Home / News / Urgent Appeals / INDIA: Dalit woman tormented and paraded half-naked by a group of people
 

INDIA: Dalit woman tormented and paraded half-naked by a group of people

November 22, 2002

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM
<br>

<br>
22 November 2002
<br>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
<br>
UA-58-2002: Dalit woman tormented and paraded half-naked by a group of people
<br>

<br>
INDIA: Caste-based discrimination; Case of assault, degrading treatment against Dalits
<br>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
<br>

<br>
According to reliable sources, a Dalit woman in Kishanganj in the India state of Bihar was tormented and paraded half-naked by a group of people who wanted to teach a lesson to her family for not giving away their claim over a piece of land.
<br>

<br>

<br>
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INCIDENT
<br>

<br>
Bharati Devi, a wife of Amarnath Das and a resident of Dharmgji in Kishanganj District, was assaulted and paraded half-naked on Nov. 3, 2002, by people annoyed with the couple over their long-standing dispute over a piece of land.
<br>

<br>
The Dalit woman has lodged a first information report (FIR) with the Kishanganj police station against those who have beaten and publicly paraded her half-naked in the community.
<br>

<br>
In her statement to the police, she complained that a group of about eight people, including several women, forcibly broke into her room and assaulted her. Afterwards, they grabbed her neck and dragged her outside, parading her half-naked in public.
<br>

<br>
However, according to the information we have received, the district police have not taken any action to arrest the perpetrators. Even worse, P. S. K. Sinahal, the superintendent of police in Kishanganj District, denied that the woman was paraded half-naked by a group of people. He said, &quot;Her story is not at all true. It is bullshit and concocted.&quot; He admitted though that the Dalit couple was physically tortured and tormented.
<br>

<br>
The police have attributed Devi's assault to a long-standing and extremely complicated land dispute between two groups which are involved in a string of cases and countercases.
<br>

<br>
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has continuously issued urgent appeals and other actions about caste-based discrimination and degrading treatment against Dalits in order to draw your attention to the problems that Dalits must endure and to create international pressure on the government of India. We urge you to maintain your support for our campaign to eliminate the world's worst form of discrimination.
<br>

<br>

<br>
SUGGESTED ACTION
<br>

<br>
Please send your appeal to the president, prime minister and chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India, urging them to take immediate action to investigate the case and to bring the perpetrators to court according to the law against caste-based discrimination.
<br>

<br>

<br>
SAMPLE LETTER
<br>

<br>
Dear
<br>

<br>
Re: A case of Caste-based discrimination - A Dalit woman was tormented and paraded half-naked in public
<br>

<br>
I am writing this letter to draw your attention to the case of physical assault and degrading treatment against a Dalit woman and to urge you to undertake an immediate investigation into the case.
<br>

<br>
Bharati Devi, a resident of Dharmgji in Kishanganj District in the India state of Bihar, was assaulted and paraded half-naked on Nov. 3, 2002, by a group of people who wanted to teach a lesson to her family for not giving away their claim over a piece of land.
<br>

<br>
According to the first information report (FIR) that she has lodged with the Kishanganj police station, a group of about eight people, including several women, forcibly broke into her room and assaulted her. Afterwards, they grabbed her neck and dragged her outside, parading her half-naked in public.
<br>

<br>
However, even though the superintendent of police (SP) in Kishanganj District admitted that the Dalit couple was physically tortured and tormented, the police are not only unwilling to arrest the perpetrators, but they have denied that the woman was paraded half-naked by a group of people in public.
<br>

<br>
Therefore, I urge you to undertake an immediate and impartial investigation into the case and to bring the perpetrators to court according to the law against caste-based discrimination.
<br>

<br>
I look forward to learning about your prompt action on this matter.
<br>

<br>
Thank you.
<br>

<br>
Sincerely yours,
<br>

<br>
---------
<br>

<br>
PLEASE SEND YOUR APPEAL BY FAX OR EMAIL TO;
<br>

<br>
1. The President of India
<br>
Dr. P.P.J. Abdul Kalam
<br>
Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhawan,
<br>
New Delhi, 110004
<br>
INDIA
<br>
Fax: +9111 3017290, 3014570
<br>
Email: presssecy@alpha.nic.in or Pressecy@Sansad.nic.in
<br>

<br>
2. The Prime Minister of India,
<br>
H.E. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
<br>
South Block, Raisina Hill,
<br>
New Delhi 110 011
<br>
INDIA
<br>
Tel: +91 11 3016996 (Joint Secretary of PM), 3018939 (Personal Secretary of PM)
<br>
Fax: +91 11 3016857/3019545 (Office), +91 11 3019334 (Residence)
<br>
E-mail:vajpayee@sansad.nic.in or http://pmindia.nic.in/writetous.htm
<br>

<br>
3. Justice J.S.Verma
<br>
Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission
<br>
Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg,
<br>
New Delhi - 110001
<br>
INDIA
<br>
Fax: +91 11 3340016/3366537
<br>
Eamil: nhrc@ren.nic.in
<br>

<br>
Also send copy of your letter to;
<br>

<br>
1. Justice Dilip Singh Bhuria,
<br>
Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe
<br>
5th Block, Lok Nayak,
<br>
Bhavan, Khan Market,
<br>
New Delhi 110003
<br>
INDIA
<br>
Fax: +91 11 4625378
<br>

<br>

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-58-2002
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.