A spokesman for the President said on Wednesday 1 September that floods were a natural disaster and should serve to unite the people, not divide them. It will be most unfortunate and reflect poorly on the country’s image and adversely impact on national unity if relief work was influenced by considerations of caste, creed or ethnicity, he added.

President Zardari has also called for action against officials who are found to be involved in discrimination in relief and rehabilitation works. He reacted to a protest rally in Hyderabad against the maltreatment of Dalits during the relief operation.

Numerous reports have confirmed that Dalits are facing discrimination during relief efforts. They are being denied access to relief camps and suffer mistreatment and exclusion. According to the Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network (PDSN), the number of Dalits affected by the floods may be hundreds of thousands, mostly in Sindh Province.

Caste discrimination in the wake of natural disasters is an all too familiar phenomenon in South Asia. Hence, the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) has issued a statement urging the international community to incorporate measures against caste discrimination in disaster relief operations as well as development programmes.

“Humanitarian agencies, whether multilateral, governmental or non-governmental must accept the responsibility to ensure that Dalits are not discriminated against and left out in relief and rehabilitation operations,” IDSN said in the statement. 

Read the IDSN statement

Read press reports from Pakistan

According to the Minister, an amount of 678 crores, which is equivalent to approximately 113 million Euros, has been diverted from the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan to Commonwealth Games infrastructure development. Mr Chidambaram said that this amount would be brought back to the welfare programmes. He added that similar diversions were taking place in many states.

The Minister’s admission contradicts numerous statements by officials of the Delhi state government who have repeatedly denied that funds had been diverted. It follows a tireless campaign by a number of rights groups in India, including the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) and the Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN).

The two organisations have now urged the authorities to expand the already ongoing investigation into the case and to prosecute the officials who “took the decision to divert and embezzle public money”.

They have also called for the immediate return of the funds and their allocation for measures that are “truly aimed at promoting the development of Scheduled Castes, one of the most marginalised groups in India, such as loans and support for manual scavengers, promotion of entrepreneurship schemes, provision of loans, training and education, construction of houses and shops.”

For some time, rights groups have argued that the Commonwealth Games would be harmful to poor and marginalised people. In May, HLRN published a report titled ‘The 2010 Commonwealth Games: Whose Wealth? Whose Commons?’ documenting that multiple human rights violations had taken place during preparations for the international sporting event. The report also provided evidence of the diversion of huge sums of money from welfare programmes to the budget of the Games.

Read a joint press release from NCDHR and HLRN on the Minister’s admission

More on the Minister’s statement, including press clippings

NCDHR/HLRN press release on the diversion of funds

Click here to download the HLRN report

Click here for an IDSN news story on the HLRN report

The meeting was opened and chaired by Jaakko Heinimäki, a well-known Finnish writer who has been acquainted with the Dalit issue since the mid-1990's. The 22 founding members of the new association accepted tentative bylaws for DSNFi and elected a board of five members.

The chairperson will be Mikko Malkavaara. Another boardmember is Timo Lappalainen, executive director of Kepa, a service base for all Finnish NGOs interested in development work and global issues.

The purpose of the new association is to:

• raise awareness of Dalit issues, the situation and circumstances of the Dalits and the caste system;
• try to win more activists and sympathisers to support Dalits' fight for human rights;
• act as an expert body on the Dalit movement and Dalit issues in Finland and influence the activities of the government of Finland, Finnish authorities, organisations and companies to advance policies which prevent discrimination and racism;
• promote the objectives of IDSN in Finland and contribute to its work

DSNFi plans to launch two annual main events, one on the birthday of Dr. Ambedkar and the other on the Solidarity Day of Dalits. It will form close contacts with officials of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially those dealing with human rights' issues.

The establishment of DSNFi has been widely welcomed by IDSN members and associated in many countries, including those affected by caste discrimination.

In a written statement for the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery at the 15th session of the UN Human Rights Council, ALRC and the Jagaran Media Center urge the mandate holder to request a country visit to Nepal to document and report back to the Council concerning the Haliya practice.

They also call on the Human Rights Council to take all necessary measures to ensure that the Government of Nepal puts an end to the Haliya system, helps Haliya bonded labourers return to society and punishes those that enslaved them. IDSN fully supports these recommendations.

The overwhelming majority of Haliyas are Dalits. Under this centuries-old practice, people are held under a system of bonded labour similar to slavery and are forced by a landlord to carry out hard labour for many years, often a lifetime. They are not paid for their work, but often only provided with a little food.

The Nepalese government declared the Haliyas liberated and free from their debts to their landlords in 2008, but this process has not been effective. Many Haliyas are reportedly threatened by the landlords to repay loans or even return to bonded labour.

There are different estimates regarding the number of Haliya bonded labourers in Nepal. According to the ILO, there are approximately 20,000 of them, but the National Haliya Liberation Federation – as quoted in the NGO statement – puts the number as high as 150,000.

