to politicians who run financial empires that run into thousands of crores of rupees. Some of them are currently being investigated for corruption and other crimes. Why are they all so enthusiastic? [...]

“At a time when the State is withdrawing from its traditional duties and Corporations and NGOs are taking over government functions (water supply, electricity, transport, telecommunication, mining, health, education); at a time when the terrifying power and reach of the corporate owned media is trying to control the public imagination, one would think that these institutions — the corporations, the media, and NGOs — would be included in the jurisdiction of a Lokpal bill. Instead, the proposed bill leaves them out completely.

“Now, by shouting louder than everyone else, by pushing a campaign that is hammering away at the theme of evil politicians and government corruption, they have very cleverly let themselves off the hook. Worse, by demonising only the Government they have built themselves a pulpit from which to call for the further withdrawal of the State from the public sphere and for a second round of reforms — more privatisation, more access to public infrastructure and India's natural resources. It may not be long before Corporate Corruption is made legal and renamed a Lobbying Fee.”

See also:

Converging agendas: Team Anna and the Indian Right by Rohini Hensman (Infochange, September 2011):

“Questions were raised about the dangerously authoritarian character of the bill they were backing, with its creation of an unaccountable, unelected body that would have the power to tap phones, intercept emails, and remove every government functionary from the Prime Minister and Chief Justice to the lowest peon. Access to judicial review for those targeted by this all-powerful body would be meaningless, given its power to remove judges it did not like. By defining corruption as the disease rather than seeing it as merely a symptom of a deeper disease–power without accountability, power to commit crimes with impunity–the JLB was a formula to introduce a new source of corruption rather than eliminating it. It was also, potentially, an assault on India’s democratic institutions, one heightened by the demand that either the law should be passed by parliament by August 30, or the government should quit. [...]

“The enthusiastic participation of the RSS and other members of the Sangh Parivar also disturbed many.”

And see:

What is the real goal of the Anna movement? by Rohini Hensman (InfoChange India, November 2011)

DEADLY ECONOMIC ISOLATION OF DEPENDENT UNTOUCHABLE LABOR IN VILLAGE SHOWS MATERIAL ROOTS OF CASTE OPPRESSION

Socially boycotted dalits file case (Express News Service)

“Upper-caste people have allegedly socially boycotted these [thirty-two] families [in Nayakanur village] under the pretext that they refused to sweep cow dung at the house of an upper-caste family. Though the controversy has been there it came to light now since one of the dalit families lodged a complaint at Navalgund police station alleging their social boycott.

“According to police sources Basappa Madar, 64, was working as servant with Andanigouda Patil. Basappa and his wife recently refused to continue working for Patil family. Then, Patil allegedly asked the other families in the village not to give Basappa and his wife any employment. When dalit families questioned this, Patil asked his fellow villagers not to give work to any of the dalit families and even to boycott them socially.”

See also:

Dalits ostracised in Navalgund (Deccan Chronicle, August 18, 2011):

“The landlord instructed shop owners in the village, not to provide any foodgrains and tea to the dalits. They were prevented from fetching water from the tank, and threatened with hefty fine and other punishment for disobeying him. This prompted all dalits to desert the village, and evoked strong criticism from religious heads and the public.

“‘We don’t have any agricultural land, and earn our livelihood by working under the landlords, as bonded labourers. All dalit men are working as farm labourers, in the lands of landlords, and women are employed as maids in their houses. Our children are also employed in the houses of landlords. They get food grains instead of wages in return. We have been living under fear, and the harassment has been going on for many years,’ said forty-two year old Dalit Basappa Madar.”

AT INDIA’S ELITE UNIVERSITIES, SYSTEMATIC HARASSMENT OF UNTOUCHABLE STUDENTS

Protect-shun (Times of India)

“Anti-dalit sentiment erupted in 1991, when the V P Singh government decided to implement 27% reservation for OBCs. In the capital’s “left-leaning” university, JNU, caste clashes took place between students; in the dining-halls of IIT-Delhi, dalits were forced to sit on separate tables, and the walls of urinals in Delhi University were covered with puerile graffiti. And the authorities just watched. ‘The atmosphere in our institutions is very brahminical as the upper castes dominate the faculty. In such an environment, the lower caste students automatically become outcastes,’ says Dilip Mandal, who teaches at Delhi's Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). [...]

“Many, however, have fought back. Dr Ajay Singh, who joined AIIMS in 2002 with the same marks as the cut-off for "general" students, was the only dalit in his hostel wing. He was barred from entering the carrom-board room and one day someone scrawled ‘Nobody likes you here. F**k off’ on his door. But Dr Singh fought back and that led to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointing a three-member committee, headed by University Grants Commission chairman Sukhdeo Thorat, to look into caste harassment in the country's top medical institutes. The report was shocking: dalit students were bullied into vacating their hostel rooms, leading to a ghetto being formed on two floors of a hostel; they were specifically targeted during ragging; they were not allowed to play cricket and basketball; they were not allowed to eat in the ‘upper-caste mess’; and the teachers ignored them in class, sometimes deliberately failing them in exams. Shamed by the damning report, AIIMS took some remedial steps. ‘Now the hostels are allotted through a lottery system and general harassment has come down a bit, but all the recommendations of the panel are yet to be implemented,‘ says Dr Singh, who now works with a government hospital in Delhi.”

See also anti-caste: VICIOUS CASTE BIGOTRY IN HIGHER EDUCATION (May 8, 2011)

B.R. AMBEDKAR’S “ANNIHILATION OF CASTE” 75 YEARS LATER

Annihilating caste by Bhalchandra Mungekar (Frontline)

“The Jat Pat Todak Mandal, a social reformist organisation of Lahore, had, in 1936, invited Dr B.R. Ambedkar to deliver the presidential address of its annual conference on the topic of the caste system in India. Ambedkar sent the manuscript of his speech titled ‘The Annihilation of Caste.’ However, the organising committee found some of his views, particularly his critique of the Vedas and his inclination to leave the Hindu fold, unacceptable.

“It, therefore, suggested to Ambedkar that he delete these views, to which he replied that ‘he would not change a comma.’ The speech thus remained undelivered. Ambedkar subsequently published it in May 1936. [...]

“In The Annihilation of Caste, Ambedkar, probably for the first time, raised many profound questions with respect to caste. First, he rejected the defence of caste on the basis of division of labour and argued that it was not merely a division of labour but a division of labourers. The former was voluntary and depended upon one's choice and aptitude and, therefore, rewarded efficiency. The latter was involuntary, forced, killed initiative and resulted in job aversion and inefficiency. He argued that caste could not be defended on the basis of purity of blood, though pollution is a hallmark of the caste system. [...]

“But most importantly, according to Ambedkar, caste destroyed the concept of ethics and morality. To quote him: ‘The effect of caste on the ethics of the Hindus is simply deplorable. Caste has killed public spirit. Caste has destroyed the sense of public charity. Caste has made public opinion impossible. A Hindu's public is his caste. His responsibility is to his caste. His loyalty is restricted only to his caste. Virtue has become caste-ridden, and morality has become caste-bound.’ [...]

“Ambedkar did not spare the socialists or the communists either. He vehemently attacked the communists for their doctrinaire approach to caste in treating it as the superstructure and argued that unless they dealt with caste as a basic structural problem, no worthwhile social change, let alone a socialist revolution, was possible.”

Read The Annihilation of Caste in this excellent online edition by
Prof. Frances W. Pritchett of Columbia University

CASTE-BASED SLAVERY IS COMMONPLACE, NOT TREATED AS A CRIME

Cops ignore dalits in bondage (Express News Service)

“Police have failed to book perpetrators under the SC/ST atrocities law in the case of a Dalit family that was allegedly harassed and publicly beaten by caste Hindus in K Thattumal Village, Kumbakonam. In fact police helped the main accused get an anticipatory bail.

“K Rajamanikkam (39) and his wife Radha had worked as bonded labourers at a brick kiln owned by Thalaiparamasivam of Devanachery. Thalaiparamasivam had promised the couple Rs 15,000 for one year’s work. But, after a year, he refused to let them leave. Instead he claimed they owed him money [...], Rajamanikkam’s sister 44-year-old Vijaya said. [...He] demanded Rs 10,000 rupees to free them from his control.

