The term ‘Dalit' has
roots in Sanskrit where the root 'dal' means 'to split, crack,
open'. ( This Indo-European root appears in German and English in the form
of 'dal' or 'tal', meaning 'cut'. In English, 'dale' is a valley, a cut
in the ground; in German, 'thal': a tailor is one who cuts; 'to tell a
tale' is the same as 'to cut a tally', the cut-marks made by the
shepherd on his staff when counting sheep.
'Dalit'
has come to mean things or persons who are cut, split, broken or torn asunder,
scattered or crushed and destroyed. By coincidence, there is in Hebrew a
root 'dal' meaning low, weak, poor. In the Bible, different forms of this
term have been used to describe people who have been reduced to
nothingness or helplessness.The present usage of the term Dalit goes back
to the nineteenth century, when a Marathi social reformer and revolutionary ,
Mahatma Jyotirao Phule (1826-1890), used it to describe the Outcastes and
Untouchables as the oppressed and the broken victims of our caste-ridden society.
Under the charismatic leadership of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956), this term
gained greater importance and popularity. During the 1970s, the followers
of the Dalit Panther Movement of Maharastra gave currency to the term 'Dalit'
as a constant reminder of their age-old oppression, denoting both their state
of deprivation and the people who are oppressed. This term for them is not a
mere name or title: for them it has become an expression of hope, the hope of
recovering their past self-identity. The term has gained a new connotation with
a more positive meaning.
It must be
remembered that Dalit
does not mean Caste or low-Caste or poor ; it
refers to the deplorable state or condition to which a large group of people
has been reduced by social convention and in which they are now living.
Dalit,
meaning "oppressed" in Hindi and Marathi, is
the self-chosen political name of the castes in India who were formerly
considered "untouchable" according to the Hindu varna system. Though the name Dalit has been in existence
since the nineteenth century it was economist and reformer B. R.
Ambedkar (1891–1956)
who popularised the term. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold
Varna system and they formed the unmentioned fifth varna, and so were also
called Panchama. While Scheduled Castes (SC) is the legal
name for those who were formerly considered "untouchable", the term
Dalit also encompasses Scheduled Tribes (ST) and other historically
disadvantaged communities who were traditionally excluded from the society.
Dalits are a mixed population,
consisting of groups across South Asia. They speak a variety of languages and
practice various religions. With the Scheduled Castes at 16.6% and Scheduled
Tribes at 8.6%, the Dalits and Adivasis together make up 25% ofIndia's
population according to the 2011 census.
To prevent harassment, assault,
discrimination and other criminal acts on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes, the Indian government enacted the Prevention
of Atrocity (POA) act on
March 31, 1995.
In 1932, the British
Raj recommended
separate electorates to select leaders for Dalits in the Communal
Award. When Mohandas
Gandhi opposed
this, negotiations produced the Poona
Pact with B. R.
Ambedkar.
From its independence in 1947 and expanded in 1974, India
provided jobs and educational opportunities for Dalits. By 1995, 17.2% of jobs were held by Dalits,
more than their proportion in the Indian population. In 1997, India elected Dalit K. R.
Narayananas the nation's President. Many social organizations have
promoted better conditions for Dalits through education, health and employment.
While caste-based discrimination was prohibited and untouchability abolished by
the Constitution of India,such practices continued.
Etymology
The word "Dalit" may be derived from Sanskrit, and means "ground",
"suppressed", "crushed", or "broken to pieces".
It was perhaps first used by Jyotirao Phule in the nineteenth century, in the context of
the oppression faced by the erstwhile "untouchable" castes of the twice-born Hindus. According to Victor Premasagar, the term expresses the Dalits' "weakness,
poverty and humiliation at the hands of the upper castes in the Indian
society." The term Dalit has become a political
identity, similar to the way African Americansin the United States moved away from the use
of the term "Negro", to the use of "Black" or
"African-American." Dalits today use the term "Dalit" as
they believe the term is more than being broken and is in fact an identity born
of struggle and assertion.
