One in four Indians admits to practising untouchability: survey
NEW DELHI
PTI
|
Sixty-five years after untouchability was abolished, one in four Indians admit to practising it in some form in their homes -a shocking fact revealed by a pan-India survey.Indians belonging to almost every religion and caste group, including Muslims, Christians, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, admit to practicing untouchability, shows the India Human Development Survey.
The survey was conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and the University of Maryland, US, and its full results are to be released later this year.
The issue was highlighted at a sem inar “Rise of the Oppressed: Impact of Dalit Literary and Cultural interventions in Maharashtra and Beyond“ over the weekend.
Speakers including former member of Planning Commission Bhalchandra Munagekar Y S Alone, Professor of Art and Aesthetics, JNU, and Waman Kendre, Director of National School of Drama, Suhas Borkar of Working Group on Alternative Strategies, called for waging a war on “the mindset of social injustice“.
While Borker spoke about the findings of the survey, Munagekar recalled the hardship his family had to undergo because they were “dalits“. He added that the writings of BR Ambedkar and Jnanpith Award winner V S Khandekar greatly influenced his way of thinking. Kendre dwelt upon the tradition of great Dalit writers and poets like Namdev Dhasal, Annabhau Sathe, Daya Pawar, Shantibai Kamble and Narayan Surve among others and how their revolutionary writings brought about resurgence and gave a sense of self-confidence to the Dalits.
Smita Patil, Assistant Professor, School of Gender and Development Studies, IGNOU spoke about the contribution of Dalit women writers.
Speaking about the impact of Dalit literature beyond Maharashtra, Ram Chandra, Associate Professor of Language, Literature and Cultural Studies at JNU, called for the rejection of the “exploitative“ Hindu caste system.
The seminar was organised by Maharashtra Sanskritik Ani Rannaniti Adhyayan Samiti and Working Group on Alternative Strategies.
The survey was conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and the University of Maryland, US, and its full results are to be released later this year.
The issue was highlighted at a sem inar “Rise of the Oppressed: Impact of Dalit Literary and Cultural interventions in Maharashtra and Beyond“ over the weekend.
Speakers including former member of Planning Commission Bhalchandra Munagekar Y S Alone, Professor of Art and Aesthetics, JNU, and Waman Kendre, Director of National School of Drama, Suhas Borkar of Working Group on Alternative Strategies, called for waging a war on “the mindset of social injustice“.
While Borker spoke about the findings of the survey, Munagekar recalled the hardship his family had to undergo because they were “dalits“. He added that the writings of BR Ambedkar and Jnanpith Award winner V S Khandekar greatly influenced his way of thinking. Kendre dwelt upon the tradition of great Dalit writers and poets like Namdev Dhasal, Annabhau Sathe, Daya Pawar, Shantibai Kamble and Narayan Surve among others and how their revolutionary writings brought about resurgence and gave a sense of self-confidence to the Dalits.
Smita Patil, Assistant Professor, School of Gender and Development Studies, IGNOU spoke about the contribution of Dalit women writers.
Speaking about the impact of Dalit literature beyond Maharashtra, Ram Chandra, Associate Professor of Language, Literature and Cultural Studies at JNU, called for the rejection of the “exploitative“ Hindu caste system.
The seminar was organised by Maharashtra Sanskritik Ani Rannaniti Adhyayan Samiti and Working Group on Alternative Strategies.
