It’s 15 August 2016, and in India we’re celebrating the 70th anniversary of our independence. Flags wave. There’s the usual huge Independence Day parade in the capital.
But the celebrations bring out both pride and anguish. All of us imbibed the “freedom struggle” stories as children. We were taught to be proud of our country’s prolonged battle against colonialism, of the martyrs who gave their blood for India. We showed the world how to shed the shackles of imperialism. And we spread the doctrine of non-violence at a time when it seemed an impossible dream. What’s not to be proud of?
But for those who work with our poorest, most marginalised groups, to ask some loaded questions is almost mandatory. What does freedom mean? Free to be mercilessly thrashed for doing a job thrust forcibly on you, such as skinning dead cows, your destiny because that’s the caste you were born into? “It’s our curse,” dalits have said to me.
As I write this, the dalits (India’s most oppressed group, our “untouchables”) are doing a special “freedom” march to Una, a small town in Gujarat where last month four young men were brutally beaten up with iron rods by a mob of cow vigilantes for skinning dead cows. These young men are from the “chamar” or leather tanning caste. Even now, if ordered to move a carcass – and that means any dead animal ranging from cows to goats to dogs or cats – they are compelled by societal norms to do so, regardless of whether they’ve earned a doctorate in economics or history. The unwritten rule: once a chamar, always a chamar. Yes, we’ve come a long way economically, but our feudal system is alive and well. And not just kicking. It’s maiming, raping and killing, too. Full story...
Related posts:
But the celebrations bring out both pride and anguish. All of us imbibed the “freedom struggle” stories as children. We were taught to be proud of our country’s prolonged battle against colonialism, of the martyrs who gave their blood for India. We showed the world how to shed the shackles of imperialism. And we spread the doctrine of non-violence at a time when it seemed an impossible dream. What’s not to be proud of?
But for those who work with our poorest, most marginalised groups, to ask some loaded questions is almost mandatory. What does freedom mean? Free to be mercilessly thrashed for doing a job thrust forcibly on you, such as skinning dead cows, your destiny because that’s the caste you were born into? “It’s our curse,” dalits have said to me.
As I write this, the dalits (India’s most oppressed group, our “untouchables”) are doing a special “freedom” march to Una, a small town in Gujarat where last month four young men were brutally beaten up with iron rods by a mob of cow vigilantes for skinning dead cows. These young men are from the “chamar” or leather tanning caste. Even now, if ordered to move a carcass – and that means any dead animal ranging from cows to goats to dogs or cats – they are compelled by societal norms to do so, regardless of whether they’ve earned a doctorate in economics or history. The unwritten rule: once a chamar, always a chamar. Yes, we’ve come a long way economically, but our feudal system is alive and well. And not just kicking. It’s maiming, raping and killing, too. Full story...
Related posts:
- Vibrant Gujarat? 98% Dalits have to drink tea in separate cups...
- Dalits in Tamil Nadu continue to pay with their lives for marrying outside...
- India Dalit man hacked to death in 'honour killing' in Tamil Nadu...
- Caste – India’s curse...
- Software engineer murdered in India by parents after marrying lower caste man...
- Schoolchildren in India's Tamil Nadu 'made to wear colour-coded wristbands to show caste'
- Dalit women in Tamil Nadu narrate tales of atrocities...
- How the low-caste Dalits are treated in India's Tamil Nadu...
No comments:
Post a Comment