Caste Discrimination in India
The Indian, acclaimed writer Munshi Premchand’s story, ‘Thakur’s Well’, read by all of us during our middle school days, has left a deep scar in our hearts narrating about the feudal customs of caste hierarchies, inhuman landlords and heartless moneylenders. Gangi and Jokhu the protagonists of the story could never assuage their thirst as the ‘Well’ is still prohibited for them. Gangi, whose heart cried out against the restraints and the bars of the customs, still prevalent in Indian society and nothing much has changed for her, she wanted to ask why she was so low and those others so high? And her question is still unanswered. We talk of developments, social equality and economic independence but that seems to be so illusive when a Dalit girl in her teens is brutally raped, murdered and cremated without her family’s consent.
This heinous crime not just reveals
the grim status of women in Indian society but also the mindset of such so
called upper caste societies that imbibe the roots of such shameful practices
in their generations that women’s bodies and their existence are the most
favoured sites for inflicting punishment and shame on their communities. For
them this brutality is the weapon for inflicting shame and ignominy which will
keep haunting the families of these communities for years and they will never
think of resist such acts.
The incident in Jammu tells another
saga of an 8-year-old girl who was raped, drugged, held captive and murdered
with an intention of teaching a lesson to her Gujjar parents who belong to a
minority nomadic tribe and are frequently accused of encroaching land in the
areas. Is this a lesson? Is this what we call a nation, a civilization? Where
are we heading towards with such intentions and lessons?
Our Constitution has promised the
Right to Equality to everyone irrespective of caste, class and gender but the
reality is far away which has been experienced by the young Dalit girl in
Hathras in life and in death. Neither the police treated her sympathetically
nor did the administration provide her proper medical care rather she was
silenced by the system, the politics and the influential class of the town.
Even her death couldn’t earn any respect and the last rites when she was
cremated forcefully at midnight without any of her family members as if having
been born in a Dalit family is a curse. The sufferings of these people are endless;
the poor parents can’t educate their girls because travelling to distant schools
is not safe. Literacy rate of SC women is 64% compared to 81% among General
Women. Due to lack of safety and distance from schools they are denied
education and without education they are deprived of their dreams to get rid of
generational poverty and persecution.
According to
the National Crime Bureau’s records 2012, every 16 minutes, a non-dalit commits
a crime on a Dalit and every day 4 Dalit women are raped by non-Dalits. From
the year 2009 to 2018, 3.91 lakh atrocities were reported and the records
flagged the rise in sexual violence, witch branding and dishonouring against
Dalit and Tribal women.
Beyond
punishing all the culprits, there is an urgent need to make sure that police
and judiciary treat all citizens equally. There must be greater accountability
as a means to curb against caste and gender based oppressions. In 1998, Indian
government committed to develop policies aimed at the social and economic
advancement of the Dalit population. The Independent Downtrodden and Oppressed
Community Council was formed with the objective of planning and coordinating
policies for their socio-economic development in the areas of education,
health, training and skill enhancement. But no reform or policy could change
the living conditions for them as the iniquitous caste system of our country
doesn’t allow the discrimination to come to an end.
As said by
John F Kennedy, “If we cannot end our differences at least we can help make the
world safe for diversity.” Can we mull over these words and think of a
harmonious coexistence between all the groups of our society.
