Christian women deplore continuing caste discriminations

Dalits continue to be treated as sub-human and deprived of rights enjoyed by others.

Pune (UCAN): A movement of Christian women in India has urged politicians and social leaders to work to end caste politics and discrimination, which they said continue to cast grim shadows over the education and job opportunities of the poor in the country.

The Indian Christian Women's movement that met Feb. 4 in Pune said the suicide of a research student last month in Hyderabad, shows how "dalits continue to be treated as sub-human and deprived of rights enjoyed by others, who enjoy a higher status by virtue of their birth."

The suicide of research student Rohit Vemula on Jan. 17 sparked nation-wide protests and outrage as an alleged case of discrimination against dalit or lower caste people in India. It was also projected to show how elite educational institutions have become hotbeds of caste-based discrimination.

"We are deeply saddened that in a secular democratic country like India a young promising doctoral research student from the University of Hyderabad took his life because he realized that his life was defined by his identity as a dalit," said the statement of the Christian women.

Vemula committed suicide months after the university reportedly stopped paying him the monthly fellowship of 25,000 rupees and expelled him from the hostel along with five other members of the Ambedkar Students Association. They were accused of attacking a member of ABVP, the student wing of BJP that runs the federal government.

"The treatment Vemula received from the authorities of the university because of the political interference and intervention of the Ministry of Human Resource and Development is abhorrent to say the least," the statement said.

Vemula’s suicide has brought to the fore caste-based and other forms of discrimination on university campuses in India. Dalits and persons relegated to the margins by their caste, gender, religion, ethnicity and sexual identity," the statement said.

The women's statement urged parliamentarians "to take an oath to put an end to violence against Dalits and marginalized groups and ensure that they enjoy all the rights that are enshrined in the constitution of our country on an equal footing with others."

While committing to continue to work against discrimination and to promote social equality, they also urged "like minded' people and social leaders to join the fight to ensue justice to the poor and socially deprived sections of society.

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.