...untouchable in India (Dalit) and Japan (Burakumin)? To be an untouchable in India or Japan is to be a part of the population that would traditionally be placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy. These untouchables are traditionally associated with occupations that are considered impure, such as waste removal and the handling of human or animal carcasses, and therefore cannot interact with other members of their society, for fear of the pollution they would spread. In both India and Japan, there has been action against untouchability, yet there is still widespread discrimination of these people because of cultural ideals, the impure history attached to them and the traditional occupations that they are associated with. While the abolishment of caste discrimination in India in 1950 and the Buraka Liberation League in Japan has improved the lives of many people within these communities, there is still a great level of discrimination against the Indian untouchables, the Dalits, and Japanese untouchable population, the Burakumin. A Dalit is a member of the lowest rank in the Hindu caste system and Indian society. The term, Dalit, translates to “oppressed” or “broken”, signifying that members of the Dalit caste are immediately labelled as inferior to the rest of Indian society. In India today, Dalits make up 16.2% of its population, that number being approximately 166 million, which conveys the large spread of Dalits across the Indian population. The traditional Dalit position in...
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...166,635,700 of them Impoverished and excluded Abused and humiliated Denied justice Exploited Untouchable HOW CAN THIS STILL BE GOING ON IN THE 21ST CENTURY? DALITS OF INDIA 9 What is the caste system? Historically the caste system has formed the social and economic framework for the life of the people in India. In its essential form, caste as the system of social and economic governance is based on principles and customary rules that: < Involve the division of people into social groups (castes) where assignments of rights are determined by birth, are fixed and hereditary. < The assignment of basic rights among various castes is unequal and hierarchical, with those at the top enjoying most rights coupled with least duties and those at the bottom performing most duties coupled with no rights. < The system is maintained through the rigid enforcement of social ostracism (a system of social and economic penalties) in case of any deviations. Thus the doctrine of inequality is the core and heart of the caste system. Supported by philosophical elements, it constructs the moral, social and legal foundations of Hindu society. What is caste-based discrimination? The UN defines this kind of problem as ‘discrimination on the basis of work and descent’. It is an ancient form of oppressive, hierarchical social organisation that ordered people according to their family of birth. It has remained in place despite its legal abolition because of its religious sanction, the social...
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...Canada's Untouchables! Perri Klass is a young doctor who is just out of medical school in the United States. In her story India (2005), she talks about coming face to face with the grim realities of poverty and poor health in the third world; she compares them to her experiences in the first world. Klass implies that the health issues in India do not exist in North America. She states that in her world, where she got her medical training, "all children are supposed to grow up" with only a few exceptions to the rule (p.104). My intent is to confirm that Canada has a similar group of people living in poverty and poor health, and that the problems of India exist in our first world country too. I will do this by identifying the poorest people of each country and show how each group suffers from social and economic exclusion. I will also clarify how the health of each group suffers, and demonstrate how these groups are marginalized. Social exclusion can be defined as, 'the process through which individuals or groups are wholly or partially excluded from full participation in the society within which they live' (Thorat, 2007, n.p.). Dalits (formerly known as the 'Untouchables'), of India and most of the Natives (ironically, they are also known as North American Indians) of Canada live under adverse conditions and poverty. In India the Dalits are the poorest of the poor. They have been kept from getting an education and from possessing land. They are left to do the heavy manual...
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...Globalization and the Caste System in India Mimi Winters Abstract India has experienced significant economic growth as a direct result of globalization even during the current global economic crisis. Yet many argue that this success does not reach all levels of Indian society. Indeed, some argue that globalization has actually had a negative impact on the lowest members of Indian society, the Dalits. This paper explores both sides of the argument by briefly explaining India’s 3,000-year-old caste system and its influence or lack of influence on the reduction of poverty among the Dalits. Globalization and the Caste System in India India is becoming one of the most significant players in the world economy today. Its rapid economic growth can be contributed to its increasing role in the global community. “Economic liberalization, including industrial deregulation, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and has served to accelerate the country's growth, which has averaged more than 7% per year since 1997” (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012, para. 3). India’s GDP was estimated at $4.463 trillion with a real growth rate of 7.8% and $3,700 per capita in 2011 (2012, para. 14). A majority of this success can be directly contributed to globalization. Although growth is expected to slow due to the global economic crisis, India is still experiencing a positive...
