national campaign on dalit human rights
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. caste may not be race. national campaign on dalit human rights, new delhi, 2001 .
senior dalit activist b. a / b. ed dalit rights human rights 1
national campaign on dalit human rights is a forum committed to the elimination of discrimination based on caste. it is a democratic secular platform led by dal
. a historical overview of achievements and future action agenda. national campaign for dalit human rights, new delhi, 2001 .
1. to launch campaign for human rights, social justice and good governance .
human rights watch works with victims and activists to investigate human rights violations and challenges governments and those in power to respect international human rights law. it has a specific campaign on caste at: urltoken
nhrc report, section vi, p. 115, citing national campaign on dalit human rights, chennai hearing, op. cit. , 267 - 269 .
works collaboratively with organizations striving for the protection of human rights, and those particularly working for dalit human rights during disaster situations .
national campaign on dalit human rights is committed to the protection of dalit rights in the country, since 1998. the national dalit watch (ndw) is an effort spearheaded by ncdhr in 2009 to respond in an organized and systematic manner to the scenario of exclusion of dalit communities during disasters... .
the national campaign on dalit human rights (ncdhr) works to ensure that india and the international community recognize that dalit rights are human rights. 34 / 15, east patel nagar, first floor, new delhi, 110 008 tel: + 91 11 30966234 email: [ email protected ] web: urltoken
- a body that india characterizes as the apex national institution to protect human rights and redress grievances .
the 2007 rafto prize was awarded to the indian organization the national campaign on dalit human rights (ncdhr). the ncdhr received the prize for its work to promote dalit rights and for its efforts to make the international society aware that discrimination and oppression resulting from caste prejudice is a serious violation of human rights .
the dalit human rights organization (dhro) campaigns on dalit human rights in nepal. new plaza, putalisadak, kathmandu. tel: + 977 1 4445300 email: [ email protected ]
every (indian) politician would want support from this 16 percent voting bloc for any election ,
vimal thorat, an activist and convenor of the national campaign on dalit human rights, told afp .
get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. join our movement today .
ibid. , 114 citing sakshi, op. cit. , pp. 90 - 91; national campaign on dalit human rights, chennai hearing, op. cit. , pp 73 - 76; human rights watch, op. cit. , pp. 115 - 121 .
ibid. , p. 111 from national campaign on dalit human rights, national public hearing, april 18 - 19, 20 (x), chennai, vol. i - summary: jury' s interim observations and recommendations, pp. 309 - 317 .
national human rights commission ,
report on prevention of atrocities against scheduled castes ,
2004, [ hereinafter
nhrc report
] .
national campaign on dalit human rights is a forum committed to the elimination of discrimination based on caste. a democratic secular platform led by dalit women and men activists, with support and solidarity from movements and organizations, academics, individuals, people’s organizations and institutions throughout the country who are committed to work to protect and promote human rights of dalits focusing on women and children .
according to separate investigations by the national campaign on dalit human rights and human rights watch, india discriminated against dalits in distribution of aid in the wake of two of india' s largest natural disasters in recent years: the gujarat earthquake in january 2001 and the indian ocean tsunami in december 2004 .
the bihar government appointed her vice chairperson of the state minority commission in 2012 for three years. she represented bihar at national commission for protection of child rights and coordinated a two - year study on “violence of dalit women” in 2005. she is a member of the national dalit human rights campaign since 1998, the bihar unit people’s union for civil liberties and national alliance of women .
fact - finding (may 2017) chri was part of a national fact - finding organised by the national campaign for dalit human rights (ncdhr) to assess the situation in the aftermath of caste violence that took place on 5th may 2017 in shabbirpur village of saharanpur district, uttar pradesh .
. murder and mayhem in pankhan: atrocities on the dalits of gujarat. a report submitted to the national human rights commission, new delhi, 2000 .
also urltoken has information not just on dr ambedkar but on dalit issues in general .
human rights watch, small change, p. 42. (citing human rights watch group interview with dalit villagers, varanasi district, uttar pradesh, march 14, 2002) .
human rights watch and chrgj thank the committee for its consideration of this information .
the report was reviewed by members of the asia division of human rights watch .
human rights watch, caste discrimination: a global concern, p. 6 .
human rights watch, caste discrimination: a global concern, p. 11 .
cases documented by india' s national commission for women, by local and national non - governmental women' s rights organizations, and by the press, reveal a pattern of impunity for attacks on dalit women .
ndw monitors such “unintended” exclusion from a perspective of dalit human rights, with a clear cut agenda of treating such exclusion as serious human rights violation as any other form of violation; and demanding state’s accountability in ensuring protection of dalit rights in this sphere too .
smita narula is a visiting research scholar at the roosevelt house public policy institute, hunter college. both her scholarship and clinical work focus on key human rights issues, including the impact of economic globalization and counter - terrorism policies on human rights, and the accountability of corporations and international financial institutions for human rights abuses. she has authored numerous publications on these and other human rights subjects, and regularly briefs u. n. agencies, international human rights mechanisms, government officials, civil society groups, and the media on her findings .
