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DELHI CENTER
30-02-2001
SSC NEWS
VISIT OF A FRENCH TEAM
A French Team
of two from "freres des
hommes" visited India recently.
Ms Catherine Gaudard, Asia Desk Officer, and Ms Sqbine Benjamin, were in
Delhi. They wanted to talk to us about
the Dalit Situation!
Two of our
senior specilists who have been working on the Dalit Issues for the last thirty
years met them. They had about two
hours discussion on various issues of Dalit Problems, and answered many
questions and clarified many doubts! At
the end of it all, the two French Ladies were depressed very much, and remarked
that our specilists had given a very depressing picture about the conditions,
living standards and problems of the Dalits; and about what the Govts and the
States/UTs, as well as the various NGOs, Voluntary Organisations, and Self Help
Groups of Dalits themselves are doing, for the Development and Upliftment of
the Dalit Masses in the Country! Our
Friends told them -
Dalit Problems are nearly three millenniums old! It is difficult to even understand, see and
stop or reverse them! It is very
difficult to escape them, either in the Villages or in the Cities, or even when
one leaves this Country to go abroad!
Castes, Caste-System and Caste-Oppression follow us everywhere! There is no escape from this! If hearing about our Problems, and the State
of Living of the Dalits itself is depressing, please imagine what it would be
or mean or be like for one to live through it!
That is the Life of the Dalits!
As for Dalit Development, Yes, We have developed a lot -
from the silent state of being the Unhearables, to Unseeables, to
Unapproachables, to Undinables, to Untouchables - Abolition of Untouchability
by the Constitution - to be at present the Unacceptables! But that is all! We are criminally not being accepted by the cruel dominant castes
into the villages, residential areas, playgrounds, market places, restaurants,
roadside tea shops, temples, schools, mathematics and science or commerce
streams in the highschools and colleges, Engineering or Medicine or Management
Courses. For, they are all heartless
exploitative inhumans! It is as a direct
result of all thes We SC&ST Dalits are very badly discriminated right from
the Security Guards to Peons, Clerks and even senior Officials in Govt Offices
or PSUs or Banks and Universities!
We SC&ST Dalits, today have nowhere to go and no
place to rest even after death! That is
why, We have after considerable thought have planned for an indepth
introspection and thinking, and a wide detailed discussion on the Issue of
DEVELOPMENT OF WEAKER SECTIONS, in a Seminar!
This issue had not really been addressed all these days by anyone, any
of the Universities, and the Govts also have carefully avoided the Issue of
Holistic Development of the SC&ST Dalit Communities all these five and half
decades of Free Independent India! You
both, and your friends in India and also back home in France are welcome to
think over this big important issue, and present a good Paper in the Seminar!
The French
Friends felt very miserable, and quickly pulled out a folder from their bag and
asked very innocently and with lots of concern, "Is this not the
answer?" That was the Folder of
The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights!
Our friends promptly shook their heads, and with a sad smile said,
Hundreds and Thousands of such Campaigns would not
help! The Problem is too serious to
defy any wishful thinking! And none
should jump to an easy and casual solution to a complex three millenniums old
historic deep rooted Racial Problem, between the mostly black stocky Race of
SC&ST Dalits who are more akin to the African and Austroloid Stocks, and
the definitely Central Asian Race of the dominant castes! To be specific, those who are behind
Capaigns like NCDHR are doing some good service to the Dalits Cause, by
attracting the World's Attention to this hidden cancer in the Indian Society,
they are really novices in the struggle who had stepped into this arena only
very recently!
Some of the Campaigns taken up by the Christian Dalits,
and at times by the Reforming Indian Churches, suffer from Idealogical Content,
even though some of them are well organised because of the good leadership
provided by the well educated and trained activists with organisations,
resources, infrastructures, international contacts, and reasonable financial
backing! But sadly they are all
kindergarden children when it comes to the Knowledge of Dalit Problems, History
of SC&ST Struggles and Complexities of SC&ST Dalit Development and
Liberation. And in fact most of them
were unwilling to take up the issue of Dalit Struggles till recently!
The meeting of our specilists with the French Guests
ended there! But We owe an explanation to our French Friends and also our Friends, as
to why our two representatives dismissed the Campaign of NCDHR, who took up
recently a big signature Campaign!
Since Church
did not believe in Castes, and summarily rejected Castes and Caste System very
rightly in the early days - when the dominant castes wanted to bring in the
Castes and practiced the evil Caste System within the Church to Discriminate
Christian Dalits, or throw the SC&ST Dalit Christians out of the Church,
and sought to put an end to the Conversions of SC&ST Dalits into
Christianity - the Church till recently in India did not formally recognise the
existance of the Castes within the Church!
Hence the Church Authorities conveniently turned a blind eye to
SC&ST Dalit Discriminations within the Church itself! With Indianisation of the Church, the
emergence of a number of caste conscious dominant caste Christians within the
Church and in the Church hierarchy, the few number of Priests taking some
interest in the SC&ST Dalit Problems, and the slow stirrings by the
Christian Dalits, the religious and the lay alike, Church had slowly but
rightly begun to respond to this gigantic problem! There were individuals like Rev Nirmal who was an authority on
Dalit Problems Struggles and Movements, and taught Dalit Theolgy to Seminarians
and others, Rev Azaraiha who went on to become the Bishop of CSI at Madras, ME
Prabhakar who wrote a small book on Dalit Theology, Rev Karim Massey now Bishop
of CNI, Bishop Minz in Chotanagpur, Fr Dr Jose Kananaikil sj who started the
Department of Scheduled Classes in the Indian Social Institute that came down
to be only a Deptt of Scheduled Castes to accomodate the interests of others
interested in working on STs! These are
the ones, who somehow brought the SC&ST Dalit Issues to the Center Stage of
Church! As the Church could no more
ignore SC&ST Dalit Issues, WCC at Geneva responded very positively, and the
Vatican also is recognising this issue!
That alas sadly opened the flood gates for many self proclaimed Saviours
of SC&S Dalits, who are nothing more than Novices, rank Opportunists, and
at times some even selfish elements!
Sometimes unconsciously, and unintentionally at times, they rub on the
wrong side the Govt, Parties, and also Dalit Leaders and Dalit Activitists who
have much wider and long experience of living amidst and struggling with the
SC&ST Dalits within the Country! As
a result many Campaigns like that of NCDHR, inspite of their many well
intentioned attempts raise more dusts that they sweep and dispose off!
Only
a cool well reasoned serious thinking, and pooling of the ideas of many trained
experienced brains will be in a Position to find some solution and few answers
to the massive 260 plus millions of poor assetless and rudderless SC&ST
Dalits in this Country today!