“‘We borrowed Rs 10,000 and paid him. But in five days, he and his associates Murugan and Loganathan, came and beat us with logs. My brother sustained a head injury and my hand was broken,’ she said.

“‘When they approached the Swamimalai police station, the police recorded Vijaya’s statement, but obtained her signature without even reading out the statement to her,’ said A Kathir, Executive Director of Evidence, an NGO that works for Dalit rights. When the Evidence team examined the case, they found the police had invoked neither the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the aggressors nor booked them under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act.

“According to Kathir, most Dalits and other people from the subaltern community worked as bonded labourers in the brick kilns owned by caste Hindus in Kumbakonam, but action had not been initiated by the police or district administration.

“Worse, Rajamanikkam moved from Thalaiparamasivam’s brick kiln only to end up a bonded labourer in another brick kiln.”

UNTOUCHABLES OPPRESSED BY DOMINANT CASTE IN VILLAGE–THEMSELVES LOW-CASTE

TN dalit boy thrashed for fetching water from public tap
(Times of India)

“Caste Hindus of a nondescript village on the outskirts of Coimbatore allegedly assaulted a 16-year-old dalit boy on Sunday for attempting to fetch drinking water from a public tap in the area.

“The boy, A Vasanthakumar, is now recovering at a government hospital in Annur, about 25 km away from Coimbatore. A Class X student, Vasanthakumar belongs to the dalit Chakkiliya community. He resides at Nallichetty Palayam, a dalit hamlet outside Annur town. The area is reeling under extreme water scarcity.

“As per the complaint lodged with the police, Vasanthakumar on late Sunday evening went on his bicycle with empty pots to Karikkilipalayam, about 4km away from his home, to fetch water. Dominated by Kongu Chettiyars, classified as a most backward caste, Karikkilipalayam is blessed with round the clock water supply as a pipeline of the Pillur water scheme passes through it. He reached a public tap located at around 9 pm and started collecting water. Three women of the Chettiyar community, who had come to the tap, started abusing him using caste names. When he protested, they beat him up. The women told him that they would not allow any untouchable to fetch water. A local butcher named P Damodaran Chettiyar also roughed him up.

“Vasanthakumar, who sustained injuries in the attack, was admitted to Annur hospital. His father Anandan, a coolie, said dalits were prevented from cutting hair at saloons in the locality and prevented from using mobile phones outside their huts.”

CASTE HINDUS AND THE STATE REINFORCE AGE-OLD SEGREGATION

Untouchability wall sparks tension in TN village (Express News Service)

“An Uthapuram-like situation is developing in a small village at Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar district following the construction of an ‘untouchability wall’ by a dominant community there in the aftermath of violent caste clashes that rocked the hamlet on May 15.

“Strongly segregated in terms of caste, W Pudupatti, near Sivakasi, has seen conflict and tension between the Naidus, Saliyars, Pallars and Paraiyars since the 1960s. The series of clashes, the latest between the Pallars (backward Hindus), numbering about 500 families, and Paraiyars, comprising 300 Dalit Christian families, was the result of a ‘hidden apartheid’ prevailing in the village, rights activists have alleged.

“Signs of the confrontation were visible in the Dalit settlement, which bore the brunt of the attacks, even after a fortnight. The clash reportedly broke out when a Dalit youth Jayaram Anthony (24) went to buy a mirror from a shop near a Pallar street and was threatened and beaten up by two Pallar youth. [...]

“Claiming that the State machinery was siding with the higher-caste groups, the villagers said after the incident, a wall, segregating the higher caste Saliyars and the Dalit quarters, was constructed under the supervision of the district SP and tahsildar. Official line: The new wall marked the boundary of a Saliyar-run school.

“Describing the structure as an ‘untouchability wall,’ the Dalits, however, said they had been using the path for several years without causing inconvenience or obstruction to anybody. They alleged that the real purpose behind the sudden construction of the structure was to cut off the main escape route for the Dalit men in the event of caste clashes, which have become an annual feature.

“A life lived in perpetual fear, the status of Dalits in W Pudupatti reflects the general pattern—discrimination and abuse at the hands of higher-caste groups. Denied access to land, they roll cracker sticks for their livelihood. [...]

“Nevertheless, academic forte appears to be the silver lining as well as the sore point. A Jayakumar (28), a B Ed graduate, said the higher-caste groups could not digest the development of the community through education.

“It has also inculcated in them a deep awareness of their rights and intolerance to oppression.”

See also: anti-caste: SEGREGATION OF UNTOUCHABLES STILL REINFORCED WITH BRICKS IN TAMIL NADU VILLAGE (May 13, 2009)

VICIOUS CASTE BIGOTRY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

In Dalit student suicides, the death of merit (The Hindu)

“He killed himself in his college library, unable to bear the insults and taunts. The suicide note recovered from his coat pocket charged his Head of the Department (HOD) with deliberately failing him and threatening to fail him over and over. Seven months later, a three-member group of senior professors re-evaluated his answer sheet and found that he had in fact passed the test.

“Medical student Jaspreet Singh, a Dalit by birth, wanted nothing more than to become a doctor. Tragically, he fulfilled his ambition posthumously. A year later, his young sister, a student of Bachelor of Computer Application, also committed suicide, heartbroken at the injustice done to her brother.

“Shocking details about the January 2008 suicide of the Chandigarh-based student have emerged following recent investigations by Insight Foundation, a Dalit-Adivasi student group that has compiled a list of 18 suicides by Dalit students studying in reputed institutions of higher education across India in the past four years. [...]

“The evidence is clinching in this case. Jaspreet's suicide note; a certificate affirming Jaspreet's handwriting from the Directorate of Forensic Science, Ministry of Home Affairs, Shimla; testimonies from Jaspreet's friends; and finally, the re-evaluation of the answer sheet by a three member body of doctors from PGI, Chandigarh.

“All three doctors, Rajesh Kumar, Amarjeet Singh and Arun Kumar Aggrawal, specialised in Community Medicine – the subject in which Jaspreet was failed. Yet till date, no action has been taken against the guilty HOD or the college.”

See also:

“The Death of Merit”: A Documentary

UNTOUCHABILITY IN A TAMIL NADU VILLAGE

A village where dalits can’t wear footwear or ride bikes (Times of India)

“When G Thangapandian (27), a dalit youth, decided to challenge the caste diktat that dalits should not ride motorcycles on Kaliamman Street, it ended in a brutal attack on his house by a mob of over 500 persons, including women armed with broomsticks.

“‘If I am alive now it is because of this grill gate,’ pointed out G Murugan, Thangapandian’s brother. The gate was damaged in several places. ‘The mob tried to break open the gate with boulders, but left later on Saturday night,’ said Murugan, fear still evident on his face.

“The dalits, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and economic status of the more influential Thevars, obeyed the diktats: they did not wear footwear and they did not ride bicycles or motorcycles on Kaliamman Street. ‘We are served tea in different tumblers and we are not entertained in the barber shops in the village,’ said Murugan’s father Guru.

“The village has been a witness to the worst forms of caste discrimination, as even schools have become a platform for such practices. ‘My non-dalit classmates would demand that I address them as Ayya [sir]. If I call them by their names they would abuse me with filthy words and threaten me,’ said M Palani, who just completed his Plus-Two in the higher secondary school in the village.”

See also:

Dalit thrashed for riding bike in ‘upper caste’ lane (Mumbai Mirror, May 4, 2011)

And see:

Untouchability taking new forms, says study (Deccan Chronicle, May 5, 2011):

“A survey conducted by Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) in 22 districts has revealed the prevalence of 86 forms of untouchability in the state’s villages.

“Dalits are not even allowed to use ringtones of movie songs. ‘A dalit in Coimbatore was beaten by caste Hindus for using MGR movie song Naan Aanaittal Adhu Nadanthu Vittaal as his ringtone,’ TNUEF convenor P. Sampath said.

“The discrimination against dalits even exists in matrimonial websites. ‘We have come across entries made by upper caste persons stating that dalits need not apply,’ he said.

“In the survey, Mr Sampath said they come across the practice of dalits being prevented from walking on the public road wearing slippers, riding bicycles, wearing dhotis folded or polyester dhotis, wearing towels on their shoulder, wearing cloth headgear, sporting thin line moustaches and getting clothes washed or ironed.”