2. to run campaign for the elimination of cast discrimination from the society .
the national campaign on dalit human rights - india (a network of human rights groups working with dalits) had taken on the task of raising the issue of caste based discrimination at this un - organised conference. stalin’s responsibility was to ‘make caste discrimination visible’. designed and executed posters, banners and art installations. put together a 12 - member percussion group with members from four states in india .
watch sbs world news live daily at 6: 30pm on tv and on our app. catch up on sbs on demand .
, are a recurrent phenomenon. national dalit watch together with the rural volunteers centre, an ngo working on flood plains of
two national consultations were held on the formation of ncdhr during october and november 1998. over 220 academics, activists, dalit movements, human rights organizations and dalit organizations participated in these consultations. in these consultations, a national level committee and 10 state level committees were formed, thereby initiating ncdhr .
human rights watch, we have no orders to save you, p. 39 .
help us continue to fight human rights abuses. please give now to support our work
. dalit human rights: problems and opportunities. ‘humanscape’ 8 (8): september 2001: 14 - 15 .
in 2002 human rights watch interviewed dalit villagers in uttar pradesh who weave saris on looms owned by traders and who are forced to labor on agricultural lands .
we have very little land, less than five acres ,
a dalit woman told human rights watch .
yes, of course we work on the landlords' land .
violation of human rights: the case of dalits in gujarat. ‘indian journal of human rights’ 4 (1 & 2): january - december 2000: 158 - 172 .
fifty years of the indian constitution – human rights of daits. ‘indian journal of human rights’ 4 (1 & 2): january - december 2000: 69 - 82 .
3. offered ledership campaign against caste discrimination in far western and mid western region .
national dalit watch of ncdhr. simple theme. theme images by luoman. powered by blogger .
broken people: caste violence against india’s “untouchables” – a 2008 report by human rights watch .
human rights of dalits (societal violation). new delhi: gyan publishing, 1999 .
your tax deductible gift can help stop human rights violations and save lives around the world .
human rights violation of the dalits: an inquiry into indian social reality. ‘indian journal of human rights’ 4 (1 & 2): january - december 2000: 121 - 134 .
illegal police raids on dalit villages under the pretext of looking for suspects in the aftermath of caste conflicts. human rights watch has documented a number of such instances .
in october 1998, seventy - eight dalit activists and human rights activists from across india, concerned about the frequent atrocities and the blatant lack of implementation of the sc / st (prevention of atrocities) act, 1989, met in bangalore to discuss a program of action. we were anguished that though our nation had just completed her 50th year of independence and in spite of our constitutional and international commitments to the contrary, the prevalence of “untouchability” continued unabated in many parts of the country. in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights, we called for an urgent national campaign to highlight dalit human rights and to uphold that “dalit rights are human rights. ”
whrf - thematic forum old - age human rights: opportunities and ways to protect ...
jayne huckerby, research director, center for human rights and global justice, nyuschool of law .
ncdhr response to the special rapporteur' s questionnaire, p. 17; human rights watch ,
human rights watch, small change, p. 31. (citing human rights watch interview with 14 - year - old boy, varanasi, uttar pradesh, march 13, 2002) .
broken people: caste violence against india’s ‘untouchables’. human rights watch publication, usa, 1999 .
the purpose of the ncdhr is to oppose all forms of this horrifying discrimination. the campaign and its supporters work to combat violations of human rights in general, usually by documenting human rights violations. the campaign also provides legal aid to victims of discrimination and violence, and serves as an advocate of dalit rights in india and at the international level. the ncdhr is now a coalition of four movements, each working to overcome different aspects of caste discrimination :
the budget replaces sc sub plan (scsp) and tribal sub plan (tsp) by' allocations for welfare of sc and st' which is a
retrogressive step
as sub plans had been key policy for flow of financial resources to dalit and tribal communities in the country, said paul divakar in a press conference organised by national campaign on dalit human rights .
dalit women, occupying the bottom of both the caste and gender hierarchies, are both uniquely susceptible to violence and particularly vulnerable to the infringements of their right to equal treatment before organs administering justice. cases documented by the national commission for women, human rights watch, local and national women' s rights organizations, and the press, overwhelmingly demonstrate a systemic pattern of impunity in attacks on dalit women .
in 2004 the nhrc characterized the law enforcement machinery as the greatest violator of dalits' human rights .
state agencies have also colluded with private actors from dominant castes in committing human rights violations against dalits .
using the international human rights system to combat racial discrimination. amnesty international publication, uk, 2001 .
