anti-caste

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)

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.”

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)

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)

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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]

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.”

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.”

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.’”

NEITHER CONVERSION NOR DEATH ITSELF BRINGS ESCAPE FROM UNTOUCHABILITY

Caste Hindus oppose burial of Dalit convert (The Hindu)

“The only ten Dalit families of Katripulam [in Tamil Nadu] had converted to Christianity three years ago.

“However, there has been a samudaya thadai, or community restraint, on commemoration of their religious practices within the village. With the first death in their community, the issue came to the fore.

“Dalit graveyards have had a chequered trajectory here. All the graveyards on government poramboke lands are common for all, except Dalits. As in life, Dalits are ostracised in their graves and the ‘SC graveyards’ are government-sanctioned euphemisms for such ostracism. [...]

“According to Birla Thangadurai, member of District Committee against Bonded Labour, those families had converted to escape caste oppression. The point is to have them bonded for eternity.”

UPPER-CASTE BIGOTS WON'T LET UNTOUCHABLES COOK SCHOOL LUNCHES

Mid-day meal programme sparks caste row (Kalinga Times)

"In the latest caste-bound conflict, the noon meal was yesterday stopped in a government-run primary school in a remote village under Rajnagar tehsil[, West Bengal] with a section of villagers registering their protest against cooking of mid-day meals by scheduled caste women.

"The meal was stopped yesterday at Sidha Marichani Primary School in Sanamarichapalli village. A section of Village education committee (VEC) members made their way to school kitchen and forced the Dalits cooks to stop the noon meal. Their argument was that Dalits have no right to cook in the school that accommodates the upper caste children.

Two Dalits cooks were locked up inside the kitchen for over an hour before the school head master rescued them. [...]

"The village has a population of about 700 people of which nearly one-third are from lower caste origin.

"As one passes through the backward village with rows of mud-walled and thatched houses, deceptive calm pervades the air. The demographic graph of the village is heavily tilted towards the upper caste. The upper castes, mostly landowners, are economically better off than the Dalits. [...]

"It's pertinent to note here that the School and Mass Education Department was earlier accused of shutting the 'kitchen' doors for Dalit women on the ground that upper caste children may skip the mid-day meals. The government agencies monitoring the scheme in the district had allegedly stopped recruiting the Dalits as cooks.

"The retrenchment drive of Dalit cooks had triggered a furore with the National Human Rights Commission last year directing the administration to stop the caste-bound and arbitrary practice."

See anti-caste: UPPER-CASTE PARENTS WON'T SEND CHILDREN TO SCHOOL WHERE UNTOUCHABLE WOMAN COOKS LUNCHES (July 27, 2009) and MAYAWATI'S GOVERNMENT UPHOLDS FIRING OF UNTOUCHABLE OVER CASTE-BASED TABOO (February 27, 2008) and 300 SCHOOLCHILDREN BOYCOTT "UNCLEAN" LUNCHES (December 15, 2007).

A BATTLE WON?

In an article titled "A battle won" (November 7-20, 2009), Frontline magazine reported that after a month of agitation filled with "unprecedented violence" by caste Hindus, the untouchables of Chettipulam village in Tamil Nadu had been allowed to enter the local Hindu shrine "under tight police protection" on October 27.

Today The Hindu reports:

Dalits not being hired for work

"Two months after the Dalits of Chettipulam were ushered into the Ekambareshwarar temple by the district administration, they are not finding work.

"The village has placed a Samudaya Kattupadu, or unwritten social control, against engaging Dalit labour, said a police source. Dalits do not find jobs in all seven Kadus (administrative divisions) of Chettipulam.

"There were attempts to pressurise people from nearby villages to exclude Dalits from labour.

"'A Dalit man, who was de-weeding a field, was asked to leave after a Caste Hindu refused to work on the same field,' says Pushpavalli, a Dalit woman, who was relieved as domestic help.

"According to a Revenue Department official, the tacit agreement among Caste Hindus is real, though it would never be acknowledged.

"Dalits have not entered the Ekambareshwarar Temple after October 27, when they were led in by the district administration as the State watched."

“HOW DARE YOU DEFILE THE SACRED UMBRELLA?”

Dalits ‘beaten up’ for touching deity parasol (Express Buzz)

"The festival of Ayyappan temple in Uthangudi near Madurai is celebrated every year. The chariot bearing the idol of the Lord used to be taken around all streets of the village, except those in the Dalit area, claiming that the ‘untouchables’ were not fit to worship the deity.

