Untouchability - the new heights....

Firstly, I am an Indian (and mind you, a proud one). Then I get categorized according to a caste system, in place for ages. So what? I belong to General category, why should I care?

So, what really happened? What prompted me to share my thoughts on a topic which hasn’t been taken up much by our media? Is it the reservation thing that’s bothering me? Well, certainly not! Is there something wrong done to me because I belong to the GEN category.

Before I share what it is exactly, I must thank God for my GEN.... Really, after what I came across yesterday, was something I had never imagined in my wildest of dreams. I mean how low a man could get? It’s something pathetic and deserves some serious attention.

I am from UP, the state with maximum number of Dalits. It’s a community that’s treated as simply untouchables by higher castes. They have been denied some fundamental rights that a citizen of India enjoys. Not only that! They have been denied basic stuff like water. They can’t go to a barbershop because of their caste. If someone raises his voice then he gets killed.

Some of us must have come across incidents such as a dalit woman getting raped or a dalit woman being paraded naked in public. But we generally don’t pay much attention towards such atrocities thinking that they didn’t happen to us. Moreover, it’s something that’s been used by politicians to gauge the anger amongst the community and use it to their advantage. The best example that comes to my mind is that of Ms. Mayawati. Well, by simple observation, anyone can tell that nothing much has changed.

So, where does the fault lies?

Are we responsible?

Is there no end to the sufferings?

There are many questions but there are only few answers. Yesterday, I came across a series of videos shot by volunteers of Video Volunteers, an NGO, in various parts of the country. They are eye-openers. Now, I can’t simply complain about reservations. After seeing the videos, I feel that it’s something that needs to be looked at.

After watching the videos, I experienced a wave of anger about the society I am living in. I asked myself a question – Is it worth it?

I am sharing some videos that highlight the atrocities happening against the community. Hope to bring some change in your mindset.

There are 22 videos in all. You can watch the remaining ones on

http://indiaunheard.videovolunteers.org/anti-untouchability/


Also, there is a petition against such practices. Request you all to go through it and sign it. It could act as a big instrument against such practices. I have signed it! Now it's your turn!
Come on guys let’s all be a part of it!

To sign the petition, kindly visit

http://www.change.org/petitions/national-commission-for-scheduled-castes-to-prosecute-untouchability-offenses