R.Chakrapani, the Washington correspondent of the Hindu, quoting (Feb. 2) from the US Administration’s report to the Congress on the state of human rights in India say’s : “The report takes the view that govt. efforts to improve the position of scheduled
castes & tribes have so far met with only moderate success. Tribal groups & Harijans continue to constitute a large proportion of India’s poorest of the poor & inequality of treatment or opportunities: available to these groups contribute to a major impediment in India’s – social development.” Very mild words indeed. He also speaks about the wide- spread police atrocities on Untouchables. The report was made public on Feb. 8. Already the US Ambassdor to the UNO, Mrs. Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, has raised the issue of Untouchables in the UNO & had criticized India for denying human rights to such a vast population. Surprisingly, the Indian Press, which makes much of the “denial” of the freedom of the Press by the Indian Govt ., did not report her speech. As the guardian of the Hindu interests, the Press thought it fight to resort to blackout. Nothing inconvenient to the Hindus is reported in the Indian Press. The Untouchables demonstration led by Dr. Laxmi Berwa befor the White House in Washington was blacked out for this very same reason. Many dalits living abroad and inside India have written us letters congratulating the US Govt. & Mrs. Kirkpatrick in particular for bringing such a grave issue to the notice of the world forum. The UNO can now instruct its Human Rights Commission to send a team to India to probe the whole thing. The Indian Govt. & its Ruling Class will do their best to prevent such an exposure by taking shelter under the constitutional provision abolishing untouchability. Foreigners & their Govts: are often deceived by this argument. TCA Rangachari, a Brahmin working as the first secretary of the Indian Mission to the UNO, while replying to Kirkpatric had resorted to the very same trick of citing the Constitution. True, the Consitution has abolished untouchability. But has the Govt. taken any step to implement this provision ? None. The Govt. of India’s Home Ministry has an official called the Scheduled Caste Commissioner who publishes, his annual report which is debated yearly in Parliament. In this very column we have reviewed these reports. What does these reports of the Govt. itself say ? Whom is Rangachari fooling ? In the Indian Parliament the Govt. admits of the largescale atrocities on Untouchables. We have the report of the London-based Minority Rights Group (DV Jan. 1-15). There are any number of reports available with the impartial sources. The Ruling Class often defends itself saying that the issue of Indian Untouchables is an internal problem of India. But the UN Human Rights covenant has made it clear that no denial of human rights can be treated as an internal problem of that country. We ‘too have been voicing the opinion of India’s Dalits, its vast persecuted minorities that it should be treated as an international problem. Human rights & minority groups the world over should take up this issue and save the vast impounded Dalits of India.
