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

Vol. 26, No. 2 Equal by Law, Unequal by Caste 317warning not to contest. 341 Those Dalits who are in positions of publicoffice are also often unable to properly discharge their public functionsdue to intimidation, threats, and physical violence at the hands of “uppercaste”community members. 342Additionally, Dalits who convert to Christianity or Islam losetheir “scheduled caste” status and the few benefits it affords. While theConstitution of India grants certain constitutional rights to Hindu,Buddhist, and Sikh Dalits, the same benefits do not extend to Dalits whoconvert to Christianity or Islam, even though they are ultimately unableto escape their discriminatory treatment as “untouchables.” At thiswriting, a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the 1950Presidential Order limiting reservations to Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikhscheduled castes was pending before the Supreme Court. 343Despite the obvious problems associated with the effectiveimplementation of reservations, equality on paper has helped usher in anew conservative discourse. Fueled by proposals to introducereservations in the private sector and expand the scope of reservations inhigher education, such a discourse skips the step of situating reservationsin the context of the social and unequal reality that Dalits face, andmoves straight to critiquing the continued “privileging” of particulargroups on the basis of their caste as a mechanism that reinforcesdifference. 344341 Dalit Woman Burnt Alive for Contesting Panchayat Elections, HINDUSTAN TIMES, Oct. 23,2005. In June 1997, Dalit leaders elected to the Melavalavu panchayat in Tamil Nadu weremurdered by members of the higher-caste Thevar community, signaling that the ceding of powerwould not be tolerated by those displaced from their positions on the council. BROKEN PEOPLE,supra note 21, at 90. Thevars also threatened Dalits with economic sanctions should any of themfile for the position of panchayat president, a sanction that would effectively leave Dalits withoutemployment or access to economic or social services in villages in that area. Id. at 91.342 Asian Human Rights Commission, Dalit Village Head Faces Constant Intimidation Due to CasteDiscrimination in Uttar Pradesh, Nov. 22, 2006, http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2006/2086 (last visited Aug. 16, 2008).343 Notice to Centre on Plea for Quota for Dalit Muslims, THE HINDU, Jan. 27, 2008, available athttp://www.hindu.com/2008/01/27/stories/2008012753950900.htm (last visited Aug. 16, 2008).The state government of Tamil Nadu passed a bill in 2007 to provide a seven percent quota forChristian and Muslim Dalits, to be carved out of the existing 30 percent reservations for OBCs.Dominic Emmanuel, Dalit Christians too Need Reservations, THE TRIBUNE, Dec. 25, 2007,available at http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071225/edit.htm (last visited Aug. 16, 2008).344 See also SATISH DESHPANDE, Caste Inequalities in India Today, in CONTEMPORARY INDIA: ASOCIOLOGICAL VIEW 101 (2003) (arguing that proposals to expand affirmative action policies inIndia today elicit discussion of the possible consequences of their implementation, instead of firstasking: “Is caste discrimination still practiced in contemporary India? Does it continue to breedinequality? What is the nature and extent of such inequality today? How has it been changingsince independence?”).