Other terms
Mahatma Gandhi adopted the word "Harijan",
translated roughly as "Children of God", to identify Untouchables.
However, this term came to be considered derogatory."Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes" are the official terms used in Government of India documents to identify former "untouchable" individuals
and groups. In 2008, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, noticing
that "Dalit" was used interchangeably with the official term
"scheduled castes", called the term "unconstitutional" and
asked state governments to end its use. After the order, the Chhattisgarh government ended the official use of the word
"Dalit".
"Adi
Dravida", "Adi Karnataka", "Adi Andhra" and
"Ad-Dharmi" are words used in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, respectively, to identify people of former
"untouchable" castes in official documents. These words, particularly
the prefix of "Adi", denote aboriginal or indigenous identity, and
the word "Adivasi" is a conjunction of two words, "Adi"
meaning original and "vasi" meaning inhabitants.
Hindu Caste system
Dalits were considered by upper castes to be outside the Varna or caste system. They were considered as Panchama or the fifth group, beyond the upper caste proposed fourfold
division of Indian people.
Social status
History
Dharavi is a slum in Mumbai, founded in the 1880s during the British colonial era. The colonial government expelled Dalits, along with their
traditional profession of leather and tannery work, from Mumbai (Bombay)
peninsula to create Dharavi. Currently, about 20% of the Dharavi population
are Dalits, compared to 16% nationwide. Dalits live together with other castes,
tribes, and Muslims, who constitute 33% of Dharavi's population.
In the Hindu caste system, Dalit status is associated with
occupations regarded as ritually impure, such as leatherwork or butchering, or
removal of rubbish, animal carcasses and human waste. Dalits work as manual labourers cleaning streets, latrines and sewers.These activities were considered to be
polluting to the individual and this pollution was considered contagious.
Dalits were commonly banned from full participation in Indian
social life. They were physically segregated from the surrounding
community. For example, they could not enter a temple or a school and were
required to stay outside villages. Other castes took elaborate precautions to
prevent incidental contact with Dalits.
Reform
Namantar Andolan was part of a 16-year Dalit campaign to rename Marathwada University as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. In 1977, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vasantdada Patil,
promised a new name to the Dalit Panthers; the Maharashtra Legislature passed a resolution to this effect in July 1978. Thereafter,
non-Dalits attacked Dalits and upper-caste Hindus for a fortnight. A new Chief
Minister, Sharad Pawar,
postponed implementation that led to a Long March by Dalit leaders and
sympathisers in December 1979. Thousands of participants and leaders were
arrested. The renaming, involving some compromise,
finally took place on 14 January 1994.
In order to aid Bihar Dalits, Dr Birbal Jha, Managing Director
of British Lingua, collaborated with the Government of Bihar to start Spoken
English Skills training in the state.
From 1950, India enacted and implemented laws and social
initiatives to improve Dalits' socioeconomic conditions.By 1995, of all jobs in India, 17.2% were held
by Dalits, greater than their proportion in the Indian population. Of the senior-most jobs in government agencies
and government-controlled enterprises, over 10% were held by Dalits, a tenfold
increase in 40 years. In the 21st century, Dalits were elected to India's
highest judicial and political offices. In 1997, India democratically elected Dalit K. R. Narayanan as the nation's President.
In 2001, the quality of life of the Dalit population in India
was statistically similar to that of the overall Indian population, on metrics
such as access to health care, life expectancy, education attainability, access
to drinking water and housing In 2010, Dalits received international
attention due to a portrait exhibition by Marcus Perkins that depicted Dalits.
In India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, Dalits have revolutionised politics. The Dalit-led Bahujan
Samaj Party runs the government.
Party leader Mayawati repeatedly served as chief minister.
Economic status
According to a 2014 report to the Ministry of Minority Affairs by Amitabh Kundu, over 44.8% of Scheduled Tribe (ST) and 33.8% of Scheduled Caste (SC) populations in rural India were living below the poverty line in 2011-12, compared to 30.8% of Muslims. In urban areas, 27.3%
of ST and 21.8% of SC populations were poor, versus 26.5% of Muslims.
