PRESS ROOM
Barbarian Attack on Indian Dalits...
Letters to the Editor - The Indian Express
February 12, 1999
Dear Sir,
Several organizations of Non-Residents in U.S.A. have expressed their
agony
over the killings of 23 Dalits in a village of Bihar State in India. In
a statement,
Dr. Rahul Deepankar- a well known human rights activist and president
of New Republic India International Inc. U.S.A. has denounced and described
the attack on poor Dalits and minorities like Christians, Muslims, Buddhists
and Sikhs as a barbaric behavior by the so-called high caste Hindus, who
are obviously not able to hide their mentality and act of fascism. Joining
Dr. Deepankar, the Vice-President of Indian Buddhist Associations in U.S.A.
Mr. P.P. Laxaman and President of Vision Mr. P.N. Arya have also condemned
the heinous crime committed against the Dalits. In a statement, Dr. Deepankar
has said that on January 26th, the Prime Minister of India Mr. Vajpai
sent a panel of his cabinet ministers to Orissa to study the murders of
Christian leprosy workers Dr. Stains and his two sons.
From this it appears that he has taken a proper action against the heinous
crime. But contrary to this, it is most shameful to note the fact that
no such
reaction or observations have been made by the Prime Minister. It seems
like
a daily routine to him to hear the killings, rapes, and other types of
oppressions
of hundreds of poor voiceless Dalits in India. The barbaric killings of
23 innocent Dalits have gone unnoticed as the Government in particular
and society in general have accepted these outrageous killings of Dalits
simply as a non-event and just to file these incidents into their mental
black hole that "Aisa To Hota Hi Rahata Hai"(means that such occurrences
keeps happening). Universal differences to these incidents and Indian
Government's failure to render justice to the victims are a sign of continued
negligence of one fourth of the nation's population. The NRI leaders,
human rights activists and Indian community living in the U.S.A. have
urged to the whole Indian nation and particularly the media that they
must not let these massacres be pushed under the rug again.
Having realized the potential threat to the lives of Dalits of that area
from the last killing of 61 Dalits in December 1997, both the State and
Union Government failed to protect the lives of Dalits. The leader have
resolved to make these governments responsible for the killings of Dalits
and demanded that the Areas should be declared as highly hypersensitive
and the Indian Army should be deployed with immediate effect so that the
Dalits living in neighboring areas could feel safe. At the end, the NRI
leaders have observed that if these trends of violence against Dalits
and other minorities are not checked and turned around, the civil war
as envisioned by another Hindu fascist leader Mr. Thakrey, will become
a reality and the cherished dream of "Mera Bharat Mahan" (My India is
Great) would prove to be a great lie.
Dr. Rahul Deepankar, President of New Republic Indian International, Inc.
Chicago, U.S.A P.P. Laxaman Vice-President of Indian Buddhist Association,
New York P.N. Arya President of Vision, New York