Prejudice and Discrimination of the Dalit and Adivasis

Prejudice and Discrimination of the Dalit and Adivasis

Prejudice and discrimination are clearly evident in India and specifically in the treatment of the Dalit and Adivasis minority groups. This article will give a brief societal description of India, define whether the societal problems are racial and then delve into the plights of the Dalit and Adivasis people.

The Culture and Society of India

The Republic of India is also known as Bharat. It is quite large in land area, in fact it is the seventh largest country. However, in population it is number two in the world. In addition, taking population into consideration it is the largest Democracy in the world. (Wikipedia 2007)

There are four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. All these religions had there beginning in India. The county is pluralistic with many ethnic groups and many languages. So many in fact that in societal research some groups are combined with others due to lack of data. This point coupled with the fact there is large disparity between groups in relation to problems like suicide, racial discrimination and gender discrimination lends to the societal study of India using the critical method. (Wikipedia 2007)

India was under the control of the United Kingdom for some time and became famous in the world during its struggle for independence because of using nonviolence to gain freedom. Although, India has freedom as a Democracy the people are far from free as evident in the plight of the lower castes of the Dalits and the Adivasis. . (Wikipedia 2007)

Does India Have Different Racial Groups?

Kumar (2001) wrote there are too many conflicting theories of the racial origin of India to even begin to list in this brief essay. However, it is of significant note that pre-colonial India had no classifications of race. In addition, the wide range of disagreement of the racial backgrounds in India point to the fact that the lines are too blurry to be of significance. This indicates that the prejudice and discrimination in India is of ethnic origin and not racial. This quote from the Census website of India by Jayant Kumar sums it up nicely:

India's population is not divided into various "races" today. The concept of "race" itself has been strongly disputed, many scientists agreeing that the human being can not be usefully divided into various "sub-groups" according to biological factors. This concept has widely been replaced by "ethnic groups," which take into account cultural traits (language, religion, customs, etc.). (Kumar 2001)

The Dalits

According to Aitken (2007) India is made up of castes of people. Each group is higher or lower than the others in terms of lifestyle, income, human rights, as well as societal rights. The classification of each group comes from the Hindu religious scriptures. Each group is associated as being created from the body of the Hindu god Brahma. The highest group, the Brahmins came from the Brahma's mouth and are the priest caste. Next, the warrior (and administration) class known as the Kshatriyas came from the Brahma's arms. A third class is the commerce class which came from the Brahma's torso. They are known as the Vaishyas. The fourth class are the manual laborers created from the Brahma's feet. (Aitken 2007)

According to Aitken (2007) there is one more class which is not even considered a part of society and falls below all the others. This fifth class who were known as the "untouchables" are now known as the "Dalits". The name Dalit from Sanskrit means "broken" or "crushed". (Aitken 2007)

Aitken (2007) wrote that there is an estimation of thirty million Dalits which are in bonded servitude, many of which have the lowest forms of occupation such as cleaning up excrement. About one million of the Dalits are child laborers and many of the women are employed as prostitutes or what might be termed as body slaves for the upper classes. The extreme prejudice and discrimination of the Dalits has led the international community to term them "India's apartheid". The international poverty line is one dollar a day. The Dalits often live on less. They are also discriminated in terms of education with a sixty percent illiteracy rate. This is double the rate for other Indians. (Aitken 2007)

The Adivasis

According to Raman (2004) the Adivasis are described as a powerless minority. They are a people forced into poverty through displacement. This displacement took place during the rule of the British and is due first to the clearing of lands for the British Navy and for the colonial railroads. The land originally owned and inhabited by the Adivasis was appropriated to European and local farmers. The Adivasis lost their stance in society and their land and were forced to become bonded servants whose lifestyle has been described as subhuman. Similar to the Dalit women the Adivasis women were often forced into lives as prostitutes. (Raman 2004)

Raman (2004) reported the Adivasis are engaged in a fight for their rights and it is often a violent one. There has been severe repression of their protests which is drawing attention from human rights activists around the world. The government is slowly being forced to recognize the land rights of the Adivasis but has violently repressed their demonstrations and has continually supported the landowners or the original Adivasis land.

Conclusion

India is described as a pluralistic country with many ethnic groups and races. However, the word race is not appropriate in India a country which does not classify itself into racial groups. However, the prejudice and discrimination that exist to the ethnic groups the "Dalits" and the "Adivasis" is extreme and is drawing the attention of the international community.

It is clear that the nations of the earth cannot stand by and watch the India Apartheid continue

especially in the treatment of the women and children of the Dalit and Adivasis peoples.

Reference

Aitken J., (2007), The broken and the crushed, American Spectator; Jun2007, Vol. 40 Issue 5, p56-57, 2p Retrieved July 1, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database, WIU library, EBSCO host.

Kumar J., (2001) Census of india, Retrieved July 2, 2007 from http://www.censusindia.net/

Raman, K. (2004, Spring). MUTHANGA. Social Analysis, 48(1), 126-135. Retrieved July 1, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database, WIU library, EBSCO host.

Wikipedia (2007). India, Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, Retrieved July 1, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India.