gauri pradhan completed his six year service (2007 - 2013) as a commissioner (member) and as the spokesperson of the national human rights commission (nhrc), a national constitutional body of nepal. during the period he led a number of high - profiled fact finding missions and forensic investigations on serious cases of human rights violations and abuses that have occurred during a decade long armed conflict (996 - 2005) in nepal. in this capacity he coordinated a number of delegations to regional and international forums held in different parts of the world. he also played a significant role at the nhrc by introducing a number of guidelines and directives for the promotion and protection of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in nepal. as a head, he also led the national delegation consist of nhrc, national women’s commission and national dalit commission to the upr session of human rights council held in geneva in 2011. in his capacity as human rights commissioner, gauri pradhan actively involved in dialogues at the highest national level on issues of human rights, justice, and peace building in nepal .
he joined the first human rights organization in nepal - fophur (forum for the protection of human rights) - as the secretary in 1986. he coordinated the first asia regional seminar - workshop on human rights held in kathmandu in 1986 under the repressive government. during the general elections in 1991, he worked as the executive coordinator of the national election observation committee (neoc), which had coordinated the international election observation in nepal. he was one of the founder members and national president of the human rights alliance, an alliance of human rights organizations working throughout the country for the period of 2003 - 2007. he has been an integral part of the civil society initiatives to advocating the rights of women, children, dalit, person with disabilities and esc rights in the country. he also successfully served as the national president of ngo federation of nepal for the period of 2001 - 2003 .
the dalit freedom network is a canada - based organization that partners with indian dalit - rights groups. they have a particular focus on work to end the trafficking of dalit people and child labour .
investigations in bihar and tamil nadu conducted by human rights watch also confirmed that women have been beaten, arrested, and sometimes tortured during violent search and raid operations on dalit villages .
“in any community we have to make a very viable environment to feel equal irrespective of what is their class and caste. until and unless one such environment is created we are not going to have a free access to education, ” said n paul divakar, who is a dalit activist and general secretary of national campaign for dalit human rights (ncdhr) .
gauri pradhan has completed his service as a commissioner (member) and spokesperson for the national human rights commission (nhrc), a national constitutional body of nepal. he is a well - known social activist and human rights defender in south asia. he is a founding president of a number of national institutes including a pioneer child rights organisation cwin (child workers in nepal). for his work on child rights in nepal he has received a number of national and international honors including the unicef global leadership on the rights of the child in 2000 along with mr. nelson mandela, the former president of south africa. currently, he is working as the international coordinator of ldc watch, a global cso platform of the least developed countries .
pradeep has also advocated for human rights on an international level. from 2001 to 2004 she participated in the second preparatory committee meeting at the united nations in geneva on behalf of the national campaign for dalit human rights (ncdhr) lobbying for caste - based discrimination to be included in the agenda of the world conference against racism. she also took part of the delegation of 200 representatives from ncdhr to address the issue of caste - based discrimination in the united nations world conference against racism held in durban, south africa .
joy maliekal, director of the rural literacy and health programme and national convenor of the campaign against child labour told human rights watch :
it is important to make the link between child labor and discrimination in school. in our experience, dalit children are made to sit in the back and are asked to do work [ i. e. chores rather than schoolwork ] .
human rights watch, small change, p. 44 .
. the triple oppression of dalit women in nepal. ‘human rights solidarity’ (usa) 11 (8): august 2001: 8 - 10 .
national campaign on dalit human rights (ncdhr) is an effort to galvanize movements into a representation body that can collectively organize, educate, agitate and demand for ending discrimination once and for all in both government and civil societies. ncdhr is a forum launched in 1998, committed to the elimination of discrimination based on caste. a democratic secular platform led by dalit women and men activists, with support and solidarity from movements and organizations, academics, individuals, people’s organizations and institutions throughout the country who are committed to work to protect and promote human rights of dalits .
buraku liberation league is a movement demanding a national policy on buraku problems. email: [ email protected ] web: urltoken
smita narula, assistant professor of clinical law, nyu school of law; faculty director, center for human rights and global justice, nyu school of law; and former senior researcher for south asia at human rights watch .
the national campaign on dalit human rights - india (a network of human rights groups working with dalits) undertook a rally through 18 states of our country, culminating in mumbai at the world social forum. the brief was to train the rallyists in public speaking, creating slogans, drama, music etc. and also to create a visual image of the rally consistent with the dalit politics. stalin and his team designed and printed posters, banners, jackets, headbands, flags, vehicle - design, etc. for the rally .
because one' s caste can be determinative of one' s occupation, caste discrimination is also referred to as discrimination on the basis of
work and descent .
the un sub - commission on the promotion and protection of human rights passed a resolution in august 2000 reaffirming that discrimination based on work and descent is prohibited under international human rights law .
dalit village head faces constant intimidation due to caste discrimination in uttar pradesh ,
asian human rights commission, urgent appeal, november 22, 2006 .
ibid. , p. 43 (citing human rights watch group interview with dalit villagers, varanasi district, uttar pradesh, march 14, 2002) .
dalit consciousness in andhra: a hypothesis. ‘indian journal of human rights’ 4 (1 & 2): january - december 2000: 137 - 148 .
provide data, disaggregated inter alia, by caste and gender on the enjoyment of convention rights .
