Kanika Sori & Harish Parihar
The Nirbhaya rape and murder case happened in 2012 and created a massive public outrage. Media highlighted it immensely. The whole nation came out to protest against the rape in order to get the culprits punished. Candle march could take place all across the country. Five days ago, Delta Meghwal, a 17-year old girl, was raped and, according to press, murdered by her teacher in a place of education. She was killed and thrown away in a water tank.
Protests in Bikaner..
Media is uncannily silent. There is no outrage whatsoever amongst this clan, there are no newsroom discussions, no op-eds in the national newspapers. Why? Because Delta Meghwal was a Dalit. Why Savarnas are not protesting now? Reason being only caste. Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar writes in Annihilation of Caste that Caste in the hands of the orthodox has been a powerful weapon for persecuting the reformers and for killing all reform.
We have been keeping a constant eye on the issue and found that mainstream media is silent. In my opinion, if Delta was a Sikh or Muslim, all Sikhs or all Muslims would have come for protesting against the injustice that all Sikh or all Muslims would have made an unity in order to fight against the injustice. Upper caste people are not supporting the protest either on Social Media or on mainstream media which they completely own.
Remember, Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar wrote in his book Annihilation of Caste that Hindu society is nothing but a collection of castes.
…and in Gadra Road
He further writes that, “1. From where does the Sikh or the Mohammedans derive his strength which makes him brave and fearless? I am sure it is not due to relative superiority of physical strength, diet, or drill. It is due to the strength arising out of the feeling that all Sikhs will come to the rescue of a Sikh when he is in danger, and that all Mohammedans will rush to save a Muslim if he is attacked. The Hindu can derive no such strength. He cannot feel assured that his fellows will come to his help. Being one and fated to be alone he remains powerless, develops timidity and cowardice and in a fight surrenders or runs away. The Sikh as well as the Muslim stands fearless and gives battle because he knows that though one he will not be alone. The presence of this belief in the one helps him to hold out and the absence of it in the other makes him to give way.If you pursue this matter further and ask what is it that enables the Sikh and the Mohammedan to feel so assured and why is the Hindu filled with such despair in the matter of help and assistance you will find that the reasons for this difference lie in the difference in their associated mode of living. The associated mode of life practised by the Sikhs and the Mohammedans produces fellow-feeling. The associated mode of life of the Hindus does not. Among Sikhs and Muslims there is a social cement which makes them Bhais. Among Hindus there is no such cement and one Hindu does not regard another Hindu as his Bhai. This explains why a Sikh says and feels that one Sikh, or one Khalsa is equal to Sava Lakh men. This explains why one Mohammedan is equal to a crowd of Hindus. This difference is undoubtedly a difference due to caste. So long as caste remains, there will be no Sanghatan and so long as there is no Sanghatan the Hindu will remain weak and meek.”
Delta’s award winning painting which hangs in the Rajasthan CM’s office..
Clearly the public empathy and outrage is deeply rooted in and deeply conscious of the caste in India. The environment demonstrates that there is no actual one womanhood or one we-feeling on lines of common citizenship in India.The monster of caste decides if the wrong done to them is worth an outcry or an other-ly silence.It is pathetic that the so called modern Indian nation is still a slave to caste.
…and the Rajasthan CM”s letter thanking Delta for the painting
~~~
Kanika Sori is a Graduate from IIT Roorkee, currently studying for civil services. Harish Parihar is pursuing his bachelor’s in technology in IIT Roorkee, and is also a social activist.
