Dalit abuse can’t continue forever

There is nothing as abhorrent as social discrimination and the categorisation of people based on their occupation or colour. Such practices which continue unhindered to this day in vast swathes of India, create social unrest and unease and are a huge blemish on the democratic and secular spirit. The anguish over these cruel social mores becomes all the more unbearable, when people belonging to such communities are targeted and abused. The incident involving a Dalit girl, who was allegedly sexually abused by 64 persons over five years, goes to show that a lot more needs to be done for the succor of those condemned to the lower rungs of society.

What’s even more disconcerting is that this has happened in a highly conscious and literate state like Kerala, often tom-tommed as ‘the idea state,’ to be emulated on a serious of parameters including health, education and social equality. This is a land which gave birth to the likes of Sri Narayana Guru and Chattampi Swamigal, social reformers who fought for the rights of the marginalised while encouraging them to come to the forefront of society. Narayana Guru gave an eternal meaning to the concept of humanism, propounding the theory of ‘one caste, one religion, one god’ which has resounded through decades of life in God’s Own Country. The fact that such a bestial act has yet happened in Kerala, speaks volumes about the need for the government and social organisations concerned to come together in a show of strength to condemn such an act. On the whole, across the country, Dalits have been at the receiving end of inhuman acts despite a flurry of legislation being passed since Independence to ensure their rise on the social ladder.

We even have a President who belongs to the Dalit community while the president of the leading Opposition party in the country is also a Dalit. And yet, the communities coming under the Dalit fold, continue to face outrages of the worst kind. They are kept away from shrines, denied water at the village well and made to eat humble pie at the hands of upper castes. There are vested interests of course, who would like the Dalits and other oppressed castes to remain poor and subjugated as they have been for centuries, so that their interests would be served in the best manner possible. There is no dearth of leaders who consider communities on the lower rungs as ‘vote banks’ whose numbers can be put to good use at the time of elections only to be conveniently forgotten later.

Political parties espousing the Dalit cause have also grown weaker in the past few decades making it all the more easier for others to make them toe their line. And so Dalit discrimination and abuse continue unhindered, whether it is at government offices, educational institutions or in village gatherings. Is there a way out from this raw deal Dalits have received despite the Constitution assuring them all that is due for a decent and humane existence? For one, frontal organisations of Dalits will have to make sure that every political party, big or small, puts Dalit priorities right on top of their manifestos so that they can no longer come up with lame excuses later.

Any outrage of a Dalit’s dignity, should be considered a national shame and should be severely punished; and if the law has to be amended for the purpose, it should be done so that social injustice, ‘handed over’ through the centuries can be halted once and for all. And what’s most important is to instill in every school kid’s mind a sense of respect and commitment to all others, irrespective of their caste, creed or religion so that the artificial barriers time has imposed on society, melt away into the darkness.