While singular endeavours are made to portray the voices of Dalits, their long tale of facing systemic discrimination is far from over;
BY Sakhi Singh
The privileged stay true to their cushioned ground while those who are not are left to scramble for inches and centimetres of space. India, while nurturing diverse faiths, is also tightly bound by its regressive social ideas like the caste system that foregrounds the ‘othering’ of the Dalit community based on their occupational position in the hierarchy, which in turn determines their ‘purity’ in the society. However, one might argue that this discrimination is only limited to its gray past. For instance, today, we have OTT platforms like Amazon Prime with shows like Made In Heaven that have stepped forward in showcasing a Dalit Buddhist wedding, and an intercaste one at that Along with this hallmark representation, the show highlights a loud Dalit consciousness, instead of commonly representing their futile helplessness, that demands its space in creating a just society. It is worth noting that the episode shows the bride lighting a candle in front of BR Ambedkar’s photo, which stands as a testimony of her solidarity towards his resistance against casteism and the intolerance of Hinduism. At present, we have reservations in educational and job spaces alike, along with laws that safeguard the rights of the lower caste communities. These include the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the Prohibition of Employment as a Manual Scavenger and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, among others. Moreover, we are also able to catch a glimpse of a number of Dalit texts in the college syllabi of universities like the University of Delhi. Indeed, it is evident that the horizons are broadening to accommodate those who have been relegated to the peripheries of the society.
However, on the other side of the coin, this hierarchical system is deeply ingrained within us, which almost justifies one’s disdain towards the lower castes as natural. Despite covering leaps and bounds on the pillar of equality, the oppression and the subjugation of their identity still remains. For instance, The Indian Express reported that the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, while responding to a question in Lok Sabha, stated that as many as 339 people lost their lives while cleaning sewers and septic tanks between 2018-2023. Another example is of a report by Dalit Desk that talks about the case of Sourabh Rai who was denied an internship at Tis Hazari court after the interviewer learnt of his caste identity. Quite recently, an anecdote transpired in a discussion with my family wherein a relative, after hearing the Verma surname, attempted in a reflex to inquire about the person’s caste. Although she promptly apologized, it made me understand how deeply the caste system has manifested itself into the most elementary aspects of our lives, right from the food we eat to the surnames we carry. It is, therefore, easy to conclude that the system is a manifestation of an absolute power. It is a right granted by the upper castes for the upper castes to exercise their ownership on not just the length and breadth of the land and common resources but also on women’s bodies to ensure that the marginalized eventually get silenced. The Hathras rape case of 2020 stands as a prime example. It thus becomes imperative to wonder as to what extent do the laws guarantee the dismantling of this hierarchy?
I am a privileged upper caste woman whose limited brush with the rampant casteism in India was through her sociology textbook in the 12th standard, who learnt as late as her third year in her undergrad in college that she had hardly come across literature in the canon that was written by the Dalit community. For so long, their words have been appropriated, for an even longer period their voices have been stifled. Thus, it is extremely important to raise these questions. Is equality only fantastical, perhaps limited to a few glimpses on the television? Is it not every citizen’s birthright? Is India really a democracy if we fail to deny the marginalized a right to exist with dignity, if we fail to create spaces to amplify their voices every day?
Views expressed are personal
Courtesy : Millennium Post
Note: This news piece was originally published in millenniumpost.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Right
