India’s “Untouchables”
The Dalits
A History of Oppression
Dalit translates “broken or
oppressed people”
(Mayell, 2003)
The Caste System in India
• Origins somewhat unknown
• Loosely based on Hindu scriptures
• Studies have shown may be based on
race
• Static and Unchanging
• Worse form of oppression
(Nadeem 2004)
Who are the Dalits?
• The “Untouchables”
• 250 million 25% of
India’s population
• Considered “unclean”
• Made to do India’s
dirtiest jobs
• Considered lower
than animals
(Mayell,2003)
Education
• Most Dalits have no
access to school
• High rate of illiteracy
• Segregated
classrooms
• Teachers discriminate
• Non-Dalit children
tease the Dalit
children
(Muncekar, 2002)
Dalits need an English based
education
(Muncekar, 2002)
The Conflict Theory and Dalits
• Karl Marx the founder
of the Conflict Theory
stated, “the key to all
human history is class
struggle. In each
society some small
group controls the
means of production
and exploits those
who do not.”(Schriver
2004))
Conflict Theory and Dalits
• The Caste system fits
into the Conflict
Theory because the
Dalits are oppressed
by the upper classes
and forced to do the
dirties jobs with little
pay.
The Empowerment Theory and
Dalits
• Empowerment is all about
changing the distribution
of power, something the
Dalits desperately need.
• Empowering the Dalits
would mean the upper
castes would have to
figure out knew ways to
get their “dirty” work
done.
Empowering the Dalits should
include:
•
•
•
•
•
Education (especially English)
The right to own land
Access to healthcare
Access to better jobs
No longer being “untouchable”
Dalit’s Ecomap
Schools
Religion
Healthcare
Dalits
Civic Duties
Labor
How the Dalits Experience
Oppression
• Forced to do manual
scavenging
• Remove dead
animals and humans
• Not allowed to
worship
• Rape is common
• Horrific massacres
• Not allowed to own
land
(Dalit Blog)
Crimes Against the Dalits;
Headlines taken from Indian News
• “Dalit boy beaten to death
for plucking flowers”
• “Dalit tortured by cops for
three days”
• “Dalit “witch” paraded
naked in Bihar”
• “7 Dalits burnt alive in
caste clash”
• “Dalit woman gangraped, paraded naked”
(Mayell, 2003)
Biopsychosocial Needs
• Although the Indian
government “banned”
untouchability, in
1950 it is stilled
entrenched within the
country(Sainath 2007)
• The Biopsychosocial
needs of the Dalits
are not being met by
their country
Who is Helping the Dalits?
• The Dalit Freedom
Network
• Education
• Economic
Development
• Healthcare
• Social Justice
Dr. Joseph D’souza
President of DFN
DFN uses Village Transformation
as main intervention
Global Connections
• The global community
has recognized the
Dalit’s need for help
• UN committee has
called upon the Indian
government to find a
solution to
segregation(Sainath
2007)
Global Connections
• The Indian
government has done
very little to help the
fate of the Dalits
• Without the advocacy
from NGOs and the
UN there would be
little hope for the
“broken people” or
Dalits of India
(Clifford 2003)
Sources
• Clifford, B. "Globalizing
Untouchability: Dalit Activism on
the
World Stage" , 2002- 08-28 Online <.PDF>.
2008-01-23
• Clifford, B. (2003)"Dalit Rights are Human Rights": Caste
Discrimination, International
Activism, and the Construction
of a New
Human Rights IssueHuman Rights Quarterly
- Volume 29, Number 1, February 2007, pp.
167-178
• Mayell, H. (2003) India’s “untouchables” face violence and
discrimination National Geographic
newshttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0602_
030602_untouchables.htm
• Michaels, B.(2004) India: “hidden Apartheid” of discrimination
against Dalits, retrieved Jan 22,
2008http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/02/13/india15303.ht
m
Sources Continued
• Muncekar, B. (2002) Education: the only key to Dalit progress
retrieved Jan 21, 2008
fromhttp://www.ambedkar.org/Worldwide_Dalits/education_and
_
dalits.htm
• Nadeem, S. (2004, Aug) The Conflicting Visions of Modernity
and Untouchability in Nationalist India Paper presented at
the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association,
Hilton San Francisco & Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel, San
Francisco, CA, Online <.PDF> Retrieved 2006-10-05 from
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p108367_index.html
• Sainath, P (2007) United Nations anti-Dalit discrimination akin to
racial segregation retrieved Jan 21,
2008193http://atrocitynews.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/forunited-nations-anti-dalit-discrimination-akin-to-racialsegregation
• Unknown (2007 October, 20) Dalit thought blog retrieved Jan
22,2008
bloghttp://dalitthought.blogspot.com/Dalit’s ,