Vienna Bloodshed of Sikh Dalits a Symptom of Deep Malaise

Caste discrimination continues outside of India and violence erupts in India

Global community exposed to caste discrimination

 

LONDON – May 28, 2009 – Several days after the attack on the top leadership of the Ravidass religious sect by orthodox Sikh terrorists in Vienna, world governments and the global human rights and human dignity community has apparently not understood the significance and implications of this incident. One high priest died, the head of the sect was injured, three persons were killed so far in the subsequent violence in India, several towns were placed under military curfew, and billions of rupees worth of public property was destroyed.

“This is not the first time caste tensions in India burst into bloody violence in Europe. Similar incidents happened in the United Kingdom and even in the United States,” said Dr. Joseph D’souza, International President of the Dalit Freedom Network. On May 24, 2009, a group of armed Sikh upper caste expatriates raided a place of worship in Vienna, Austria, where Sant Niranjan Dass, aged about 68 and head of the Dera Sachkhand Ballan of the Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha movement, was preaching. The movement is based near Jalandhar in Punjab state of India. He was grievously injured and his associate Sant Rama Nand, aged about 56, killed.

Guru Ravidass, the founder, was a key figure in India’s Sufi movement which rebelled against upper caste tyranny. A leather worker, Sant Ravidass was deemed to be an untouchable by the high castes. Though his hymns find a place in the Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib, Ravidass himself is the locus of devotion for a large number of the downtrodden and former untouchable castes.

“Although it appears prosperous, Punjab has deep caste chasms and class conflicts. The upper caste Jat Sikhs command the bulk of the land resources, and upper caste Hindus run the bulk of business and trade. The Dalits, formerly known as untouchables, have less than 5 [five] percent of the state’s resources,” said John Dayal, Secretary General of the All India Christian Council. Dalits are often kept out of the management of the Gurdwaras and other places of worship. Lower caste Sikhs have set up their own parallel places of worship in almost every village in Punjab. They have also evolved their own social customs and liturgy, which is an anathema to the upper castes.

“Expatriate Sikh populations seem to have carried these divisions to Europe and to North America, as have other Indian groups. In the liberal environment of the West, the Dalits prospered, and their prosperity added to jealousies back in India,” said D’souza.

Dayal said, “It is a tragedy that the Indian government is in denial about the contemporary ramifications of caste on India. Although there are exceptions, the Indian government’s resistance and high-octane diplomatic pressures stalled honest discussions on caste discrimination and birth-based inequity in international fora such as the UN Durban conference on racism in 2001 and recent meetings in Geneva.”

D’souza said, “We call on India to assist in an honest, international discourse on the implications of caste and to help devise systems to root out the 3,000 year old evil once and for all. The measures contained in the Indian Constitution are laudable, but, for want of other reforms or perhaps political will, they have not delivered full human dignity to the Indian Dalits of any religious faith. The Dalit Christians and Muslims remain the most deprived, shorn even of the token affirmative action programmes of the government.”

The All India Christian Council (www.christiancouncil.in), birthed in 1998, exists to protect and serve the Christian community, minorities, and the oppressed castes. The aicc is a coalition of thousands of Indian denominations, organizations, and lay leaders.

The Dalit Freedom Network (www.dalitnetwork.org), founded in the United States in 2003, partners with the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations and the All India Christian Council to support Dalits in their emancipation movement through education, health care, economic advancement, and human right advocacy. To contact the Dalit Freedom Network partner organisation in the United Kingdom: 39 Honor Oak Road, Forest Hill, London SE23 3SH; or see www.daliteducation.org or telephone 0208 464 7879 or mobile 0771 007 7871.

 

For more information, contact:

Dr. Joseph D’souza, International President, Dalit Freedom Network

jdsouza@dalitnetwork.org

+44-771-035-2286

 

Dr. John Dayal, Secretary General, All India Christian Council

catholicunion@gmail.com

+91-9811021072

+91-40-2786-8908

 

For immediate release

# # #