"This year the festival was celebrated on December 26 and the deity was taken in procession. Some people of high caste were holding aloft the decorated umbrella above the idol. One of the men holding the umbrella had asked a Dalit, Pratap (19), to hold the umbrella while he tied his dhoti.

"When Pratap held the stem of the umbrella, a high caste man had pulled him out, abused and slapped him saying, 'How dare you defile the sacred umbrella? Have you developed such courage?'. [...]

"[T]hat night about 30 caste Hindus armed with lethal weapons had entered the Dalit colony and broken open the door of Vinothkumar.

"The mob had dragged Letchumy (21) wife of Arumugam and sister of Vinothkumar, who was pregnant and beaten her with chappals [sandals].

"She was then pushed into the sewer and kicked." [The Hindu (December 30) reports that the woman is "undergoing treatment at the Government Rajaji Hospital."]

SURVEY OF 1,655 VILLAGES IN GUJARAT FINDS NOT A SINGLE ONE WHERE UNTOUCHABILITY IS NOT PRACTICED

No temple entry for dalits in Gujarat (Times of India)

“In a first-of-its-kind study on a large scale, representing 98,000 Dalits across 1,655 villages in Gujarat, it comes out that 97% respondents feel they have ‘no entry’ at certain places in their own villages, including a temple or where a religious ceremony is taking place. [...]

“‘This is the first study on such a large sample size and we covered 99 forms of untouchability that are still practised in villages. There are 12,500 villages in Gujarat where Dalits live. We have covered 1,655 of these villages and around 11 per cent of the total Dalit population,’ says Manjula Pradeep, director of Navsarjan Trust.

“During the study, the researchers did not find a single village where no form of untouchability is practised, giving an unnerving idea about the extent of the problem in a state which is home to Mahatma Gandhi.”

See also:

Vibrant Gujarat? 98% Dalits have to drink tea in separate cups (Times of India, December 8, 2009):

“Bhikhabhai Solanki, 50, a native of Lodariyal village, has never shaken hands with non-Dalits in his life. Bhikhabhai, an agricultural labourer, is Valmiki by caste—the lowest of the socially downtrodden. ‘We are untouchables and nobody touches us here,’ he says.

“The farmer he works for keeps a tea-cup outside his house. Whenever Bhikhabhai arrived for work in the morning or leaves after finishing in the evening, tea is poured into the cup. Strangely, this form of untouchability goes in the name of religion. These cups are called ‘Ram patra’. [...]

“In Lodariyal, Dalit women can't touch vegetables at the shop just to sample them. Only once they pay up, and the money is kept on the side and not handed over, the vegetables are flung into the hollow of their saree. The tea stall owner gives tea to Dalits only in disposable plastic cups. Others get it in ceramic cups.”

And see:

Dalit kids shamed at mid-day meals (Times of India, December 9, 2009):

“As per the 'Census on Untouchability', a study representing 98,000 Dalits across 1,655 villages in Gujarat, 53.78% Dalit children studying in primary schools are discriminated against in mid-day meals.

“‘We are made to sit separately during the lunch hour,’ says Vijay Sitapara, 9, who belongs to the Valmiki caste, the lowest of the socially downtrodden. Vijay, who studies in class IV at the government primary school in Modhvana, says schoolmates from other castes avoid having food with them.

“While other backward class children would still have food, though seated separately from the Dalits, higher caste pupils stay away altogether from mid-day meals at this school because the food is cooked by a Dalit. ‘I come from a Dalit family. Naturally, higher caste members will not eat what I cook,’ says Gauri Vankar.

“Even as the syllabus teaches equality, students learn lessons in untouchability in practice. All Dalit students are forbidden from participating in cultural events. Valmikis have to also clean up school toilets. Dharmendra Sitapara cleaned up the toilets since he was in class IV. Now, he is in high school which has a sweeper.”

Read the full report:

Understanding Untouchability: A Comprehensive Study of Practices and Conditions in 1589 Villages (Navsarjan Trust and The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights)

SEGREGATED AND HUMILIATED IN THE CLASSROOM

School makes kids CRY (DNA)

"It was an event that brought to the fore the problems of the state's poor children. At a forum in the city, many were incredulous that the children could articulate their problems with such clarity.

"The children at the public hearing were brought to Bangalore from across the state. They were at the hearing organized by the NGO, Child Rights and You (CRY) on Friday.

