DEAR SUBSCRIBERS,
US President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to India, a great push from civil society to eliminate the legally banned practice of manual scavenging in the country and continuing atrocities against Dalits make India the logical centre of attention of this newsletter. However, we hope that the size of this October issue will not prevent you from reading important stories from other caste-affected countries, such as Bangladesh and Nepal. NCDHR and IDSN have written a joint letter to the US President, and IDSN has also addressed the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. Both leaders are being urged to pay more attention to caste discrimination. Last month, IDSN's Executive Group gathered in Copenhagen. Several of its members met the Danish Minister for Development, Mr Søren Pind, who confirmed his support for Dalit human rights.
International News
NCDHR and IDSN write open letter to President Obama: The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) and IDSN have appealed to Barack Obama to raise the issue of caste discrimination during his visit to India in early November. In an open letter to the US President, the two organisations state that he can make a much needed and decisive contribution to the Dalit struggle for rights and dignity, not only in India, but all over the world.
Obama urged to pay homage to Ambedkar: A coalition of Christian groups has called on US President Barack Obama to pay homage to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, architect of the Indian constitution and a revered figure among the country’s 200 million Dalits. In an open letter, the All India Christian Council (AICC) has asked the US President to consider laying a flower at the statue of Dr. Ambedkar in New Delhi. Ambedkar was a Dalit who converted to Buddhism. Read more here
Open letter to EU High Representative Catherine Ashton: IDSN has urged Catherine Ashton to address caste discrimination in upcoming EU dialogues with India, ensure that the issue is given proper attention in EU cooperation with caste-affected countries and pursue an EU policy on the issue. Read the letter here
Dalits essential to MDG success: The outcome document of the high level summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in New York failed to include references to caste discrimination. Nevertheless, a number of organisations, including IDSN, consider the inclusion of Dalits essential to a positive outcome of the MDG process. Read more here
AEPF calls for action on Dalit rights: Hundreds of civil society representatives, activists and parliamentarians from Asia and Europe took part in the 8th Asia Europe People’s Forum (AEPF) in Brussels from 2-5 October. For the first time, the Forum’s Call to Action presented to the ASEM heads of state contains a recommendation on caste discrimination: “Take immediate measures to prevent discrimination on any grounds, including caste-based discrimination, and take special measures to assure decent work conditions for the Dalits in South Asia.” Click here for the full text of the AEPF’s Call to Action
Danish Foreign Minister replies to questions on caste discrimination: The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lene Espersen, has answered two parliamentary questions on caste discrimination from Kirsten Brosbøl, MP for the Social Democrats. Ms Brosbøl asked the Minister to account for the government’s policy on the issue, and Ms Espersen replied that Denmark places great importance on the fight against discrimination of poor and marginalised people, including Dalits. She also referred to Danish efforts against caste discrimination within the UN and EU systems and Denmark’s support for Dalit NGOs in Nepal as well as for IDSN. Click here to read the questions and answers (Danish only)
IDSN group meets minister: Three Dalit veterans of the international struggle against caste discrimination were part of an IDSN delegation that met the Danish Minister for Development, Søren Pind, in Copenhagen on 8 September. Read more here
New voice for marginalised communities: Minority Rights Group International (MRG) has launched a pioneering online multimedia library that showcases the stories of minority and indigenous communities in developing countries and makes them available to the global media. The aim of Minority Voices Newsroom is to close the gap between journalists and minority and indigenous activists. As this article from Tamil Nadu shows, the newsroom would also be an excellent forum for information on Dalit issues. Read more here
UN references to caste discrimination updated: IDSN recently updated its compilation of references to caste discrimination by United Nations Special Procedures. All in all, 13 mandate holders have made such references in the past few years. The fact that numerous UN human rights bodies, including the Universal Periodic Review mechanisms and UN treaty bodies have addressed caste discrimination clearly demonstrates that this is an international human rights issue.
Main National News
India
SKA organises bus 'yatra' against manual scavenging: The national movement for the eradication of manual scavenging, Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), is intensifying its campaign against this reviled practice. Campaigners are visiting 20 Indian states before gathering at a mass rally in Delhi on 1 November. Read the IDSN news story on the yatra, and click here for SKA information on its progress and here for recent press clippings
UK newspaper portrays Dalit campaigner: Bezwada Wilson is hoping to end manual scavenging in India by the end of this year. The SKA national convenor tells his story to The Independent. Read the article here
Dalits condemn murder conviction: A public meeting will be held in Hyderabad on 30 October to protest the conviction of Pidatala Satyam Babu, a Dalit youth, for allegedly raping and murdering undergraduate student Ayesha Meera in her hostel room in 2007. Satyam Babu was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime on 29 September. Dalit organisations, his mother and even the victim’s parents believe that he has been framed. Click here for press clippings and here for a petition in support of Pidatala Satyam Babu
Designer babies with a caste twist: Fertility treatments are booming in India, and many prospective parents consider the caste background of an egg donor or surrogate mother the main priority. According to a sociologist, many Indians feel that "caste is rooted in the body, in the genetic material." Read more here
Dog fed by Dalit woman declared 'untouchable': Three brothers have been arrested following an incident which demonstrates the absurdity of caste prejudice. A Dalit woman, Sunita Jatav, fed a dog which belonged to people from a dominant caste, and they subsequently declared it ’untouchable’ and tied it outside the woman’s house. The dog owners were later arrested and refused bail by a judge who declared that people with their mentality should not be released on bail. Read more here