according to an activist working with dalit communities in 120 villages in villapuram district, tamil nadu, all 120 villages have segregated dalit colonies. human rights watch, broken people, p. 26 .
human rights watch, broken people, p. 4 (citing national commission for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, highlights of fourth report (new delhi, government of india, 1998) ) .
the national human rights commission has reported that dalit women are forced to turn to prostitution in times of extreme hardship, such as natural calamities, in order for the family to survive. moreover, in certain communities, prostitution is an integral part of social survival for dalit women .
on the verge of the 10th year of its journey, the national committee of ncdhr had undertaken an external review of its character, structure, focus, interventions and linkages so that it could evolve a clear framework for its future involvements. members of the national governing council (ngc), national executive committee (nec), and the national council (nc) from state chapters, full timers, staff of the national secretariat, and friends of the ncdhr were invited for a three day consultation on strategic planning between to discuss the future directions for the involvement of the ncdhr based on the observations, findings, areas to be improved upon, and the recommendations and decided to initiate the following four movements. a. dalit ardhik adhikar andolan (daaa) b. all india dalit mahila adhikar manch (aidmam) c. national federation of dalit land rights movements (nfdlrm) d. national dalit movement for justice (ndmj )
raising visibility of dalit issues at various levels –primarily relying on an event - based strategy, nchdr has managed to successfully raise the visibility of dalit issues at the state, national and international level. some of the key achievements during this phase were:  massive signature campaign with 25 lakh signatures submitted to the prime minister  the unwcar durban conference of 2001  dalit swadhikar rally conceptualised during the dalit sector consultation at hyderabad, started on 6th december 2003.  the millennium dalit charter was released on 10th - 11th august 2005 at jaipur .
the rafto foundation is a non - profit and non - partisan organization dedicated to the global promotion of human rights .
ramesh nathan, national dalit movement for justice said that the students of jnu have alleged caste - based discrimination in the varsity .
the death of merit – a documentary on the higher incidence of suicide among dalit students .
from untouchable to dalit: essays on the ambedkar movement. delhi: manohar, 1996 .
narula directs and undertakes key research and advocacy initiatives on economic and social rights, including the right to food and access to land and natural resources. her 2013 article on the subject, the global land rush: markets, rights, and the politics of food, critically assesses market - and rights - based responses to the global phenomenon of agricultural “land grabbing. ” narula is project director and co - author of the recent ihrc and escr - net report the price of steel: human rights and forced evictions in the posco - india project, and together with escr - net, co - founded and directs the business and human rights documentation project. in 2008, narula was appointed legal adviser to the un special rapporteur on the right to food. before joining nyu in 2003, she spent six years at human rights watch, first as the organization’s india researcher and later as senior researcher for south asia. a world - renowned expert on caste discrimination, narula authored the award - winning book broken people: caste violence against india’s “untouchables” and helped found india’s national campaign for dalit human rights and the international dalit solidarity network .
human rights watch, we have no orders to save you, pp. 39 - 40; see also human rights watch, politics by other means: attacks against christians in india, vol. 11, no. 6, september 1999 .
human rights watch, broken people, p. 146 (citing human rights watch interview, ahmedabad district, gujarat, july 23, 1998 ,
when we ask for our rights from the government, the municipality officials threaten to fire us. so we don' t say anything. this is what happens to people who demand their rights
) .
human rights watch called on the indian government to make all efforts to counter caste or religious discrimination throughout the entire post - tsunami process of relief, rehabilitation and redevelopment .
chenigall suseela received a national bravery award for her courage in fighting her child marriage and for insisting on continuing her education. see ,
bravery award for gutsy dalit girl ,
this report also relies on sources provided by the national campaign on dalit human rights (ncdhr), a network of indian ngos that has worked on caste discrimination issues for the past eight years. the report draws in particular from the case papers submitted in the national public hearings held by ncdhr in 2000 and the ncdhr' s
response to the special rapporteur' s questionnaire on work and descent based discrimination
[ hereinafter
ncdhr response to the special rapporteur' s questionnaire
]. this report further draws information from a study published in 2006 on the forms and prevalence of
untouchability
in rural india, which is based on an extensive survey of 565 villages in 11 indian states. see generally, ghanshyam shah et al. ,
ibid. according to a local activist, workers in the community were receiving five kilograms of wheat solely because they had organized themselves; elsewhere workers received only two kilograms. human rights watch, small change, p. 42 (citing human rights watch interview with lenin raghuvanshi, people' s vigilance committee for human rights, varanasi district, march 14, 2002) .
elaborate on measures taken pursuant to general recommendation xxix, and monitor and report on such measures .
activists sit a protest against attacks on muslim minorities and dalits and the ban on trade in cattle at jantar mantar on july 4, 2017 .
human rights watch, broken people, p. 26 ;
economic, social and cultural rights for dalits in india: case study on primary education in gujarat ,
woodrowwilsonschool of public and international affairs, p. 17 .
