The well imbibed Casteism in our social structure needs to be squeezed

There are 4 ways through which people gain knowledge in life.

1. Home is the first school- unfortunately parents are the one who propogate caste discrimination to children through rituals,untouchability, eating, marriages etc.
Childrens learn from elders.
2. Our education system and books have no tangible learning information to enlighten about caste atrocity, remove caste system.
3. Religion - the so called hindu religion is based on the caste discrimination.
4. Society- which openly commits caste atrocity and it is not told as a crime for normal routine.
All the above 4 through which people gain knowledge has not imbibed any social understanding in the so called high caste about caste atrocity.
For most,only aim is to only earn money, so once money comes they may think that all needs are satisfied, cos neither theyyou suffer discrimination, atrocity or exclusion. Money is the only criter for them. But for dalits though they earn some money, they still go through this social evil.
Sc/st reservation is not based on economic status but group status. As all dalits suffer from caste discrimination whether economic well off or worse off. Dalits have reservation for protection against discrimination and social oppression which all dalits face either economically well off or worse off. Best example would be the 27,000 atrocity case registered in which more than 40% are done with the well educated dalits- Go to your local sc commision for more info as they dont put it on net.

post by Naveen Rahul

DALITS DEFY BAN TO ENTER TEMPLES IN TWO INSTANCES, WITHIN A WEEK

Though they had to take administration's help, which is shameful for the society reciting "modern INDIA".

After a decade,dalits defy hindu ban,enter temple
[25 Dec 2008]

MADURAI: After a decade-long struggle, Dalits at Panthapuli village in Tirunelveli district entered the Kannanallur Mariamman temple with help of district officials defying a ban imposed by casteHindus. alits, led by district collector G.Prakash and Superintendent of Police Asra Garg, entered the temple at Panthapuli near Sankarankovil on Wednesday. Though the caste Hindus resented the entry, they did not, however, make any effort to resist the move, apparently due to a stern warning issued by Prakash. The collector has initiated speedy steps to take over the temple by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Board. In order to prevent untoward incidents, cops had been deployed in adequate numbers in sensitive areas. The temple, which was closed for nearly 10 years due to a conflict between Dalits and upper castes, has been opened and poojas will be performed on a regular basis by all, officials said. A section of the caste Hindu families resisted the entry of Dalits in the past even though the local munsiff court permitted them to enter the temple. Due to tension, both Dalits and caste Hindus left their homes in the village and settled in nearby hills. The issue gained prominence after the CPI-M state unit recently threatened to take dalits inside the temple. On December17, 200 CPI-M volunteers courted arrested, trying to enter the temple.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/After_a_decades_fight_Dalits_defy_ban_enter_temple/articleshow/3891513.cms


Untouchables enter Rajasthan temple
[Date:22-Dec-2008]

Alwar, Dec. 21,08: Alwar, a small town in Rajasthan, today witnessed a social revolution of a different kind as scores of erstwhile scavengers were allowed to enter a temple here. In addition to that, they also dined with families of “upper social strata”, a pipe dream till recent times. “It is dream come true for me, I have entered a mandir (temple) for first time in my 45 years of life. It is a revolution in true sense,” said Ms Anguri Devi, a former scavenger. The moment is equally “unforgettable” and “historical” for Ms Rajni Nanda, Ms Bimla Chumar and Ms Usha Devi, who were in the trade of scavenging. “Till recent times we were not allowed to enter the premises of temples in the locality, but from today we can enter and perform Puja freely,” Ms Nanda said. The socially significant development has taken place on the initiative of Sulabh movement, founded by Ms Bindeshwar Pathak in 1970. “People who used to run away even from the shadow of a scavenger befalling on them have now dined with such people and it is no less than achieving the impossible,” said Ms Pathak.

