'One Dalit subjected to atrocities every 20 minutes in India'

 
He was speaking after inaugurating a workshop organised by the Udupi district Dalit Sangharsha Samithi (DSS) on a book ‘Khairlanjee’ written by Dr Ananth Theltumbde, which narrates a real story of a Dalit family living in Khairlanjee village of Madi taluk in Maharashtra, at Hotel Keediyur here on Sunday. “Those days are not far behind for all the villages in India to be another Khairlanjee, if the concern is not discussed immediately,” Sunder said.

Talking about the book, he said that the volume comprises every minute detail of how Indian democratic system, civilian society, media and Dalit movement encouraged the rampant spread of caste system in the country. “Majority of the atrocity cases against Dalits are taking place in the so called civilised modern States like Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala and recently Chhattisgarh,” he said.

He said that the caste system in India is a brutal evil that massacres countless Dalits. “In India violence against Dalits is being executed in such a systematical way that there would be no witnesses to confirm the happening,” he added.

‘Khairlanjee’ is based on real story of a Dalit Boothmange family, which was massacred in a very inhuman way. The head of the family Babulal Boothmange was spared.

The incident was concealed from the outside world for about 45 days and the matter was made public by a local daily depicting the Dalit family as accused in the entire event, Sunder explained adding that none of the witnesses were willing to speak the truth fearing consequences. Talking about atrocities against Dalits, Sunder said that empowerment of the upper layers among the backward community also leads to inhuman treatment against Dalits. The book cites lack of mutual dependence in the rural areas, vote bank politics, economic policies of the government encouraging globalisation, flaws in the democratic principles of the country, the system of impersonal domain as some of the prime causes for the violence against the Dalits, he said.