And see further anti-caste: OVER 80 FORMS OF UNTOUCHABILITY FOUND IN PRACTICE IN TAMIL NADU (June 12, 2010)

CASTE-BASED FORCED LABOR: REFUSAL IS PUNISHABLE BY DEATH

Caste killing exposes India’s secret shame (The Australian)

“A mere 100km from the shiny malls and housing estates of New Delhi, three upper-caste men murdered a Dalit labourer this week for refusing to obey an ancient feudal law demanding he toil their land for free.

“The body of 42-year-old Karam Chand was then paraded on a bicycle through the village of Nirgajani, in Uttar Pradesh, as a macabre warning to other ‘untouchables’ that the writ of a modern state did not extend into the heart of rural India.

“The system of begari–in which low-caste Indians were obliged to provide unpaid labour to landed classes–was officially outlawed by the Indian government in 1976.

“According to reports this week, Chand was attacked after refusing the demands of three brothers–former employers–to help harvest a wheat crop.

“Chand’s son Monu, who was working alongside his father on their own land when the attack occurred, said: ‘My father refused them because they didn't pay him anything for earlier work. They had declared that we would have to follow their order or leave the village.’

“When he refused, the trio attacked, chasing Chand into a temple, where he was shot. ‘They hauled his dead body on to a bicycle and took out a procession. They were shouting that anyone who defied their order would be killed,’ said Monu.

“While local police spokesman Jawahar Singh confirmed the son's account, he insisted ‘such incidents are far and few between.’

“But he conceded the village was predominantly a stronghold of the Jat caste, a group which continues to defend the caste Panchayat system of local governance, which doles out summary justice, such as honour killings, for alleged caste crimes.”

CHILDREN BOYCOTT SCHOOL WHERE TEACHERS TREAT THEM AS UNTOUCHABLE

Dalit kids: “Untouchables” and uneducated too (Times of India)

“Dalit children at a school in Jagatsinghpur district do not know where they went wrong with their studies because teachers refused to check their notebooks. ‘Ame achuta (We are considered untouchables). The teachers refuse to touch our books and our homework is never corrected,’ said Bijaya Mallick, a student of Class IV at the school at Keutapala in Balikuda block. ‘If we even touch our teachers by mistake, they scold us for polluting them,’ he added.

“The 40 odd Dalit students in the school were allegedly singled out and made to clean classrooms and toilets. ‘I clean toilets at school,’ said Samir Mallick, a Class V student. He looked puzzled when asked why he agreed to do so. ‘The teachers tell me to do it,’ the 11-year-old boy said. ‘We are not even allowed to take water from the drinking pot at school,’ he added.

“Several students and their parents complained that they were victims of caste discrimination by the school staff since long. The final straw, however, was when teachers refused to serve mid-day meals to the children. This prompted incensed parents not to send their wards to school for the past one week.”

See also:

Dalit school children prevented to take mid-day meal with upper-caste students (OrissaDiary, May 2, 2011)

And see anti-caste: SEGREGATED AND HUMILIATED IN THE CLASSROOM (November 28, 2009), REPORT ON CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION IN SCHOOLS (June 25, 2009), and CASTE BIGOTRY IN INDIAN SCHOOLS GOES UNPUNISHED (September 27, 2008)

COW SHIT PURIFIES WHAT A HUMAN BEING MADE UNCLEAN

Retired dalit officer’s room “cleansed” using cowdung water (PTI)

“In a shocking incident, the office room and furniture used by a senior government official belonging to a scheduled caste community here were ‘cleansed’ by sprinkling cowdung water, allegedly by some employees shortly after his retirement from service. A K Ramakrishnan, who retired as Inspector General of Registration on March 31, has moved the State Human Rights Commission seeking an inquiry into the incident. He said in the complaint that he had reliable information that some employees in the office sprinkled ‘cowdung water’ over the tables, chairs and even inside the office car used by him while in service. He said he believed that the ‘cleansing’ was performed as he belonged to an SC community and it amounted to violation of his human rights and civil liberties. [...]

“Asked about the incident, Ramakrishnan said he would vigorously pursue the case as he considered it as an insult to the socially depressed class. ‘I take this not just as a personal insult. This is a humiliation heaped on the socially depressed classes as a whole. If this is the experience of a person who had held the topmost post in a government department, what would be the situation of ordinary people belonging to the lower rungs of social strata?’ Ramakrishnan told PTI. ‘All these five years when I worked as IG of Registration I had bitter experiences. But I have suffered them without getting worked up. But what has happened even after my retirement is really painful,’ he said.”

NEPAL: IMPOVERISHED LOW-CASTE WOMEN THROWN INTO TRADITIONAL CASTE-BASED SERVITUDE

Dalit women into Balighare profession (The Himalayan)

“An increasing number of Dalit women in Banke district are attracted towardsan annual labour contract called Balighare Partha locally under which so-called high caste people give food in return to their hard work and service.

“Until recently the age-old Balighare occupation was dominated by Dalit men. Prem Kala BK of Chisapani-9 is an example of increasing number of women taking up this profession mainly by women from Bishwokarma community among other Dalit castes.

“Lately she has started working in her forge, where only her husband used to work till some time ago. She melts metal in the forage and crafts kitchen utensils and sickles, knives, hoes and other traditional weapons of neighbours. In return, she gets rice, maize or millets (as per her choice) for her whole year’s works from them.

“Sewing clothes as well making hand drums and other musical instruments are also part of Balighare system in existence in the district from ages taken up by Dalit people as their one of the major sources of livelihood.”

anti-caste: In the balighare partha system, one of several traditional forms of caste-based labor extraction in Nepal, members of (low-ranking) artisan castes provide services to upper-caste landholders in exchange for one meager allotment (perhaps ten, fifteen, or twenty-five kilograms) of inferior food grain annually at harvest time.

See also:

Dalits continue to be exploited in Nepal (Frontlines of Revolutionary Struggle, October 24, 2010):

“Dal Man Bishwokarma, a resident of Rautaha village in Udayapur, not only manufactures domestic weapons and equipments used in farming but also repairs them. He provides his service to 21 Bishta families. However, he gets only 10 pathis [about 50 kilograms] of maize once a year from each of them.

“During festivals like Dashain and Tihar, Bishta families provide Dal Man with a mana (one mana is roughly equal to half a kilogram) of rice and Rs 20 each. His family has to survive on this meager income for the whole year. ‘With this income, I find it difficult to make ends meet even for six months,’ he said. ‘For the rest of the year, I have to go somewhere else to work as a laborer.’

“The tradition, which exploits Dalits’ labor, is still in fashion mainly in Bhutar, Nametar, Bhalayodada, Panchawoti, Dumre, Barre, Iname, Jante, Thanagau and Laphagau villages. Harka Bahadur Pariyar, a resident of Jaate village where 24 Dalit families are stuck in this tradition, said, ‘We have been surviving like this for generations.’”

UNTOUCHABLE COMMUNITY DENIED LIVELIHOOD AND BASIC SUPPLIES OUT OF BIGOTED CONCERN OVER RITUAL PURITY OF VILLAGE’S DRINKING WATER

‘Caste’ Hindus boycott Dalits in Hosapura (The Hindu)

“The scourge of untouchability has raised its ugly head in Hosapura village of Malavalli taluk, Mandya district, where a group of ‘caste' Hindus allegedly created ruckus over the appointment of a Dalit as a valve-man.

“The incident took place early last week and threatened to split the community on caste lines. Police have arrested three persons in this connection but this served only to escalate the tension as ‘caste' Hindus questioned the ‘temerity’ of the Dalits to lodge a police complaint against them.

“Sources said the genesis of the tension could be traced to the decision of the Gram Panchayat Secretary Siddaraju, who appointed Venkatesh, a Dalit, as the valve-man to release water to the village. When a group of persons saw Venkatesh releasing water, they raised a hue and cry on the ‘propriety’ of using the water released by a ‘Dalit valve-man,’ said sources.

“As a result, tension built up in the village and a section of the aggrieved community lodged a police complaint, following which three persons, identified as Shivu, Basavaraj and Prakash were arrested and later released on bail. Irked by the ‘audacity’ of the Dalit community, they have been allegedly boycotted by people from other communities, sources said.

“However, Shivaramu, Social Welfare Officer of Mandya told The Hindu that he had visited the village and inquired into the incident which presented a different picture.