Source:
http://thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?date=2008-12-22&usrsess=1&clid=2&id=263530
http://www.sulabhinternational.org/news_detail.php?news_id=39

Full story: http://www.sulabhinternational.org/news_detail.php?news_id=38

CASTE SYSTEM AS GIVEN BY HINDU SCRIPTURES

All the hindu scriptures are nothing but the upholders and promoters of Varna-Vvavastha which is meant to maintain a perpetual dominance of bramhins over the dalit_Bahujans. These scriptures include vedas, ramayana, mahabharatha, gita and the most notorious of all- manusmriti.
Here are few examples of how these scriptures qualify to be a most dangerous creation of mankind ( worst than the nuclear bombs) which degenerated the status of fellow human beings(Dalit-Bahujans) to lower than that of animals for 3000 years.
Rigveda---According to Purusha-Sukta of Rig Veda , Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras originated respectively from the mouth, hands, thighs and feet of the purusha or the creator.
Ramayana ---Ram killed Shambuka simply because he was performing tapasya (ascetic exercises) which he was not supposed to do as he was a Shudra by birth.
Mahabharata--- Dronacharya refuses to teach archery to Eklavya, because he was not a Kshatriya by birth. When Eklavya, treating Drona as his notional guru, learns archery on his own, Drona makes him cut his right thumb as gurudakshina (gift for the teacher) so that he may not become a better archer than his favorite Kshatriya student Arjuna!
BhagvadGita-When Arjuna refuses to fight, one of his main worries was that the war would lead to the birth of varna-sankaras or offspring from intermixing of different varnas and the consequent "downfall" of the family. On the other hand, Krishna tries to motivate Arjuna to fight by saying that it was his varna-dharma (caste-duty) to do so because he was a Kshatriya. In fact, Krishna goes to the extent of claiming that the four varnas were created by him only. Thus, Arjuna's main problem was being born a Kshatriya. Had he been a Brahmin or a Vaishya or a Shudra by birth, he would have been spared the trouble of fighting a destructive war.

CASTE SYSTEM AND CASTEISM

WHAT IS CASTE SYSTEM?

A caste is a combined social system of occupation, endogamy, culture, social class, and political power. Caste should not be confused with class, in that members of a caste are deemed to be alike in function or culture, whereas not all members of a defined class may be so alike.The Indian caste system describes the social stratification and social restrictions in the Indian subcontinent, in which social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups, often termed as jātis or castes. Within a jāti, there exist exogamous groups known as gotras, the lineage or clan of an individual, although in a handful of sub-castes like Shakadvipi, endogamy within a gotra is permitted and alternative mechanisms of restricting endogamy are used (e.g. banning endogamy within a surname).

According to the ancient Hindu scriptures, there are four "varnas." The Bhagavad Gita says varnas are decided based on Guna and Karma. Manusmriti and some other shastras mention four varnas: the Brahmins (teachers, scholars and priests), the Kshatriyas (kings and warriors), the Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (agriculturists, service providers, and some artisan groups). Offspring of different varnas belong to different Jātis. Another group excluded from the main society was called Parjanya or Antyaja. This group of former "untouchables" (now called Dalits) was considered either the lower section of Shudras or outside the caste system altogether.Unfortunately this system is still followed today largely on the basis of birth, It is believed that a person is born into one of four castes based on karma and “purity”-how he or she lived their past lives. Those born as Brahmans are considered [or worthy of] priests and teachers right form the birth on the basis of genearation wise traits or gunas ; kshatriyas as rulers and soldiers; Viasyas as merchants and traders; and shudras/sudras as labourers. Within the four castes, there are thousands of sub-castes, defined by different profession. region, dialect, and other factors.

WHY IS IT A HUMAN RIGHT ISSUE AT PAR WITH RACISM ?