with the result that more dalit women and girls work as manual scavengers than dalit men .
gauri pradhan also became the first national chairperson of central child welfare board (ccwb), the high level state' s organization on the rights of children, representing civil society. he also served the global march against child labour as the south asia regional coordinator from 2003 - 2007. more globally, he was also nominated to and acted as an adviser to the un - ngo committee on violence against children in 2006. he had also served as an adviser to global march against child labour and human rights adviser to oecd good governance and human rights program. he is the one who first formulated the concept and campaigned for the children as zone of peace campaign (czop) in nepal in 1999, at the initial period of a decade long armed conflict in nepal. as a commissioner of nhrc, he had also taken up the responsibility for the monitoring of promotion and protection of child rights in the country. he also served the national ngos as the national president at the children at risk networking group (car - nwg) from 1992 - 1997 and global campaign for education (gce) later registered as national education campaign (nce) in 2001 - 2003 respectively .
collective campaign for peace (cocap) conducted an interaction program on findings of its ‘the nepal peace monitor project’s annual review 2017’ publication on june 28, 2018. trends about last year’s incidents documented by cocap’s ...
this note presents commonwealth human rights initiative’s (chri) analysis and recommendations on the latest draft notification constituting the police complaints authority for the national capital territory of delhi. the draft notification was submitted to the delhi high court by the office of the lieutenant governor based on which the analysis and recommendations have been prepared .
4. to bring positive changes in the existing discriminatory social structure by organizing sustainable campaign and formation of professional staff members .
in all cases of attacks on women documented by human rights watch, the accused state and private actors escaped punishment; in most cases, attacks were neither investigated nor prosecuted .
hidden apartheid: caste discrimination against india’s
untouchables
– a 2007 report by the center for human rights and global justice .
. double discrimination for marginalised women in asia. ‘human rights solidarity’ 11 (9): september 2001: 8 - 9 .
according to one estimate 83. 2 percent of bonded laborers belong to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. nhrc report, section v, p. 64. almost all bonded children interviewed for a 2003 human rights watch report on bonded child labor in the silk industry were either dalit or muslim. human rights watch, small change, p. 6 .
additionally, dalit children are often subjected to corporal punishment by their teachers. as the special rapporteur on the right to education noted in his report before the 67th session of the then - commission on human rights ,
teachers have been known to declare that dalit pupils' cannot learn unless they are beaten.'
human rights watch and the center for human rights and global justice (chrgj) at new york university school of law submit the following information to the committee on the elimination of racial discrimination (committee or cerd) for consideration in its review of india' s fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth periodic reports under the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (convention or icerd). this joint - submission is based on in - depth human rights watch investigations on caste discrimination in india and the findings of indian governmental and non - governmental organizations (ngos) on caste - based abuses .
copyright © 2018 bennett, coleman & co. ltd. all rights reserved. for reprint rights: times syndication service
according to the national human rights commission ,
reports in the press about atrocities against persons belonging to these groups and the frequency with which they occur is a cause for disquiet .
nhrc report, p. vii .
remembering m. n. roy and his heresy. human rights of dalits on the agenda of un. ‘mainstream’ 39 (14): 24 march 2001: 23 - 25 .
sub - commission on promotion & protection of human rights. resolution 2004 / 17, 56th session, u. n. doc. e / cn. 4 / sub. 2 / 2004 / l. 8 (2004) (reaffirming resolution 2000 / 4 and appointing two special rapporteurs to prepare
a comprehensive study on discrimination based on work and descent
), approved by u. n. commission on human rights, 61st session (2005) .
dalit solidary works for dalit health care, education and economic empowerment through a variety of organizations .
human rights watch, broken people, p. 29 (citing national commission for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, highlights of the report of the national commission for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes for the years 1994 - 95 & 1995 - 96 (new delhi, government of india, 1997), p. 2) .
ibid. , p. 43, citing human rights watch interview with joy maliekal, mysore, karnataka, march 30, 2002 .
human rights watch, broken people, pp. 145 - 46 (citing human rights watch interview with bejawada wilson, bangalore, july 26, 1998, in which wilson told human rights watch ,
even other scheduled - caste people won' t touch the safai karamcharis [ manual scavengers ]. it is' untouchability' within the' untouchables,' yet nobody questions it .
) .
human rights watch, broken people, p. 25; ncdhr response to the special rapporteur' s questionnaire, p. 7 .
