Students of our college organised a day’s seminar on the present plight of Dalits in India, on the Dec.7 to commemorate the Death Anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar. Papers presented on the topic made our students aware of the web of exploitation, oppression. and the degradation facing Dalits for centuries. The ‘well-worded mass uplift programmes are sugar- coated selfish interests of the Hindus since they are the “policy-makers and policy-implementers”.
The very concept of “development” is partial and catastrophic, since the “…..development projects compel the communities of people to leave their villages, houses, and land to make room for factories and dams, hotels and other largescale constructions,” seminar explained with many facts and figures.
The Dalits are first made landless, then coolies and then transported to towns and cities to be employed in any kind of work for unjust minimum wages. “Any attempt to unshackle themselves from… oppressive systems invited violence against them”, a paper warned.
The papers were researched and written by five students from the five states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar and MP. Prof. John Romus guided the research. Beside the students of our college affliated to Calcutta University, students from the three neighbouring academic institutes participated in the seminar.
