India’s Dalits rally for justice online after brutal gang rape, decrying caste-based violence
- While caste discrimination is illegal, Dalits are still treated as occupying the lowest rung in social hierarchy.
- India’s sexual violence crime rate makes it one of the world’s most dangerous places for women and lower-caste females are doubly disadvantaged
Damni Kain, 22, remembers a teacher at her convent high school in New Delhi asking students if they would go to a doctor who got into medical school through affirmative action laws seeking to walk back years of marginalisation against those of lower castes.
Kain, a member of the Dalit caste that is seen as occupying the lowest rung in Hindu social hierarchy, stayed silent. The daughter of a grocery shop owner, she was a top student who had endeavoured to “behave like the upper caste girls in the class – adopt their mannerisms and speak good English” so her schoolmates would not accuse her of being a beneficiary of affirmative action.
But reading the works of activists who had lobbied for years to do away with caste discrimination – which still plagues India despite it being banned by law – changed her mind.
Said the postgraduate student in political science at Delhi University: “I was getting frustrated when I couldn’t participate in anti-caste meetings or talk openly about asserting Dalit rights. But when I finally did, I realised I felt much better.”
On YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, a host of videos, stories and data on atrocities towards Dalit women and the low conviction rate of perpetrators have been shared, with hashtags such as #DalitLivesMatter, a reference to the #BlackLivesMatter movement trending on Twitter.