New Delhi: Increasing attacks on Dalit people in India give the impression that the country is regressing to the ancient era where those people were treated worse than slaves, a Catholic prelate laments.
“The media reported recently that a 21-year-old Dalit man was beaten to death allegedly by a group of men upper caste men in the Anand district of Gujarat. He was killed only for reasons of caste,” says Retired Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati.
On October 4, Dalit activists protested in Gandhinagar, capital of Gujarat, signaling the growing anger among the communities considered untouchables.
In another incident, two Dalits were beaten September end in Limbodra, a village in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district.
In July 2016, four Dalits were tied to a car and lashed for the alleged killing of a cow while they were only removing the carcass.
Recent studies and investigations reveal widespread discrimination against the Dalits, especially in rural districts. The Dalit Sangathan (organization) Gujarat has accused the government of a “lethargic attitude” to their community in Gujarat.
The archbishop told Fides, a Church news agency based in Rome, that during the 2014 elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken of the development model of Gujarat as ideal. The atrocities carried out on Dalits in Gujarat indicate something fundamentally wrong in Gujarat’s social model. “The government of Gujarat did not manage to stop the discrimination against Dalits and attacks on innocents continue,” the archbishop alleged.
Twelve people accused to publicly lashing Dalits were arrested within the stipulated 60 days. However, all of them were released after a year. “In such circumstances, how can one have hope in justice in this system?” asked the prelate who has worked at the Federation of the Episcopal Conferences in Asia.
The ancient “Manu Smriti” system is based on Hindu holy texts and dates back to the year 100 after Christ. “It is an adorable writing for Hindu nation and is the basis of our culture, customs, thoughts and practices. Among these practices, many are discriminatory and even derisive towards Dalits.”
The term Dalit denotes “outcasts” or 5th caste in the Hindu social and religious system, which also includes tribals.
The Indian Constitution provides strict action against atrocities on Dalits, but the law has not been enforced. On October 3, “Times of India” reported figures of crimes against Dalit. “The cases of atrocity against the outcasts grew dramatically from 26,127 in 2005 to 45,003 in 2015. Analysts say that after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power, atrocities against Dalit have increased.”
While the BJP has adopted various strategies to gain the Dalit votes, Hindu extremist organizations that support that party have not changed their mindset and glorify the era of Manu Smriti, the archbishop said.
Capuchin Father Suresh Mathew, editor of the Indian Currents weekly, says the rightwing Hindu groups would want to reintroduce Manusmriti to deny Dalit and tribal communities equal rights and freedom.
“As long as a government influenced and guided by the ideology of Hindutva and Manu Smriti remains in power, discrimination and violence on Dalits are set to increase. The new generation of Dalit leaders has to work together with secular forces to prevent the drift of Indian society towards Manu Smriti.”