The history of Dalits in India

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  The social history of India in general

UN body slams India on untouchability issue; T.O. activist hails UN stand as important first step

Press release by Ambedkar Centre for Justice & Peace (ACJP), 4 October, 1996. The ACJP is a human rights organization in support of India's Delits (untouchables).

Violence Against "Untouchables" Growing, Says Report Indian Government Fails to Prevent Massacres, Rapes, and Exploitation

Human Rights Watch, 14 apr 1999. A report that calls on the Indian government to disband private militias and implement national legislation to prevent caste-based attacks. "Untouchability" was abolished under India's constitution in 1950. Yet entire villages in many Indian states remain completely segregated by caste, in what has been called "hidden apartheid."

Badges of Color: An Afro-Dalit Story

By Vijay Prashad, Z Magazine, March 2000. The interest amongst African Americans for the social struggles of Dalits. I knew that in India the progressive community took a keen interest in the lives of Black Americans. Solidarity with African Americans is second nature to the Indian Left: when King came to India in 1959, he was overwhelmed by the reception accorded him.

Plight of the "untouchables"

By Carla Power, Newsweek, 25 June 2000. After centuries of discrimination, India's Dalits are fighting back using the vote and civil disobedience to claim their rights.

Globalisation Snatching Jobs From Low Castes

By Ranjit Devraj, IPS, 6 aug 2000. Aided by job quotas in government employment for decades, India's socially discriminated low caste people are worried that these will be snatched away by the forces of globalisation. Leaders of the 'Dalits' are demanding a new form of affirmative state action to enable the more than 100 million Dalits to take advantage of the process of economic liberalisation.