15) WHAT DOES INDIA'S PROGRESS MEAN TO DALITS AND ADIVASIS?

By Gurpreet Singh

     Despite economic development and technological growth, Indian society continues to be plagued by the orthodox and barbaric caste structure which has marginalized Dalits, a section considered untouchable, and also its aboriginal population known as Adivasis.

     Although Indian law bars untouchability as a crime against humanity, the practice has gone on for centuries. Some recent incidents of physical attacks on Dalits accused of violating the practice or other forms of unwritten rules prohibiting them from enjoying equal rights, like access to temples, community kitchens or drinking water, are sufficient to prove that the age old curse has refused to die in the face of slogans like "India Shining" or "Feel Good".

     Likewise, Adivasis continue to endure all forms of exploitation at the hands of the governments and multi-national corporations who are more interested in dislocating them to grab the natural resources in the tribal belts. Very recently they have been barred from carrying their traditional weapons, like sickles and bows and arrows in public places in Chattisgarh state. The government argues that these weapons are frequently used by Maoist insurgents against the police. Maoist militants remain active in the tribal areas. However, disarming Adivasis by taking away their right to carry traditional arms means stripping them of their right to livelihood, as tribal people need them for hunting and food gathering.

     That development in India is only a sham can also be judged from the fact that many Dalits are forced to earn their livelihood by manual scavenging. Thanks to lack of sewerages and alternative jobs, this profession remains alive even after being outlawed long ago. The hypocritical Indian society, which should have been thankful towards people who served them by manually cleaning their waste, despises them, let alone showing any remorse for forcing such vulnerable and poor people into this menial trade in the first place.

     The Adivasis are forced to live without sufficient food and medicines due to lack of public services in their areas. Adivasis are malnourished and have a lower life expectancy rate. If the Indian establishment feels threatened by Maoist insurgents, it should look into the factors that provide them with potential recruits from among these oppressed classes and castes. It is not surprising that many places in Maoist infested districts of India have witnessed oppression against these two groups. It's a shame that the country that hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games and now plans to send a mission to Mars has virtually denied the existence of such people.

     Caste based discrimination has its roots in the ancient Hindu mythology, but even the modern religious groups like Sikhism are not immune to the problem. The Sikh clergy recently acknowledged that casteism is practised by many Sikh temples both in India and abroad. The clergy also warned the followers of Sikhism against practising it, even though this ugly reality has prevailed within the community for years.

     Indian society and the establishment should shed pretences and take a radical step to eradicate casteism and discrimination now, or be prepared for an uprising by the new generation of Dalits and Adivasis who will eventually learn to assert themselves. This structural violence and oppression has denied "untouched" India the virtues of development and progress.

     Unless this "untouched" segment gets its due share, all development models produced domestically or imported from outside will fail drastically. It is a separate matter if the casteist policy makers or institutions do not want to see a fair distribution of wealth and rights. Maybe they are waiting for another Occupy Movement or an Arab Spring in the form of Dalit or Adivasi Rebellions which may one day occupy all the pillars of society which have benefited from this systematic exploitation.

(The above article is from the September 1-15, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)