The following is a selection of links to relevant articles on Dalit issues, published in the course of 2012.

Maila Mukti Yatra – a march against manual scavenging – Thousands of mainly liberated manual scavengers marched across India during a two-month period from the end of 2012 till the beginning of 2013. –  National march for eradication of manual scavenging (The Hindu) //Sh*t, caste and the holy dip (opinion piece in The Hindu) // India’s great shame (background article in The Hindu)

Dalit families offered bribe to hush up case (Tehelka) – The killings of three young Dalits by the police in Gujarat suggest caste discrimination against the Dalit community.

Caste discrimination rampant in schools (Indian Express) – Dalit school children are routinely segregated from other children, and food cooked by Dalits is often refused by children or their parents.

Marching for land rights – A promise from the Indian government to advance land reforms has created cautious optimism among the country’s landless poor, many of whom are Dalits. The commitment came during a march of 50,000 landless people. – We walk. For the good earth that is ours (Tehelka) // Politics and the art of land grabs (Tehelka) // The landless end march at Agra (The Hindu)

More news from India: Battling social odds; Caste in a different mould; Silent revolution is going on at grass roots; The quiet grip of caste; For a Dalit perspective; Dalits demand a dignified life; Discrimination keeps Dalits from gainful employment; Dalits face isolation in villages

India

A village rape shatters a family… (New York Times) – A horrifying gang-rape in the state of Haryana is the focus of this article on rape and gender relations in India.

Hisar’s shame (Frontline) – Another article on the series of rapes in the state of Haryana.

More articles on this issue: Lost in Haryana’s rape debate – a girl’s story(The Hindu); Haryana’s bestial rape chronicles (Tehelka); In Haryana, more and more rapes every year (Indian Express); In Haryana, hundreds protest state’s response (India Ink); Just a number (The Hindu); Haryana: Two minor girls raped (NDTV)

The Dharmapuri attacks – An intercaste marriage between a young Dalit man and a Vanniyar women – and the subsequent suicide of the young woman’s father – was used as a pretext for savage attacks on three Dalit communities in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu: Three Dalit colonies face mob fury; A wedding and a funeral;Dalits: Attacks were meant to destroy our resurgence; Caste and honour;Attacks on Dalits were planned; Estimate of damage in Dalit villages not accurate; 500 Dalit homes burnt – and a news blip

More news from India: Corporate boards in India – Blocked by Caste?;Judiciary unwilling to accept caste argument; On 21st century apartheid;Shoe comes right back to the foot; Dalit women at the receiving end; From toilets to phones, Dalits lag other Indians; Dalit woman makes history in Rajasthan; MPs allege discrimination against SC/ST students; How casteist is our varsity?; The imperative need of caste-based reservation; Muslim, Christian quota back on agenda

Nepal

Dalit children deprived of education; Dalits thrashed in temple; Dalit woman brings drinking water to village

Pakistan

Discrimination against low-caste Hindus

India

Blotch on the socialscape (The Hindu) – Article on manual scavenging

Can’t be a superpower as long as untouchability exists (The Hindu) Bollywood star Aamir Khan denounces the practice of ‘untouchability’ and states that “discrimination between people is against the very concept of humanity”.

Can Bollywood shatter India’s caste system? (New Internationalist blog) Columnist Mari Marcel Thekaekara argues that Bollywood stars can contribute to the fight against ‘untouchability’ and caste discrimination.

More news from India: Dalit women leaders take on their persecutors // Dalit panchayat president fears for his life // Dalit women walk barefoot to show respect // Dalit entrepreneurs reach for the sky // Sivakami, first Dalit woman novelist // The greatest Indian after Gandhi // Promoting justice // Why untouchability makes Tamil Nadu the most lopsided state // Caste conflicts in Haryana // Dalit or Scheduled Caste // Unclean and outcast // Mother tongue vs father tongue // Centipede attacks make people forget caste // Two Dalit families freed from bonded labour // Dalits prevented from performing puja in temple // Wall of discrimination demolished // Two held for molesting Dalit women // Dalit woman president seeks police protection // Dalit woman succumbs to assault injuries // Most SC/ST posts at central varsities lying vacant // Over 50 percent of atrocity cases not reported // Still longing for a taste of freedom // Cop investigates self in atrocities case // Forced to grovel at owners’ feet // Farmer thrashes Dalit labourer to death for stealing vegetables //

Nepal

Separate water taps divided on caste lines // Family of slain Dalit gets Rs 1m in relief // Dom community still faces discrimination // Dalits in want of basic needs // Marginalised lot to take exception to UN letter //

Pakistan

PILER demands arrest for alleged rape // Minister warns of Christian discrimination //

India

Take those earplugs out (Hindustan Times) – Indian journalist and human rights activist Mari Marcel Thekaekara persuasively argues why international lobbying against caste discrimination is necessary.