Some Hindu Dalits achieved affluence, although most remain poor.
In particular, some Dalit intellectuals such as Chandrabhan
Prasad have argued that the
living standards of many Dalits have improved since the economic liberalisation
in 1991 and have supported their claims through large surveys. According to Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011, nearly 79 percent of rural Adivasi households and 73 percent for Dalit households
were most deprived among rural households in India. While 45 percent of
scheduled caste households are landless and earn by manual casual labour for
their living and same is for 30 percent for adivasis.
Discrimination
Education
According to a 2014 report by The. IndiaGoverns Research
Institute, Dalits constitute nearly half of primary school dropouts. In Karnataka State, 48% of school dropouts are Dalits. In Nepal, Dalit and Janajati students have the highest dropout rates at the
primary school level.
Dalit students are given scholarships only after they produce
photographs of family members working in traditional occupations.
Among state schools, 88% discriminated against Dalit children,
while 79% required Dalit students to sit in the back of the classroom. In 79% of schools, Dalit children are
forbidden from touching mid-day meals. They are required to sit separately at lunch in 35% of
schools, and are required to eat with specially marked plates in 28%. In high schools, higher caste students are
often advised not to mingle with Dalits.
There have been incidents of Dalit teachers and professors being
discriminated against and harassed by authorities, upper castes colleagues as
well as upper caste students in different education institutes of India.
Healthcare and nutrition
Discrimination also exists in access to healthcare and
nutrition. Medical field workers do not visit 65% of Dalit settlements. 47% of
Dalits are not allowed entry into ration depots; 64% are given less grains than
non-Dalits; and 52% are given grains from a distance.[59] In Haryana state, 49% dalit children under five years are underweight and malnourishedwhile
80% of dalit children in the 6–59 months age group are in 2015.
Crime
Dalits comprise a disproportionate number of India's prison
inmates. While Dalits (including both SCs and STs)
constitute 25% of the Indian population, they account for 33.2% of prisoners. In the state of Gujarat, where Dalits constitute roughly 6.7% of the
population, 32.9% of all convicts. About 94% of total Death row convicts in India are Dalits or from religious minorities.
Caste-related violence between Dalit and non-Dalits allegedly
stems from Dalit's economic success amidst ongoing prejudice. A crime against Dalits happens every 18
minutes — 3 women raped every day, 13 murdered every week, 27 atrocities every
day, 6 kidnapped every week. The Bhagana Rape case is an example of atrocities against
Dalit girls and women.[78] In August 2015, due to discrimination from
upper castes of the village about 100 dalit families of the district’s Bhagana village converted to Islam in a ceremony at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. Bangalore records the most offences against Dalits. Inter-caste marriage has been proposed as a remedy, but only 5% of Indian marriages cross caste boundaries.
A 2006 article reported incidents of violence, disputes and
discrimination against Dalits in Maharashtra. The article noted that non-Dalit families
claimed they do not treat Dalits differently. A carpenter caste person said,
"We tell them anything and they tell us you are pointing fingers at us
because of our caste; we all live together, and there are bound to be fights,
but they think we target them."
There have been reports of dalits being forced to eat human feces and drink urine by upper caste people. Dalit youths and teenage girls (after rape)
have been burnt alive by upper caste goons in many different
incidents in one instance in India, a girl was set on
fire because she was receiving education. In september 2015, a 45 year old dalit woman
was stripped naked and was forced to drink urine by people from upper caste.
Prevention of Atrocities Act
The 1989 Prevention of
Atrocities Act (POA) is an
acknowledgement by the Indian government that caste relations are defined by
violence.The Act denoted specific crimes against
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as "atrocities" and created
corresponding punishments. Its purpose was to curb and punish violence against
Dalits. The list ofatrocities included humiliations
such as the forced consumption of noxious substances. Other atrocities included
forced labour, denial of access to water and other public amenities and sexual abuse. The Act permitted Special Courts to try POA
cases. The Act called on states with high levels of caste violence (said to be
"atrocity-prone") to appoint qualified officers to monitor and
maintain law and order.
