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Ssc SOCIAL STUDY CIRCLE di (ESTD
1982) www.dalitindia.com ssc@dalitindia.com *********************************************************************** |
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January
25, 2001
CO-ORDINATION
AMONG DALIT ORGANISATIONS:
THE NEED OF HOUR
Indian
society has been based entirely on caste system
and all major reforms in it had been centered around caste prejudices. Main constituents of this society are caste
Indians and non caste Indians. Out of
the total population about 26 percent are the non caste Indians and referred as
Dalits. Dalits comprising of this big
population have not reached even to the common minimum requirement of
food, shelter, health and education
even after the 50 years of independence.
There have been listened a lot of government plans and social calls to
improve their social, economical and educational status but Dalits could
improve a little in so long time period even
if it looks that there have been a lot of provisions in constitution and
government policies time to time.
Dalits in their inhuman social
status, worst economic
condition and poor educational
level are because they have been victims of conspiracy of the system developed
by the caste Indians. This system has
been existing for thousands of
years. Whole of the religious,
cultural and economic propaganda’s of these caste Indians have been conceived
and implemented
to crush Dalit as an entity. Right
from the beginning of their existence in India, caste Indians started to
exploit the Dalits, the ancient Indian people by destroying the rich
Dalit civilization and taking all economic
resources from them and leaving them baseless, untouchables.
This
social system which was created by caste Indians to rule Dalits has been taking
different shapes and different names time to time but their goal remains
same i.e. to enjoy all the resources
and social benefits at the cost of interests of Dalits. Because caste Indians are able to enjoy all
the resources and higher social status
on the name of religion and culture which talks of their benefits and glorifies
even their inhuman deeds (Untouchability, human sacrifices, devadasies,
sati etc.), they can not be expected to give off their thousands years old
trend.
Sometimes
government talks for Dalit upliftment, even then it
does not become successful because at most of the places at higher offices,
at dominating places in society, the
caste Indians have the dominating hold.
Worst situation is that even the plans of government for national interest are highly biased for welfare of
the caste Indians.
This
is a recent example when the well cultured community
the Christians, who are
helping the tribal people, who have been kept
away from the mainstream of human life for thousands years,
even government shows the fear of
reducing the hindu population.
It was cried that there should be a national debate on conversions.
Whether government requires a crowd of people living inhuman life? Is this the duty and role of a government in
a democratic country?
Friends!
Recently there has been court decision to remove reservation from higher
education. This is also the part of
systematic plans of caste Indians to
keep Dalits away from higher education and consecutively away from the dominant
places in society. There should be no
wonder on this because such things have been experienced in past also. Most disappointing fact is that out of 260
million Dalits, nobody have raised their voice against it significantly.
Today
we are in age when Dalits are awakening for their rights and for better place
in Indian society but they lack unity among them. Although there are a lot of Dalit organisations at local level in
different parts of the country which
talk for Dalit welfare but how many of these organisations came together to
raise a voice against the reservation abolition policy? What is the use of having so many
organisations? If in future also Dalit organisations perform
same way then the day is not far away when Dalits will loose all the
constitutional provisions provided to
them. There should not be any confusion
that reservation is one strong way to make Dalits equal in the Indian society. If some Dalits have improved their condition than they may not
take benefit and let other Dalits use it but at least they should not sit
quietly if reservation policy comes in
danger. Nobody can say for a new
Ambedkar in future?
Whether
it is a matter of crying against reservation or crying against conversion, the
aim of caste Indians is to ensure the lowest status of Dalits in Indian society and remain owner of all
the resources of this country. Even a
lot of efforts to rewrite history or to suppress socialistic study material are being done. This is also part of another conspiracy of caste
Indians to authentisize the dominance of caste Indians (caste hindus) as the only social pattern in this
country.
Today
there are so many Dalit organisations across the country but most of the time
they are focused on local issues and don’t bother much about the Dalit interests at the national level. Dalits are not a community which can boast
for it’s good social and economical life in any part of the country. Stories of injustice and inhuman acts with them are
frequent. Such problems are either
protected at local level or not protected at all. Even if these are protected
then things become silent after some time without a solid solution and
new story of such events happens again.
This has become a part of Dalit
life even in this age when entire world is talking about 21st
century. Friends! All Dalit organisations ideologically carry
a common goal of Dalit welfare by different angles. Then why they don’t come together on different necessary and
critical Dalit issues? This is also a
fact that if a few such organizations show interest in a Dalit problem then
there are more chances for their idea to be ignored with the impression that it
is linked to few people only and does not carry interest of whole Dalit
community.
It
is need of time that all Dalits should work together to develop the strategy in
which they can share their views, problems, and experiences to ensure a strong
and respectable position in national mainstream. This requires a lot of efforts such as:
At
university and college levels seminars and competitions should be organised
time to time for Dalit students to fill a sense of social co-ordination and
awareness among them. Students can do
this at the appropriate places in which eminent persons of Dalit community can
take part to share their views and can guide them for future also.
In
employee class organisations there should be get together meetings, in
effective ways in which different issues can be discussed. This will also provide links between
different people of various organisations.
Co-ordination
among the rural people can be done by making different local committees in
which again the students can play a major role along with other active members
of this community.
Dalits
should be rich in the literature which provides them a rational and realistic
material for their upliftment. Dalit
authors should be encouraged. This can be done by establishing a central
Dalit literature society which will provide recognition and even awards
every year to these authors. Such literature will be liked more among
Dalits.
Media
is the most powerful tool to bring a change in a society. More and more Dalit students should come in
field of journalism so that present trend of media centralisation towards caste
Indians can be changed.
Dalit
community is divided into a lot of sub castes.
Inter sub caste marriage should be encouraged and must be appreciated at
some Dalit functions.
To
make Dalit awareness as a global phenomena, hi-tech methods such as internet
can be used which can provide various papers and other literature which can be
beneficial for Dalits.
In
a country with this large Dalit population (26% of entire population), it
should not be impossible to make Dalits as an entity with equal social, economic
status. On a issue for the protection
of Dalit interests, if all the heads of
local Dalit organisations communicate and make a common strategy to raise
a voice simultaneously then not only we
can ensure our rights but also a strong respectable position in national
mainstream. Having
a strong co-ordination among all heads of Dalit organisations should not be a difficult task after all they carry a
common goal. It is not necessary that
all these organisations should collapse to make a single one. Let them
work at local level for local issues.
It is also not necessary that they must gather at same place always. All can coexist together. But
they must show a common strategy
on Dalit issues. In present time there
are a lot of ways to have instant communication at distant place i.e. phone,
fax, email, internet, telegram
etc. If voice for an issue for the
protection of interests of Dalits, is to be raised then let it be raised in
whole the country simultaneously in
which all (at least maximum) organisations take part and show
the unity and commitment of the entire Dalit force in the country for their rights.
Dalit
leaders should co-ordinate for the identity of Dalit community as whole and not
avoid it for their individual identity.
Dalits in there present
condition have been because they lack unity.
Everybody knows that voice of individual affects as murmuring while
voice of all together looks like
roaring. Why not start making
communication among the known Dalit organisations now? There will be a day when this small effort can provide Dalits the
very effective way to grow as a well developed and organised race contributing
in the progress of Indian nation.
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