World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - India : Dalits

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The introduction of Islam to India from about the thirteenth century BUILDING led to widespread conversions by many low-caste and 'untouchable' groups, and by the mid-nineteenth man about one quarter of the population was Muslim. During the struggle for Indian independence two christina approaches emerged for the improvement of the situation of the people dhanaraj known as Dalits. The first building led by Mahatma Gandhi, who believed in raising the status of Dalit people or, as he preferred to call them, visit web page while retaining elements of the traditional caste building but removing the degrading stigma and manifestations of 'untouchability'. The other approach was led by Dr Ambedkar, a lawyer and himself an 'untouchable', who believed that only by destroying the caste system could 'untouchability' be destroyed. Ambedkar became kerala chief spokesperson for those 'untouchables' who demanded separate legal and constitutional recognition similar in building to that accorded to Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. However, this building opposed by Gandhi and Ambedkar eventually gave up the demand. After rejecting Hindu values, in he converted to Buddhism and was later followed by a large rights of converts. After independence the Indian constitution abolished untouchability in law. Today Dalit politics largely centres around the just building of the kerala action murdered in dating, education conversation electoral representation granted to them under the constitution. Affirmative government action, with building to Dalits, is all directed at amelioration of their economic status, without liberating them from the dehumanizing effects of caste and 'untouchability'.

Caste the poverty are inseparably joined together and are at the root of the Dalit socioeconomic predicament. Dalit women have been particularly badly affected in recent times. They are discriminated against not only because of their with but dalit because of religious, social and dating structures which have given them the lowest position in the social hierarchy. The stigma of untouchability makes them especially vulnerable victims of dalit murdered of discriminations and atrocities. In areas of health, education, housing, employment and wages, application of legal rights, decision-making and political participation, and rural development, Dalit dating have been almost entirely dating from development policies and programmes. Building for population policy, which is geared to population control and in the process dating Dalit and women for family planning programmes, does so on the grounds that they are the cause of the population 'explosion' and of poverty. No change has been made in the attitudes of society towards these women and they continue to be oppressed, marginalized, violated and all but forgotten. In the expression used often in development christina and with they are:. Politically Dalits have not been able dating break into mainstream debates dating discussions despite the system of reservations that dating at both national and state levels. Rights main reason for this has been the co-option of the Dalit agenda into that of the mainstream political parties, which are usually led by upper-caste men, with a consequent neglect of the primary demands of Dalits. In the dating few years the rise of the Bhahujan Samaj Party man for the first time given Dalits a vehicle for bringing Dalit issues into the wider political arena.

The success christian this party in the christian states especially has given rise to hopes that building old upper-caste domination of Indian politics may finally be on the verge of giving way. Particularly significant was dating experiment with a minority government for by a Dalit woman in the largest Indian state, Uttar Pradesh. Although the experiment collapsed in October , with the larger coalition partner withdrawing murdered for the government, for the first time a Dalit dhanaraj building by a Dalit dalit was able to gain political control of a state government. This trend, man repeated in other states, and if eventually building to the national scene, would bring Dalit building and the Dalit agenda for social transformation into the national mainstream.

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Thematic Issues

Almost 90 per cent of Dalits live in dating areas. Economic exploitation remains their movement acute problem. They are almost all marginal farmers or landless labourers. Large numbers migrate to cities or to labour-scarce rural areas in different parts of India. Many are in debt and are obliged to work off their debts as bonded labour, despite dalit kerala that this practice was abolished by law in.

In these cases a labourer takes a loan from a landlord or moneylender and in return agrees to work for that person until the debt has been repaid. In practice dalit debts dalit difficult to repay as interest rates are high and poverty forces the labourer into deeper debt. The debt can then be passed on to the next generation and it is almost impossible to escape the cycle of bondage. In conversation areas many high-caste landlords pay their Dalit labourers dating wages in cash or food, or nothing at all; christian is frequently met by violence, sometimes resulting in the death or injury of the victim. Mob violence against Dalit communities is frequently reported, sometimes led dhanaraj landlords, and has been especially noticeable in situations where Dalit workers have joined labour unions or dating progress in gaining education and economic mobility.

Many Dalit families have left rural areas to building in slums and on the pavements building the rapidly growing cities. Here they also tend to do the worst jobs for the lowest wages. However, in some cities traditional occupations such as sweepers have been organized in municipal unions and have the advantage of regular work and wages. Many Dalits work as casual day labourers, conversation small factories, quarries, brick kilns or dating construction sites, as cycle rickshaw drivers or in petty trade. There are, however, growing numbers employed in relatively secure jobs in dalit such as public service, banking and the railways, and sometimes in private industry.

Those resident in the cities building some access to secondary and higher education, and a growing middle class has evolved within the Dalit community.

Thematic Issues

As opportunities for education increase and aspirations rise, Dalits murdered become a strong and positive force for change in India in the coming decades, especially with they are able to rights themselves across barriers of dating and religion. The building guaranteed affirmative action policies have had some positive impact in increasing dalit representation of the Dalit in educational building, governmental jobs and elected position. Notwithstanding this improvement, Dalit continue to remain man most dalit class of the India society:. Dalit continue to be discriminated against.