<p>Disclosed reports that the office car and the furniture used by a senior Dalit officer of the Kerala government were ritually cleansed by some members of his office staff on his day of retirement on March 31 and the next day is shameful.<br /><br />The officer, A K Ramakrishnan, who was Inspector General of Registration, has complained to the state human rights commission that holy water mixed with cow dung was sprinkled by some employees on his car and the chair where he sat. The act is a traditional rite of purification. The commission has sought an explanation from the revenue department and the National Scheduled Castes Commission has told the home department to investigate the matter. If the charge is true it is reprehensible and is a serious offence which brooks no countenance.<br /><br />Kerala once had the unsavoury distinction of being a ‘madhouse’ of casteism and social discrimination. Swami Vivekananda had described the state with this unflattering sobriquet. Gandhiji once associated himself with a satyagraha in the state for the right of way for Dalits near a major temple.<br /><br />Another major satygraha had to be held in the Guruvayoor temple for entry of dalits and backward caste persons there. But decades of social reform and education were considered to have driven away evils like untouchability from the society. This does not seem to be the case. Incidents like the one at the registration IG’s office show that the prejudices are still alive in society. The Kerala incident is not an exception. Untouchability and other forms of discrimination are common practice in most parts of the country. The law has not been able to eradicate them. <br /><br />It may be argued that the act of cleansing was not directed at the caste of the officer but at the person. But such explanations do not hold water. The investigation should be completed without delay and those found responsible for the act should be given the strictest punishment. Law on its own cannot reform human beings. But it should not be found wanting in dealing with such retrograde and dehumanising conduct. No society can claim to be decent and civilised if such abhorrent practices are resorted to and tolerated and the rights of people are so humiliatingly violated.</p>
<p>Disclosed reports that the office car and the furniture used by a senior Dalit officer of the Kerala government were ritually cleansed by some members of his office staff on his day of retirement on March 31 and the next day is shameful.<br /><br />The officer, A K Ramakrishnan, who was Inspector General of Registration, has complained to the state human rights commission that holy water mixed with cow dung was sprinkled by some employees on his car and the chair where he sat. The act is a traditional rite of purification. The commission has sought an explanation from the revenue department and the National Scheduled Castes Commission has told the home department to investigate the matter. If the charge is true it is reprehensible and is a serious offence which brooks no countenance.<br /><br />Kerala once had the unsavoury distinction of being a ‘madhouse’ of casteism and social discrimination. Swami Vivekananda had described the state with this unflattering sobriquet. Gandhiji once associated himself with a satyagraha in the state for the right of way for Dalits near a major temple.<br /><br />Another major satygraha had to be held in the Guruvayoor temple for entry of dalits and backward caste persons there. But decades of social reform and education were considered to have driven away evils like untouchability from the society. This does not seem to be the case. Incidents like the one at the registration IG’s office show that the prejudices are still alive in society. The Kerala incident is not an exception. Untouchability and other forms of discrimination are common practice in most parts of the country. The law has not been able to eradicate them. <br /><br />It may be argued that the act of cleansing was not directed at the caste of the officer but at the person. But such explanations do not hold water. The investigation should be completed without delay and those found responsible for the act should be given the strictest punishment. Law on its own cannot reform human beings. But it should not be found wanting in dealing with such retrograde and dehumanising conduct. No society can claim to be decent and civilised if such abhorrent practices are resorted to and tolerated and the rights of people are so humiliatingly violated.</p>
