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Posted 9.8.2001
URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT
ACTION
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM
9 August 2001
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UA-28-2001 - Mixed-caste couple hanged by own families
INDIA: Caste based discrimination - a distinct form of racial
discrimination on the basis of work and descent; right to life
& marriage
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In a stark reminder that caste discrimination is still rife in
India, a pair of mixed-caste lovers were hanged in public last
Monday by their own family members in Alipur village,
Muzaffarnagar district, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
According to the Muzzaffarnagar district police chief, a
20-year-old man Vishal (a high caste Brahmin) and an 18-year-old
woman Sonu (from the lower caste Jat community) were hanged to
death because they belonged to different castes and were in love
with each other. The families of both the boy and girl brought
them to the roof of a village house and hanged them one after the
other in front of hundreds of villagers supporting the murder.
Seven people have been arrested by the police, but this is not
the first time there have been such murders in the district of
Muzzaffarnagar. In 1993, a pair of mixed-caste lovers were set
upon by their local community and killed, while another couple
were hacked to death in a rickshaw in March this year.
BACKGROUND
This tragic incident should open the eyes of the world to the
reality of caste discrimination in South Asia. In fact the
problem goes much deeper than preventing inter-caste marriages.
For a Dalit ('low-caste untouchable') to drink from the upper
caste well, enter an upper caste home, sit with upper caste
students, worship in an upper caste temple, or do work outside of
their caste-designated jobs, is still considered such an extreme
crime in parts of India that it can be punishable by rape,
economic boycott, stripping and public parading or murder. These
atrocities happen every week in India and Nepal, and often go
unreported, uninvestigated, or ignored by police.
There are similar caste discrimination problems all through South
Asia, and also in Japan, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal and amongst
the Indian diaspora. The total number of victims of caste
discrimination is over 250 million worldwide, meaning one in
every 25 people are affected. The vast majority of these - around
190 millions Dalits - are in India
You may be aware that the Indian government is aggressively
opposing the inclusion of caste discrimination in the World
Conference Against Racism being held in South Africa later this
month. Many other governments have decided it is easier to not
upset India than to stand up for an end to caste discrimination.
The Indian government says caste does not belong in the
conference because it is not about biologically different races.
But the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimation
has found that caste is a distinct form of racial discrimination
on the basis of work and descent.
The Indian government also says that it has a good constitution,
set of laws, and policies designed to counter caste
discrimination, which is true. But the measures have rarely been
implemented, and so we still see Dalits collecting human faeces
for work; being told not to bother studying by their teachers;
being forced into 'temple prostitution' and being violently
punished for breaking caste rules. This latest incident shows
that caste is still rampant in India, and that without
international attention and pressure, there is no way the caste
system will ever be resolved, as those holding the reins of power
are the ones gaining from the caste system.
SUGGESTED ACTION
As the police have acted unusually swiftly to arrest seven
persons responsible for the murders, we are not requesting any
action on that specific incident at this stage. We will continue
to monitor the situation. However, you can encourage the UN to
address caste discrimination at the World Conferece against
Racism. The final documents and agendas are being decided now in
Geneva, and it seems likely that caste will not even be mentioned
once! Please write to Mary Robinson, the General Secretary for
the Conference, to let her know you are deeply concerned about
the caste system and believe that the WCAR will be a failure
unless it addresses caste oppression as a form of racial
discrimination on the basis of work and descent.
Please also write a note to your own head of state, urging them
to support the inclusion of caste in the agenda, despite the
intransigence and pressure from the Indian government on the
issue.
SAMPLE LETTER (use this or write your own short message)
Ms. Mary Robinson
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Secretary General to the World Conference against Racism
c/- Mr. Frej Fenniche
Senior Human Rights Officer, WCAR Secretariat
Dear Ms. Robinson
RE: CASTE IS STILL KILLING - PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE IT IN WCAR!
It is hard to believe that the caste system in India can still be
so entrenched that a young couple were publicly hanged to death
by their families on Monday because they were in love and from
different castes. The whole village of Alipur in Uttar Pradesh
and both sets of parents were supportive of the murders of the
two, aged 20 and 18.
I understand that the problem goes much deeper than preventing
inter-caste marriages. For a Dalit to drink from the upper caste
well, enter an upper caste home, sit with upper caste students,
worship in an upper caste temple, or do work outside of their
caste-designated jobs, is to be guilty of a social crime
punishable by rape, economic boycott, stripping and public
parading, or murder. These atrocities happen every week in India,
and often go unreported, uninvestigated, or ignored by police.
Further, I am aware that this is in fact a global problem, with
caste abuse prevalent all through South Asia as well as in Japan
and West Africa.
So it has come as a shock to me that this enormous problem may
not even be discussed at the World Conference Against Racism,
Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
beginning this month. Hundreds of millions of people around the
world will wonder what the conference was for if it does not try
to understand and respond to the discrimination they face every
day because of the family they were born into. I urge you to use
your good offices as Secretary General to the conference to
ensure that another opportunity for the international community
to address the caste system does not pass by. After 3,000 years
of caste violence, the Dalits and other low caste people deserve
this much.
Yours sincerely
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SEND FAXES AND EMAILS TO:
Ms. Mary Robinson
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Secretary General to the World Conference against Racism
c/- Mr. Frej Fenniche
Senior Human Rights Officer, WCAR Secretariat
Fax. (41-22) 917-9056
E-mail:
Please also send your letter to the general email for UNHCHR at:
Email:
PLEASE MARK: FOR THE ATTENTION OF MS. MARY ROBINSON
*** Please send a copy of your letter to AHRC Urgent Appeals:
Email: ua@ahrchk.org
Fax: +(852) - 26986367
Please contact the Urgent Appeals coordinator if you require more
information or wish to report human rights violations.
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AHRC Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
Unit D, 7th Floor, Mongkok Commercial Centre,
16 - 16B Argyle Street, Kowloon, HONGKONG
Tel: +(852) - 2698-6339
Fax: +(852) - 2698-6367
E-mail: ua@ahrchk.org
Please contact the AHRC Urgent Appeals Coordinator if you require
further information or to make requests for further appeals.
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Posted on 2001-08-10
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