. occupation and descent - based discrimination against dalits. ‘human rights solidarity’ 11 (4): april 2001: 3 - 10 .
chrgj is directed by professors philip alston, smita narula, and margaret satterthwaite. jayne huckerby is research director. chrgj aims to generate substantive, cutting - edge, and sophisticated contributions to human rights research and legal scholarship, and to actively engage in public affairs by making original and constructive contributions to ongoing policy debates relating to human rights. it achieves these aims by undertaking rigorous legal analysis and disseminating studies in five key research and project areas: detainees and the
war on terror ,
discrimination and national security, economic, social, and cultural rights, extrajudicial executions, and transitional justice. in its work on discrimination, the center and the international human rights clinic (a program of the center) have focused on caste discrimination in south asia, collaborating extensively with the international dalit solidarity network, of which professor narula is a co - founder. professor narula is also former researcher for south asia at human rights watch where she investigated and authored a number of human rights watch' s reports on caste discrimination and discrimination against religious minorities in india. most recently, in august 2005, during the meeting of the united nations (un) sub - commission on the promotion and protection of human rights, the center released a 65 - page report entitled
the special rapporteur on housing has also expressed his concern with the extreme violations of dalits' human rights, including with respect to land and housing rights. the special rapporteur' s 2005 annual report notes :
a majority of dalits are still prevented from owning land and are forced to live on the outskirts of villages, often on barren land .
ncdhr learned of rampant caste discrimination during the indian ocean tsunami in tamil nadu (2004) and made visits to the affected regions, following which a comprehensive study was conducted by * international dalit solidarity network of netherlands. subsequent to the field visit a national public hearing was jointly organized by together with human rights forum for dalit liberation (hrfdl) and dalit mannurimai kootamaippu (dmk), on discrimination against dalits in tsunami relief and rehabilitation
the dalit rights initiative at hrln has been instrumental in bringing about some landmark legal decisions on dalit / adivasi rights, which have positively impacted the lives of thousands of people around the country. dalit populations are often forced into manual labour and scavenging (disposing of human excrement, animal carcasses, etc .). a decision passed by the delhi high court achieved significant results when the court directed the government to improve the safety conditions of sewer workers in delhi. this case, however, also created a wider impact in the dalit community, when the courts also directed that the state should aim towards completely phasing out of the employment of persons to clean sewers, on an emergent basis. (see: national campaign for dignity and rights of sewerage and allied workers vs. mcd & ors. )
the state party' s failure to collect and record information on the enjoyment of human rights by dalits is in itself suggestive of the government' s inattention to the issue of caste discrimination .
human rights watch, politics by other means: attacks against christians in india, vol. 11, no. 6, september 1999 .
caste, race and human rights. ‘economic and political weekly’ 36 (35): 1 - 7 september 2001: 3344 - 3346 .
according to many press reports and an on - site investigation by the national campaign on dalit human rights (ncdhr), a highly respected indian organization, some higher - caste fishing communities refused to share emergency shelter and rations with the dalits. the ncdhr investigation also documented incidents in which authorities in parts of andhra pradesh and tamil nadu provided dalits with less relief and support than other victims. dalit areas have been the last to have electricity and water supplies restored during rehabilitation efforts. ncdhr also cited allegations that officials are discriminating in providing financial assistance to the families of deceased dalits .
the indian government should ensure that tsunami victims receive assistance in an equitable manner without caste or religious bias, human rights watch said today. human rights watch has received credible reports of discrimination in tsunami - stricken areas against dalit (so - called untouchables) communities by the authorities as well as by some aid groups and local communities .
untouchable: voice of the dalit liberation on movement. new delhi: select book service syndicate, 1986 .
special rapporteur of the commission on human rights on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non - discrimination in this context, annual report 2005 (61st chr session), report e / cn. 4 / 2005 / 48, para 62 .
the dalit ngo federation is an umbrella organization of dalit ngos which aims to eradicate caste - based discrimination through the process of empowerment, networking and alliance building of dalit and pro - dalit institutions. web: urltoken
the practices and policies of governments, local authorities, private sector entities, schools, religious institutions, and the media have had on discrimination based on work and descent; obtaining information on existing measures taken by governments, national human rights groups, the un, and ngos to combat discrimination based on work and descent; and drafting a set of principles or guidelines setting forth the measures necessary to effectively eliminate discrimination based on work and descent. the appointment of the rapporteurs was approved by the chr at its 61st session in april 2005 .
special rapporteur of the commission on human rights on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non - discrimination in this context, annual report 2005 (61st chr session), report e / cn. 4 / 2005 / 48, para. 62 .
ibid. , p. 26 (citing the national commission on scheduled castes and scheduled tribes - seventh report (2001 - 2002), p. 128) .
. pan on fire: eight dalit women tell their story. new delhi: indian social institute, 1988 .
these abuses are outside the scope of this report. concerning the dissemination of anti - dalit propaganda, d. b. parmar, a dalit social worker in gujarat, told human rights watch in 2003 that the vhp had circulated pamphlets demonizing dalit community members and calling on vhp members to attack dalits. the vhp has also actively promoted community enmity between dalits and muslims .
an independent, new york - based nongovernmental organization, human rights watch conducts regular, systematic fact - finding investigations into human rights abuses in all regions of the world. human rights watch examines human rights practices of state and non - state actors irrespective of their political affiliation, geopolitical alignments, ethnic or religious persuasions. it defends freedom of thought and expression, due process and equal protection of the law, and a vigorous civil society. founded in 1978, human rights watch today includes divisions that cover africa, asia, the americas, europe and central asia, and the middle east in addition to its thematic divisions. it is supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. it accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly. kenneth roth is the executive director and brad adams heads the asia division. human rights watch has worked on caste - based discrimination in south asia for almost a decade, but particularly since the 1999 publication of its report
a comprehensive study on discrimination based on work and descent .