Caste & The City (Hindustan Times) – Caste discrimination is often associated with village life in India. Nevertheless, as this article demonstrates, the caste system also exists in seemingly more sophisticated urban areas.

Rehab drive for scavengers (The Telegraph)

Manual scavenging figures shocking (The Hindu)

Discrimination against Dalits on the rise (The Hindu)

More news from India:

Video Volunteers highlight fate of ‘untouchables’ // On the ground: Untouchability in India // India’s Dalits still fighting untouchability // India worst place for women among top 19 economies // Dalit man gets his nose slashed for riding motorcycle // 54 held after attack on Dalits // Two arrested after Dalit killings //  New guidelines to check discrimination of Dalit students // School criticized for denying Dalit girls // Caste row in Tamil Nadu’s Catholic Church // Caste council ostracises 40 Dalit families // Dalits seek legislation to stop land grabbers

Nepal

PM pledges to end caste-based discrimination (The Himalayan Times)

More news from Nepal:

Crusade against discrimination begins // First case filed in Siraha // School equipped with drinking water facility

United Kingdom

The class prejudice still plaguing a culture (Huffington Post)

India

Dalit entrepreneurship/ private sector

Indian outcast millionaire mulls caste, riches (The Associated Press)
While caste discrimination has been outlawed for more than 60 years, and the term “untouchable” is now taboo in public, thousands of anti-dalit attacks.

Scaling Caste Walls With Capitalism’s Ladders in India (New York Times)

India’s Boom Creates Openings for Untouchables (New York Times)

Discussion on Caste, Heated as Always (New York Times)
By THE NEW YORK TIMES Writing about caste in India often generates a heated response, and “India’s Boom Creates Openings for Untouchables,” a recent article in The New York Times about successful Dalit, or “untouchable,” entrepreneurs, was no exception

Women entrepreneurs shine at DICCI first (Dalit) trade fair (Economic Times)

Caste it away (Times of India)

A study on caste disparity (The Hindu)
Ashwini Despande, who is known in this area of research, says she was prompted to write this book because of the relative “dearth of economic analysis of caste disparity and discrimination.”

India’s ‘dalit’ millionaire look to inspire others (Khaleej Times & gulfnews.com)

‘I was one of India’s unclean Dalits … now I am a millionaire’ (The National)

Central fund to buy equity in Dalit firms likely (Times of India)

How India’s ‘untouchable’ entrepreneurs use capital to fight caste (Globe and Mail)

Venture fund for India’s forgotten (Financial Times)

Laws for Developments of Dalits (Press Information Bureau)

Dalit Millionaires May be an Inspiration to Many (MedIndia)

Dalit bizmen are India Inc’s poster boys (Times of India)

First Dalit venture capital fund likely by August (Hindu Business Line)

Dalit trade fair: A celebration of pursuit (Firstpost)

Dalits for FDI in retail (Hindu Business Line)

India Inc must help Dalit entrepreneurs as part of CSR (IBN Live)

Dalits for FDI in retail (The Hindu Business line)

How India’s ‘untouchable’ entrepreneurs use capital to fight caste (Globe and Mail)

From job seekers to CEOs, the rise of Dalit Inc.  (NDTV)

New studies show role of caste and creed in Indian inequality (GlobalPost)

India plans venture fund for Dalit businesses (GlobalPost)

Can Indian capitalism really beat caste? (GlobalPost)

A Dalit success story (Livemint)

Can Indian capitalism really beat caste? (GlobalPost)

More from India

Thane Cyclone and Brutal Caste Atrocity against Dalits in Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu states // Strong media focus on Dalit entrepreneurship in India continues // Superpower? 230 million Indians go hungry daily // Would they have tortured me the same way had I not been a Dalit?‘ // Court asks CBI to probe Paramakudi firing incident // Dalit Women demand Sanitation & Dignity//  ‘Dalits still face discrimination’ // Thirty dalit houses torched in Odisha //Paramakudi case: Plea to suspend cops rejected and many more press clippings (click on the More from India headline to see further clippings)

Nepal >>
Nepal re-emerging on the international scene // “Dalit lawmakers obstruct House” in Nepal // Five-point agreement between the Dalit Struggle Committee and the government  // Dalits to welcome New Year with nationwide bandh // Stir against Kailali murder announced ; Dalit caucus forces House deferral // Lawmakers discuss Dalits rights

Pakistan

Scheduled castes demand representation in Senate // A lawyer from Dalit community is missing and police refuse to register the case // Mass conversions: For Matli’s poor Hindus // Caste makes them outcast //Minorities in Pakistan: A Recent Perspective // Four minority members to join Senate this year // Dalits and the Senate elections // HRCP demands steps to address concerns of minorities

Bangladesh

South Asian Dalit conference held in Bangladesh

International

Large Google grant to anti-slavery  work in India // The Osu Caste System in Nigeria: A Cankerworm // Online advocacy training course for Human Rights Defenders in Asia // Scrap the Thesawalamei Law that is Discriminative, Racist and Outdated