This Is the heart-rending story of the destitutes of India called the Untouchables – the Dalits, along with converted Buddhists or ex-Untouchables. The problem of untouchability goes back to more than 2000 years under Hinduism. It is the society which authorizes the sanctions against a particular section of its own people, i.e . Hindu against the Hindu Dalits.
No other religion in the world has such sanctions against the people of the same religion. What are these sanctions? These people can’t put on decent clothing, can’t have civil rights of drinking water from the same well lest it gets polluted, can’t ask for minimum wages – otherwise there are harsh repercussions such as merciless burning, killing of the Untouchables, raping their women, burning their houses, social boycott and many other innumerable ways of violating their civic & human rights. Even those who are financially okay will face constant humiliation, harassment in private and public places. Verbal & physical insults are a day-to-day occurrence. Many of the Untouchables and ex-Untouchables are roasted on pyre by the Hindus. For details, I have brought some material left with the Secretary General, Dr. Homer Jack. Many of the brutalities are of such gross nature that even I am ashamed to retell here. I am sure many of you who are up to date on India probably already know of all these ghastly crimes against us Untouchables. The problems of the Untouchable are both social and economical – interlinked to each other, i e. those who are socially deprived in a majority sense and vice versa. My organization, VISION, (Volunteers in Service to India’s Oppressed and Neglected), of which I am president wants to highlight this problem to this civilized world in every possible way. Even talking to many of American friends, who are aware that there are various castes but totally uneducated about the seriousness of this silent volcano which has erupted in the past on many occasions and will continue to do so unless the Indian Government and Indian society as a whole do something to correct this tragedy of the Indian subcontinent. God only knows how many more lives are to be sacrificed, how many more colonies of the Untouchables are to be destroyed in this current caste and class war in India. VISION was founded in 1977, it has members from all walk of life from all parts of America, voluntarily funded by members to champion the cause of their Untouchable brethren in India. VISION has no political affiliation, it is a nonpartisan organization. One of the major function [of the organization] is to carry out the mission of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. – the emancipator of the Untouchables from the mud of Hinduism, great revivalist of Buddhism in India (brought Buddha back to his homeland), Father of the Indian Constitution (called the Modern Manu). – Also called Moses without a Holy Land. Thus, VISION has been celebrating Ambedkar birth anniversary each year since its inception. VISION also is in close touch with American academicians who are students of South East Asia studies particularly Indology to get their guidance and suggestions with the idea as to how to improve the lives of 105-120 million Untouchables, “the world’s single largest minority”, according to Benjamin Whitacker of Minority Right Group, London. In 1978, VISION requested Prime Minister Morarji Desai to see him about the atrocities on the Untouchables when he came to address the U. N. Assembly. VISION sent its Treasurer, P. N. Arya in April 1982 to investigate Deoli and Shadhupur massacres of the Untouchables and to rehabilitate by distributing the necessary items worth $1000 donated by VISION members and sympathizers. In May 1982 as soon as VISION found out that Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi was visiting USA in July 1982, we wrote a letter to host a dinner and a meeting to express our grave concern about the recent massacres of the dalits However, she sent a terse reply saying: “It does not help for those who live in affluence abroad to comment on situations about which they have little knowledge”. The question of our meeting with her did not arise at all. Thus, we resorted to demonstrating in front of the White House on July 29, 1982, when she was meeting with President Reagan. The result was that our demonstration and its reasons were covered in the New York Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Times and many other newspapers here and in India. The point is that she can’t tell us to shut up our movement in America. It may be possible in India where she runs the country with the iron fist – which is known by every student of Indian History. The current democratic system suits quite well to the politicians rich industrialists and the landlords. This was the second time that the Hindus turned down a Dalit Human Right Organization. Another factor has been the prejudice shown by the Hindus abroad against the Dalits. This was amply illustrated by a recent incident when a proposed dinner party during a New York visit of writers, Laxman Mane and Daya Pawar, was suddenly cancelled after the Brahmin Consulate official found out that they were Dalits. Even today, there is little social mixing between Hindus and Dalits in the US. Surprise! Hindus always had and even today have contempt for the Untouchables no matter where we go. But recent conversion of the Untouchables to Islam has thrown the whole Hindu society into a turmoil and it is planned that there will be 2,00,000 Hindu religious preachers to go to each tehsil to prevent this conversion. Why? I will let the Hindus answer that. I am glad that I am no longer a Hindu. Thus, frustrated and angered after this rebuke form the Prime Minister in July 1982, we decided to look for some other answers to highlight the atrocities and constant harassment and discrimination by the “free and democratic India”. Finally with the help of Minority Right Group, Ltd . – a London-based human right organization – I, on the behalf of many organizations and individuals from America, Canada, U.K. and India testified to U.N. sub commission on Human Rights on their 35th annual session in Geneva, Switzerland on August 31, 1982. In that testimony, I did my best to bring forward the Human Rights violation of the Untouchables – which is not an internal issue of India but an International problem. However, there the Rumanian delegate called “Time out” and the Indian delegate charged that my statement was politically motivated. The Russian delegate supported the Indian delegate stating this is not a political platform. Surprise! Not in the least. The Russians and Eastern European Block countries have denied human rights to many ethnic and religious minorities in their own countries. Another tyranny is that the Indian delegate who opposed us happened to be a Muslim whose community itself is a persecuted minority in India. This was not a surprise because the Congress Party has in the past pitted Muslims where ever there is an interest of the Untouchable community. Syed Masud, the Indian expert on Human Rights, and Lakshmi Puri, the First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, didn’t want me to raise this issue outside India. Most recently Dr. Gopal Singh, the chairman, High Power Panel on Minorities – a Government of India appointee begged me not to discuss this issue outside India. In my interview on Nov, 2, 1982, he remarked, “I beg of you that whenever you write to us or write to the Prime Minister you should wait for the decision to be taken in the country itself before you bring them to the world forum”. I was quick to give Dr. Singh the letter of Mrs. Gandhi who chided us for expressing our concern. The Indian Government owes an explanation to the world as to why there are so many massacres and human right violations of minorities in “democratic India ?” What plan does the Government have to curb them? If the Indian Govt. is embarrassed about them, then do something to protect the weaker sections of society, i.e. the Dalits, Buddhists (ex-Untouchables), Muslims & Christians. VISION will continue to educate the civilized world regarding the plight of Dalits with all its might at every forum it can get its hand on, inside India or outside in the world forum. VISION will continue to voice its concern on the atrocities on the Untouchables and the discrimination suffered by them at the hand of Hindu majority in their day-to-day life. VISION will continue to monitor the police brutalities, Indian Govt’s failure to protect the Untouchables, failure to implement the protective rights granted in the Indian Constitution. Promises! Promises! These promises have betrayed the cause of the upliftment of the Untouchables. VISION needs hard and concrete steps taken by the Indian Govt. to be convinced of its sincerity when it comes to the welfare of the Untouchables.
(Speech to the World Conference on Religion & Peace at New York on Nov. 16, 1982).
