Kyra Cooperman

4/9/15
India Paper
Slot A

Unfair Treatment of Dalits

Two main values that are held by most societies are freedom and
equality. Throughout history, these treasured values have been
stripped from certain members of the community in events such as
slavery, and apartheid. The situation in India regarding the treatment
of Dalits, or the scheduled caste, is often considered to be parallel to
the South African apartheid in the 20th century. Higher Hindu castes
such as the Brahmins and Kshatriyas are given more opportunities to
receive a better education and more respected jobs. All inequalities
occur despite the 17th article of the 1949 Indian constitution, which
says Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is
forbidden.1 Discrimination against the Dalit population in India is
detrimental to Indian society because the lack of respect members of
other castes have towards Dalits and through the unappealing social
status that the Hindu religion puts them in.
The Indian military is weakened by the separation between castes
within branches and units. The general attitude towards lower caste
members in India continues to rein true even in the military. For most
countries, the military is a way for the community to become united
and fight for a cause that everyone believes in. Approximately 60% of
1"ConstitutionofIndia(FullText)."ConstitutionofIndia(FullText).AccessedApril6,2015.

units are composed of only one caste.2 This classification of castes can
be positive and create a strong bond between each member, but it also
prevents new ideas from being born through the varied methods of
thinking different caste members possess. Segregation in Indias
military goes beyond individual units. People, who are considered to be
more pure, such as higher caste members and Sikhs, are given more
power and preferred jobs, while non-pure people typically have
demeaning jobs.3 A low-ranked Dalit member might have potential to
become a military genius, but their talents would never be known
because of the unfair prejudice they would receive. India shelters
possible helpful capability in their military, which puts them at a
disadvantage against other countries. Soldiers are judged by their
background instead of their ability. The size of Indias military is ranked
#3 in the world with approximately 1,325,000 members.4 This number
can compare to India being the second most populated country in the
world. Although Indias rank is very high, they are significantly behind
China, which has the highest population and largest military. If India
welcomed other citizens, such as Dalits, into their military, they could
grow in both strength and numbers. But the unappealing atmosphere

2 Pandit,Rajat."ArmyRejectsCallstoRaiseNewUnitsBasedonCasteorReligion."TheTimesofIndia.
January30,2013.AccessedMarch31,2015.

3 "BharatRakshak::LandForcesSiteAdministration."BharatRakshak::LandForcesSite
Administration.AccessedMarch31,2015.
4 Staff,E.(n.d.).The10LargestArmiesintheWorld.RetrievedApril9,2015,from
http://www.curiosityaroused.com/world/the10largestarmiesintheworld/

of an organization where members of your caste are not shown respect

would not draw people towards pursuing the military profession.
The lack of respect for people in the untouchable caste causes a large
population of people with great strengths to be ignored. The word
Dalit directly translates to broken men. The name of this group of
people refers to them as worse than others and in need of fixing. The
first thing people use to judge is often a name, but if a name projects
weakness, it will give a poor first impression. K. R. Narayanan was the
first and only member of the Dalit caste to be president of India.5 In
order for him to be this successful, Narayanan had to walk to a
Christian school 10 miles away every day and dedicate his entire life to
becoming successful. He is one person to make a name for himself out
of the 200 million Dalits. Dalits are herded into appalling jobs which
stifle their opportunities. Out of the 200 million, 1 million of the Dalits
are manual scavengers.6 A manual scavenger is a person who cleans
feces from both private and public property. Their occupation requires
people to take the task of an animal. Members of other castes treat
some Dalit women as sexual objects. According to Indias National
Crime Records Bureau, every 16 minutes, there is a non-Dalit on Dalit
crime committed and over four Dalit women are raped by non-Dalits

5 "K.R.Narayanan."TheEconomist.November26,2005.AccessedMarch31,2015.
6 "IV.BACKGROUND."CASTEDISCRIMINATION:.AccessedApril8,2015.