the rapporteurs were tasked with: determining the impact that
human rights watch and the center for human rights and global justice (chrgj) at new york university school of law submit the following report to the committee on the elimination of racial discrimination (committee or cerd) for consideration in its review of india' s fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth periodic reports under the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (convention or icerd) .
when a devadasi is raped, it is not considered rape. she can be had by any man at any time .
human rights watch interview with jyothi raj, rural education and development society, bangalore, july 26, 1998, in human rights watch, broken people, p. 152 .
prevention of discrimination and protection of indigenous peoples and minorities. ‘human rights solidarity’ (usa) 11 (9): september 2001: 3 - 7 .
the sangh parivar and the bjp' s hindutva (hindu nationalism) ideology has also led these groups to conduct a campaign of hate against muslim and christian communities, which has included the spreading of discriminatory propaganda and violent attacks against muslims and christians. see, e. g. , human rights watch ,
, sub - commission on promotion & protection of human rights (53rdsession), u. n. doc. e / cn. 4 / sub. 2 / 2001 / 16 (2001) (indicating that :
mr. gll - ahanhanzo, special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, submitted pursuant to commission on human rights resolution 1998 / 26, january 15, 1999 (55th chr session) e / cn. 4 / 1999 / 15 ,
according to human rights watch' s investigations, the firings - in which 10 people were killed and 27 were injured - were both unprovoked and caste motivated .
• the practice of untouchability and discrimination against dalits / adivasis • unorganised labour (migrant labour, bonded labour & child labour etc .) • manual scavenging • dalit / adivasi women’s rights • protecting the rights of couples in inter - caste / intra - gotra marriages • dalit / adivasi land rights • affirmative actions / protective discrimination • special developmental schemes / policies related to dalit / adivasi populations
national commission for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, highlights of the report for the years 1994 - 95 & 1995 - 96 (new delhi: government of india, 1997), p. 2; human rights watch, broken people, p. 26, fn 22 .
in their attacks on dalit communities, ranvir sena members committed acts of sexual violence against dalit women. human rights watch has documented a massacre of dalits committed in laxmanpur - bathe, bihar (see section v (a) (1) (a) (i) ), in which women were raped and mutilated before being killed .
he was born on 5 august 1962 in chautara, sindhupalchok, nepal and undertook his schooling in the native birth place and higher studies in kathmandu, nepal. he has studied masters in business administration (mba) and bachelors in law (thesis on child labour in nepal) from tribhuvan university, kathmandu. he has also received several professional training on human rights, child rights, conflict resolutions and peace building, international relation, development studies, leadership development, and gender justice through a variety of national, regional and international institutes .
for the effects of water deprivation on individuals and communities, see committee on economic, social and cultural rights, general comment 15 - the right to water (arts. 11 and 12 of international covenant of economic, social and cultural rights), para. 6 .
according to separate investigations by the national campaign on dalit human rights (ncdhr) and human rights watch, india failed to protect dalits from discrimination in the distribution of aid in the wake of two of india' s largest natural disasters in recent years: the gujarat earthquake in january 2001 and the indian ocean tsunami in december 2004. india has also failed to encourage integrationist movements or eliminate barriers between castes. it has allowed segregation in schools and housing, and has failed to faithfully implement constitutional and legislative abolitions of
untouchability
practices. additionally, as dalits increasingly organize to protest their discriminatory treatment and claim their rights, the government has consistently failed to protect dalits against retaliatory attacks by upper - caste groups, including the rape of dalit women, and has failed to address social and economic boycotts against dalits, thereby further discouraging integrationist movements .
promotion of the rights of dalit women, wh often suffer double discrimination as dalits and as women, and caste - based violence .
india' s failure to ensure that all public authorities and public institutions do not engage in caste - based discrimination is widespread. two examples exemplify this failure: treatment of dalits by the police and discrimination in the provision of disaster relief. india' s national human rights commission (nhrc) - a statutory government body that the indian government describes as the apex national institution to protect human rights and redress grievances - has commented that the law enforcement machinery is the greatest violator of dalits' human rights. according to the nhrc, widespread custodial torture and killing of dalits, rape and sexual assault of dalit women, and looting of dalit property by the police
are condoned, or at best ignored .
this problem is not a recent one. in 1979 india constituted the national police commission to analyze problems in police performance. however, the commission' s recommendations, which include recommendations specific to police abuse of dalits, have still not been adopted .
committee on economic, social and cultural rights, general comment 15 - the right to water (arts. 11 and 12 of international covenant of economic, social and cultural rights), paras 4 and 6 .