"Most of the children were dropouts from school, who wished to continue studying. Rekha, 14, from Hassan district said, 'I have studied till class 9. My teacher used to compare me with students from the upper castes, and ask me not to come to school at all. Not just that, the school had no toilet or drinking water, and roof was the sort that might just cave in. I would like to study, but not at that school, not with that teacher.'

"Lakshmi, 15, from Bijapur said, 'I am physically challenged. It was difficult for me even to reach school. I was regular in my attendance, however, but my teachers told me that I am a 'dalit and handicapped', and that I need not come to school. I studied till class 7. I would like to continue studying further. But I would like to go to a school where I'm not treated any differently.'

"Kavya, 12, came to Bangalore from Ramanagar. 'There is one anganawadi [government-sponsored daycare center] in my village. The teachers there do not allow us, dalits, to sit with the other children. My brother was going to that anganawadi, but my parents stopped sending him there because they would not let him mix with the other children. My brother was told not to touch upper caste children.'

CASTE OPPRESSION OF CHRISTIANS, BY FELLOW CHRISTIANS

Dalit Christians to walk out of Eraiyur village (Express Buzz)

"Eraiyur was under media spotlight last year when the Dalits of the parish were on a fast-unto-death in March. They alleged that Vanniyars [an upper-caste Christian community] were not allowing Dalits to use the pathway to the cemetry and not sharing with them the cemetry and the hearse. Vanniyars had their separate burial ground and own hearse to cart the dead there.

"Besides, they had raised their voice against the sacred car with the idol of Our Lady of Rosary, taken out through the village streets during the main festival in May, not visiting Dalit colonies and the around 1,000 Dalit congregation not being allowed to contribute money for the conduct of the festival.

"When the protest in March last year led to a police firing, killing two persons, a peace meeting was called and the archdiocese of Puducherry and Cuddalore gave an assurance to put an end to the discrimination.

"But other than the common pathway issue, nothing else has been sorted out. A new hearse provided to the parish has not been touched by the Vanniyars, who have made one exclusively for themselves."

See also:

A house divided: Caste violence at Eraiyur in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district brings to the fore the issue of discrimination against Dalit Christians (Frontline, April 12-25, 2008):

"Dalit Christians of the village have been on a fast since March 7 demanding that the Archbishop recognise the Sagaya Matha Chapel they had built for a new Dalit parish in the village. Their complaint was that they were not treated as equals by the Vanniar Christians within the Church of Our Lady of Rosary, the present Eraiyur parish church, located in the centre of Eraiyur. Archbishop Anthony Aanandarayar was firm that there could not be two churches for the same order in one village.

"On the third day of the fast, on March 9, angry Vanniar Christians carrying sticks, poles, iron rods, stones and other weapons stormed the Dalit colony in the village. Over 30 Dalits were injured and about 80 of their houses were damaged."

And see anti-caste: CHRISTIANS IN TAMIL NADU VILLAGE TREATING OTHER CHRISTIANS AS UNTOUCHABLE (June 12, 2009)

MEDIEVAL BIGOTRY IN TAMIL NADU CITY

Madurai's wall of shame still stands (NDTV)

"Six months ago, the state government chose to open a separate ration shop for Dalits than acting tough against the dominant Pillai community. There's also a school and a road meant strictly for Dalits only.

"'When we go to the shop, even if our dress touches them they'd take a shower because we are untouchables,' said a woman."

TABOO AGAINST SHARING DRINKING VESSELS IN A TAMIL NADU VILLAGE

Double-tumbler system alive and kicking (Express News Service)

"Express witnessed the discrimination at a teashop there. While Dalits were offered tea in disposable tumblers, caste Hindus got their hot beverage in steel tumblers. The Dalits didn’t muster courage to seek equal treatment.

"Azhagupandi, a Dalit from the village, told Express that though no one talks about the double-tumbler system existing here, the reality was it still exists, but remains subtle. 'One has to live with us to experience the discrimination we are subjected to,' he said."

Oklahoma City, 1939: "colored"-only water cooler
(Amistad Digital Resource)

NEITHER EDUCATION NOR CLASS POSITION ERASES CASTE STATUS

Doctors work together, but eat by caste (NDTV)

"By day, they work together, consulting with each other to help their patients.

"But at lunch, the 150 doctors at this medical college in Muzaffarpur [Bihar] head to seven separate rooms.