“He said the village community had strong political affiliations and was split along party lines. ‘It transpired that the appointment of a Dalit was not the issue. The warring groups wanted one of their confidantes to be given the job of the valve-man. However, a few outside elements gave a caste twist to the appointment of Mr. Venkatesh, which led to tension following which three persons were arrested and later released on bail,’ Mr. Shivaramu said.

“‘I visited the village twice after the incident was reported and the allegations of Dalits being denied work in agricultural farms was false. Landlords and landless labourers are mutually dependent and one could not do without the other,’ he added. Mr. Shivaramu said the situation was now under control and the district administration has ensured supply of groceries and other essential commodities to the Dalit colony.”

CHILDREN AND CASTE-BASED BONDED LABOR IN NEPAL

Most of Jajarkot Dalit children deprived of education (The Himalayan Times (Kathmandu))

“Based on the findings of a three-month study that it conducted in the district from December-end, the NGO Dalit Women Empowerment Forum states that roughly 60 per cent of the district’s Dalit children — 8,000 of 13,300 — are deprived of education.

“Children from poor Dalit families make the most of the illiterate children.

“According to Gita Sunar, the forum chairperson, most of these children are from landless families. They have been working as khaliya and haliya (farm labourers) to make a living. The report states that 468 Dalit families of the district have been working as haliya and 126 families have been working as khaliya.”

See also:

NEPAL: The Haliya bonded labour slavery system must be abolished without further delay (Asian Legal Resource Centre, August 26, 2010):

“The Haliyas (literally, ‘one who tills land’) are enslaved within a system of bonded labour, and are forced by a landlord or ‘master’ to execute various hard labour duties (usually agricultural) for many years, often for an entire lifetime. Other than the agricultural work, Haliyas fulfil a range of duties, including making tools (such as spades, knives, and sickles) out of iron, grazing animals, sewing clothes, making utensils and pots, and so forth. The labourers are not paid a wage for their extensive work; often they are only provided with a small amount of food. Extreme poverty and debt in the western and far western regions of Nepal has relegated many members of the lower castes, known as Dalits, to Haliya status.

“Haliyas are forced to till a small patch of land in order to repay a debt, and are often held captive with their entire families. The enslaved Haliyas typically have no direct association with any debts; in the overwhelming majority of cases, the laborers are held because of debts accumulated by their ancestors over many generations. Such debts are often so excessive that a Haliya’s work over an entire lifetime will not generate sufficient revenue to even marginally reduce the interest incurred on the debts. [...]

“Despite being malnourished, Haliyas are expected to perform extraordinarily demanding labor duties. According to a custom known as Doli, they must carry exorbitantly heavy wooden carriages on their shoulders for hours at a time. Another custom (Khali) dictates that Haliyas are entitled to no fresh food at all–only leftover goods from the harvest. Despite working excessively long hours to fulfill grueling tasks, Haliyas typically receive only a bowl of white rice per day for their labor. [...]

“The overwhelming majority of Haliyas are Dalits. In fact, Nepal’s system of caste discrimination remains a direct factor leading to both the origins and continuation of the Haliya system.”

And see:

Policy spoke in Haliya rehab wheel: Ad hoc approach exacerbating their woes by Kamal Raj Sigdel (Kathmandu Post, April 25, 2010):

“Although the government outlawed Haliya practice on September 6, 2008, unsurprisingly most of them are still working for their landlords.

“‘When the Kamaiya system [of bonded labor in the Tarai region] was outlawed in 2000, it actually liberated the landlords, not the bonded labourers,’ says Laxman Kumar Hamal, member secretary of the Freed Kamaiya Rehabilitation Execution Committee at the Ministry of Land Reform (MoLR). ‘The same mistake has been repeated in the case of Haliyas.’

“For instance, the form that is being used to collect data on Haliyas does not require landlords to express commitment to help rehabilitate the tillers, which officials say is a serious oversight that will create problems in rehabilitation.”

UNTOUCHABLES RESIST TRADITIONAL SEGREGATION

Dalit woman attacked over burial ground dispute dies (The Hindu)

“The dispute over access to burial ground was on for quite sometime in the village and on December 22, 2010, the caste Hindus of the village had organised a meeting which was presided over by the panchayat president, in which, Revenue Inspector Kodangipatty, Inspector of Police Palani Chetti Patty and Sub-Inspector of Police Veerapandi participated. In the meeting, it was decided that the Dalits should not use the common burial ground and even if there was a dispute they should refer it only to the revenue authorities and police and decide on the place of burial.

“Meanwhile, on January 2, when an elderly Dalit person died, the Dalits of the village decided to bury him in the common burial ground meant for Hindus, but the dominant castes objected to this and attacked them. The Dalits staged a protest, following which the government authorities organised a peace meeting. However, the dominant caste members did not allow the Dalits to bury the deceased in the common burial ground. The body had to be buried in Dalits'own land.

“Tension between the Dalits and caste Hindus had been brewing for sometime and on January 27 a group of caste Hindus attacked Chinnayi [a 55-year-old-Dalit woman] by hurling petrol bombs, in which she suffered injuries [and died]. Raja (35), son of Chinnayi, lodged a complaint with the Veerapandi police who registered cases against Rasu Thevar, Damodaran, Markandan Singam and Dhanasekaran under Sections 147, 148, 436, 307 of IPC and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 3(1)(10), 3(2)(5) and [they] were arrested.”

CASTE-BASED HONOR KILLING IN TAMIL NADU

For marrying a Dalit, man slits daughter’s throat in police station (Times of India)

“Following a complaint by Joshua and Kalaivani that they feared for their lives as her family was against their marriage, Red Hills police inspector K Kumaran called Ezhumalai for talks. ‘Ezhumalai, a real estate businessman, came to the station dressed in a pair of trousers and shirt. As soon as he entered, he walked towards Kalaivani, pulled out a knife from his pocket and slit her throat,’ Kumaran said.

“Kalaivani, an undergraduate student, fled home on January 21 to get married to Joshua in a city church. She had met Joshua, an employee of a private firm in Ambattur, some 18 months ago through a common friend. Fearing opposition, she did not disclose her relationship to her family and registered her marriage at the sub-registrar's office in Egmore last week.”

A COMMENT ON AMBEDKAR’S LEGACY

Caste of millions by Pankaj Mishra (Financial Times)

“Other noble dreams of collective emancipation and glory, too, were compromised by the many exigencies of postcolonial nation-building. The colonial state, with its aloof bureaucracy and repressive apparatus, was retained, and radical new institutions of universal adult franchise and social welfare uneasily grafted on to it. Not surprisingly, torture and extrajudicial execution remain as commonplace a feature of contemporary India as free and largely fair elections, and the red-taped state still struggles to provide effective education and healthcare.

“The hierarchies underpinning India’s older cruelties of caste and gender have also survived the egalitarian proclamations of the constitution; universal franchise has yet to lead to a civil rights revolution. Dalits are still being lynched and raped by upper-caste feudal lords, and thousands of women burnt to death for bringing insufficient dowries, even as Dalit and female politicians move into the highest offices in the land. Indeed, Ambedkar’s battle against the inequities of the caste system has had the strangest afterlife.

“Beneficiaries of en bloc voting by previously subordinate groups, a generation of low-caste leaders has now enjoyed political power in India’s most populous provinces. Accused of corruption and incompetence, they have ended up advancing group claims and identities rather than individual rights for all. The most conspicuous of the new profiteers of caste is Mayawati, the Dalit chief minister of Uttar Pradesh’s 180m citizens. She has amassed a great personal fortune; her penchant for solitaire diamonds and huge statues of herself has further undermined the state’s investment-starved economy.”

UNTOUCHABLES AND TRIBALS: LAST HIRED, FIRST FIRED

SC/STs missing in private sector jobs: India Inc’s first caste census (Indian Express)

“The first-ever caste census of India Inc’s human resources has revealed that the proportion of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees in the private sector in some of the most industrialised states of the country hardly reflects their strength in the general population of those states.

“The only exception is Tamil Nadu, which ranks number one in industrialisation and employment (by number of factories and persons, according to the Annual Survey of Industries 2008-09). SCs/STs account for almost 18 per cent of the industrial workforce and 20 per cent of the state’s population.

“In sharp contrast are some of the other most industrialised states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal, which show a sharp mismatch between SCs/STs as a percentage of the total workforce in the private sector and as a percentage of the states’ total population.”

