[Reader-list] "No Dalit cook for students in this UP school"

[Ujwala Samarth]

To me, there is no more convincing argument to change people's hearts about
this caste-based discrimination than the face of the dalit boy in Stalin's
film 'India Untouched' who tries to smile, but doesn't quite manage it when
he looks away, blinking back tears, and  says "What is this untouchability?
I don't understand it."

Ujwala Samarth

On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 2:32 PM, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Malik ji
>
> It's not so simple as you think it is. Particularly in rural India, the
> press is hardly visible, since it doesn't wish to cover that segment of the
> society. Moreover, even if a journalist were to cover them, these
> journalists would be in the village only for a few days, whereas the people
> have to survive in that village for the whole of their lives. Hence, they
> have to succumb to such tactics. Even the police are either hand-in-glove
> with the upper castes or don't have the courage to take actions against
> those committing atrocities because the latter are quite powerful.
>
> What is more, the upper castes can get their children taught in the schools
> meant for rich, and they will do so. What will happen as a result is that
> the basic purpose of the Mid-day meal scheme is lost, which is to ensure
> that children of all castes and religions can sit and eat together in an
> organized and disciplined manner.
>
> I personally believe that in such cases, a proper debate is necessary to
> convince the parents, before taking the step you suggested. I would say so
> because a major problem would be for girls in these upper castes who are
> not
> allowed to study after completing their primary or at maximum 8th class
> education in schools in rural areas. We need to ensure that they don't
> suffer because of their dogmatic attitude of their parents. And the wrong
> notion among children needs to be abolished, which is only possible with
> sustained education.
>
> Fines can help if necessary, but the larger requirement is that of a
> sustained social campaign to root out such evils in the villages. As my
> friend once said, we don't need one 'Swades' (the movie), we need a
> 'Swades'
> in each and every village of this country to root out such evils.
>
> From the media side, it is important that such problems are made public
> again and again to root out such evils on a continuous basis rather than
> just one-time basis. And yet, journalistic reporting won't solve the
> problem.
>
> Rakesh
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-- 
Ujwala Samarth
(Programme Coordinator, Open Space)

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