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...PROBLEMATIZING THE METONYMY OF REPRESENTATION IN GOPAL GURU’S ESSAY ‘HOW EGALITARIAN ARE THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN INDIA?’ ASSISTANT PROF. SAMBHU R.1, MR. AMAL TOMS 2 1Department of English Literature and Language, Mahatma Gandhi College, Trivandrum, Kerala, India 2M.Phil Research Scholar, Department of English, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India ABSTRACT The article focuses on the political theorist Gopal Guru’s essay‘How Egalitarian Are the Social Sciences in India?’ in an attempt to demonstrate how the practice of theory and empiricism is divided on racial lines in the Indian academic scenario. It stresses the significance of bringing Dalit experience into the centre with reference to the practice of social theory by following the trajectory of Guru’s arguments. While social theory has become the prerogative of the upper classes, the so-called top of the twice-born, the marginalised sections of the society like the dalits have to content themselves with the pursuit of empiricism in social science disciplines. Guru’s essay critiques the cultural hierarchies that operate through academic institutions and analyzes why...
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...CLASS AND CASTE- BACKWARD CLASSES AND DALITS The term Apartheid was coined to define the social and political policy of racial segregation enforced by the whites on the black natives of South Africa. Apartheid of India is ‘Casteism’. So, is India a replica of South African apartheid? Certainly not. The South African natives were segregated on the basis of laws, made by men in authority ,which were later dismantled by human efforts, again by men in authority. But in India, the discriminatory nature of class as well as race is duly recognised by the Constitution but not practised as the men in authority here are not distinct. Hence, the apartheid between Bharat and India is beyond the reach and ambit of human intervention. Class and caste discrimination in India is as old as the Himalayas. The enormity of human degradation, inequality, discrimination and untouchability is beyond comprehension and is enforced by scriptures which are held and hailed as sacred. Violation of scriptural ordinance is blasphemous and therefore unimaginable. It all started with the advent of the Aryans and the writing of the Vedas. The caste system has been there in India since then but it was merely a class system on the basis of division of labour. But it accelerated during the British Raj as they produced the Scheduled Caste List to enforce their ‘ Divide and Rule’. The colonial experience resulted in the obsession of Indians with fair skin colour. But even this inferiority complex fails to provide...
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...home to more than one thousand million individuals, India is world's biggest democracy. India is additionally one of the establishing members of the UN. It signed the declaration by the United Nations at Washington on 1 January 1942 and furthermore, took an interest in the notable UN convention in San Francisco from 25 April to 26 June 1945. India has reliably upheld the purposes and standards of the UN and has made huge commitments to authorizing the objectives of the UN charter, especially within the discipline of peacekeeping. Despite supporting the purposes and principles of the United Nations, India keeps on being not able to do to totally eradicate the issue of discrimination which perseveres at all the levels in all forms. Being a male-centric...
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...The Caste System of India December 1, 2012 The caste system in India is one of the longest lasting hierarchical systems in the world. It was first mentioned in Manusmriti or Laws of Manu, the ancient book of the Hindu code that was written around 1500 BC. Even though this book was written over three thousand years ago, it still testifies to the existence of four classes: Brahmins, Kshatriya, Vaisyas, and Shudras. Brahmins are listed as priests, Kshatriya as the warriors, Vaisyas as the merchants, and Shudras as the artisans. First three classes are called Dvija or “twice born,” and they are considered sacred. Shudras are simply servants, as the verse 1.91 in Manusmriti describes: “One occupation only the lord prescribed to the Sudra, to serve meekly even these (other) three castes” (p. 9). The classes are ranked very distinctly: “But for the sake of the prosperity of the worlds he (the Lord) caused the Brahmana, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra to proceed from his mouth, his arms, his thighs, and his feet.” (v. 1.31, p. 4). Therefore, it is very clear that the Brahmins were the highest regarded caste, while the Shudras were equivalent to ‘feet’. However, there is one more group that the Indian caste system does not recognize as a caste – Dalits. Dalits are called many different names: Panchamas ("fifth varna"), and Asprushya ("untouchables"). The distinction between them and the four castes is very well defined:...
