equal by law, unequal by caste - International Dalit Solidarity Network

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272 Wisconsin International Law Journalprincipal varnas, or large caste categories. In order of precedence theseare the Brahmins (priests and teachers), the Ksyatriyas (rulers andsoldiers), the Vaisyas (merchants and traders), and the Shudras (laborersand artisans). A fifth category falls outside the varna system and consistsof those known as “untouchables” or Dalits; they are often assigned taskstoo ritually polluting to merit inclusion within the traditional varnasystem. 76Though most closely associated with Hinduism, the practice ofuntouchability—the social imposition of particular disabilities againstindividuals deemed to be untouchable—permeates all major religions inIndia and the entire subcontinent. 77 Within the four principal castes,there are thousands of sub-castes, also called jatis; endogamous groupsthat are further divided along occupational, sectarian, regional, andlinguistic lines. Collectively, all of these are sometimes referred to as“caste Hindus,” those falling within the caste system. 78 The Dalits aredescribed as varna-sankara, falling outside the system. They areconsidered so inferior to other castes that they are deemed polluting andtherefore “untouchable.” 79 Even as outcasts, they themselves are dividedinto further sub-castes and practice untouchability against those rankedbelow; the discrimination is wholly internalized giving way to what Dr.Ambedkar termed a system of “graded inequality.” 80Whereas the first four varnas have over time enjoyed significantoccupational mobility, a majority of Dalits in India continue toinvoluntarily inherit occupations assigned to the caste into which they areborn—occupations deemed too filthy or polluting for others to carry out.C. CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION AND INEQUALITY IN INDIA TODAYIn much of South Asia and India in particular, caste has becomecoterminous with race in the definition and exclusion of distinctpopulation groups on the basis of their descent. For over 167 millionDalits or “untouchables” in India, caste remains the determinative factor7677787980BROKEN PEOPLE, supra note 21, at 25.A GLOBAL CONCERN, supra note 1, at 2, 59.BROKEN PEOPLE, supra note 21, at 25.Id.AMBEDKAR THOUGHT, supra note 19, at 74.
Vol. 26, No. 2 Equal by Law, Unequal by Caste 273for the attainment of civil, political, social, economic, and culturalrights. 811. UNTOUCHABILITY: LIVING BELOW THE “POLLUTION” LINEThe practice of “untouchability”—the imposition of socialdisabilities on persons by reason of their birth into “untouchable”castes—continues to blight the lives of millions of Indians today who arerelegated to life below the “pollution” line. The manifestation of suchoppression has taken and continues to take many forms. Age-oldcustoms included prohibiting Dalits from walking public streets lest their“polluting” shadow should fall on an “upper-caste” Hindu, and requiringDalits to mark themselves with black bracelets; string a broom aroundtheir waists so as to sweep the “polluted” dust they walked on; or hangan earthen pot around their necks “lest [their] spit falling on the earthshould pollute a Hindu who might unknowingly happen to tread on it.” 82Modern India has improved little by way of untouchabilitypractices. Dalits are still prohibited from entering temples, aresegregated into Dalit ghettoes, and in some areas are still forced to getoff their bike or take off their slippers when walking past non-Dalithomes—gestures that force Dalits to repeatedly self-affirm their inferiorstatus. 83 Caste divisions between Dalits and non-Dalits dominate inhousing, marriage, employment, and general social interaction—divisions that are reinforced through the practice and threat of socialostracism, economic boycotts, and physical violence. 84 Dalits are deniedaccess to land, forced to work in degrading conditions, and routinelyabused at the hands of the police and “higher-caste” groups that oftenenjoy the state’s protection. 85 In what has been called India’s “hiddenapartheid,” entire villages in many Indian states remain completelysegregated by caste. 86 As noted by Ambedkar, “India is admittedly aland of villages and so long as the village system provides an easymethod of marking out and identifying the untouchable, the untouchable81SMITA NARULA, THE INT’L COUNCIL ON HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY, ENTRENCHED8283848586DISCRIMINATION: THE CASE OF INDIA’S “UNTOUCHABLES” 8 (1999).B.R. AMBEDKAR, Annihilation of Caste, in DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR WRITING ANDSPEECHES, VOL. 1, 39 (1979).INDIA UNTOUCHED: STORIES OF A PEOPLE APART (Navsarjan Trust & Drishti Media 2007).A GLOBAL CONCERN, supra note 1, at 2.BROKEN PEOPLE, supra note 21, at 2.Id.
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