Read the statement here

Click here for IDSN information on Haliyas

Read more about Haliyas here

The activists from the Dalit Foundation - four of whom are themselves Dalits - were taking part in a training programme on Dalit human rights monitoring, organised by the human rights organisation People’s Watch. The human rights defenders had gone to the police station to enquire about the lack of investigation in the torture of Suresh, a Dalit youth, allegedly by an officer serving at the same station.

The activists, three women and two men aged 22 to 40, are: Bharathi Pillai, Niharga Priya, Sudha, Gnana Diraviam and Anandan. Furthermore, Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director of People’s Watch, has been identified as an “absconding accused” in the same case. Henri Tiphagne is a close associate of IDSN.

The charges against the group include impersonating a public servant, cheating by impersonation and criminal intimidation. The charges are obviously false, and the activists had informed the police in advance that they intended to visit the station as part of a fact finding exercise.

Widespread condemnation

The arrests have been widely condemned. In a public statement, Amnesty International has expressed concern that the charges are politically motivated and has called on the Tamil Nadu government to drop the false charges and immediately release the five persons.

The Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR), a coalition of human rights groups, of which Henri Tiphagne is a member, considers the arrests illegal and the charges trumped-up. Miloon Kothari, Convenor of WGHR, made the following comment:

“Alarmingly such an incident is yet another instance of the hostile climate faced by human rights defenders across the country. The state must be held accountable for such abuses of power and for the deliberate assault on everybody’s right to defend human rights.”

IDSN strongly condemns the arrest of the human rights defenders on obviously false charges.  The case is very alarming and must be addressed immediately by the relevant Indian authorities. Unfortunately, the case must be viewed both in the context of the lack of protective mechanisms for human rights defenders as well as a widespread culture of impunity for crimes and acts of discrimination committed against Dalits.

The IDSN secretariat has written to the Indian authorities, including the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, Justice Shri K.G. Balakrishnan, and urged them to withdraw the case. Case material has also been submitted to the Human Rights Unit of the EU Council.

Case material from the website of People’s Watch

IDSN letter to Justice Balakrishnan

Public statement by Amnesty International

Press release by WGHR

Press clipping

The Dalit Foundation

Such are the recommendations of the UN Independent Expert on water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, and the Independent Expert on human rights and extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepúlveda, in a recently published joint report from their visit to the South Asian country in late 2009.

“In their meetings with Dalits,” the report notes, “the experts perceived an overwhelming feeling of their being ‘trapped’. Dalits feel they have no opportunity to seek other jobs, since their families have had these occupations for generations and because they lack adequate education. Pervasive discrimination against them keeps them poor, uneducated, in terrible living conditions and in menial jobs.”

The experts acknowledge that the Government of Bangladesh “recognizes the pattern of discrimination against occupational groups related to caste systems,” but that it “should explicitly recognize the discrimination experienced by Dalits and take more concrete steps to redress it, including through the enforcement of existing laws and the establishment of a special commission with a mandate to address concerns particular to Dalits.”

Discrimination against sweepers

The Independent Expert on water and sanitation expresses concern with discrimination against sweepers, who are predominantly Dalits. Sweepers clean out sewers and septic tanks and are subjected to considerable health risks. In rural areas, their job is akin to manual scavenging. Although they work in sanitation, they have no access to water and sanitation in their own homes.

In the concluding chapter of the report, Ms de Albuquerque urges the Government of Bangladesh to “adopt an explicit policy to address the situation of Dalits, and to eliminate discrimination against them; and to take special measures to improve the situation of sweepers.”

During their weeklong trip to Bangladesh, the experts visited a Dalit ‘colony’ in Dhaka and also met representatives of the Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement (BDERM). Their report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council at its 15th session next month.

Click here to download the report

Click here for extracts on Dalits from the report

IDSN news item on the experts' country visit

Independent Expert on water and sanitation

Independent Expert on human rights and extreme poverty

According to the Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network (PDSN), Dalit families in Sindh province are being doubly affected by the floods. The actual disaster has displaced them, and now they are facing caste discrimination during relief efforts.

PDSN has knowledge of three cases where Dalits – known as ‘scheduled castes’ – were denied access to relief camps and were badly treated. PDSN has dispatched a fact finding team to the interior of Sindh province to assess the actual number of Dalits that have been displaced by the floods. The network estimates that thousands of Dalits have been affected.

PDSN has also written a letter to the Sindh Chief Minister drawing his attention to discrimination and urged the government to ensure that Dalits are treated with justice in relief and aid. A Sindh minister and a Dalit legislator have promised to take up this issue in the parliament.

This situation is similar to what happens during floods in other parts of South Asia, including neighbouring India. Dalits are particularly vulnerable when natural disasters strike as dominant castes are often responsible for the distribution of aid and discriminate against Dalits in the process.

IDSN is urging the international community to incorporate measures against caste discrimination in disaster relief operations and development programmes.