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...Darkness of the Caste System Namra Wasif 212871570 Essay # 2 Essay Topic 3 India: Life, Culture and the Arts, HUMA2440 Fridays, Khyati Nagar 24/03/2014 The caste system which evolved from Hinduism in India has caused the lower ranked people known as the untouchables to face continuous hardships throughout their lives for many centuries. India achieved its independence as a country in 1947; however, its marginalized groups have yet to obtain such freedom because of continuous discrimination. Although, many social reforms had been initiated by various leaders, yet they had very low levels of impact in the Indian society. This can be seen by examining the strong beliefs of the Hindu religion by its people and by the engraved thinking of complete dominance from upper castes over the lower castes. The social reforms taken by the leaders Jotirao Govindrao Phule and Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar did not have excessive influence in the society due to the people’s powerful beliefs in the Hindu Religion. Firstly, the concept of untouchability created an injudicious barrier between the lower and upper castes. Untouchability has evolved from the caste system which is a social hierarchal structure said to be formed from the sacrifice of the first man created named Purusa. It is believed that by the sacrifice of the Purusa`s head, arms, thighs and feet created the four varanas; Brahmins, Kshatriya, Vaishya’s and Sudra’s respectively. The Brahmins represent pureness...
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...Michael Kropac Dalit Empowerment and Vocational Education An Impact Study © 2006 by Michael Kropac Winkelriedplatz 2 4053 Basel, Switzerland 0041 (0)61 361 36 03 Mail: kropac@gmail.com For all people of Navsarjan who resolutely follow their ideal of an egalitarian society Preface and Acknowledgements Preface and Acknowledgements The present work is based on my thesis submitted to the University of Basel (Switzerland) in December 2005. Ever since I have started to study Geography, I wanted to write a thesis that would be read by more people than only my supervisors and would prove to be useful in some way. A traineeship during my studies as well as various projects and a general interest to discover the ‘mystery’ called India had brought me to the subcontinent several times since 2002, and it was soon clear to me I would focus on a topic in the Indian context. Even before I visited India for the first time I knew that it was not only about the Taj Mahal, tigers and finding enlightenment in some yoga class, but also about development, poverty and caste. Once in India, the contrast between vibrant economic development and widespread poverty became more than obvious, but the idea of caste remained somehow ambiguous. As foreigners are often only able to speak English, they can only communicate directly with those strata of society who also speak this language – most often these are not the poor or deprived of the Indian society, but those at the ‘upper’...
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...The Search for Self and Space by Indian Dalit Joseph Macwan and African American Richard Wright Vaseemahmed G Qureshi Assistant Professor, Vishwakarma Government Engineering College, Chandkheda A B S T R A C T The subjugation of Dalits in India and Blacks in America is the result of slavery imposed on them in the name of castism in India and racism in America. Writers from these marginalized groups express their revolt against slavery through words. This presentation focuses on one black and one Dalit novel as a manifestation of the quest for self and space. Joseph Macwan comes forward as a prophet of Dalits’ welfare in Gujarat with his Angaliyat (1987) which is a representation of the emerging genre of the Dalit novel. It criticizes systems of internal colonization that exist within the Hindu caste system. Today, Dalits are both asserting their identity and challenging a society that had earlier excluded them, by writing about their lives themselves. Through the protagonist Teeha, the novel succeeds in demystifying ‘dalitness’ and redefining the real freedom of his fellow people. Richard Wright is one of the most acclaimed African American authors of the twentieth century. His Outsider (1953) depicts racial discrimination and the quest for identity. He creates a compelling story with his protagonist Cross Damon, a man of superior intellect who craves for peace and searches for his identity. In this quest, Cross Damon attempts to escape his past and start anew in a...
