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Indian church activists hail UN stand against caste discrimination
2002-208-6
9/12/2002
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[Episcopal News Service]
Church activists in India have welcomed the decision of a key United Nations committee to recognize, for the first time, that the caste system is a form of racial discrimination, confirming a position held by Christians and other activists.
The Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination declared that discrimination based on descent includes discrimination against members of communities based on forms of 'social stratification such as caste and analogous systems of inherited status, which nullify or impair their equal enjoyment of human rights.' Y. Moses, executive secretary of the National Council of Churches in India's unit on Dalit concerns,' said that the resolution 'vindicates our stand. Finally, our efforts have borne fruit.' He said that the action would open the way for 'greater debate on the topic.'
Dalit, which means 'trampled upon' in Sanskrit, refers to 180 million people treated as 'untouchables' in Indian society. Dalits perform such supposedly divinely ordained duties as scavenging and other menial jobs, living in total isolation from the upper castes.
'This resolution will now open the flood gates for international pressure on India' to address caste-based discrimination, said Paul Divakar, coordinator of the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights. That pressure will have 'great impact' on the social stigma facing Dalits on the Indian sub-continent, he added.
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