SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2254caste—and frequently each subcasteare expected to fulfill a specific set of duties(known as dharma) in order to secure elevation to a higher caste through rebirth.Dalits (formerly called untouchables) are viewed by many Hindus as separate fromor ‘‘below’’ the caste system; nonetheless, they too are expected to follow theirdharma if they hope to achieve caste in a future life. Despite longstanding effortsto eliminate the discriminatory aspects of caste, the practice remains widespread.The practice of untouchability (‘‘untouchables’’—now called Dalits—along withtribals occupy the lowest strata of the caste system) was outlawed in theory by theConstitution and the 1955 Civil Rights Act, but it remains an important aspect oflife. ‘‘Untouchability’’ refers to the social restrictions imposed on persons because oftheir birth into certain Hindu castes. Dalits are considered unclean by higher casteHindus and thus traditionally are relegated to separate villages or neighborhoodsand to low paying and often undesirable occupations (such as scavenging, streetsweeping, and removing human waste and dead animals). Many rural Dalits workas agricultural laborers for higher caste landowners. By custom Dalits may be requiredto perform tasks for upper caste Hindus without remuneration. The majorityof bonded laborers are Dalits (see Section 6.c.). Dalits are among the poorest of citizens,generally do not own land, and often are illiterate. They face significant discriminationdespite the laws that exist to protect them, and often are prohibitedfrom using the same wells and from attending the same temples as higher casteHindus, and from marrying persons from higher castes. In addition they face segregationin housing, in land ownership, on roads, and on buses. Dalits tend to bemalnourished, lack access to health care, work in poor conditions (see Section 6.e.),and face continuing and severe social ostracism. In contrast the highest caste, theBrahmin, with 3.5 percent of the population, holds 78 percent of the judicial positionsand about 50 percent of parliamentary seats. NGO’s report that crimes committedby higher caste Hindus against Dalits often go unpunished, either becausethe authorities do not prosecute vigorously such cases or because the crimes are unreportedby the victims, who fear retaliation. In recent years, groupsincluding somethat use violence—have organized to protect Dalit rights.The Constitution gives the President the authority to identify historically disadvantagedcastes, Dalits, and ‘‘tribals’’ (members of indigenous groups historicallyoutside the caste system). These ‘‘scheduled’’ castes, Dalits, and tribes are entitledto affirmative action and hiring quotas in employment, benefits from special developmentfunds, and special training programs. The impact of reservations and quotason society and on the groups they are designed to benefit is a subject of active debate.According to the 1991 census, scheduled castes, including Dalits, made up 16percent and scheduled tribes 8 percent of the country’s 1991 population of 846 million.Christians historically have rejected the concept of caste. However, becausemany Christians descended from low caste Hindu families, many continue to sufferthe same social and economic limitations that low caste Hindus do, particularly inrural areas. Low caste Hindus who convert to Christianity lose their eligibility foraffirmative action programs. Those who become Buddhists or Sikhs do not. In somestates, government jobs are reserved for Muslims of low caste descent.The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989lists new offenses against disadvantaged persons and provides stiffer penalties foroffenders. However, this act has had only a modest effect in curbing abuse. TheNCRB reported that 25,638 crimes against scheduled castes and 4,276 crimesagainst scheduled tribes were recorded in 1998. This compares with 27,944 crimesagainst scheduled castes and 4,644 crimes against scheduled tribes recorded by theNCRB in 1997. However, human rights NGO’s allege that caste violence actuallyis on the increase.Intercaste violence claims hundreds of lives annually; it was especially pronouncedin Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, andAndhra Pradesh. According to HRW, on April 25, upper caste Rajputs shot andkilled four Dalits and seriously injured three others in Rohtas district, Bihar. Subsequently,Rajputs burned down the entire Dalit village, leaving all 25 families homeless,reportedly in retaliation for an earlier attack. On March 12, a mob of uppercaste men entered Kambalapalli village, Karnataka, where they reportedly believedthat the killer of an upper caste person had taken refuge. The mob surrounded andset fire to one of the homes in the predominantly Dalit village; seven members ofa Dalit family were killed in the blaze. On May 12, a group of men enteredLakhisarai village, Bihar, and indiscriminately shot at villagers, killing 11 persons,including 10 low-caste laborers. Police suspected that a criminal gang was responsiblefor the killings. On May 17, upper caste youths stripped two lower castewomen and paraded them naked through their village of Rasoolabad, Kanpur district,Uttar Pradesh. The women’s allged crime was to have allowed an upper castewoman to spend one night in their home. On June 3, approximately 50 armed menVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.035 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1