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HARSH REALITY

Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen: "The low-caste former “untouchables”, now called Dalits, are often very harshly treated. Cases of rape and murder of Dalits by upper-caste men, which have become shockingly common events, are frequently ignored or covered up, unless pressed otherwise by public protests".

200 million people comprise the world's most oppressed, victimized, marginalized, tortured and abused community:

A crime is committed against a Dalit every 16-18 minutes.
13 Dalits are murdered each week.
5 Dalit homes are burnt each week.
6 Dalit people are kidnapped or abducted each week.
10 Dalit women raped each day -- and many rapes go unreported.

Dalit children sit separately from other children in schools. Almost 1 out of every 3 government schools in rural areas prohibit children from sitting together.
Dalits are prevented from entering police stations in 27.6% of rural villages.
Public health workers refuse to enter Dalit homes in 1 out of 3 rural villages.
Almost half of Dalit villages are denied access to water sources.
Dalit and non-Dalit people cannot eat together in 70% of rural villages.
70% of Dalit women are illiterate in rural India.
Thousands of Dalit girls are forced into prostitution before they reach puberty.

Dalits or Untouchables are the world's most oppressed peoples. In Buddhist parlance, we prefer to call them "Bahujans" - however, internationally and colloquially, the word Dalit or Untouchable is more universally recognized, as is the growing "Dalit Lives Matter" movement. Dalit means "broken or oppressed peoples" -- inspired by how modern India's greatest human rights champion and scholar Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar referred to them. It is estimated that a crime is committed against a Dalit person every 18 minutes. Yet, in 2006, the official conviction rate for Dalit atrocity cases was just 5.3%.

Dalits are the Untouchables that encompass the historic "shudras" as well as the legal term "Scheduled Castes and Tribes". Most higher or regular/middle caste people would not marry a Dalit, invite them into their home, or share food with them. If a Dalit visits the home of an upper or middle caste person, they must sit on the floor, and drink water from a separate glass -- a tradition that holds sway even today, in almost each and every home in India. Dalit school children have to carry separate water bottles and food utensils, and are not allowed to eat alongside regular or upper caste children, in many schools nationwide. The very shadow of a Dalit is considered to be "polluting", and so Dalits are expected to "embrace the ground when a higher caste person walks by". Historically, Dalits are not allowed to earn money, or own property, or even wear shoes, or good clothes. They are often humiliated in public -- from being shaved against their will -- to being paraded wearing a garland of shoes around their neck -- to be being forced to drink urine -- the Videos of Caste atrocities will give any active conscience sleepless nights. The BBC reported that Dalits have the worst living conditions in the world - often deprived of even basic necessities like water, electricity and sanitation. They are also subjected to the world's most brutal gang rapes and atrocities of unimaginable horror. Yet, the Indian media rarely features their voices, the Indian police rarely file their complaints, and the Indian court system rarely appoints Dalit Judges. The greatest Dalit icon in history is India's most revered champion of human rights, and the august architect of the Indian Constitution, Babasaheb Ambedkar. Widely lauded as modern India's foremost intellectual, Ambedkar believed Buddhism and the world's Buddhist community would play the main role in emancipating Dalits & Bahujans - a term used by the Buddha to portray the suffering masses that are all His children. This website showcases News Reports, Videos, Pictures & Information about the plight of Dalits - as well as elucidates projects and plans to emancipate and empower them.

PLEASE NOTE: ALL HINDUS DO NOT PRACTICE UNTOUCHABILITY AND SO THE INTENT OF THIS CAMPAIGN IS NOT TO DEMEAN HINDUS BUT TO MERELY EXPLORE WAYS TO REMOVE THE STAIN OF CASTE HATRED THAT THWARTS INDIA'S PROGRESS AND VIOLATES HER CONSTITUTION.