ibid. , p. 142 (citing a human rights watch interview with martin macwan, new york, october 15, 1998. martin macwan is founder of navsarjan, an ngo that has led the campaign to abolish manual scavenging in the western state of gujarat describing what happens when navsarjan had attempted to rehabilitate scavengers) .
human rights watch and the chrgj respectfully request that the following issues be raised in the list of issues addressed to the state party and in the state party examination .
ibid. , p. 113 (citing human rights watch interview with burnad fatima, tamil nadu women' s forum, madras, february 14, 1998) .
educational deprivation of women and dalits in south asia. ‘indian journal of human rights’ 4 (1 & 2): january - december 2000: 181 - 192 .
survey found that out of the 483 villages surveyed, a ban on marriage processions on roads was in place in 47. 4 percent of villages, while a ban on festival processions on public roads was in place in 23. 8 percent of villages .
and the supreme court guidelines set out in the d. k. basu case are available legal tools to prevent torture, illegal detention, or improper interrogation of dalits, jurists, human rights activists and civil rights groups claim that a lack of political will and immunity laws that shield those responsible for human rights abuses from prosecution, allow the problem of torture and other forms of custodial abuse to continue unchecked .
in what has been called india' s
hidden apartheid ,
entire villages in many indian states remain completely segregated by caste. in focusing on caste discrimination in india, this report acknowledges, but does not explore, the other pervasive practices of discrimination in india, including those that target religious minorities. in particular, human rights watch has extensively documented human rights violations against india' s christian
like dalit students, dalit teachers also face rampant discrimination; they too are segregated for purposes of food and water consumption .
, sub - commission on promotion & protection of human rights. resolution 2000 / 4 (52ndsession), u. n. doc. e / cn. 4 / sub. 2 / res / 2000 / 4 (2000 )
this problem is not a recent one. in 1979 india constituted the national police commission to analyze problems in police performance .
prejudicial exploitation: the issue of caste and race. ‘indian journal of human rights’ 4 (1 & 2): january - december, 2000: 25 - 64 .
about 150 groups working on human rights issues came together for a week - long conference from december 26 th 2000 to 1 st january 2001. stalin led a team of architecture students to design and execute the entire media and arts work: conference logo, identity badges, food coupons, posters, banners, photo exhibitions, art installations, organizing evening cultural performances. he also designed a documentary film festival on human rights show - casing 64 films from around the world .
as with sexual abuse of dalit women by upper - caste men, the sexual abuse of dalit women by the police is used as a tool to punish dalit communities as a whole .
a fact - finding report by people' s watch - tamil nadu and dalit human rights monitoring revealed that in 2004 the dalits of kalapatti village in tamil nadu were forced to flee after an attack by upper - caste hindus in which over 100 dalit homes were burned and other property was destroyed .
in its first phase, ncdhr undertook interventions for raising visibility of dalit issues at various levels and has managed to successfully raise the visibility of dalit issues at the state, national and international level. some of the key achievements during this phase were :
article 1: in this convention, the term
racial discrimination
shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.
national campaign on dalit human rights ( ncdhr ) is a coalition of dalit human rights activists and academics with the aim of putting an end to caste-based discrimination . it was founded in 1998 . it is centered in delhi , with offices in 14 states of india . the objectives of ncdhr as mentioned on their website , are the following : ( 1 ) to increase visibility of dalit issues at various levels ; ( 2 ) to bring international attention and media coverage to dalit rights ; and ( 3 ) to hold the state accountable for all human rights violations committed against dalits . their manifesto declares that they mean to fight casteism and discrimination in countries where such things are prevalent , such as india , bangladesh , burkina faso , japan ( see burakumin ) , pakistan , senegal , rwanda , and sri lanka . 
national campaign on dalit human rights (ncdhr) is a coalition of dalit human rights activists and academics with the aim of putting an end to caste-based discrimination. it was founded in 1998. it is centered in delhi, with offices in 14 states of india. the objectives of ncdhr as mentioned on their website, are the following: (1) to increase visibility of dalit issues at various levels; (2) to bring international attention and media coverage to dalit rights; and (3) to hold the state accountable for all human rights violations committed against dalits. their manifesto declares that they mean to fight casteism and discrimination in countries where such things are prevalent, such as india, bangladesh, burkina faso, japan (see burakumin), pakistan, senegal, rwanda, and sri lanka.
national campaign on dalit human rights (ncdhr) is a coalition of dalit human rights activists and academics with the aim of putting an end to caste-based discrimination. it was founded in 1998. it is centered in delhi, with offices in 14 states of india. the objectives of ncdhr as mentioned on their website, are the following: (1) to increase visibility of dalit issues at various levels; (2) to bring international attention and media coverage to dalit rights; and (3) to hold the state accountable for all human rights violations committed against dalits. their manifesto declares that they mean to fight casteism and discrimination in countries where such things are prevalent, such as india, bangladesh, burkina faso, japan (see burakumin), pakistan, senegal, rwanda, and sri lanka.