THE DIRECTOR OF THIS VIDEO IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER HIS VILLAGE TEMPLE

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Director: Amit Kumar | Producer: Video Volunteers Produced In: 2010 Synopsis: In the state of Haryana, Dalit communities (including the correspondent filming this video) are forbidden to enter temples. In Barot village, the temple allows only the villagers who belong to upper castes to worship, though most of the villagers belong to the Dalit community. The Constitution of India ensures equal rights for all citizens. This includes the right to “opt, embrace and practice any religion.” However, in Barot the Dalits have always been denied this right. They have been treated as “dirty” and asked by both the upper caste and the temple priest to keep away from the temple. Amit says that though the older generation have accepted this denial of rights as fate, youth in his community are angry about being treated as untouchables. Amit shot this video to share with viewers the humiliation he is made to feel every day for being a “Dalit youth.”

REPORT: CASTE STILL REFLECTS, REINFORCES AGRARIAN RELATIONS

Deprivation among Dalits remains high (The Hindu)

“A series of papers presented at the national seminar on ‘Dalit households in village economies’ painted a grim picture of deprivation among Dalits in rural India. These papers, based on a series of village studies since 2004, pointed to Dalits’ relatively poor access to official sources of credit, their lack of command over assets and amenities, and lower levels of employment and income.

“Commenting on the papers, Abhijit Sen, member, Planning Commission, pointed out that the value of these village studies — conducted by the Foundation of Agrarian Studies (FAS) and other researchers — was enhanced by the fact that they were not aimed at finding out how Dalits were faring exclusively in socio-economic terms. Instead, the extent and nature of deprivation among Dalits was being demonstrated as a part of a study of agrarian relations in the country, in which caste played an important role.

“Drawing on data from all the village surveys conducted by the FAS, Vikas Rawal, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, pointed out that ownership of land accounted for an overwhelming proportion of the value of assets among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. There is ‘a huge disparity’ in the levels of landholdings between the two social groups, he observed.

“[...] V.K. Ramachandran, Professor at the Sociological Research Unit, ISI, Kolkata, said, ‘Caste not only matters, but is right up there as a major explanation for inequality.’”

See also:

‘Agrarian question linked to Dalit discrimination’ (The Hindu, January 8, 2011)

A PORTRAIT OF VILLAGE INDIA IN 2010: SCARCITY, BIGOTRY, SYSTEMATIC RAPE OF UNTOUCHABLE WOMEN

India’s languishing countryside: A village in a million (The Economist)

“The 10,000-odd villagers—who make Shahabpur a medium-sized settlement in crowded north India—are arranged largely on the basis of caste. They live in caste-based ghettos; rarely socialise across caste lines, and never inter-marry. And the village dalits, as the former untouchables are now called, are often abused.

“The chamars, the biggest of Shahabpur’s half-dozen dalit caste-groups get the worst of it. They are, not coincidentally, the village’s poorest people. And several villagers—including from Shahabpur’s small Muslim community, well-informed observers of Hindu wiles—say they are routinely bullied and beaten. The worst dalit-bashers are said to be the patels, Shahabpur’s biggest community, which is about 3,000-strong. They are typical bullies: of a low-caste peasant order, the patels are just a rung or two higher up the caste ladder, which makes them jealous guardians of their perceived superiority.

“There is an exception to the caste divide in Shahabpur, which many Muslim and Hindu men enjoy. For a few rupees or handfuls of rice, they are said to demand and get sex with dalit women, typically just after sundown, when the villagers troop out to the fields to ablute. At an informal gathering of Muslim men outside the house of Anwar Ali—an upstanding clerk, who also housed your correspondent—it was estimated that perhaps 40% of the village’s non-dalit men upheld this ancient tradition. According to Sarju, until Sushila lost her youthful good looks, he suffered near-nightly terrors from drunken patel youths, who came clamouring for her outside his hut.

“This practice recalls a famous condemnation of village India by one of the country’s founding fathers, B.R. Ambedkar. The architect of the country’s 1949 constitution and a dalit, Ambedkar asked: ‘What is the village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism?’ (Mohandas Gandhi, by contrast, considered the villages to be India’s ideal social units.)”

SEGREGATION AND EXCLUSION IN INDIA’S CITIES

Urban rules of untouchability by Nisary Mahesh and Asha Menon (Media Voice (Tamil Nadu))

There is a polite silence around exclusion based on caste that happens in the cities. We trace the unstated rules through which it operates.

Rule 1

A good place to start is the capital city. Here, your house broker will mysteriously become too busy for you if you are a Dalit. [...]

Rule 2

While looking for a house, be prepared for questions on your caste. [...]

Rule 3

Neighbourhoods can be very choosy. [...]

Rule 4

Common pathways are not open to all. [...]

Rule 5

It is best not to assert your Dalit identity. [...]

Rule 6

There are separate benches for different castes, even in reputed educational institutes. [...]

Rule 7

City planning officials will have no qualms about exploiting the caste divide in slums, often to the detriment of backward castes. [...]

Rule 8

You may not be good enough to sit next to foreign clients or for a flight ticket. [...]

Rule 9

The definition of ‘merit’ at work will not be inclusive. [...]

Rule 10

You can be under tremendous pressure to perform, to prove yourself worthy of the ‘benefits’ given by the government. [...]

Rule 11

Domestic help cannot use the same toilets or same water filters. [...]

Rule 12

Even the gods will discriminate. [...]

Rule 13

Pooja rooms are a no-enter zone for domestic help. [...]

Rule 15

We are all friends till dinnertime. [...]

Rule 16

Humour is often used to sugar-coat offensive statements and behaviour. [...]

[read more]

DEPENDENT UNTOUCHABLE COMMUNITY FACES COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT FOR ONE MAN’S BASIC ACT OF SOCIAL ASSERTION

The ‘upper caste' renders Dalits of Saligrama jobless (The Hindu)

“As many as 500 Dalit families belonging to Saligrama village in K.R. Nagar taluk have been in dire straits following social ostracism by members of an ‘upper caste’ community for the last two weeks. [...]

“The immediate cause for the social boycott of the Holayas was a petty incident. Some cattle belonging to the ‘upper caste’ community was found grazing on the land belonging to one Govindaraju, a Dalit. Govindaraju took objection to the cattle being on his land as he was entirely dependent on the land for his livelihood.

“Govindaraju had an altercation with members of the ‘upper caste’ community on the matter, which led to him being assaulted. Govindaraju immediately filed a police complaint seeking protection. The ‘upper caste’ members feeling that he had ‘exceeded his limits’ by daring to file a police complaint, decided to boycott the Dalits from September 26.

“The incident came into the public domain after a fact-finding committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), led by State secretariat member Maruti Manpade, visited Saligrama on Monday and shared their findings with the media.

“The team visited the village and discovered that all Dalits had been dismissed from their jobs while those who employ their women folk as housemaids were asked to pay Rs. 2,000 for not abiding by the diktat of the ‘upper caste’. ‘What is worse is that those who brought this “violation” to the notice of the “leaders” were rewarded with Rs. 500,’ according to Varalakshmi, who was part of the CPI(M) team. The CPI(M) members said the Dalits in Saligrama were being denied work in farms while those who were working as lorry drivers, auto drivers and electricians had lost their jobs.”

DESPERATE PROTEST BY CASTE OF “MANUAL SCAVENGERS”

The Stink of Savanur by Anand Teltumbde (Countercurrents)

“On 20 July 2010, some manual scavengers of Savanur, a small town in Haveri district of north Karnataka performed a novel act in protest against their helplessness. They smeared themselves with human excreta in public before the municipal council office. [...]

“The issue was simple, so at least the people in Municipal Council of Savanur thought and ignored it. But it spelt virtual death to Dalits. They were suddenly asked by the Municipal Council to evict the land they lived on for generations just to construct a commercial complex there. The orders in terms of law were illegal but who would contest the authorities. The Dalits kept on pleading but their plea fell on deaf years.On the contrary, to pressure them the Municipal authorities cut off their water connection. Poor Dalits who belonged to the Bhangi sub-caste, would be forbidden to take water from any other source because of their untouchability. Buying it was out of question as they barely subsided on a pittance thrown to them for cleaning dry latrines. What may appear simple to others was thus a death knell for them, which drove them to the desperate act of daubing themselves with human excreta.The sensational act attracted media and thereby swarms of politicians. The ministers came, held meetings, issued orders and at least temporarily saved the Bhangis from devastation. As it happens, the action taken may prove to be mere wash up as suspected by the PUCL (Karnataka) fact finding (preliminary) report on the incident.”

