Fake Democracy?
By Mowahid Hussain Shah
Under Article 17 of the India Constitution in 1950: “’Untouchability’ is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden.” Yet, more than 66 years later, systematic oppression still flourishes, often punctuated with caste violence directed against the Dalit (Untouchables). Laws may have changed, but attitudes haven’t, leaving India in name only a liberal democracy. These were the conclusions proffered in a harrowing account of present-day India by eminent Indian editor Manoj Mitta during a February presentation in Washington, DC, at the National Endowment for Democracy.
Meanwhile, caste-ignited flames loom large.
Blatant is the complicity of police and judiciary elements, who turn a blind eye. A succession of special laws from 1955 to 2015 to protect Untouchables have defined and added to punishable offenses, set up special courts, and increased penalties. Article 330 of India’s Constitution allocated them seats in Parliament. Yet, violence against the Dalit has escalated and enforcement has been ineffective as the caste aspect of a crime is often ignored, prosecution of court cases is delayed, and, according to the speaker, “most cases have resulted in acquittals of all the accused,” adding the impression that the violence can continue with impunity.
The challenge to rectify is made all the more horrendous as caste is integral to orthodox Hinduism, and is so pervasive and intractable that even Muslim and Christian communities, by the speaker’s account, are “infected with this Hindu malady.” Mr Mitta stated that caste “is based on the religiously sanctioned Varna system, a four-tiered hierarchy of graded inequality, perpetrated through endogamy.”
In 1999, Christiane Amanpour hosted a CBS-TV “60 Minutes” program on the Dalit plight, which highlighted how the ancient setup of Hindu hierarchy endorses and enables the daily ritual of humiliations accosting the Untouchables to the extent that even their shadow can defile someone of a higher caste. This segregation is systematic, sophisticated, and cemented by religion. The social imprisonment category imposed by the caste system is a virtual life sentence with no escape.
Just examine the labels associated with Untouchability: unclean, impure, contaminated, polluted. All impose a subhuman burden. Thanks to ferocious lobbying by India, this issue has escaped international scrutiny and evaded discussion at world forums.
There are 200 million Dalit in India, plus 100 million Adivasis (tribals). Those 300 million combined are marginalized and face stigma and strife. Because caste discrimination is central to Hindu teachings, it ensures perennial inequality.
Not enough is known on the mass killings of Dalit occurring since the last 50 years.
It is Hindu-on-Hindu violence perpetrated by the upper castes. It ensures an outcast status permanently condemned to perform menial tasks. Even education has not been able to quash primordial instincts and overcome a supercilious mindset.
A June 2003 National Geographic cover story, “Untouchable”, by Tom O’Neill, slated Mahatma Gandhi for undermining the quest of Dr Ambedkar, chief architect of India’s Constitution, to abolish the caste system. Gandhi objected “on religious principles.” Gandhi entered a “fast until death” unless Ambedkar – a Dalit – abandoned efforts to eradicate the caste system. Ambedkar ultimately relented.
Based upon the foregoing, millions of Indians view India as a fake democracy.
