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INDIA: Discrimination against Dalits in Gujarat

February 2, 2004

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

2 February 2004
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UA-10-2004: INDIA: Discrimination against Dalits in Gujarat


INDIA: Dalits; inequality
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Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that three Dalit teachers were transferred from Surendranagar district, Gujarat, India, on 3 December 2003, for objecting to the segregation of upper and lower caste students during the lunch meal.

Another incident of discrimination occurred in the same week, also in Gujarat: Dalit Sarpanch Gangaben Maru's husband committed suicide in Bhavnagar, due to the harassment and threats received by his family from his wife's upper caste rivals, over the past five months.

Fifty-six years after India's independence, the country is still suffering from caste discrimination and inequality. AHRC urges the Government of India to take strong action to eliminate these socially sanctioned practices. Your urgent action is required to intervene in this matter.

 

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Program

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CASE DETAILS:

CASE 1: The transfer of seven Dalit teachers from Surendranagar district, Gujarat

In August 2003, certain upper-caste parents from Bhojpari and Bhojpara villages requested that Dalit students sit separately during the midday meals. When three Dalit teachers, including Girishbhai Wadher protested, the villagers threatened to boycott the entire Dalit community. Other Dalit teachers were scared to speak out, as on September 29 some Dalits in Bhojpari village were beaten up.

An FIR (first information report) was lodged on October 2 at the Chotila Police Station. Inspector N. Ninama said 41 people were arrested for the attack, including sarpanch Karansinh Uttedhiya. They were released the next day on bail, whereupon they held a protest outside the district primary education officer's (DPEO) office, demanding that the teachers be transferred, or they would not send their children to the school.

Girishbhai Wadher, Laljibhai Anjaria and Chaturbhai Chauhan were transferred on December 3. Four other Dalit teachers had been transferred in September. According to DPEO P.F. Pargi, this was only a temporary arrangement until "things cooled down." He said, "we cannot afford to have 200 students not attending school because of such a problem." However, Pargi is not doing anything about the segregation issue, nor has the Social Justice and Empowerment department taken up the matter.

The Mehindad primary school, to which some of the teachers were transferred, refused to accept them, saying it already has enough staff. So within two days, the teachers were transferred to Kabran. Now, they are on indefinite leave.

‘‘We feel threatened,’’ said one teacher. ‘‘In most villages here, upper caste parents want segregation. We are seen as troublemakers. How can we work in this atmosphere?’’ said P.G. Parmar, a Dalit leader and president of Gujarat Backward Class Communities Association. ‘‘While feudalism is strongly prevalent in Surendranagar, sadly it has also crept into the classrooms. The children don’t even know why they are asked to keep away from school. We’ve written to the National Human Rights Commission.’’

For the Dalit teachers, it was also galling to see that none of their upper-caste colleagues stood by them or raised a voice of protest when they were transferred. But then, many of them stood to benefit from the transfers.

 

CASE 2: Wife was honest sarpanch so Dalit paid with his life

In Bhavnagar the harassed husband of Kamrej’s first Dalit Sarpanch Gangaben Maru, Jethabhai, has allegedly committed suicide by taking poison.

For the past five months, 55-year-old Gangaben’s family had known nothing except threats, abuse and harassment. She was not even allowed to enter the Panchayat office. The reason for this for her refusal to give in to her upper caste rivals' demands for a cut in government grants. The man responsible, Haresh Sanga, is vice-president of the Bhavnagar taluka panchayat and wields considerable clout.

In August 2002, this Samras village received its first grant of Rs 40,000. Since then, it has received Rs 5 lakh as grant. After a road-widening programme, Gangaben was planning to use the grant to provide house-to-house water connections in the village. But Sanga demanded five per cent as his "commission."

According to Gangaben, "When I refused, he threatened to set up an inquiry for misappropriation of funds against me. We are Dalits. I felt helpless and vulnerable."

Confirming this, UP-Sarpanch Hira Jiva Ahir, who belongs to an upper-caste, said, "Sanga is a local goon and wields great power in the taluka. Other villages like Bhojpara and Nare used to give him a 7 per cent cut. So, he got enraged when Gangaben refused."

When things got worse, Gangaben sought police protection from the Vartej Police Station. No protection was offered, but officer C K Babaria claims that the family withdrew its demand when he called the couple to the police station.

"They did their utmost to harass us. Whenever I stepped out of my house, Sanga and his supporters would call me dheddi (Harijan). I could not enter the panchayat office, move freely on the streets. Even stepping out to buy vegetables was an ordeal. They had been torturing my husband for the last five months. They threatened to assault him if he failed to make me resign. On Sunday, they came to my house and threatened to break his bones. The next day, we found his body," said Gangaben.

On Tuesday, a no-confidence motion was to be tabled against the Sarpanch. Her rivals had moved the motion, citing irregularities, only after they failed to get a 'cut.' Aware they could not muster the two-thirds majority to remove her, she was being harassed into quitting.

Bhavnagar SP Anupamsinh Gehlot said, "We have registered an FIR against Haresh Sanga, Ramnik Pandya, Raju Kapadi, Bhimji Ahir and Jitubhai Ahir under Atrocity Act, Section 3, as the couple was harassed for being Dalits." However, as of yet no action has been taken by the authorities.

District Development Officer Mona Kandhar admitted she was "aware of the case" but said she got the complaint only after the no-confidence motion had been moved. Panchayat Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said he was unaware of the incident, but "If this has happened, it’s serious. I will inquire into it."

We are gravely concerned at the mistreatment of Dalits in India, and urge you to pressure the government of India to take serious action.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to the local authorities expressing your concern of this serious case.

1. Shri. A.P.J. Abdul kalam
President of India
Rashtrapathi Bhavan, New Delhi - 110001
INDIA
Fax: + 91 11 23017290,
E-mail: Pressecy@sansad.nic.in

2. Justice A.S.Anand
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi - 110001
INDIA
Fax: +91-11-23340016 / 23366537
E-mail: nhrc@ren.nic.in

3. Chairperson of the National Commission for

Scheduled Castes and Tribes

Shri Dilip Singh Bhuria

Floor 5, Lok Nayak Bhavan, Khan Market, New Delhi-110003.

Tel: +91 11 4623959, 678632

Fax: +91 11 4625378

4. Mr. Doudou Diene
Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
Room 4-041
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais Wilson,
Rue des Paquis 52, Geneva
SWITZERLAND
Tel: 41 22 9179271
Fax: 41 22 9179050

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear

Re: Discrimination against Dalits in Gujarat

I am gravely concerned by the ongoing caste discrimination against Dalits in India. Within the month of December, there were at least two cases in Gujarat state.

In one case, three Dalit teachers, Girishbhai Wadher, Laljibhai Anjaria and Chaturbhai Chauhan were transferred on December 3 for protesting against the segregation of upper and lower caste students during the midday meal. Four other Dalit teachers had already been transferred in September.

The three teachers were transferred in December due to the threat by upper caste parents of not sending their children to school unless the teachers were transferred.

In another case, the husband of a Dalit sarpanch took poison and died, due to the harassment meted out to his family. The harassment was a result of his wife being honest and refusing to give 'commission' from government grants to her upper caste rivals.

Both of these cases illustrate the failure of justice in India. I urge the Government of India to establish an independent organ to investigate and put to trial the offenders of such gross violations of human rights of minorities/scheduled castes and tribal people. The Minority Commission constituted in the central and state levels should be provided with ample authority to take effective action against offenders.

I further urge the Government of India to provide compensation to the teachers in the above instances, and redress to Gangaben Maru.

Sincerely yours,

 


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Thank you.

Kim Soo A
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-10-2004
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.