Cataracts of silence

Abstract

"Dalit literally translates to broken people, with broken often glossed as oppressed. Since the 1970s, radical Dalits have claimed the word for their communities and their liberation. Dominant castes used to call them untouchables (achhut), Gandhian liberals call them Harijans ( children of god ) and the Indian Republic calls them Scheduled Castes (because they are on a government schedule that entitles them to certain protections and affirmative actions). Most Dalits are like Ram Pyari: poor folk who work in the fields, factories, streets, shops, and public buildings -- wherever labor is in demand. Unlike people of color in the U.S. or blacks in South Africa, Dalits are not physically distinguishable from other Indians. In some regions, occupation, surname, or dress can sometimes identify them, but Dalits are usually hard to pick out. The experience of Dalits shows that apartheid-like conditions can be imposed upon people who are marked by history, not appearance. India s powerful independence movement (1885-1947) produced perhaps the world s most extensive system of affirmative action for oppressed peoples like the Dalits. And, since the 1970s, Dalits like Ram Pyari have organized to use these assets to overturn the caste system, organize for power, and fight for their rights. Yet Dalits still face an uphill struggle against starkly unequal conditions. The election slogan of the Bahujan Samaj Party (a Dalit-dominated, but largely opportunistic political group) in 1994 is still apt: Vote hamara, raj tumhara. Nahin chalega, nahin chalega ( We vote, you govern. This won t go on, this won t go on ). When national level discussions for the WCAR began in India last year, the problem of caste immediately stirred controversy. The Hindi-Right dominated government was chary to raise the issue of caste on the world stage, particularly at this juncture when it revels in the US-sponsored praises for being the world s largest democracy (and to secure India a much-coveted seat as a permanent member of the UN Security Council)."(pg 3)