Established during the formative years of Hinduism, Caste system has prevailed in one of the most ugliest forms known to humanity. Although based on religious principles practiced for some 1,500 years, the system persists today for economic as much as religious reasons. Traditionally, although the mostly political power lay with the Kshatriyas, historians portrayed that the Brahmins as custodians and interpreters of Dharma enjoyed much prestige and many advantages. The caste supremacy complex has given rise to rigid caste segregation and subsequent social, economic degradation of lowest of its castes to the extent of "untouchablity". More than 160 million people in India are considered “ Untouchables ”-people tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them impure, less than human. Untouchables are literally outcastes; a fifth group that is considered so unworthy that it wasn't included in the caste system. Because they are considered impure from birth, Untouchables [considered unworthy of doing any other job], have been forced to perform jobs that are traditionally considered “unclean” or exceedingly menial from ages . Even today when manual scavenging is banned in India on papers, One million Dalits work as manual scavengers, cleaning latrines and sewers by hand and clearing away dead animals for very little pay. It has been found that despite official ban many Municipal Corporation Departments across India [mostly villages where there are dry toilets] still have employed many Dalits to do the job with bare hand, carrying it on head, like the same way they used to do from ages. Millions more are agricultural/leather workers trapped in an inescapable cycle of extreme poverty, illiteracy, and oppression. Human rights abuses against these people, known as Dalits, are legion. A random sampling of headlines in mainstream Indian newspapers tells their story: “Dalit boy beaten to death for plucking flowers”; “Dalit tortured by cops for three days”; “Dalit ‘witch’ paraded naked in Bihar”; “Dalit killed in lock-up at Kurnool”; “7 Dalits burnt alive in caste clash”; “5 Dalits lynched in Haryana”; “Dalit woman gang-raped, paraded naked”; “Police egged on mob to lynch Dalits”. “Dalits are not allowed to drink from the same wells, attend the same temples, wear shoes in the presence of an upper caste, or drink from the same cups in tea stalls,” said Smita Narula, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, and author of Broken People: Caste Violence Against India’s “Untouchables.”Human Rights Watch is a worldwide activist organization based in New York. India’s Untouchables are relegated to the lowestjobs, and live in constant fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and raped with impunity by upper-caste Casteist Hindus seeking to keep them in their place. Merely walking through an upper-caste neighborhood is a life-threatening offense.Nearly 90 percent of all the poor Indians and 95 percent of all the illiterate Indians are Dalits, according to figures presented at the International Dalit Conference that took place May 16 to 18 in Vancouver, Canada Crime Against Dalits Statistics compiled by India’s National Crime Records Bureau indicate that in the year 2000, 25,455 crimes were committed against Dalits. Every hour two Dalits are assaulted; every day three Dalit women are raped, two Dalits are murdered, and two Dalit homes are torched. No one believes these numbers are anywhere close to the reality of crimes committed against Dalits. Because the police, village councils, and government officials often support the caste system, which is based on the presumed religious teachings of Hinduism, many crimes go unreported due to fear of reprisal, intimidation by police, inability to pay bribes demanded by police, or simply the knowledge that the police will do nothing. “There have been large-scale abuses by the police, acting in collusion with upper castes, including raids, beatings in custody, failure tocharge offenders or investigate reported crimes,” said Narula. That same year, 68,160 complaints were filed against the police for activities ranging from murder, torture, and collusion in acts of atrocity, to refusal to file a complaint. Sixty two percent of the cases were dismissed as unsubstantiated; 26 police officers were convicted in court.

Despite the fact that untouchability was officially banned when India adopted its constitution in 1950, discrimination against Dalits remained so pervasive that in 1989 the government passed legislation known as The Prevention of Atrocities Act. The act specifically made it illegal to parade people naked through the streets, force them to eat feces, take away their land, foul their water, interfere with their right to vote, and burn down their homes. Since then, the violence has escalated, largely as a result of the emergence of a grassroots human rights movement among Dalits to demand their rights and resist the dictates of untouchability, said Narula. Enforcement of laws designed to protect Dalits is lax if not non-existent in many regions of India. The practice of untouchability is strongest in rural areas, where 80 percent of the country’s population resides. There, the underlying hardcore and rigid religious principles of Hinduism dominate.
Dalit women are particularly hard hit. They are frequently raped or beaten as a means of reprisal against male relatives who are thought to have committed some act worthy of upper-caste vengeance. A case reported in 1999 illustrates the toxic mix of gender and caste. A 42-year-old Dalit woman was gang-raped and then burnt alive after she, her husband, and two sons had been held in captivity and tortured for eight days. Her crime? Another son had eloped with the daughter of the higher-caste family doing the torturing. The local police knew the Dalit family was being held, but did nothing because of the higher-caste family’s local influence.