Dalit Children forced to clean toilets at school.

Dalit Children forced to clean toilets at school.

Even hardened cynics would be shocked by the story reported in an English language Indian weekly Outlook that dalit children are routinely forced to clean toilets in schools in Gujarat. This was not an expose by the news weekly but an account of a conference held at Sabarmati Ashram founded by Gandhi. "The children were at the ashram to share their 'experiences' with a fact-finding panel, tales of being forced to clean toilets and mop floors in school, of horrific discrimination by their upper-caste schoolmates and teachers. They came to the podium in line, district by district, took the mike to tell their stories," said the report.
The story added that "All these kids work for a pittance, cleaning manure pits, dragging dead animals, helping their parents to sweep streets, mop floors, clear garbage, clean toilets. In schools they are forced to do this for free. In the evenings the children accompany their parents to collect leftovers from the homes their mothers work in. It's known as "baasi" or stale food."
A recent novel "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry weaves in the plight of the dalits in a compelling narrative not meant for the faint of heart. Relentless, graphic and depressingly matter of fact, Mistry's novel leaves the reader's emotions in tatters. The reality of these children in Gujarat's schools is even more emotionally wrenching. It appears to be wide spread and raises few if any eyebrows.
The caste system is the most severe indictment of traditional Hinduism, which otherwise has much humanism in it. I do not know how caste system can be rationalized leave alone justified. My Hindu acquaintances and friends I suspect are largely uncomfortable with this part of their faith.
This is not to say that other faiths in India do not practice discrimination based on caste. Eighty percent of Christians who are of dalit background complain of the higher Christian castes monopolizing the Church hierarchy. Muslim society in India is guilty of its own social ills. One reason for the revered reformer Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism, and not Islam, as a way out of the dalit black hole was the discrimination by Muslims of a group amongst them, the so called Arzals. He criticized Muslims for sugarcoating their sectarian caste system with euphemisms like "brotherhood".
I have not been witness to caste based discrimination among Muslims. This may be because I have lived in an urban and not a rural environment. But I have seen pervasive 'servant' abuse in India that is really another form of class discrimination. Servants, many of them children, are not allowed to eat at the same table or sit at the same level. Sometimes I have seen waiters in restaurants verbally abused as are chauffeurs. Many as a result of years of discrimination have a painfully obsequious attitude toward those perceived as belonging to a higher class.
In spite of its many social ills it would be fair to state that Islam has done a better job at getting rid of stratification based on race and caste. Who among Muslims has not heard the statement in Prophet Muhammad's last speech when he said that we should stratify people not on the basis of race but their righteous behavior.
India needs to act forcefully and quickly to exorcise it's demon of the caste system. The laws are there but they need to be enforced. There are hopeful changes in the political arena as witnessed by the election of a dalit leader Mayawati as Chief Minister of the large and important state of Uttar Pradesh. Yet much more needs to be done.
India's hopes for reform lie in its strong English language press, which has good record as a watch dog, and a large intelligentsia with a growing tradition of standing up for human rights.
Javeed Akhter, a physician, is founding member of a Chicago based Muslim American think tank "The International Strategy and Policy Institute."