"The menu in each cafeteria is the same. Daal, rice, sabzi. But 'the kitchens are separate for Harijans, Thakurs and Brahmins,' says Shatrughan Rai, who works as a cook in the Yadav kitchen, one he describes as a kitchen for a backward class.

"The doctors say this is a tradition. 'Our seniors followed it. Now we do,' declares Dr. Aditya, who refuses to reveal his caste.

"The kitchen and dining rooms were separated at the height of the caste movement in Bihar in the 60s and 70s.

"The call for change is not deafening, even though the majority of the doctors today are from lower castes. They say they have to proceed with caution. 'It has been happening for a long, long time. It's not our choice, but a tradition. The government should intervene and stop it,' says Dr. Raman, President, and Junior Doctors' Association.

"The principal of the college insists that doctors eat together. A few hours later, we witness them filing into their separate cafeterias."

See also:

Caste-based food served at Muzaffarpur medical college (Times of India, September 14, 2009)

SOCIAL DISTANCE ENFORCED WITH HORRIFYING BIGOTED ASSAULT

Dalit tonsured, paraded for dialling wrong number (Times of India)

"A Dalit youth was beaten, tonsured and paraded through the streets in a Haryana village — for dialling a wrong number. Narrating his ordeal to the police on Wednesday, Suresh, a resident of Dani Ramjas in Bhiwani district, said, 'I was trying the telephone number of one of my acquaintances on Monday when I inadvertently dialled the number of Dharam Singh (another villager). The moment I realized my mistake, I apologized immediately and disconnected the phone.'

"The apology, however, did not help. 'On Tuesday, Dharam and his friends, numbering six, humiliated me publicly when I was on my way to Siwani town. They tonsured me after lifting and carrying me away bodily. That done, they tied me to a motorcycle and paraded me through the streets, thrashing me intermittently,' Suresh said."

"Not stopping at that, his tormentors threatened him with dire consequences if he reported the matter to police, he said. The police are yet to register a case though the Dalits have demanded action against the perpetrators."

SURVEY CONDUCTED ACROSS RURAL INDIA FINDS NAKED UNTOUCHABILITY

Untouchability alive in rural areas: Study (Times of India)

"Dalit participation in social activities has improved, with 591 invited for wedding feasts. But the improvement stops there. Around 29% said they wait for others to finish eating before they can eat while 20% non-SCs said they expected SCs to wash their plates after eating.

"The primitive manifestations of untouchability still exist, even if they are on the wane. In the survey, 7% respondents said they were barred from entering main streets of villages while 7% said they could not wear sandals and walk in front of a dominant caste member. In fact, 9% revealed they had to talk with folded hands and 29% said they had to stand up in respect.

"A sore point of old caste segregation was bar on entry of SCs in non-Dalit houses. While 82% revealed they were allowed in, around 18% were still not.

"A big section of non-SCs said they would not allow SCs into their houses while an equal number refused to comment, showing the sensitivity was not easy to overcome. SC women work as maids in other caste homes but a majority said they were not allowed inside. Many in Karnataka, MP and Rajasthan named Brahmins and Konkani castes as barring their entry while in Bengal, 34 different OBCs were identified.

"As many as 20% said they were not served food and water in non-Dalit homes while 24% claimed being served in separate vessels. At least 25% non-SCs concurred with the claim.

"Dalit children are still growing with the stigma of being from inferior class. While seating arrangements are common in schools, SC kids in many cases are asked to take the back benches. Also, many are served midday meals separately from other children.

"The bias showed when over 40% non-SC respondents agreed there were no SC teachers in their village schools.

"Vestiges of mediaeval society became apparent when upper castes and OBCs, if only a handful, revealed they served SCs in towels or their upper garments; while some poured water directly into the cupped Dalit hands for drinking instead of giving a tumbler. A few cases showed that barbers used separate instruments for haircut of Dalits.

"The survey was carried out in six states and 24 villages, a mix of those with highest and lowest crimes under PCR Act. [...]

"For all the empowerment, Dalits in the countryside are still forced into services seen as 'menial' — 154 of 553 Dalits performed drumbeating, 42 grave digging while 97 were into making chappals [leather sandals]. As many as 78 said they were asked to carry out animal sacrifice and 57 said they were sweepers."

And see:

Drink your own water, dead dog or no (Times of India, July 31, 2009):

"Citing one instance, the study says a dog had fallen into this well and died. The dalits were left with no option, but to consume the toxic water after removing the carcass. 'Even in such inhuman conditions, dalits are not allowed to enter the main part of the village and fetch water from the tubewells situated inside the village, where the upper castes live,' the study says."

