Human Rights violations and the gravity of abuses against the Dalit

The Dalit are limited by their caste and suffer from an array of social injustices, discrimination, and poverty. Below is some general information on the Indian Caste system, as well as some statistics compiled by CRY (Child Relief and You).

-The Caste system has existed for over 3,000 years in India. Society is divided into four main hierarchical caste groups: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The ‘ati-shudras’ or Dalits, fall outside this hierarchy and are treated as untouchables.

-Although the practice of untouchability was outlawed in the 1950 Indian Constitution, Dalit communities suffer from an array of injustices and atrocities. They are denied access to common property such as water and land and opportunities in education and employment. In a 2001 census, Dalits composed 16% of the total Indian population (160 million).

-Public health workers refuse to visit Dalit homes, Dalits are prevented from entering police stations, children must sit separately while eating at schools, they are denied access to water for fear of contamination and the list goes on…

-One million Dalits are manual scavengers who clean public latrines and dispose of dead animals.

-80% of Dalits live in rural areas yet 86% of them are landless. Although illegal, 40 million people, most of them Dalits, are bonded workers.

-Nearly 90% of all poor Indians are Dalits and 95% of them are illiterate.

-3 Dalit women are raped every day. “Dalit woman gang-raped, paraded naked.”

-11 Dalits are beaten every day. “Dalit boy beaten to death for plucking flowers.”

-Every day 2 Dalits are murdered and 2 households are burnt. “7 Dalits burnt alive in caste clash.”

-Of the 68,160 complaints flied against the police in 2000 for crimes committed against Dalits, 62% were dismissed. “Police egged on mob to lynch Dalits.”

Please refer to the following article for more information:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0602_030602_untouchables.html

hello, hello

Dear friends and random internet surfers, welcome to my travel blog. I hope to indulge and stimulate your senses as you live vicariously through my exhilarating experiences. As of June 1^st I will be world bound: first stop, Mumbai. While anxiously awaiting my departure, I’ve busied myself with menial but sometimes amusing tasks for over the last few weeks. But in a little over a week I will be landing into the largest city in India with my One World Crew. We will be arriving in Mumbai late night, the best time to arrive in a multi-million Indian metropolis. At night, a slight breeze cracks the oppressive Indian heat, you actually see the pavement, and cows are not inopportunely obstructing traffic. This time around however, I will not be deceived by the seemingly tranquil Mumbai air. When morning breaks, I will be awakened by the screeching of the city. As a heard of do-goers, we will weave and wind through its millions of people, vehicles, and public animals as we make our way to the more calm city of Pune. There we will commence our three day training before starting our international service projects in Telgaon village, Beed district. I will be the Group Leader for One World India 2008 as I, along with eight very world conscious side kicks work to alleviate the social strain placed on the Dalit community, India’s scapegoat. Thanks to the One World Foundation, this very lucky group will be working with the Rural Development Centre (RDC) to empower the Dalit community so that they may battle the oppression of upper-caste people and the landlords in their villages. Please refer to the One World website for some intellectual nourishment:

The mission of the One World Foundation is to encourage young people from minority and indigenous communities to become actively engaged in the human rights and development arenas.

http://www.theoneworldfoundation.org/

RDC: Inspired by the civil rights movement of the United States, the Rural Development Centre (RDC) was established in 1985 by Mr. Eknath Awad, as a way to educate Dalit youth of their rights as members of the human community. Through education, we can mobilize the rural poor to fight for equality, as well as sensitize institutions who perceive them as subhuman.