National conference on 'Justice for Dalits': A national ecumenical consultation on caste discrimination was held in New Delhi from 22-25 October. It was organised by the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and was a follow-up to a global conference on ‘Justice for Dalits’ in Bangkok last year. The event concluded with a proclamation, which stated that "casteism is a sin". Read more here and here
Caste divisions remain obstacle to progress: Irish Times reporter Mary Fitzgerald has written a series of articles on India. In a piece on the role of caste system, she notes that ‘caste divisions present a formidable challenge to India’s future prospects’, but also claims that ‘the grip of caste’ has loosened more in the south than in Northern India. Read the article ‘Caste divisions remain an obstacle to India’s progress’ and click here to read the whole series
Rethinking inequality - a study of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh: A recent study by a group of economists and Dalit scholars claims that Dalits in Uttar Pradesh have benefited from free market reforms in India. More than 19,000 Dalit households in two different areas were asked to compare their material and social conditions in 1990 and 2007. The study – “Rethinking Equality: Dalits in Uttar Pradesh in the Market Reform Era” - has already created considerable debate. Click here to read more and here for a BBC article about the study
AHRC: India has failed to contain ’demon of caste’: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has commented on the British move towards making caste discrimination illegal. In a statement, the Hong Kong based organisation notes that the initiative has met with ’tremendous opposition’ from the Indian government. Describing the caste system, AHRC also states that humankind ’has never devised a worse way of dehumanising fellow human beings and reducing them to being a mere labour force devoid of any dignity.’ Read the AHRC statement here
AHRC appeals for Dalit mother and child: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has launched an appeal in support of a young Dalit mother and her six-month old child. They both lack access to food and health care under the legally banned bonded labour system in India. Read the appeal here
Press clippings: The great Indian psychotherapy - Times of India; Fears of human trafficking spike before Commonwealth Games - Speronews; Dalits fined for drinking water from tap - IBN live; Dalit rights group alleges atrocities - Orissa Diary; Untouchability in Chennai - ExpressBuzz; 83 Dalit families face boycott over mining - Deccan Chronicle; Assaulted Dalit student dies - Hindustan Times; Land grabbing motive behind Dalit killing - Times of India; Two Dalit girls gangraped near Delhi - Times of India; Police 'tortured' Dalit boy - The Hindu
Bangladesh
Dalit women included in alternative CEDAW report: The situation of Dalit women in Bangladesh is covered in an alternative report by an NGO coalition to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The report notes that Dalit women suffer from double discrimination due to their caste and gender and concludes that the government of Bangladesh ”has the obligation to protect Dalit women’s rights to education, employment and access to public and political life.” Bangladesh will be examined by CEDAW in early 2011. Click here for the report’s references to Dalit women
BDERM demands inclusion: The Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement (BDERM) submitted a memorandum to the parliamentary committee for amending the constitution on 5 October. The memorandum contained demands for the inclusion of a special article in the constitution to ensure Dalit rights. Three days later, BDERM representatives formed a human chain in Dhaka, demanding an end to discrimination against Dalits. Read more here
Nepal
Dalits seek privilege in constitution: The National Dalit Commission (NDC) has urged the Prime Minister of Nepal to incorporate Dalits’ agendas in the upcoming constitution as a privilege to compensate for centuries of discrimination. Read more here
No justice for teacher who defended Dalits: A school teacher who was sacked for criticising discriminatory practices against Dalit students at her school still awaits justice more than a year after her dismissal. Pushpa Karki, a non-Dalit mother of three, has not received any relief or help from the local authorities who have ignored her after she was dismissed from the Shree Saraswati Lower Secondary School. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has issued an update on the case. Read it here
Press clipping: Dalits bar Doms from using water - Repùblica; Family dumps Dalit daughter-in-law - República; Poverty in way of Dalit girl's education - Himalayan Times
Pakistan
Dalit girl kidnapped and forcibly converted: Poonam, a 13-year old Dalit girl, has been kidnapped from her home in Lyari Town, Pakistan, and reportedly forced to convert to Islam. The police initially refused to register the case, but has since done so. The Daily Times staffer who reported the news has received threats on the phone. The forced conversions of Dalits is a serious human rights issue in Pakistan. Read more here
Nigeria
Osu caste in Igboland: Members of the Osu caste in southeastern Nigeria are regarded as slaves, strangers, outcasts and untouchables. They face multiple forms of discrimination, and many of them have been forced to migrate to other countries. Read more here
Publications/events
A Cry for Dignity: A new book by Professor Mary C. Grey tackles the subject of caste-based violence by focusing on the position of Dalit women in India, who suffer from the triple oppressions of poverty, being female and being female Dalits. Mary C. Grey is a patron of the Dalit Solidarity Network UK. Read more here
Dalits' suffering laid bare by UK photographer: A groundbreaking exhibition exploring the lives of Dalits in India was on show at London’s Hope Gallery from 18-23 October. Organised by photographer Marcus Perkins and the charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide, 'Being Untouchable' featured a number of intimate, yet powerful images of Dalits in every day situations. Click here for a BBC report and here for an article from Prospect Magazine
Pink Saris at CPH:DOX: A new documentary by British filmmaker Kim Longinotto takes a swipe at the Indian caste system by depicting ’The Gulabi Gang’, a growing group of mostly younger Dalit women fighting for their rights in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Dressed in pink saris and led by the formidable Sampat Pal, they struggle against domestic violence, rape and child marriages. The film is being been screened at several film festivals this autumn, including CPH:DOX in Denmark. Read more here and view the trailer here
Prostitutes of God: A new documentary by UK journalist Sarah Harris depicts the lives of Devadasi prostitutes. The Devadasi tradition of ’sacred prostitution’ leads to systematic sexual exploitation of young girls from Dalit and other marginalised communities. The film ’Prostitutes of God’ has been criticised by Indian and international NGOs, who claim that it mocks and belittles sex workers. View the film here and read more about it here. Click here for a response to the film and here for IDSN information on forced prostitution
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