Dec 23: Exclusion and untouchability remain widespread and only 5% marry out of their caste
December 23, 2014
Exclusion and untouchability remain widespread and only 5% marry out
of their caste
Report findings recently released from the India Human Development
Survey, the India Exclusion Report and the Nepal Multidimensional
Social Inclusion Index, document that caste discrimination is very far
from being history. In almost all aspects of every-day life statistics
indicate that caste discrimination is deep-rooted and widespread.
Merely five percent of Indians said they had married a person from a
different caste, and 27 percent of households self-reported engaging
in untouchability practices, according to the pre-released findings of
The India Human Development Survey, conducted by the National Council
for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Maryland University. When
Brahmins (dominant caste) were asked, 52% self-reported to not allow a
Dalit to use their kitchen utensils, a common practice of
untouchability.
The survey also found that only 5% marry outside their caste, which is
a clear indicator of the perseverance of caste segregation. The survey
found that there had been no increase in this number since the survey
was last conducted 10 years ago. In Madhya Pradesh state less than 1%
reported marrying outside their caste.
The survey findings on untouchability were particularly stark in some
states where untouchability across castes was found to be almost 50%
in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Bihar
and just over 40% in Uttar Pradesh. As the survey only documents
self-declared practices of untouchability, the true figures are
thought to be even higher.
These findings will not come as a surprise to the authors of the
comprehensive and highly collaborative India Exclusion Report
2013-2014, by the Centre for Equity Studies. The report analyses
discrimination across labour, education and housing in India. Within
all these areas Dalits, and particularly Dalit women, come out at the
bottom of the tables.
“India is inherently prone to exclusion practices that make large
quantities of people extremely vulnerable to a sliding path towards
destitution. The excluded almost exclusively belong to the suppressed
castes, religious minorities and tribal groups. Within these
categories, women are perhaps the worst off.”
In relation to discrimination in the labour market the report states,
“Caste remains a key determinant of a person’s future. This is
perfectly reflected in India’s labour market, which is more governed
by laws of social origin than by statutory legislation. Moreover,
violation of caste rules by Dalits seeking to break caste-related
employment barriers is prone to severe punishment from dominant
castes, including economic boycotts and even physical violence.”
Findings on bonded labour also echo clear links to the caste system,
“Traditional caste rules mandate forced labour from certain
communities. Caste is one of the foundations of the bonded labour
system and remains a key feature of bondage even in non-agricultural
industries today. The lack of access to their own land, combined with
this expectation to perform free labour and the threat of violence and
economic boycott against those who challenge their expected social
roles, keeps many Dalit families in bondage and a perpetual state of
poverty.”
According to the India Exclusion report the Musahar Dalits are among
one of the most vulnerable groups with less than 10% of Musahar Dalit
children studying, a female literacy rate of just 2% and a school
drop-out rate of nearly 100%.
Across the border in Nepal, Dalits also reign at the bottom of all
tables in the recently published Nepal Multidimensional Social
Inclusion Index, by Tribhuvan University’s Central Department of
Sociology and Anthropology. The Index attempts to encompass all
aspects of life and is a composite derived from six other indices:
social, economic, political, cultural, gender, and social cohesion.
Across all counts Dalits are faring very poorly in Nepal and gender
discrimination is also high across castes. There is a glaring gap
between especially Tarai Dalits, and their dominant caste countrymen
from the same region when it comes to all dimensions of the index.
Muslims and other ethnic minorities are also represented at the bottom
of the ranks.
The findings of these three recent reports counter popular assertions
that caste discrimination is a thing of the past, or on the retreat,
and beckon that all those with an interest in equality and inclusion
take the caste dimension very seriously when engaging with
caste-affected countries.
For more information and full report see
http://idsn.org/news-resources/idsn-news/read/article/new-reports-exclusion-and-untouchability-remain-widespread-and-only-5-marry-out-of-their-caste/128/
