DALIT Shoshan Mukti Manch (DSMM) is a national platform of various Dalit empowerment organisations from across the country which are working for eradication of untouchability and caste discrimination, and socio-economic development of the community. DSMM, under the guidance of CPI(M), was established on 27 November 2014 at a national conference in Delhi. The Manch will observe Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14 as ‘Dalit Rights Day’ to highlight the constitutional safeguards for Dalits in India. Our Constitution enshrines nearly 20 articles concerning Dalits, right from the abolition of untouchability to reservation of public jobs, participation and power sharing in local bodies and also in the highest law making body -- Lok Sabha. Once the Dalits were treated as “part of the apart”, but now they dominate higher positions in bureaucratic and political realms.

Dr. B R Ambedkar, the father of Indian Constitution, had restlessly dedicated his brain and brawn for inclusive development of marginalised Dalits so as to enable them to occupy the centre stage rather than being in the periphery. He had uncompromising convictions for fighting for Dalit rights throughout his life. He was dogmatic and pragmatic. He was a social revolutionary and redeemer. He was an academician and statesman and also a thinker-philosopher. India never had such a dynamic personality. Therefore, the V P Singh government in 1990 honoured him with the highest civilian award “Bharat Ratna” posthumously. French political writer Christopher Jaffrelot in his book, Dr. Ambedkar And Untouchability, commented him as follows: “The first leader who forge new political symbolic and emotively powerful strategies for Dalits”. He concluded that Dr. Ambedkar’s life, even when scrutinised dispassionately, generates emotions that everyone will share one day. Therefore, it is apt and relevant for the Manch to observe the 124^th birth day of Ambedkar as Dalit Rights Day throughout India.

The Dalits, i.e. the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, constitute one fourth of India’s population. Even after 68 years of Independence the social and economic conditions of Dalits in India are very pathetic. They are still in abject poverty and living in highly unhygienic conditions. Caste  discrimination,  untouchability  and other inhuman social stigmas pervade in villages that blatantly violate basic human rights. Empirical studies on the impact of caste discrimination confine to the socio-political aspects only. But now it has turned into economic fields also. There are group discriminations faced by Dalits in various markets. Recent studies throw light on the process of economic discriminations and exclusion. Dalits were facing terrible exploitation and slavery in pre-independence and post-independence periods. But now they have to face more of exclusion than exploitation as a new sphere of discriminations. Equal opportunities are denied in economic activities which thwart their economic upheavals. What it actually requires is that equal opportunity for excluded groups should be restored through legal safeguards, reservations and similar measures in public and private sectors with adequate  participations in governance at various levels.

A recent case study reveals that 77 percent of Dalit population is experiencing severe caste discrimination and untouchability. Main forms of untouchability being practiced in rural India are as follows: Denial of entry of Dalits  into non-Dalit villages and houses; Bar against sharing food;  Denial of entry into places of worship and use of common cremation and burial grounds; Ill-treatment of women by non-Dalit men; Denial of access to water facilities; Separate seating arrangements in schools and panchayats; Separate places for eating with separate utensils; Denial of work as agricultural labourers; Payment of lower wages for same work;  Bar on selling milk to cooperatives; Ban on festival and marriage processions on roads; Separate times for voting at polling booths with separate lines; Denial of entry into primary health centres; Use of insulting casteist languages against Dalit employees; Bar on contesting local body elections; and forcible scavenging and head-loading night soil.

It is estimated that thousands of different forms of untouchabilities are being practised in rural India. It is alarming to note that hundreds of local body seats are left unfilled as people belonging to Dalit communities are not permitted to contest in the election. The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 and the Rules enforced in 1995 are not properly enforced. Only two percent of the cases of atrocities registered under the Rules have so far been convicted. Even the percentage of reservation, i.e. 15 percent for SC and 7.5 percent for ST, in central government jobs has not so far been restored.

