Man says dog 'untouchable' after 'lower caste' family fed it

A man said that his pet dog had become untouchable after it was fed roti by a Dalit [lower caste] family in the neighbourhood. Worse, the man abandoned the dog and threatened the Dalit family, asking them to pay compensation for spoiling the dog.

This is another example of the horrible caste practices and prejudices that are prevalent in Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh. The case got attention due to the recently initiated public hearing scheme in which citizens can meet top officials on a week day and make direct complaints to them.

The incident occurred in Malikpur in Morena district. The Dalit family was fearful to live in the area. The neighbour was forcing them to either pay him Rs 15,000 for the loss of his 'well-bred' dog who had been corrupted or face consequences. Even the Panchayat members supported the oppressor.

Incidentally, in this case also the accused doesn't belong to the Upper Castes, rather he is a member of a dominant backward caste. Moneyed and land owning OBCs are harassing Dalits and Tribals in many parts of the country.

The District Magistrate and the DIG also appeared shocked by the incident. The officials concerned have been asked to take action and provide security to the family of the victim Chandan Jatav.

Chandan's wife Sunita insists that she was returning from fields and had an extra 'roti' which she gave to the dog but the neighbour was aghast, threatening her to face the consequences for the act.

In fact, discriminations due to caste and economic status don't get adequate attention in media. In my last post regarding Shobhaa De's article on denial of admission to Muslim youths in colleges, I had mentioned that discriminations are all around and not limited to any particular community alone.

How would a family feel when they are told that even the dog gets untouchable if they touch or feed him? It's horrible. It shows how poor communities in rural and semi-urban India continue to face segregation and humiliation.

Perhaps, it was because of the public hearing scheme that the news came out and reached officials, else such complaints are not even registered at the police station level, where complainants are simply turned away.

Denying admission to Muslims students & other Discriminations

Noted journalist and columnist Shobaa De recently found how several colleges in Mumbai were not giving admission to meritorious Muslim students though they fulfill all criteria.

In her column, she writes how principals known to her accepted that the practice was in existence. Principals either said they didn't want 'trouble' or 'how could they [Muslims] be trusted'. At one college, there were seats available but the moment, De mentioned the name of the applicant, the 'voice changed'....

The article that was published on TOI's editorial page shows her concern and the anguish she felt at the blatant discrimination that was being practiced in certain high-profile educational institutions.

Communal, casteist and racist discriminatory practices are nothing new. On one hand we will find individuals who will go extra-mile to help the 'other' or the 'marginalised' and on the other hand there are individuals who act in a xenophobic manner. The issue of denial of flats or houses to Muslims has been discussed many a times.

The other discriminations

But all these issues can be deal with when we have a vigilant society where individuals and groups fight for the rights of themselves and others. It is not just about Muslims, but also about the Tribals, the Dalits, the economically weaker upper castes.

It is about taking up cudgels whenever you see or smell corrupt practices and wrongdoings. The poor get cheated everywhere--from the ration shop where they don't get the allocated share of grains to the hospitals where doctors aren't available or medicines not provided to them. Society ignores this discrimination.

Leading colleges and schools routinely charge funds and give admission on the basis of contacts and cash, ignoring merit. Seats are bought almost everywhere. The point is that wherever there is injustice, it must be fought with and we should side with the victim.

Contempt towards domestic helps, maids

The other day a group of neighbourhood women were ruing how the domestic helps [bai or kaam-wali] have formed a union and want a weekly off. How can 'they'? Here 'they' was uttered in such a tone as if these women who are forced to work in others' house due to their poor financial condition aren't human at all.

For a few hundreds the women work in households and a large number of 'educated' middle-class considers them as if they are sub-human. They are denied leaves and often salary is cut for absent days even though the household head enjoys all sorts of leaves at his/her office.Isn't it ironic as women discriminate against the maids and exploit their 'own' tribe[females]?

This is just another example, as there are umpteen forms of discrimination. Even giving favour to one candidate belonging to a community or linguistic group is a discrimination against another candidate. De's article is welcome and we must all see there is justice for all sections. We are armed with RTI [Right to Information Act] and media revolution. So it's important to be vigilant.

Mention names of such Colleges, Principals

De's concern is legitimate and laudable. There is a lot of hypocrisy in our society and the personal biases of some persons lead to such illegal and unjust actions. However, she should have named these 'reputed colleges' and their 'principals' so that  they could be shamed for their mindsets.

There is impact when institutions are named as their prestige gets affected. Once the names are published, there is media gaze and more scrutiny the next time. There is also more onus on the institutes to come clean.

Children hit for sitting on mat 'reserved' for upper caste students

Unbelievable it may seem but over a dozen children were brutally beaten up by teachers in a government school for 'daring' to sit at the place reserved for upper caste kids in the class.

This shocking incident of casteist cruelty was ignored by national media, particularly, TV channels that raise the racism bogey and turn jingoist when an Indian is roughed up in either Australia or America, for whatever reason.

In this case, the Dalit or Lower Caste [sic] children are supposed to unroll the mat and even sweep floors before the classes start but when it comes to sitting on the mat, they have to leave the space and either sit on the rag-tag mat or on the bare floor.

When they sat on the place where Thakur children used to sit, angry teachers--Shantilal Parihar and DP Yadav beat them up. Mercifully, the incident which occurred in Dongra Dongai village was not far from urban area and it got reported. The case was registered under Juvenile Justice Act.

The fact that children face such attitudes in government schools and such reports are not taken seriously clearly shows that the media large remains oblivious to atrocities on Dalits. At least, the news could have caused alarm as in this case the victims were minor children.

The incident occurred in Ashok Nagar district in Madhya Pradesh last week. Children as young as five and six year old were beaten. One or two local papers, particularly Nai Dunia, gave it some importance while the rest ignored it or published it as a small one column report. The irony is that intense casteism is prevalent across the country, especially in rural areas but mainstream media doesn't seem to have any affect.

Caste remains a harsh reality in rural India. Our national attitude towards it remains
In large parts of North India, it is impossible for Dalits to ride a horse during a marriage procession. There are still separate cups for tea in shops in several parts or they are asked to wash their own utensils. But lack of sensitisation among journalists is a reason for ignoring such issues.

It is a fact that often journalists sensationalise extremely minor and trivial issues while such incidents of inhumanity are considered 'nothing', as they are 'part of tradition'  in the regions. The reality is that even when such cases are reported, a section feels that the complaint may be exaggerated for 'financial gains' or harassing others by misusing the provisions of Atrocities on SC/ST Act, though they forget that the much-feared Act has hardly any conviction rate in the country. Even Dalit activists hardly bother about such incidents.