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INDIA: Burning Dalits with an iron rod and force-feeding human excreta

July 21, 2002

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION
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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM
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22 July 2002
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UA-32-2002: Burning Dalits with an iron rod and force-feeding human excreta
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INDIA: Human dignity is denied; Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against Dalits
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We reproduce this report about an incident that has enraged Dalits in India. The horrible nature of caste oppression and the Indian government's unwillingness to deal decisively with this issue is brought home shapely by this story. We urge everyone to write to the newly appointed president of India to take action on this matter, to punish the perpetrators and to examine the State's responsibilities to Dalits.
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DALITS, &quot;EAT THE HUMAN EXCRETA NOW!&quot;
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Among the various reports of terrorism, extremism, catastrophe, carnage, assaults, attacks and violations around the globe, the atrocity unleashed on the Dalits of the village of Tinnium near Tiruchirappalli in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu is beyond one's imagination and belief. Heinous, inhuman caste atrocities are still alive. Perhaps these atrocities are not an episodic, one-time event but rather represent a resounding state of affairs in India.
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Karupiah, 38, of Tinniyum had paid 2,000 rupees (US$41) to the former village panchayat president, Rajalakshmi Subramanian, for providing a group house to his sister Banumathy. However, Karupiah's sister was never allowed to occupy the house and despite repeated requests for the past two years, neither the house nor the money has been refunded. Thus, Karupiah resorted to beating the tom-tom to ventilate his grievance. Murugesan and Ramasami, Dalits as well, accompanied Karupiah while he beat the drum.
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That very same evening all three people were summoned by Kamraj, the present village panchayat president, and Subramani, a retired teacher who is the husband of Rajalakshmi. Subramani, enraged by Karupiah's act of beating the drum, demanded an apology and slapped him with slippers and kicked him hard. Next was Murugesan, 37, and Ramasami, who were also subjected to beatings and were branded on various parts of their body with a red-hot iron rod. Murugesan and Ramasami had to beat the drum again, saying that the earlier incident by Karupiah was false. All of these cruel acts took place in the presence of the family members of these three Dalits.
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Even after all of this torture and humiliation, the ire of these barbarous dominant caste fanatics did not subside. Subramani then ordered Ramasami and Murugesan to feed each other human excreta. This egregious act was forced on the Dalits after repeatedly being branded with a hot iron.
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All of these dominant caste brutes involved in this dehumanising act absconded when the district collector paid a visit to the village. Efforts had been initiated by human rights defenders for suitable criminal action against the culprits. Reports say a sum of 6,650 rupees (US$137) was given by the government to the victims, in addition to rice and kerosene, as a usual rehabilitative measure. Various protests and actions have been launched by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to expedite actions against the perpetrators.
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This incident received widespread publicity in the newspapers but has been eventually forgotten. Multifarious actors that are profoundly glorified by the State to safeguard the interests of Dalits have yet to uphold justice as they are caught in the clutches of caste hegemony. Nevertheless, all such assaults and crimes are done in broad daylight. Though it appears to attract the State¡¯s attention, no substantial penal action or remedial measures seem to have been attempted whatsoever. Yet again, all of this inaction reiterates the deliberate underpinning of the state machinery that is visibly anti-Dalit, which protects the interests of the perpetrators. Legislation and rules are never sufficiently enforced but rather are administered superficially. After all, the law itself is at the dispense of these brutal violators.
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The dominant caste ideology and atrocities strike the Dalits like a mammoth cannibal that seeks to swallows them. This inhuman episode in Tinnium is yet another addition to the unending list of socially sanctified acts of ostracism. These daily occurrences inevitably damage the fabric of human dignity and the rights of equality, liberty and justice. In a distance is heard, &quot;Hail United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights, viva Indian constitutional fundamental rights, Durban praises too.&quot; But who is the redeemer of the sagging spirits of the Dalits? Who will wipe their woes, restore their human dignity and cut the edge that is hard to blunt?
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One of the most remarkable lives of the 20th century, Nelson Mandela, in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, calls at the freedom fighters by saying, &quot;AT A CERTAIN POINT, ONE CAN ONLY FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE.&quot;
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Monica Vincent
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Advocate, Madras
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Commissioner, Commission of the Churches on International Affairs
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World Council of Churches
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SUGGESTED ACTION
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Please write to the president of India and express your outrage at this attack on the human dignity of marginalised people in India. Please also call for the arrest of the perpetrators and compensation for the victims in this case. Lastly, ask the president to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. A sample letter is provided below. You may write similar letters to the prime minister and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India as well.
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SAMPLE LETTER
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Dear
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Re: The incident of burning Dalits with a hot iron rod and forcing them to eat human excreta in Tamil Nadu
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I am shocked at reading about the cruel and disgusting story of burning Dalits with a red-hot iron rod and forcing them to eat human excreta in the village of Tinnium near Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. What is even more shocking is that, despite the widespread publicity given to this case, the State has done nothing to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Under international law, this is a heinous crime, and where torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is a crime, the perpetrators would have been subjected to severe punishment. Though the Indian Constitution recognises the right of a person not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, India has not ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) nor has this been declared a crime as it has in many other countries. For example, in the neighbouring country of Sri Lanka, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is an offence carrying a mandatory sentence of seven years in prison.
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We urge you to direct the state authorities to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice, to give adequate compensation to the victims and for the State of India to ratify the CAT and to enact legislation to make it a crime punishable with serious consequences. Your presidency may leave a healthy legacy for India and all of its people if you take the necessary steps to achieve this basic and elementary requirement of human rights law.
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Thank you for your response to this inhuman act.
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Sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND FAXES AND EMAILS TO:
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1. Shri K.R. Narayanan
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H.E. President of India
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Office of the President
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Rashtrapati Bhawan
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New Delhi, 110004
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INDIA
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Email: Pressecy@Sansad.nic.in
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Fax: +9111 3017290
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2. H.E. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
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Prime Minister
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South Block, Raisina Hill,
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New Delhi, India-110 011
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INDIA
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Fax: 91-11-3019545 / 91-11-3016857
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Email: eindun@undp.org
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3. Mr. Justice J.S. Verma
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Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission
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Sardar Patel Bhavan,
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Sansad Marg, New Delhi-110 001
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INDIA
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Fax: +91 11 3340016, 3366537
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E-mail: nhrc_del@x400.nicgw.nic.in or nhrc@ren.nic.in
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SEND COPIES TO:
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1. Shri Dilip Singh Bhuria
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Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and
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Scheduled Tribes
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Floor 5, Lok Nayak Bhavan,
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Khan Market, New Delhi-110003.
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INDIA
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Tel: +91 11 4623959, 678632
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Fax: +91 11 4625378
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Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-32-2002
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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.