See also:

Savanur and Manual Scavengers: Another loud cry for social justice (PUCL report, August 3, 2010 )

And see:

anti-caste posts on manual scavenging

DOCUMENTARY ON CASTE-BASED TRADITION OF FORCED PROSTITUTION

Prostitutes of god (The Independent (UK))

Former Independent journalist Sarah Harris has made a documentary about India's temple prostitutes – Devadasi are young girls who are dedicated to a Hindu deity at a young age and support their families as sex workers.

The first instalment of the four-part exclusively online documentary “Prostitutes of God” goes live today on VBS.tv.

Harris talked to The Independent Online about making the film:

“I first went to India after I left The Independent three years ago. I wanted to run away and do something really different, so I went to volunteer with a charity in southern India which rescues victims of sex trafficking.

“On my very first day there I stumbled into a meeting of Devadasi prostitutes. I was told that they were temple prostitutes, but didn’t have any understanding of what that meant. [...]

“The only thing that has changed since the Devadasi practise was made illegal in 1988 is that the ceremonies have been driven underground. It’s still very common in some parts of India. A Westerner wouldn’t know to look at the girls that they are Devadasi, but Indians know on sight who they are and what they do. Really it comes down to caste. [...]

“Girls from the Madiga caste, otherwise known as the ‘untouchable caste,’ have really limited prospects. They can be agricultural labourers, sewage collectors or prostitutes, essentially. As prostitution is the most lucrative, a lot of Madiga women get into sex work.”

UNTOUCHABLE HINDUS IN PAKISTAN TURNED AWAY FROM AID IN AFTERMATH OF FLOODS

Caste away: Scheduled caste Hindus in Sindh are facing floods as well as discrimination (The News International (Pakistan), September 19, 2010)

“According to a report, scheduled caste Hindus were even denied shelter and food at a Dharmshala in Larkana where local management had made arrangements for 500 upper caste Hindus displaced due to floods from upper Sindh and Balochistan.

“Nisar Khokhar, a BBC correspondent from Larkana, says that arrangements at Dharmshala were very impressive, but unfortunately there was no place for scheduled castes. ‘Milk and other food items were available in huge quantity, but the entry of scheduled caste Hindus inside Dharmshala was banned,’ he tells TNS.

“He says that he was impressed by the efforts of local Hindu Panchayat, which did not take money from the government and was managing flood relief facility inside the Dharmshala on self-help basis. But, unfortunately, those who were in the most need were denied access to the facility just because they belonged to lower caste.

“The attitude of government officials is no different. In Makli, Prithvi Raj and other scheduled castes are denied registration as displaced persons. This registration will entitle them for government aid in cash and kind. The government had already started distribution of cash (Rs20,000) through “Watan” card scheme.

“‘DCO office in Thatta has refused our registration and told us to go to Hyderabad because our NIC is from Hyderabad,’ complains Pirthvi Raj. ‘Yes, we have NIC from Hyderabad, but when flood came we were settled in Thatta District,’ he argues.

“The official plea that they should go and register themselves in Hyderabad will deny these poor people compensation because Hyderabad is not included in the list of affected districts.

““We have received nothing, be it ration or cooked food,’ says Sono Bagri at Sabzi Mandi Camp in Hyderabad city. ‘When we try to reach them, we are told to go away because we are “Bagri” schedule caste.’

“An NGO activist tells TNS she has been asked by her boss not to focus on Bagris because they are not affectees, but beggars. Even provincial ministers are on record saying that Bagris and other schedule castes are beggars and have gathered in and around camps to receive aid.”

PRIMARY-SCHOOL STUDENTS REFUSE FOOD COOKED BY UNTOUCHABLE

Yet another ‘battle’ waged over Dalit cooks (Times of India)

“On Thursday, TOI discovered that out of total 135 students, hardly 50 students–mostly Dalits and OBC–were eating the meal that comprised daal, chapati, rice and kheer. The remaining 85 students, mostly Thakurs and Brahmins refused to eat the food or boycotted classes, a practice that started on July 1, 2010, the day the school authorities appointed two new Dalit cooks. There are two upper-caste cooks in the school as well.

“The upper-caste villagers, who were protesting against the issue, said their children would not eat food prepared by Dalit.

“Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA), Ramabai Nagar, Sanjay Shukla, who was present at Jasapur primary school on Thursday, told TOI that the matter had been sorted out and food would be prepared by upper-caste cooks only.

“However, parents were adamant on their stand. ‘Us school mein hum apne bacchon ko nahi padhayenge jahan par “achooton” se khana banwaya jata hai’ (We will not let our wards study in a school where Dalits prepare food, said a villager, Lalla Bhadauriya.”

See also anti-caste: 300 SCHOOLCHILDREN BOYCOTT “UNCLEAN” LUNCHES (December 15, 2007)

CASTE IN BANGLADESH

Society lacks heart for untouchables (The Daily Star (Dhaka))

“The Dalits–the muchis (cobblers), the dhopas, the methors (sweepers) and the napits (barbers)–live a life of social exclusion. Restaurants don’t serve them; those that serve keep separate plates and glasses.

“‘We are not allowed to even touch any vegetable or chicken or anything for that matter in the market,’ Robi Das explains, as he comes out of the tea stall empty-handed. ‘They say if we touch anything, it is spoilt.’

“In Jessore, about 5,000 Dalits live in about 50 villages. Throughout the country there are about 55 lakh. They are the low caste Hindus, and the caste system that started in India ages ago–the exact time and how it was introduced is still debatable–keeps the children of the Dalits secluded in schools. Nobody sits next to them. Nobody plays with them. They just live like shadows, as Robi Das does.”

CASTE IN NEPAL

Magars ban dalits from using well (Republica (Kathmandu))

“The ban came following a dispute between the communities after two Mijar kids were thrashed for trying to drink water from the well when Magars were filling water.

[...]

“The well dug by Siraha District Development Committee around 22 years ago is the only means of drinking water for 17 households, including 11 of Magars and two of Halwais, in the Ruwale Tole.

“The Magars, however, claim they have not banned Mijars from filling water. ‘We have let them use the well at other times. They cannot fill water with us as they are from a lower caste,’ argues Tej Kumari, who thrashed the Mijar kids.

“Untouchability has been banned by the law since 1963.”

BARBER, LAUNDRYMAN FORCED OUT OF VILLAGE BY DOMINANT CASTE FOR SERVING UNTOUCHABLES

Bad hair days after caste bar (The Telegraph (Calcutta))

“Price of caste arrogance: an unkempt look with crumpled clothes and overgrown beards and hair.

“All because the majority Thevars of Irunjirai, located 80km from Madurai, had warned the village’s lone dhobi not to press Dalits’ clothes.

“The dhobi has shut shop and fled the village of 130 families and so has the barber, fearing the same diktat from the Thevars.

“‘Now we have no choice but to travel by bus to the nearest town to get a haircut or shave. Almost no one here bothers to get his clothes ironed any more,’ rued K. Paandi, a Thevar.

“A. Periasamy, the dhobi, said: ‘The Thevars had asked me not to iron Dalits’ clothes or else they would boycott my shop.’

“When he still went ahead and ironed a Dalit farmer’s shirt, the matter was dragged to the village panchayat which issued Periasamy a warning last January ‘to respect the majority sentiment.’

That scared barber Maarimuthu too into turning away his Dalit customers.

“‘Since the Thevars outnumber all other communities put together in the village, I could not afford to antagonise them,’ Maarimuthu said. [...]

“Village headman V. Murugesan, a Thevar, blamed the Dalits for ‘blowing the issue up’ and complaining to the district administration.

“‘The panchayat was ready to resolve the issue amicably but once the district authorities started arm-twisting our barber and dhobi, they moved out. And our villagers refused to support outsiders plying their trades here.’”

CASTE LAW HIGHER THAN CIVIL LAW IN TAMIL NADU

Medieval justice: Kangaroo courts call the shots in TN (Times of India)

“‘Kangaroo courts are the most powerful bodies that deliver judgment on any dispute or problem. They are still prevalent in many hamlets in the southern districts. Of the 167 villages we surveyed in south Tamil Nadu, we found the “kattapanchayat” active in all of them. They take law into their hands and deliver judgment,’ said Kathir, who heads [a Madurai-based NGO called] Evidence. The organisation conducted the study in Theni, Virudhunagar, Dindigul and Sivaganga districts.