UPPER-CASTE PARENTS WON'T SEND CHILDREN TO SCHOOL WHERE UNTOUCHABLE WOMAN COOKS LUNCHES

Low school attendance as Thakurs and Dalits at loggerheads (Times of India)

"On Monday, the team TOI found that out of the total 62 students barely 26, mostly Dalit and Muslim were eating the meal. The remaining 36 students were found to be absent from their respective classes, in order to avoid eating the meal being prepared by a Dalit.

"The situation has worsened to such an extent that now both the Dalit and Thakur communities of the village are at loggerheads over the issue.

"'We have now learnt that parents of Dalit students have even further threatened to withdraw their wards, if any attempt to remove the Dalit cook will be made by the authorities,' said a school teacher on condition of anonymity.

[...]

"Meanwhile, the upper caste people of the village said that there is no question of sending children to school, where a woman belonging to scheduled caste has been appointed by the school authorities to cook food for their children.

"'Us school mein apne bacchon ko bhejkar hame apna hukka-paani nahi band karwana hai,' said a villager, Ram Pal Singh adding that we will not allow our children to even touch the food."

See also yet another instance of this form of bigotry:

UP school sacks dalit cook after students refuse to eat (DNA, August 27, 2009)

And see anti-caste: MAYAWATI'S GOVERNMENT UPHOLDS FIRING OF UNTOUCHABLE OVER CASTE-BASED TABOO (February 27, 2008)

REPORT ON CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION IN SCHOOLS

Dalit kids cannot use school loo but have to clean them (Times of India)

"The report says physical access to schools is the biggest problem for Dalit children. In Bihar, UP and Rajasthan, most of the schools are situated in the dominant caste localities and Dalit children have to travel on an average half-an-hour to reach school. In the case of middle and high schools, Dalit children have to travel almost 3-4 kilometres in all the states. It is only in Maharashtra that Dalit children do not have to travel that far. But here too, the schools are located in dominant caste areas.

"Asked why they came late to school, Dalit children gave various reasons including household chores, school distance, inability to keep track of school time and also the fact that they had to wait for other friends to go in a group due to fear from dominant caste children. In the school, it was found that participation of Dalit children was minimal. The morning assembly was invariably always conducted by upper caste children. In the class, Dalit children were made to sit at the back and in some schools of Bihar on the barren floor while mats were given to upper caste children. Even the notebooks and homework of the Dalit children were not checked by teachers.

"As per the report, Dalit children in UP were also assigned menial caste-based tasks like cleaning the yard, filling up water buckets and cleaning the toilets. This led to other children treating them badly and considering them inferior. And what was shocking was that Dalit girl children were seldom allowed to use toilets. Dalit children are kept out of even functions like Independence Day."

See also:

Kerala: Dalits discriminated against in schools: study (The Hindu, August 3, 2009)

CHRISTIANS IN TAMIL NADU VILLAGE TREATING OTHER CHRISTIANS AS UNTOUCHABLE

Bigotry alive for Christian Dalits (BBC)

"The dominant Vanniyar [Christian]s created rules which restricted the movement of the Dalit [Christian]s.

"When they visited the parish church they were not allowed to walk on the main street leading to the building. Instead they had to use a side street that led to the church gate.

"When Dalits died they were not allowed to be buried in the cemetery. Their burial ground is beyond the village and can only be accessed through a broken path.

"In addition, the funeral cart parked inside the church building can be used only by Vanniyars.

"'We were told not to touch any upper caste person, not to get too close to them, not to talk to them,'" says Mrs Peraiyamaka, 60, a farm labourer who has been visiting the parish church since childhood.

"'It is no different now.'"

ON THE EARLY WRITINGS OF A YOUNG REVOLUTIONARY

Bhagat Singh’s writings against communalism and untouchability by S. Irfan Habib (The Friday Times (Pakistan))

"In the June 1928 issue of the Kirti, published from Amritsar, Bhagat Singh wrote two articles titled Achoot ka Sawaal (On Untouchability) and Sampradayik Dange aur unka Ilaj (Communal riots and their solutions). What Bhagat Singh wrote in 1928 appears to be contemporaneous even in 2008, which unfortunately proves how precious little has been done to resolve these questions. In the first piece, Bhagat Singh starts by saying that

our country is unique where six crore citizens are called untouchables and their mere touch defiles the upper castes. Gods get enraged if they enter the temples. It is shameful that such things are being practised in the twentieth century. We claim to be a spiritual country but hesitate to accept equality of all human beings while materialist Europe is talking of revolution since centuries. They had proclaimed equality during the American and French revolutions. However, we are still debating whether the untouchable is entitled for the sacred thread or can he read the Vedas or not. We are chagrined about discrimination against Indians in foreign lands, and whine that the English do not give us equal rights in India.

