[WSMDiscuss] Coronavirus Pandemic- Casteism and Racism

[Umakant]

DearFriends

Greetings!With coronavirus pandemic in full swing, cases of caste based discrimination,exclusion and violence have started coming to the fore. It is certainly not asurprise that Dalits, Adivasis, Minorities, especially Muslims, Christians andpeople from Northeastern states in India become a target of hatred, discrimination,exclusion and violent behavior by the so called upper strata people/upper &middle class people. A society obsessed with notions of purity-pollution,caste/racial superiority and yes, xenophobic tendencies is bound to practiceself righteousness, casteism and racism. 

 

Dopass it on to others in your circle/network.    

 

Under India's caste system, Dalits are considereduntouchable. The coronavirus is intensifying that slur 

PriyaliSur, CNN, April 16, 2020 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/15/asia/india-coronavirus-lower-castes-hnk-intl/index.html 

 

Millionsof people, about 25% of India's population of 1.3 billion people, are groupedunder the scheduled castes (Dalits) and scheduled tribes (Adivasis) in India'sconstitution. Adivasis are indigenous Indians who have been socially andeconomically marginalized for centuries. Both groups have long endured socialisolation, but it's feared the rapid spread of the coronavirus and measures tostop it have worsened their segregation. Jobs that Dalits and Adivasis havebeen forced to take for centuries -- cleaners, manual scavengers and wastepickers -- expose them to a greater risk of catching the virus. 

 

-----------------------------

 

COVID-19:Dalit Woman Says, She Was Beaten Up, Denied Rations in Saharanpur

Alya Ekta, NewsClick,April 16, 2020 

https://www.newsclick.in/COVID-19-Dalit-Woman-Beaten-Denied-Rations-Saharanpur

 

Mamta, a widow, claims she is among 400 residents who weredenied rations being distributed by the local councillor’s husband andbrother-in-law.

 

-----------------------------

 

Watch |Northeast Indians Say #StopRacism

Offbeat CCU,April 16,2020 

https://livewire.thewire.in/out-and-about/watch-northeast-indians-say-stopracism/

 

TheCOVID-19 pandemic has not only disrupted lives and altered the socioeconomicparadigm, but it has also held a mirror to each of our faces. The number ofcases of racial discrimination against our brothers and sisters from theNortheast has shot up exponentially.

 

------------------------------

 

'Covid-19Reaffirmed India’s Caste, Class Inequalities': Author Suraj Yengde on LearningInclusion from Ambedkar

Padmaja Venkataraman,News18, April 14, 2020 

https://www.news18.com/news/india/coronavirus-reaffirmed-indias-caste-class-inequalities-author-suraj-yengde-on-inclusion-amid-a-pandemic-2577035.html

 

"In India we donot have the habit of saying thank you to someone who has done a service for usespecially if the person belongs to 'lower jobs'," Suraj Yengde says.

 

-----------------------------

 

‘We Were Already Untouchables’:Christians in Pakistan Face Easter Vulnerable Amid Lay Offs Due to Covid-19

AFP, April 11, 2020 

https://www.news18.com/news/world/we-were-already-untouchables-christians-in-pakistan-face-easter-vulnerable-amid-lay-offs-due-to-covid-19-2573367.html

 

Pakistan's Christian community largely descended fromlow-caste Hindus who converted, resulting in persistent caste stigmas anddiscrimination.

 

-----------------------------

 

Covid-19:Dalit family in Haryana attacked for allegedly not following PM’s call to turnoff lights

Scroll.in, April 09, 2020 

https://scroll.in/latest/958665/covid-19-dalit-family-in-haryana-allegedly-attacked-for-not-following-pms-call-to-turn-off-lights 

 

The accused allegedly barged into the family’s home andattacked eight people. 

 

----------------------------- 

 

Not COVID-19, Racism Is A Virus ThatKnows No Cure And India Is A Hotspot

Anupam Bordoloi, Outlook Magazine, April 06, 2020 

Opinion | Not COVID-19, Racism Is A Virus That Knows No Cure And India Is A Hotspot | Outlook India Magazine


| 
| 
| 
|  |  |

 |

 |
| 
|  | 
Opinion | Not COVID-19, Racism Is A Virus That Knows No Cure And India I...

Anupam Bordoloi

Northeast natives face racist slurs, assaults across India. They have been guilty of reverse-racism in their own...
 |

 |

 |






 

Northeast natives face racist slurs, assaults across India. They havebeen guilty of reverse-racism in their own states. 

 

----------------------------- 

 

With Regards 

Umakant, Ph. D 

New Delhi 

 









My final words of advice to you are educate, agitate and organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side I do not see how we can lose our battle. The battle to me is a matter of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is nothing material or social in it. For ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is battle for freedom. It is the battle of reclamation of human personality. 
B.R.Ambedkar
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.openspaceforum.net/pipermail/wsm-discuss/attachments/20200416/78247b47/attachment.htm>