Unknown Dalits

Karukkakkuruchi, a small village near to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu is now known for a news of commiseration that made in this New Year night. A group of Dalit villagers were brutally beaten up by the so called ‘upper class’ men at the very chilled night of New Year. These dalits were warned not to conduct new year celebrations. Men with arms were attacked them allegedly the dalits violated their ‘warning’.

It not novel that Dalits are considering as second citizens in India, the largest democratic country in the world. It is literarily pathetic that they are facing apartheid in these days while we are celebrating Madiba. In December 2012, European Union has passed a resolution to arrest  casteism, asserted that it is diablotic the status of dalits in India.  They exemplified some incidents such as a consecutive dalit rapes in Hariyana and firing of dalit habitats in Tamilnadu etc. Former chief Justice of India Altamas Kabeer has opinioned that the media and civil society is cruelly indifferent to the atrocities against dalit groups. They are very vocal against rapes and murder of upper class people but used to keep mum towards issues concerning Dalit community. Channels and News rooms alloted more time and space for ‘Nirbhaya’, they skillfully ignored the story of  a ten year old Dalit girl, who has been brutally gang raped and burned to death in the very same day the Nirbhaya episode taken place. We have no answer for an Australian journalist, who asked why there is no dalits in decision making positions of any media house. There was no editorial remembering Dr. Ambedkar in his birth Anniversaries.  Government of India routinely did its duty by publishing ad in  memory of him in newspapers. All else was nothing. It is high to press an unlike button to the anti-dalit pro brahmanical attitude of institutions despite of private or public.

Once Dalits were victims of feudal Zamindari system, now they are that of feudocracy, extreme upper class hinduism and state terrorism. Dalits were inhumanly more treated by extreme hindu groups, that their ideology itself inculcate the notions of ‘chathurvarnya’. An incident happened in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu, which caused alienation of 2000 dalits was a perfect example for this. During this incident the thugs were intentionally destroyed legal documents such as educational certificates, ration cards, possession documents even laptops etc, that will eventually alienate dalits from social arena. It is something socially incorrect that the government machineries also affected by Bharahmanical  notions. Government, especially its executive machineries wickedly coined a term as ‘Dalit terrorism’ and brought all collective uprisings of the community under the shadow of something disastrous. There is no special court for any Dalit issues. What draws a recent verdict by Patna court that acquitted 23 upper class men who brutally butchered 21 dalits?

Dalits are inevitable vote bank for each mainstream political movements and their attitude towards the community was like a patron to look after. They themselves made a political movement under Kanshiram as Bahujan Samajwadi Party, which politically recognised and accented to thrown. But they were remained as socially alienated. Though this conditions  remain still unchanged, dalits themselves assert that “do not try to be our fathers”. In this juncture we can hope there will be a ‘democratic’ India that treats equally its citizens. But still many ideals remains as utopia.