The representation of SC, STs in group A to D in the Central Secretariat

                                Secretaries 88.                           No SC

                                Addl. Secretaries 66.                only one SC

                                Joint Secretaries 249.               13 SC/ST

The above brief sketch of the socio-economic conditions of Dalits in India reveal the fact that there are very strong impediments which thwart the inclusive development of Dalits. The central government expends huge amount under scheduled caste sub plan (SCSP) and tribal sub plan (TSP) schemes but still these do not show any tangible effects on them. State governments are also earmarking separate funds for the development of Dalits. All these compelling situations warrant the need for a drastic change in the formulation and implementation of the schemes for which the role of the Manch is very pertinent and relevant.

While the Indian Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950, Ambedkar himself had perceived the forthcoming: “On 26^th of January 1950 we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognising the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy which this Assembly has so labouriously built up.”

This is nothing but an expert opinion of a political scientist. He visualises the main hurdles as social and economic structure which continue to deny the principle of one man one value. Actually Ambedkar intended to include provisions for state ownership in agriculture in the fundamental rights for building  up  a  socialistic  pattern   of  society. This  was  not  included  in  the fundamental rights. He approached Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Jawaharlal Nehru and requested them to include the programme of socialism in the fundamental rights. When they didn’t get convinced, Ambedkar became disappointed. He also criticised the objective resolutions of Nehru as it did not include the substantial programme of socialism. He did so because, to a poor man the right to vote is not as important as to have a loaf of bread.

Ambedkar himself had said that he could not frame the constitution of his choice in spite of having clear cut ideas on state socialism. He again reacted as follows: “I was a hake, what I was asked to do; I did much against my will. You want to accuse me for your blemishes. I shall be the first person to burn it out.” This shows the bounden commitment of Ambedkar for state socialism. He was attracted by Communist ideas. He said: “Really seen, there are only two castes in the world -- the first, that of the rich, the second, that of the poor. Just as we have organised and come here today, so we must forget caste differences and religious differences to make our organisation strong.” He further added that "in spite of reservation about Marxist theories in regard to the toilers class struggle, I feel the Communist philosophy to be closer to us". This speech was made by him on 12 January 1938 in connection with the protest movement organised by his Independent Labour Party (ILP). But Ambedkar had certain reservations on the idea of dictatorship as it curtails democratic freedom, but he had close association with the Communist Party of India in connection with a one-day general strike for right to strike, as it was described to be a fundamental freedom and no way he wished to curtail it at any rate.

Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 in Garrison town of Mhow. His father Ramji Sakpal was subedar and was later appointed as headmaster of an army normal school. His six uncles were also subedar majors. Since education was compulsory for the children of the military, not only Ambedkar's father but also the women of his family were literate. He took active part in the  1890s campaign on behalf of Mahars in the Army. The British government had decided in 1893, no longer to employ Mahars largely because other less impure castes, in particular Marathas were reluctant to mix with them in the barracks. Ambedkar's father thus belonged to the last generation of the Mahars permanently employed by the British Army. In the early stages of Ambedkar, there was strict discipline in his family as well as spiritual ambiance like chanting of songs of saints Thukkaram and Kabir. Thus Ambedkar's family had to suffer poverty for want of permanent income in the family, that too due to the severe caste discrimination and untouchability. It is seen that Ambedkar experienced terrible caste discrimination right from his boyhood which paved the way for him to become a social revolutionary to fight against untouchability and inhuman social stigmas.

Ambedkar vehemently criticised untouchability and consequent suffering on poverty. He said to the Dalits: "You are untouchable not because you are poor; you are untouchable that’s why you are poor. Brahmins are also poor. Will anybody dare to commit atrocity, untouchability and discrimination with him?" The practice of  untouchability can be eradicated only when the Dalits and non-Dalits are made aware of the terrible social consequences which disharmonise social relations and peaceful atmosphere. Therefore, the Dalits and non-Dalits are equally responsible to eschew the practice of untouchability for which the rights conferred upon the Dalits should be made known to everybody. The present pathetic condition of Dalits is not because of lack of rules and regulations, but because of the slackness and laxity on the part of the government. The mindset of the general public should also be changed so as to have mutual cooperation between the Dalits and non-Dalits for drastic social change. Let there be a new sphere of action for the eradication of untouchability on Dalit Rights Day.