"'Given our conduct,' Bhagat Singh wondered, 'do we really have any right to complain about such matters?'"

REPORT: UNTOUCHABILITY IS COMMONPLACE IN MADYA PRADESH SCHOOLS

Apartheid funded by the Indian tax-payer (Hindustani Times)

"According to a survey on social discrimination conducted by Jansahas, an NGO, and Unicef, in 24 villages across four districts – Ujjain, Sheopur, Katni and Jhabua – in Madhya Pradesh, more than 63 per cent of Dalit children are subjected to caste discrimination while being served mid-day meals in government schools.

"They are forced to sit in separate rows, bring utensils from home or given food in plates marked boldly with permanent ink to distinguish them from the rest.

“'As many as 40 per cent of Dalit students facing discrimination were given mid-day meals in plates specially set aside for them,' Jansahas activist Ashif Sheikh told Hindustan Times.

"While some were asked to bring utensils from home, most were served their mid-day meals on leaf plates. Non-Dalits, however, were served on metal plates.

"The survey found that most teachers were insensitive to the discrimination against Dalits because of caste-based traditions being followed in rural areas, he said.

"In a majority of the schools surveyed, Dalit students were not allowed to sit in the front row. As many as 78 per cent of school-going Dalit students were backbenchers or forced away from the front row and subjected to casteist abuses.

"And 79 per cent of such students were compelled to clean the schools. In some schools, this chore was given only to Dalit girls."

INSTITUTIONALIZED UNTOUCHABILITY IN TAMIL NADU RESTAURANTS

‘Double tumbler’ system still in vogue here (The Hindu)

"B. Veerabadran, a Dalit youth from Mavanatti village, told The Hindu that owners of eateries kept plastic tumblers near bins outside their shops. Mr. Veerabadran said Dalits were served tea or coffee in these tumblers. After drinking tea they had to wash the tumblers themselves and keep them at the designated place – near the bin. The tea would be poured to the tumblers by the hoteliers [hotel=restaurant in Indian English] who would take care not to touch them.

"Many times the food joints do not give Dalits tea or coffee even if the shops have enough milk, sugar and tea or coffee powder.

"Young members of the community find it hard to bear this. 'Why do we have to face this humiliation? We want the state government to totally eradicate untouchability in society. We want to sit with others in hotels,' they said. They alleged that when they complained to the police about this practice and atrocities against them the police intimidated them and foisted false cases on them."

UNTOUCHABILITY IN JAPAN

Japan’s Outcasts Still Wait for Acceptance (New York Times)

"[...]Ms. Tanaka encountered discrimination only when she began going to high school in another ward. One time, while she was visiting a friend’s house, the grandparents invited her to stay over for lunch.

"'The atmosphere was pleasant in the beginning, but then they asked me where I lived,' she said. 'When I told them, the grandfather put down his chopsticks right away and went upstairs.'

"A generation ago, most buraku married other buraku. But by the 1990s, when Ms. Tanaka met her future husband, who is not a buraku, marriages to outsiders were becoming more common."

UNTOUCHABILITY AND WATER RIGHTS

In most parts of India, where water for drinking and irrigation is scarce, control of water sources is an index of class dominance, which is linked in turn to caste status. And in the ritual scheme which legitimizes the caste system, water is a carrier of the pollution that lower castes and untouchables spread.

So water rights in the Indian countryside is a chronic site of caste oppression, which, when resisted—as it increasingly is—often leads to atrocities like the ones collected below, all from the past eleven months. In no way exceptional, these stories stand in for any number of others that might have been chosen, as well as for countless more that surely never made it into the press:

Uttar Pradesh, January 16: The upper castes are not allowing Dalits to draw water for irrigation from a government tubewell.

Rajastan, January 26: When Dalits won the right to use the village pond, caste Hindus turned it into a sewer.

Orissa, March 26: Upper caste residents allegedly denied a woman from drawing water from a tube well because she was a Dalit.

Bihar, May 6: A Dalit youth was tortured and beaten to death for allegedly stealing a water pump.

