Who are “all these Indian brothers and sisters,” is another question. It would have shocked many who saw what happened when some youth were flogged and no one came to their help because they were Dalits; there were only spectators. How good Indians are we?
All Indians are my brothers and sisters, so who are they “All” we are all historical people no one is higher than the other no matter what creed or religion we belong to, and protection is our basic right.
India’s Constitution abolished “untouchability,” meaning that the dominant castes could no longer legally force Dalits to perform any “polluting” occupation. Yet sweeping, scavenging, and leather work are still the monopoly of the scheduled castes, whose members are threatened with physical abuse and social boycotts for refusing to perform demeaning tasks. Migration and the anonymity of the urban environment have in some cases resulted in upward occupational mobility among Dalits, but the majority continue to perform their traditional functions and the discrimination to entering temples when this is a place where they should find a home where God does not look at our sins and backgrounds and does not forget our beauty.
A lack of training and education, as well as discrimination in seeking other forms of employment, has kept these traditions and their hereditary nature alive. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done well with a tough response and strong words. He has asked people to protect and respect Dalits, thank God the word Dalit is spelt with a capital “D” and not a small “D”. Modi has the red lines for the so called oppressors, the high caste. “Shoot me” but do not attack Dalits, he said.
Could we say this is a real turn around? If so, God bless us, the Indian people who are brothers and sisters to one another and not oppressors, and believe so!