In practice the Act suffered from a near-complete implementation
failure. Only two states created separate such courts. Policemen displayed a
consistent unwillingness to register offences under the act. This reluctance
stems partially from ignorance and also from peer protection. According to a
1999 study, nearly a quarter of those government officials charged with
enforcing the Act were unaware of its existence.
Segregation
Fa Xian, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim who recorded his
visit to India in the early 4th century, noted that Chandalas were segregated
from the mainstream society as Untouchables. Dalits were forbidden to worship
in temples or draw water from the same wells as caste Hindus, and they usually
lived in segregated areas outside the main village. In the Indian countryside,
Dalit villages are usually a separate enclave a kilometre or so outside the
main village where the other castes reside.
While discrimination has declined in urban areas and in the
public sphere,[ discrimination against Dalits still exists in rural areas and in the private
sphere, in everyday matters such as access to eating places, schools, temples
and water sources. Some Dalits successfully integrated into urban
Indian society, where caste origins are less obvious. In rural India, however,
caste origins are more readily apparent and Dalits often remain excluded from
local religious life, though some qualitative evidence suggests that exclusion
is diminishing.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that discrimination against Hindu
Dalits is on a slow but steady decline. For instance, an informal study stated,
"In rural Azamgarh District in the state of Uttar Pradesh, for instance, nearly all Dalit households
said their bridegrooms now rode in cars to their weddings, compared with 27 percent
in 1990. In the past, Dalits would not have been allowed to ride even horses to
meet their brides; that was considered an upper-caste privilege."
According to a 2014 survey, 27% of the Indian population still
practices Untouchability. Across India, Untouchability was practised
among 52% of Brahmins , 33% of communities
traditionally called Other Backward Classes and 24% of non-Brahmin forward castes. Untouchability was also practiced by people of
minority religions - 23% of Sikhs, 18% of Muslims and 5% of Christians. According to statewide data, Untouchability is
most commonly practiced in Madhya Pradesh (53%), followed by Himachal Pradesh (50%), Chhattisgarh (48%), Rajasthan and Bihar (47%), Uttar Pradesh (43%), and Uttarakhand (40%).In Madhya Pradesh, Dalits are not allowed to touch food and
water at common gatherings. Dalits are prohibited from entering temples in 80%
of villages.
In several incidents if
dalits found burning holika for Holika Dahan ceremony, they are tonsured and paraded naked in the
villages. Also in different parts of
India dalit grooms if ride horse for wedding ceremony are often beat and ostracised by upper caste people. In August 2015, upper caste
people burned houses of Dalits alongside vehicles belonging to Dalit families
and slaughtered their livestock because dalits dared to carry temple car
procession at the village in Tamil Nadu.In August 2015, Jat Khap Panchayat ordered rape of two dalit
sisters because of love affair of their brother with a Jat girl of village
A DALIT MAN WORKING IN SEWAGE PIPE
Religion
Most Dalits in India practice Hinduism. According to the
Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Act, 1990, Scheduled Castes
can only belong to Hindu or Sikh or Buddhist religions There is no religion bar in case of Scheduled
Tribes. However, according to the 61st round Survey of
the National Sample Survey Organisation, 90% of Buddhists, one-third of Sikhs, and one-third of Christians in India belonged to Scheduled Castes or
Scheduled Tribes.
Religion
|
Scheduled Caste
|
Scheduled Tribe
|
22%
|
9%
|
|
90%
|
7.40%
|
|
9%
|
33%
|
|
31%
|
0.9%
|
|
–
|
16%
|
|
–
|
2.6%
|
|
–
|
-
|
SHUBHAM KUMAR
REG:-1540414 1-PCM
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