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...2/1/2015 Dalit Rights Dalit Rights DALIT AND ADIVASI RIGHTS INTIATIVE The Indian Constitution banned the practice of untouchablity under Article 17 and the Schedule Caste/ Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989 was introduced to combat persecution and discrimination against Dalits and Adivasi (tribal) people. Despite the existence of these strong legal provisions, Dalit and Adivasi populations have found it virtually impossible to access their rights through the legal system. In this context, the Dalit and Adivasi Rights Initiative provides legal aid and rightsawareness to members of Dalit and Adivasi communities and uses the law to ensure that the violation of Dalit and Adivasi rights are addressed through the legal system. WHAT WE DO This initiative works with the affected communities to set up legal aid centers in order to increase access to justice for Dalit and Adivasi populations. A crucial element of our work is creating awareness amongst these marginalized communities about their fundamental human rights through training programmes and publications in vernacular languages on Dalit/Adivasi rights and the law. Another significant component of this initiative is building a network of Dalit/Adivasi lawyers, while simultaneously sensitizing the judiciary to the needs and issues of populations marginalized by caste and tribal status. For this purpose, we organize 1012 training programmes annually...
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...choose to interrogate my own learning and perspective from whatever history of the country I have been taught till now. One cannot close a speech on Gandhi without highlighting his efforts to abolish untouchability from the Hindu society. Living in a city, I do not come across this abhorring practice on a day to day basis. At the same time I am aware of its prevalence in the interiors of India even today. I am curious to know whether the efforts of Gandhi have actually affected the practice of untouchability and reduced it to an extent in modern India or it is a byproduct of globalization. On this discourse, I would refer to the differences in the approach of the other pioneer of Dalit rights and the drafter of our constitution, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. It is important to study and highlight the different approaches followed by Gandhi and Ambedkar and their motives behind them on the issue of caste system in India. After reading D.R. Nagraj’s essay – ‘Self- purification vs. Self- respect: On the Roots of the Dalit Movement’, I would proceed to comment on the relevance of these ideas in contemporary India. The concept of inequality itself is a modern philosophy. There are many examples in Hindu scriptures which believe in inequality as well as various humanitarian values including universalism, brotherhood, non violence etc. The gist of the main argument...
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...Article Going on my 6-month expedition to India, I have explored, listen, saw and felt many emotions I cannot begin to explain. I started keeping a journal of everything I know was worth writing about. I met people who told me stories I couldn’t bear to listen because of how terrible it sound. The main point about writing my journal was based on discrimination and prejudice towards the people in India especially woman. It is very disappointing to know that there is still gender discrimination going on in India. We all live in a world where we feel according to Macionis (2011) that on a single level person either play up or play down their ethnicity, depending on whether they want to fit in or stand apart from the atmospheres society. That statement let alone tells me that people can have insecurities within themself or the fact that they are not open to who they are maybe depending on how they were raised or how not social they can be. Going to India and knowing that you are not there ethnicity, of course you will be looked stared at and knowing that discrimination happens to women still to this day makes me feel like I am being discriminated. India is a very large country; there were many different racial groups, discrimination towards woman, men, children and ethnicities that exist within India. Even though India is a very big country, it rapidly grows fast with people living there in every race. Known as the rigid caste system Dalits are known as the lowest class ethnicity to...
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...Maoism ideology: Maoism is a form of communism developed by Mao Tse Tung. It is a doctrine to capture State power through a combination of armed insurgency, mass mobilization and strategic alliances. Propaganda and disinformation against State institutions are used as additional tools. Mao called this process, the ‘Protracted Peoples War’. The central theme of Maoist ideology is resorting to violence as a tool to capture State power. ‘Bearing of arms is non-negotiable’ as per the Maoist insurgency doctrine. Maoism has a definite view about how to get to socialism, and about what needs to be done to meet the basic needs of everyone in a poor country. Development is to be on an egalitarian basis—we are all in it together and everyone rises together. Unlike the earlier forms of Marxism-Leninism in which the urban proletariat was seen as the main source of revolution, and the countryside was largely ignored, Mao focused on the peasantry as a revolutionary force which, he said, could be mobilized by a Communist Party with their knowledge and leadership. The model for this was of course the Chinese Communist rural insurgency of the 1920s and 1930s, which eventually brought the Communist Party of China to power. Furthermore, unlike other forms of Marxism-Leninism in which large-scale industrial development were seen as a positive force, Maoism made all-round rural development the priority. Mao felt that this strategy made sense during the early stages of socialism in a country in which...
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