every day.7 Although an upper caste member being in a relationship

with a Dalit is against a cultural more, somehow the norms change
when it comes to sexual assault. Low caste women are shown no
respect by others, which does not allow them to respect themselves.
With low self-esteem like this, a woman would never be able to
succeed and promote her life.
The caste system causes people in lower castes to convert to other
religions such as Buddhism. In recent years, Hinduism is adapting to fit
into the needs of people in modern times. Unfortunately, the changes
made are not enough to create a religion with equal opportunities for
all. Although Christianity does not guarantee equality, many Dalits
seize the opportunity to convert. 20 million out of the 25 million
Christians in India are Dalits. Even after a Dalit converts, they cannot
get rid of their caste title. At the beginning of January 2015, 10 Dalits
were denied the freedom to worship at a famous Balaini temple. In
response to the unfair violation of their freedom, the families
threatened to convert to Islam.8 Families throughout India encounter
experiences like the families in Balaini and are getting fed up with the
poor treatment they receive from other members of their own religion .
Udit Raj, a member of Parliament, agrees with the Dalits who have
7 Roy,Arundhati."IndiasShame|ProspectMagazine."ProspectMagazineIndiasShameComments.
November13,2014.AccessedMarch31,2015.

8 Lal,RatanMani."GharWapsiFallout:MeetOurDemands,ElseWe'llConverttoIslam,SayUPDalits
Firstpost."FirstpostGharWapsiFalloutMeetOurDemandsElseWellConverttoIslamSayUPDalits
Comments.January10,2015.AccessedMarch31,2015.

converted and said, Dalits must liberate themselves from the shackles
of their oppressed past and usher in a new renaissance through
education and the awareness of human rights. Buddhism is the path to
this liberation.9 Buddhists welcome Dalits into their religion and give
them a place. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Dalit-Buddhist
movement involved a great migration of Dalits converting to Buddhism
in order to find religious and social freedom.10 Although in less
numbers, there still is a population of Dalits that look to escape the
social persecutions they receive as a disrespected member of the
Hindu religion.
Abuse throughout the world is common, but not always addressed.
When India finally won their freedom from Britain in 1949, the country
as a whole became free, but the lower members of society were still
oppressed by their own people and government. Even though Dalits
are not to be discriminated against by law, the social prejudices from
other citizens perpetuate the injustices. Without allowing every person
an opportunity for success, India cannot reach its highest potential.

I completed this assignment in accordance with the Newark Academy

honor code.
9 "OVER50,000DALITSEMBRACEBUDDHISMByManpreetSingh."BuddhismToday.November
8,2001.AccessedMarch31,2015.
10 "DalitConversionstoBuddhismSparksProbeinGujaratUcanews.com."Ucanews.com.October7,
2013.AccessedApril8,2015.

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"Constitution of India (Full Text)." Constitution of India (Full Text).
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8, 2015.
"Dalit: The Making of a Political Subject." Wiley Online Library. October

21, 2014. Accessed March 31, 2015.

"IV. BACKGROUND." CASTE DISCRIMINATION:. Accessed April 8, 2015.
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31, 2015.
Lal, Ratan Mani. "Ghar Wapsi Fallout: Meet Our Demands, Else We'll
Convert to Islam, Say UP Dalits - Firstpost." Firstpost Ghar Wapsi
Fallout Meet Our Demands Else Well Convert to Islam Say UP
Dalits Comments. January 10, 2015. Accessed March 31, 2015.
"OVER 50,000 DALITS EMBRACE BUDDHISM By Manpreet Singh."
Buddhism Today. November 8, 2001. Accessed March 31, 2015.
Pandit, Rajat. "Army Rejects Calls to Raise New Units Based on Caste or
Religion." The Times of India. January 30, 2013. Accessed March
31, 2015.
Pillalamarri, Akhilesh. "The Emergence of a New Hinduism." The
Diplomat. January 29, 2015. Accessed April 6, 2015.
Roy, Arundhati. "Indias Shame | Prospect Magazine." Prospect
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Accessed March 31, 2015.
Chicago formatting by BibMe.org.