Himachal Pradesh, May 13: They are prevented to draw water from the village tube-wells and even to sit on verandas of the upper caste.

Bihar, May 30: In the scorching summer, Janpatia Devi's family doesn't have a drop to drink. That's because she is a Dalit, and the well in the village meant only for her community has gone dry.

Madya Pradesh, June 6: An elderly Dalit woman was burnt alive allegedly by three members of an upper caste community over a dispute on fetching water from a village hand pump.

Uttar Pradesh, June 9: 15-year-old Daya Shankar and three fellow villagers were arrested for allegedly trying to capture a tanker delivering drinking water to their village.

Gujarat, July 31: If there is water in a well, Dalits have to wait for other villagers as we can't touch their wells.

Karnataka, November 8: The “upper castes” in the village had stopped the supply of water from a tank located in the Dalit colony on the grounds that the water from the tank was not fit to be used to conduct puja [Hindu ritual worship].

Uttar Pradesh, November 12: An old Dalit woman was beaten up by upper caste people for using a hand pump installed in their locality to draw water.

CASTE BIGOTRY IN INDIAN SCHOOLS GOES UNPUNISHED

Lessons from Khairlanji by Meena Menon (The Hindu)

"A somewhat strange purification ritual took place in Surewada village near Bhandara last April. Students appearing for a geography examination in the local school were taken aback when a teacher sprinkled what was suspected to be cow urine on them as well as their answer sheets. The headmaster and assistant teacher of the school were arrested under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The ritual was supposedly performed 'to purify' the school after the transfer of a Scheduled Caste headmistress.

"The case went to trial and on July 15, 2008, a special judge in Bhandara ruled that the charges under the Atrocities Act were not tenable and the prosecution had failed to establish that the liquid which was sprinkled on the students was cow urine. [...] The verdict in this instance is more the rule than the exception for offences under the Atrocities Act. According to an official report, 'Crime in Maharashtra, 2007,' by the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) released this year, the conviction rate under the Atrocities Act for 2007 was a minuscule 1.9 and for offences against Scheduled Castes it was 2.2 per cent. In 2007, the CID report says the rate of crime against Scheduled Castes was the highest in Bhandara district."

STUDY FINDS UNTOUCHABILITY IN 47 OUT OF 47 TAMIL NADU VILLAGES VISITED

Untouchability unlimited (Frontline)

"These apart, the study found some quirky restrictions on Dalits. They were, for instance, forbidden from keeping male dogs. In some villages, during the temple festival Dalits were supposed to stay hidden from caste Hindus. The two-tumbler system, under which Dalits and non-Dalits were served tea in different vessels, was still prevalent in teashops in many places and in some village eateries Dalits were compelled to sit on the floor.

MAYAWATI'S GOVERNMENT UPHOLDS FIRING OF UNTOUCHABLE OVER CASTE-BASED TABOO

Caste shadows over school cook row (BBC News)

"Says senior government official Sailesh Krishna, 'Phool Kumari was removed on the basis of her performance, caste was not an issue here.'

"At the Harijan Basti [segregated untouchable quarter], Phool Kumari and her neighbours are livid at the explanation.

"'To stay in power Mayawati is wooing the upper-castes. She doesn't care about us. She wants our vote, but she's not bothered about us,' says Phool Kumari.

"'But I'm going to carry on fighting. Even if they kill me, I won't give up,' she says."

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

And see anti-caste: MAYAWATI KUMARI, LEADER OF LOW-CASTE-BASED CAPITALIST PARTY, TO BE CHIEF MINISTER OF UTTAR PRADESH (May 12, 2007)

IN UTTAR PRADESH, IN TAMIL NADU, UNTOUCHABLES NOT ALLOWED INTO TEMPLES

Dalit beaten for trying to enter UP temple (Times of India)

"'They not only assaulted us but also threatened us with dire consequences and demanded money to purify the temple,' said Sudhir. 'The priests used filthy language against us,' he further alleged."

See also:

Caste Hindus quit village, protest Dalits’ temple entry (Express News Service, December 13, 2008):

"Opposing the proposed temple entry of Dalits, all the 200 upper caste Hindu families, along with their cattle left Panthapuli village near Sankarankovil (under Karivalamvanthanallur police station limits) on Friday morning and took shelter at the nearby Ettiseri hillock."

