Dalit

& the Indian Caste System

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Aims and Objectives
Aims and objectives of this website

Aims and Objectives

Monday, 17 November 2008 20:47
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 Aims and Objectives

1. To oppose casteism both in India and in the Diaspora.

2. To oppose anti-Dalit, anti-minorities propaganda and deliberate confusing information put out by the enemies of Dalits.

3. To educate Dalits and their friends in all important issues affecting Dalits especially Dalit history and ideology.

4. To learn from friends of Dalits, especially from the intelligentsia and pass this information on for diffusion into the Dalit world.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 03 December 2008 20:21
 

About Us

Saturday, 06 December 2008 20:08
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About Us 

We are a group of Dalits and Dalit sympathisers who aim to educate both Dalits and their friends about the deeper issues relating to Dalits and the Indian caste system.
 

Notes on Header Image

Saturday, 17 July 2010 21:02
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Notes on the Header Image

The website site header image is part of painting in the collection of V&A. The complete painting is reproduced below. The painting has been reliably dated to 1650-1658 and it was commissioned by Moghul Prince Dara Shikoh,  the son of Shan Jahan and brother of Aurengzeb.

According to Elinor W. Gadon (The Sants - Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India edited by Karine Schomer and W. H. McLeod - Motilal Banarsidass 1987 Delhi India)

"The miniture painting reproduced... is unique among Moghul minitures in that it includes inscribed portraits of Sants and Yogis who can be idnetiifed as historical , legendary or symbolifc figures associated with these two unorthodox movements...."

"The setting can be identified as Ajmer, home of the Dargarh Khwaja Sahib, the shrine of the Sufi saint Mu'inuddin Chishti,.."

According to Elinor Gadon the twelve seated figures on the bottom panel can be identified, from left to right, as following:

1. Ravidas or Raidas (fl. 1470), a cobbler from Banaras, a member of the untouchable caste of leatherworkers and as the guru of Mira Bai.

2. Pipa (1353-1403), said to have been a raja who abdicated his sovereighnty and distributed his wealth to the poor.

3. Namdev.

4. Sena.

5. Kamal, the supposed son of Kabir.

6. A figure labelled 'Aughar'.

7. Kabir.

8. Pir Muchcandar, the Panjabi form of Matsyendranath, the mythical figure known in thetradition of the Nath Yogis as their first teacher and also as the guru of Guru Gorakh Nath.

9. Gorakhnat (twelfth century), the formeost Guru of the Nath Yogi sect. said to have been converted to Shaivism from Tantric Buddhism and traditionally assoicated with both Kabir and Nanak.


10 Jadrup.

11. Lal Swam, popularly called Babalal Das Vairagi.

The individual portraits of Ravidas, Kabir and Gorkhnath have also been used in this website at different places.



 

Last Updated on Sunday, 18 July 2010 21:17
 


Rquotes

Untouchability, caste, slavery and economic exploitation:
 

In slavery the master at any rate had the responsibility to feed, clothe and house the salve and keep him in good condition lest the market value of the slave should decrease. But in the system of  untouchability the Hindu takes no responsibility for the maintenance of the untouchables. As an economic system it permits exploitation without obligation.

Dr B R Ambedkar

Newsflash

The Times of India

8 Indian states have more poor than 26 poorest African nations
PTI, Jul 12, 2010, 04.18pm IST

LONDON: Acute poverty prevails in eight Indian states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, together accounting for more poor people than in the 26 poorest African nations combined, a new 'multidimensional' measure of global poverty has said.

The new measure, called the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), was developed and applied by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with UNDP support.

It will be featured in the forthcoming 20 th anniversary edition of the UNDP Human Development Report.

An analysis by MPI creators reveals that there are more 'MPI poor' people in eight Indian states (421 million in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal) than in the 26 poorest African countries combined (410 million).

The new poverty measure that gives a multidimensional picture of people living in poverty, and is expected to help target development resources more effectively, its creators said.

The MPI supplants the Human Poverty Index, which had been included in the annual Human Development Reports since 1997.

The 2010 UNDP Human Development Report will be published in late October, but research findings from the Multidimensional Poverty Index were made available today at a policy forum in London and on line on the websites of OPHI and the UNDP Human Development Report.

The MPI assesses a range of critical factors or 'deprivations' at the household level: from education to
health outcomes to assets and services.

Taken together, these factors provide a fuller portrait of acute poverty than simple income measures, according to OPHI and UNDP.

The measure reveals the nature and extent of poverty at different levels: from household up to regional, national and international level.

This new multidimensional approach to assessing poverty has been adapted for national use in Mexico, and is now being considered by Chile and Colombia.

"The MPI is like a high resolution lens which reveals a vivid spectrum of challenges facing the poorest households," said OPHI Director Dr Sabina Alkire, who created the MPI with Professor James Foster of George Washington University and Maria Emma Santos of OPHI.

The UNDP Human Development Report Office is also joining forces with OPHI to promote international discussions on the practical applicability of this multidimensional approach to measuring poverty.

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