“The Evidence study revealed that among 167 villages surveyed, 73 had common courts for all castes, while 14 had separate ‘courts’ for dalits and non-dalits. Fifty-nine of these villages had separate courts for every caste in the village. These are headed by the community heads called ‘nattamai’ or ‘panchayathar.’

“One hundred sixty-one of the kangaroo courts delivered caste-based verdicts. The punishment included begging for pardon in the village square or being ostracized. In some villages, the accused were asked to hold burning camphor in his palm, or go around the village temple a prescribed number of times or sometimes, beaten or tied to the tree as punishment. The fines ranged from Rs 10 to Rs 10,000 based on the nature of the crime and place.”

OVER 80 FORMS OF UNTOUCHABILITY FOUND IN PRACTICE IN TAMIL NADU

This abridged list, derived from the more comprehensive one compiled by the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front from a survey of 1,845 villages in the state, appeared in the article Untouchability Declassified (Open).

»Not allowed to speak on the cell phone in the presence of caste Hindus.

»Not allowed to keep male dogs. (Why? They might breed with female dogs from upper caste neighbourhoods.)

»Separate work timings under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

»Refusal to rent houses to Dalits in certain neighbourhoods in urban areas. (Reported in Madurai, Tamil Nadu’s second largest city.)

»No door delivery by postmen; postal department prevented from hiring Dalit postmen.

»No access to the common crematorium, burial grounds.

»Prevented from having their clothes washed or ironed, or assigned separate cupboards at the laundry for clothes of Dalits.

»Refusal by barbers to cut their hair, or separate chairs for Dalits.

»Separate ration shops, or queues, or timings for Dalits.

»Offered tea in coconut shells which they can drink only by squatting on the ground.

»Prevented from renting private marriage halls, public address systems.

»Forced to cut out portion of the name that suggests respect (Madaswamy will be called Mada, Muniyaswamy Muniya).

»Attacked if they call any caste Hindu as annan (brother).

»Erecting walls (as was seen in Uthappuram) to deny Dalits access to common places.

»Elderly members of the Dalit community addressed by children of the dominant caste as poda, vada (denoting lack of respect).

»No access to temples, public streets, public taps (separate timings to collect water), public tanks, temples.

»Sapparam (temple car) not driven through areas where Dalits reside.

»Not allowed to participate in pookkuzhi (a ritual of walking on fire) during festivals.

»Two, in some cases four, tumbler system in tea-shops, one set for Dalits and categories within them, another for caste Hindus.

»Separate neighbourhoods for Dalits in villages.

»Preventing the opening of milk dairy near Dalit neighbourhoods.

»Dalit (Arunthathiyar) students compelled to clean bathrooms in schools.

»Opposition to hiring Dalit cooks in mid-day meal school kitchens.

»Engaging Dalits, Arunthathiyars especially, in conservancy work.

»Dalit workers to bring their own food-plates while others need not.

»Boycotting meetings held by Dalit Panchayat presidents.

»Preventing the opening of panchayat office buildings in Dalit areas.

NOT ALLOWED TO...

»Wear shoes or chappals

»Wear polyester dhotis

»Ride bicycles or travel in bullock carts

»Sit under bus shelters at village bus stops

»Wear a cloth headgear or carry a towel over the shoulder (as is the local practice)

»Sport a thin moustache

»Sit on benches in hotels and tea stalls

»Burst crackers during festivals

»Rear cattle

»Sing or speak at village functions or participate in auctions

»Dine with caste Hindus

OBLIGATED TO...

»Offer goats gratis to descendants of past andais (landlords in the feudal age) during festivals

»Carry dead bodies

»Work in crematoriums and at burial grounds

»Sound the parai ( drums)

»Carry message of death to people of the dominant caste (to be paid only bus fare, food only if offered)

ATROCITIES ON DALITS:

»Forced to eat faeces.

»Urinating into the mouth.

»Murdered if elected as Panchayat President against the wishes of the dominant caste.

»Sexual assault on Dalit women.

»Burning alive if a Dalit fights for rights.

»Setting fire to Dalit huts.

»Tied to a tree and beaten up.

»Killing all dogs in a Dalit area if a dog of the Dalit area bites a dog that belongs to an upper caste community.

»Obstructing the common passage (if won through struggle) with mortar, grindstone and washing utensils there.

»Killing by poisoning one who inter-marries.

»Ostracising those Dalits who raise their voice for human rights.

»Attacking Dalits if they insist on using community halls.

»Making Dalits prostrate before members of the dominant caste and imposing fines on them.

»Refusal by the state administration to enforce access to burial grounds.

»Harassment and brutal attacks on Dalits by the police for fighting for their rights.

»Dalits driven away by the police for trying to enter temples

See also anti-caste: RITUALIZED HUMILIATION OF UNTOUCHABLES DOCUMENTED (May 21, 2010)

And see anti-caste: SURVEY OF 1,655 VILLAGES IN GUJARAT FINDS NOT A SINGLE ONE WHERE UNTOUCHABILITY IS NOT PRACTICED (December 07, 2009)

RITUALIZED HUMILIATION OF UNTOUCHABLES DOCUMENTED

New forms of untouchability (Express News Service)

“‘Other’ chairs in barber shops, bar on wearing polyester dhoties, opposition to rear pedigree pets and postmen not knocking on their doors are some of the new forms of untouchability that SCs in rural Tamil Nadu face, even today.

“A survey conducted by the CPM-backed Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front over the past seven to eight years has revealed that Dalits living in various parts of the State are subjected to different forms of inhuman discrimination.

“‘We have identified 80 forms of untouchability, apart from 23 forms of atrocities prevailing in Tamil Nadu,’ P Sampath, State Convener of the Front, told newspersons in Chennai on Thursday.

“‘Dalits in Aandarkottaram and Thaniamangalam villages falling under Melur Panchayat Union in Madurai district have to go to the post office to collect letters or money orders as postmen won’t step into Dalit colonies.

“‘Similarly, Schedule Caste people in Velayudhapuram village in Thoothukudi district don’t have the right to rear pedigree dogs.’ Some other unusual practices that figure in the report include disallowing Dalits to ride bicycles and bullock carts, keeping separate almirahs for stacking Dalit clothes at laundries, ban on bursting crackers during temple festivals, refusing permission to watch shows on public panchayat television sets and forcing Arunthathiyar students to clean toilets in schools.

“Refusal to call Dalits with ‘respectable’ terms in their names is another common practise – in names like Madasamy and Munniyasamy, the ‘samy’ is omitted and they are called Madan or Munni.

“Some of the cruelties identified are feeding Dalits with human faeces, sexual abuse and foisting of false cases. When the survey was presented to district collectors, they categorically denied existence of any such discrimination.

“Sampath said, ‘Perhaps, police are hand in glove with dominant communities.’”

BRILLIANT PIECE BY MEMBER OF THE FACT-FINDING TEAM AT MIRCHPUR

Mirchpur: A Dog Story by S. Anand

“Two Dalits were torched alive and 18 homes gutted in Hisar, Haryana, apparently over a dog. So what really happened?

“In Mirchpur, the official story is that a dog belonging to a Dalit, repeatedly referred to as a bitch in First Information Report No 166 filed at Narnaund police station, barks at some drunk Jat youth driving through the Balmiki colony. Rajinder Pali, son of a Jat zamindar, hurls a brick at the dog, Ruby. Yogesh, a young Dalit, objects, and an argument follows. They come to blows. Threatened with dire consequences, two Balmiki elders, Veer Bhan and Karan Singh, apologise to the Jat elders. They are beaten up badly. The Jats are baying now. The fact that the Narnaund’s Station House Officer (SHO) Vinod Kumar Kajal is close to a prominent Jat of Mirchpur, emboldens them. The stage is set for carnage.

“I spoke to Ruby, and wagging her tail, she denied that she had any role to play. She cited Namdeo Dhasal’s poem, ‘Song of the Dog and the Republic’: Chained dog being dog he whines and sometimes barks / This being his constitutional right. She even recounted a more bizarre case, reported in 2004, from Tamil Nadu’s Shanmugapuram village in Tuticorin district, where Reddiyars had issued a diktat barring Dalits from rearing male dogs since they could mate with bitches from the ‘chaste’ Hindu colonies.