300 SCHOOLCHILDREN BOYCOTT "UNCLEAN" LUNCHES

Dalit cook? Students in UP school refuse to eat mid-day meal (Express India)

"On Friday, The Indian Express found barely a hundred students eating the meal — tehri — rice and vegetables cooked together. The rest ate food brought from home, a practice that started on December 10, the day the Dalit woman, Phool Kumari Rawat, started cooking.

"Senior students who are boycotting the food, say Phool Kumari's cooking is unhygienic. [...]

"Younger students are more direct, readily admitting that it was Phool Kumari's caste that was the problem. 'I will not eat anything cooked by that lady. I have heard my family members say that she is from some low caste. So I bring my own lunch box,' said Shivani Singh Chauhan, a student of Class IV. Ateet Kumar, student of Class V, said the school was in a Thakur [brahmin] area and they refuse to eat whatever she cooks. 'Only children from Phool Kumari's area are eating,' he said."

See, two days later:

Dalit cook in Bibipur school may be replaced (Express India, December 17, 2007):

"With a majority of students at the Bibipur Primary and Junior High School continuing to boycott mid-day meals cooked by Dalit woman Phool Kumari Rawat, the district administration has decided to sack her.

"Officials are now thinking of appointing another cook, using the boycotters’ argument that Phool Kumari’s cooking isn’t good and is also unhygienic. This, when most officials who have visited the school in the last five days, found nothing wrong with the meals."

And see, two months later:

anti-caste: GOVT UPHOLDS FIRING OF UNTOUCHABLE OVER CASTE-BASED TABOO (February 27, 2008)

For similar recent stories, see:

Bihar: Dalit woman stopped from cooking mid-day meals (India eNews, August 11, 2007)

Karnataka: Discrimination against cook continues (The Hindu, October 5, 2007): "The branding of Ms. Bhovi, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste, as HIV positive and the subsequent boycott by the villagers has taken a toll on her family too."

Uttar Pradesh: Mid-day meal row in Etawah (The Times of India, December 29, 2007)

UNTOUCHABLES NOT ALLOWED INSIDE HAIR SALONS IN TAMIL NADU VILLAGE

Caste divide widens the generation gap (The Statesman)

"However, old people did not take it seriously. For Kaayaamboo, a 70-year old Dalit, who is living in the village since his birth, not being allowed to enter salons seems natural. He even justified it, saying 'How can we sit in the same chair and use the same scissors and blade used by Gounders [the backward but not untouchable caste which is dominant in the village]?'

"'You see how the Gounders treat the Brahmins, who are superior to them. When Gounders treat Brahmins with reverence and respect, is it not a lesson for us how to behave with Gounders,' he said. 'If everyone violated the age old customs, there will be no peace and discipline in the village,' he reasoned.

"'Is haircut a very big issue, so as to pick a quarrel with upper caste people and earn their wrath?' he said. 'Cinema has spoiled our youth very much,' he lamented."

UNTOUCHABILITY PRACTICED IN 65% OF VILLAGES IN A DISTRICT OF KARNATAKA

Untouchability exists in Bidar villages (The Hindu)

According to The Hindu, a report by the district social welfare office found:

"Dalits are not allowed to enter public places such as temples, shops and hotels freely in 193 villages. There are 63 such villages in Bidar taluk, 55 in Bhalki, 58 in Aurad, 11 in Basava Kalyan and six in Humnabad.

"There are 97 villages where Dalits are given separate set of plates and glasses in hotels. Of them, 48 are in Bhalki, 22 in Bidar, 12 in Aurad, nine in Basava Kalyan and six in Humnabad.

"There are restrictions on Dalits on using public taps and rivers, wells, tanks and ponds in 64 villages.

"There are 32 such villages in Bhalki, 11 each in Bidar and Aurad, six in Humnabad and four in Basava Kalyan.

"Services of barbers, laundry etc., are not freely available to Dalits in 29 villages. Such practices are followed in 13 villages in Bhalki, seven in Bidar, five in Basava Kalyan and four in Aurad.

"Dalits are not allowed to bury their dead in public burial grounds in 14 villages. They include seven villages in Bhalki, five in Bidar, and two in Aurad."

FOREIGNERS AND NON-HINDUS TREATED AS OUTCASTES

American pays fine for entering temple (IBNLive)

"Roediger still seems to be in the dark as to why he was treated this way. 'It was like an entrance fee or something I guess. I was not aware of the rules for entering into the temple,' said Roediger."

See also:
Activists criticise destruction of food in the name of religion (IANS)