Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

System against Dalits

The author of the articles "A system against Dalits" (March 14) and "A Dalit temple's encounter with official India" (March 15) deserves all praise for her perseverance. She has brought to light not only the plight of Dalits of the Bibipur village but also the mentality of our sarkari babus in the Dalits' very last resort to justice — the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

G. Sam George,
Madurai

The story exposes the prejudices that prevail against Dalits. Insensitive administration along with `upper' caste high-handedness has resulted in discontent among the community. The administration should address its genuine concerns before the simmering discontent turns violent.

Anil Bhandari,
Panchkula

Even after the constitution of the NCSC, caste discrimination is no less intense, and Dalits are un-welcome in most temples and public institutions even today. Crimes against Dalits are never an individual act; an individual is only a tool and his act has social sanction. Only collective punitive action can bring an end to caste violence against Dalits.

Discrimination is entrenched in the government machinery. The need of the hour is to undertake a comprehensive review of the existing laws, policies, and practices.

T. Marx,
Puducherry

It is really shocking that political parties that condemn the harassment of Dalits hardly do anything to protect them and their interests. That the state is unresponsive to their peaceful struggle even in the 100th year of the Satyagraha movement is appalling indeed.

K. John Mathai,
Kochi

Hindus blow their trumpet about how Hinduism is more a way of life that accepts all shades within its fold. It is an irony that an idol of Sant Ravidas, a devotee of Rama, was desecrated by the Brahmins of Bibipur. Only recently, there was furore in the Puri Jagannath temple after an American entered it.

In the absence of a socially enlightened official mechanism, NGOs and movements for Harijan uplift should take up the Bibipur issue with the NCSC.

K. Venkatachari,
Pollachi

I must confess that I was one of those who protested against increased reservation for the OBCs when it was announced. But the two-part article exposes how difficult life can get for those born in a supposedly inferior class. As one aspiring to study law in the hope of making some difference to the widespread administrative malfeasance, I felt truly disheartened on reading the article.

Surely, a dual society prevails in our country — one that has an economic growth of 9 per cent and the other that is stuck in the medieval times. The article has made me realise that I must not go by popular response to the things I see. But it must also be said that it was the media that influenced my thinking that Dalits and OBCs do not deserve reservation in a "modern" society like ours. I only wish I could help and was told how to in more such articles.

Srishti C. Kalro,
Bangalore

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