The first comprehensive international framework to address caste discrimination, the UN Principles and Guidelines for the effective elimination of discrimination based on work and descent, contain recommendations for governments to adopt special measures to tackle discrimination in such programmes.

IDSN minimum requirements for disaster mitigation

Making things worse - report on caste discrimination in post-tsunami relief

Bihar floods 2007 and 2008

National Dalit Watch (India) - blogspot on discrimination during disasters

IDSN fact sheet on caste discrimination in Pakistan

Such are the findings of two new field-based research studies published in June by the India Committee of the Netherlands, the International Labour Rights Forum and the campaign ‘Stop Child Labour – School is the best place to work’. The studies cover more than 90 percent of total Indian cotton and vegetable production in a number of different states.

While focusing on the general problem of child labour in the seed industry, the reports also deal with caste discrimination against the workers. In most states, Dalits and Adivasi (tribal people) constitute the majority of workers. Dalits are frequently ill-treated and expected to do additional work, such as cleaning cattle sheds and carrying loads.

A case study involving a Dalit child, 12-year old Salvamani from Tamil Nadu, shows that children are often pressured to combine school and work. During a period of three months, she works six hours a day – and goes to school for another six hours. Many children become overwhelmed and drop out of school to continue working in the fields.

The studies note that child labour in cottonseed production, while still a huge problem, has decreased in India by 25 percent since 2006-2007. The decline is greater in areas where NGOs and companies have made efforts to eliminate child labour.

The Dutch MEP, Peter van Dalen, has asked the European Commission five questions based on the reports, including whether the Commission intends to “raise the issue of child labour, adult exploitation and ill-treatment of Dalits and Adivasi in its political dialogue with India?” Another question addresses the issue of discrimination:

“Does the Commission have a policy of addressing the situation of specific discriminated groups such as women (girls) and Dalits in its contacts with the Indian government?”

Peter van Dalen has raised the issue of caste discrimination on numerous occasions, most recently when he asked the Commission about its opinion on the position of Dalits in India. The questions were prompted by a speech delivered in New Delhi by EU High Representative Baroness Ashton. The speech did not include references to human rights issues.

Study: Seeds of child labour – Signs of hope

Study: Growing up in the danger fields

Media release on the two reports

Open letter to the ILO on seed reports

Questions asked by MEP Peter van Dalen

India Committee of the Netherlands

The event aimed at creating a dialogue between Dalit and non-Dalit political leaders, the academic world and the general public in order to make Nepalese society more inclusive for Dalits and more responsive to the Dalit agenda.

The conference presentations covered a number of important Dalit issues. They included identity and politics, human rights and dignity, the development paradox, constitution building, federalism, affirmative action and the effects of globalisation on the Dalit movement.

The discussions were enriched by the fact that a large number of participants were Dalit, who possessed insights drawn from their own life experience. They were also able to present their perspectives on the state of Nepalese politics and the restructuring of the state.

The participants, many of whom are associates of the International Dalit Solidarity Network, considered the conference a great success. The Samata Foundation is now taking the lead in following up on some of the important points raised during the discussions.

Concluding points from the conference (a full report will follow later)

Press clippings

The Samata Foundation website

According to the MPI, 645 million people in India, about 55 percent of the population, are poor - almost twice as many as the official poverty figures. In eight Indian states alone there are more 'multidimensionally' poor people – about 421 million - than in the 26 poorest sub-Saharan countries in Africa combined.

Poverty levels are highest among India’s tribal population (81.4 percent), followed by Dalits (65.8 percent) and Other Backward Classes (58.3 percent). The poverty level among the rest of the population is 33.3 percent.

According to the Times of India, the "findings would provide further ballast to the argument of some economists that India’s official poverty estimation methods are too narrowly focused to capture the real extent of deprivation in the country."

The new system has been developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) for the UN Development Programme (UNDP). It will be used in the 20th anniversary edition of the UNDP Human Development Report, to be released in October this year. The Index was presented earlier this week at a policy forum in London.

"The MPI provides a fuller measure of poverty than the traditional dollar-a-day formulas," Dr Jeni Klugman, Director of the UNDP Human Development Report Office, said.

The MPI consists of three dimensions - health, education and standard of living. These are measured using ten indicators: child mortality, nutrition, years of schooling, child enrolment, electricity, drinking water, sanitation, flooring, cooking fuel and assets.

The working paper 'Acute Multidimensional Poverty: A New Index for Developing Countries' includes data from 104 developing countries with a combined population of 5.2 billion. Particularly detailed results are presented on Kenya, Bolivia and India. In the case of the latter country, poverty levels have been measured according to caste groupings.

Other South Asian countries with large Dalit populations – Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – are also included in the report. However, the data do not include poverty figures among specific groups, such as Dalits.

Click here to read the OPHI report

Click here for the UNDP press release

Click here for the UNDP Human Development Report homepage

Click here for press clippings

Interview: Media hype and the reality of "new" India