Date: 12, June 2003, at 2:41 p.m.
Hillary Mayell
June 2, 2003
More than 160 million people in India are considered
"Untouchable"-people tainted by their birth into a caste system that
deems them impure, less than human.
Human rights abuses against these people, known as Dalits, are legion. A random
sampling of headlines in mainstream Indian newspapers tells their story:
"Dalit boy beaten to death for plucking flowers"; "Dalit tortured
by cops for three days"; "Dalit 'witch' paraded naked in Bihar";
"Dalit killed in lock-up at Kurnool"; "7 Dalits burnt alive in
caste clash"; "5 Dalits lynched in Haryana"; "Dalit woman
gang-raped, paraded naked"; "Police egged on mob to lynch Dalits".
"Dalits are not allowed to drink from the same wells, attend the same
temples, wear shoes in the presence of an upper caste, or drink from the same
cups in tea