Aohell

Racism: Alive and Well and Living in New Delhi

Nearly a sixth of India's population are untouchables. They're now called Scheduled Castes or Dalits, but those words mean the same thing. They're outcasts in society and those who attack or exploit them tend to not face prosecution for those crimes. When they do go to trial, they have a much higher chance of acquital because of the Indian legal system's bias against the Dalits.

India created fast-track courts to try and deal with the crimes against Dalits. Of the 50,000 such cases pending in Uttar Pradesh, four have been tried in the fast-track courts in the last five years. Apparently, "fast" has a different meaning in India.

In America, religious freedom does not guarantee religious practice. That's why the Mormons weren't allowed to have more than one wife, although they could believe it was their right. India needs a similar legal precedent to protect the untouchables. Of course, that would result in massive religious conflict and upheaval, but, hey... what's a little civil war among friends?

OK, so maybe that's not such a great idea. Dalits have often sought refuge in changing religion, but even among Sikhs, Christians, and Muslims, prior caste in the Hindu system follows the convert. It's cultural cruelty, with some of the cases approaching the brutality of forcing widows to die with their husbands on their funeral pyres.