“The Balmikis of Mirchpur have done well for themselves. Many have small businesses, work in the neighbouring district headquarters Jind, have contracts for fishing rights in the local pond, like Karan Singh whose pet Ruby is. In the past two years, they have even won the contract for conducting the annual spring festival at the local Phoolan Devi temple attended by people from all over Haryana. It is at this festival, which began in March this year, that trouble began brewing. The local Jat youth, Balmikis say, sexually harass Balmiki women, almost as a matter of right. This happened a bit too often in the crowded temple festival, to which they objected. Ruby is right. Her barking at Jats was just the pretext.

“Fearing the worst, Mirchpur’s Dalits begged for police protection. None came. On the morning of 21 April, as SHO Kajal and the local tehsildar hustled the Balmiki men to attend a compromise meeting, a mob of 300-400 Jats, men and women, encircled the Balmiki colony. They were armed with jerry cans of kerosene and petrol, agricultural implements and lathis. The SHO and the naib tehsildar apparently told the gathered Jats they would have one hour to do whatever they wished. Sounds exactly like what someone in Gujarat said in February 2002. What followed was targeted burning of 18 houses of relatively prosperous Balmikis. Before the Jat men set the homes ablaze, their women ransacked jewels, cash, clothes. Modest TV sets, DVD players, refrigerators and air-coolers lay twisted, singed by the heat. The skeletal remains of a motorbike, belonging to Amar Chauhan, brother of Suman, bears witness. A fan’s twisted blades droop eerily. [...]

“Outside the khap, Arjun Singh, a young Jat advocate, confronts me: ‘Please make sure you write that the Dalits set fire to their own homes for the sake of compensation. These dheds [dhed means something like ‘slave’; as a reference to the traditional servitude of untouchables it is an extreme casteist slur] will kill their own for the sake of money.’

“I rummage the charred remains of the house where Suman was locked in. She was affected by polio, and the tricycle provided to her stands outside the now-roofless house. Suman’s crumbling English textbook is called English with a Purpose. On the last page, it says in big type, ‘Together Make it a Better World.’”

See also:

Reign of Terror (Frontline, May 8-21, 2010):

“‘They call us dhed. They object to our sitting on charpoys [a type of cot used in villages],’ said Ram Kumar, a retired principal. Almost every Valmiki family in the village had a matriculate, he said. Back in 1995, in order to defuse the tension in the village, those like his father had accepted the humiliating terms set by Jats–such as removing his turban in front of Jats. But the Valmikis are in no mood to take such insults any more.

“The benefits of reservation and the legal safeguards have empowered the Valmikis. There are teachers, engineers, army men and gazetted officers from among them. But a good number of educated Valmikis work as daily wage labourers. With few government jobs and no agricultural land to fall back on, this section depends on construction and agricultural work on land owned by Jats.”

And see all anti-caste posts on the Mirchpur atrocity.

REPORT ON DEADLY ARSON ATTACK AGAINST ENTIRE UNTOUCHABLE COMMUNITY OF MIRCHPUR VILLAGE, HARYANA

Mirchpur: Attackers targeted dalit wealth (Times of India)

“A fact-finding team on a visit last Saturday to Haryana’s Mirchpur village, where two dalits were burned to death and 18 houses gutted, reports that the arson wasn’t arbitrary.

“The attackers, allegedly from the Jat community, identified houses of the more well-off among the Balmiki community and set them on fire. A beauty parlour, kirana stores and a barber-shop were totally gutted, an obvious attempt to cower dalit prosperity, however limited.

“‘Any semblance of status symbol was attacked," said journalist Bhasha Singh, houses with motorbikes, televisions, fridges. And shops that dalits ran. ‘The mood in the village was that dalits “need to be taught a lesson.”’ The first thing the mob did, a woman ‘was to break the Sintex water tanks provided by the government, so we had no way of dousing the fire.’ [...]

“Located in Hissar district, Mirchpur has a handful of dalits: about 100 Balmiki families, 350 ‘Jatav’ families and 50 Doms to the 1700-odd Jat families. The team found that growing economic prosperity among a section of the minority dalits seemed to be the root cause this time around. [...]

“Most dalit households have packed off women and younger family members to other villages. Those who remain told chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Buta Singh, also present in the village, they wanted to resettle elsewhere ‘far from the Jats.’ They called it ‘a pre-planned attack,’ the fight and barking-dog story only a pretext, what with a mob of 300 to 400 surrounding the locality on the morning of April 21, while the community’s men had been talked into attending a 'compromise meeting' to cool tensions.”

See also:

Fact-finding Team Condemns Arson, Burning of Dalits Houses and the Gruesome Killing at Mirchpur, in Haryana (National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), April 24, 2010):

“The key findings of the fact-finding team are:

“1. It was a pre-planned attack with the connivance of the police. The row over the dog, highlighted by the media and police, was only a pretext.

“2. There was trouble brewing over Dalits managing a local temple festival. The prosperity and independence of a section of the Dalits was begrudged by the Jats.

“3. The village Mirchpur has a history of violence against Dalits as evidenced by the 2007 incident where five Dalits belonging to Dom community were paraded naked and abused. Also, the Mirchpur carnage is a sequel to Salwan (2007, Karnal district); Gohana (2005) and the Jhajjar lynching (2003).

“4. There was, and continues to be, complete collusion between the Jat-dominated district police and the Jats of the village so much that Dalits have completely lost faith in the administration. Most Balmiki families have left the village and those left behind are demanding resettlement in a safer place.”

And see all anti-caste posts on the Mirchpur atrocity.

ARSON ATTACK ON UNTOUCHABLE COMMUNITY IN MIRCHPUR, HARYANA: TEENAGE GIRL AND FATHER BURNED ALIVE; HOMES AND BUSINESSES DESTROYED; HUNDREDS FLEE THE VILLAGE

Caste clashes force exodus in Hisar (NDTV)

“When a dalit family had an argument with members of the Jat community in Hisar, 18-year-old Suman and her father Tarachand became the victims.

“The sprawl began when the some Jat men threw stones at Tarachand’s dog and later allegedly torched nearly 25 dalit houses.

“Suman, who was wheelchair-bound and her father died in the blaze.

“When around 20 young men came to attack the village, 18-year-old Suman was in her house. Since she was physically challenged and did not know what else to do, she locked herself in a room. Unfortunately, it was set on fire and her body discovered the next day.

“Dalits in the village say the Jats, who consider themselves superior were increasingly growing jealous as many dalits were relatively well educated.”

See also:

Dalit’s killing forces exodus (Indian Express, April 23, 2010):

“‘We have seen members of our community being burnt. How can we live here? 200 to 300 persons were staying here, most of them have left and some youngsters are staying here. What have the authorities done when all this was happening?’ said Sunil.”

And see:

Caste in blood: Hisar can't give up prejudice (IBN Live, April 25, 2010):

“‘The police SHO is related to the Jats. He did not take any action. He was standing there with the Jats and drinking water with them,’ alleges Ajay Kumar, another Dalit villager.”

And see also:

For two days, Hisar Dalits waited for police, then the mob came
(Indian Express, April 23, 2010)

And see all anti-caste posts on the Mirchpur atrocity.

ANOTHER UNTOUCHABLE KILLED FOR CROSSING CASTE LINES

Boy killed for loving upper-caste girl (Times of India)

“NEW DELHI: Just days after a Karnal court in Haryana sentenced five men to death for their role in an honour killing, the central district police claimed to have apprehended a 17-year-old minor and his two friends, allegedly for plotting and murdering a 20-year-old Dalit youth who reportedly ‘proposed’ to the former’s 15-year-old sister.

“‘The boy came all the way from Haryana, where his family had sent him after he fell in bad company, after news reached him that Bunty proposed to his younger sister, a Class 10 student of open school, in full public view,’ said Jaspal Singh, DCP (central).

“According to the police, Bunty was lured to a spot near Jakhira Bridge on March 25 where, helped by Arun alias Behari (22) and a 14-year-old boy, the brother of the girl killed him.”

See also:

Yadav youth married to Dalit ‘thrown down’ from moving train in Allahabad, dies (Express News Service, April 22, 2010)