Caste may have split Mirchpur — where two dalits were burnt alive in a caste violence blamed on Jats about three months back — but hardly 40km away, a Jat-dominated Serhada village has done something unbelievable: it unanimously elected a dalit woman as its sarpanch. Rani Devi, wife of Raju Balmiki was among 24 candidates for the post, which was reserved for a general category woman. In a break from...

As soon as the Rajya Sabha passed the women’s reservation bill, ensuring 33 per cent reservations for women in Parliament and state legislative assemblies, the issue of backward and Muslim women jigged to the centre of the debate. Earlier, whenever Muslim women managed to come into the limelight, it was all grabbed by the Imranas and the Gudias, not to forget the Shahbanos — supposed to be living in the...

While the landmark Right to Education Act takes the promise of primary education to more than eight million children, there are still many lacunae on the ground. But, as the Shiksha Adhikar Yatra, conducted by Dalit organisations in UP and Rajasthan showed, citizens now have the tools to demand and receive effective governance.  The landmark right to information act has made a huge impact at the local level on the...

The system of statistical data collection in India needs reform in order to meet actual requirements.  * There is a concern that caste-tribe-religion wise data may cause them to be used for political ends * Another concern is that they may consolidate rather than reduce consciousness around identity in terms of caste and religion * These fears are not borne out by experience; if anything, the experience is to the contrary The use...

Dalit Women lead unhygienic lives for wages of Rs.15 a month  Caste hierarchy prevents women from doing any other job The Railways and municipalities are the biggest employers Each morning a group of Dalit Women step outside their homes to “fulfil their social role” of cleaning dry latrines with their brooms and bare hands. They then carry human excrement in pots and baskets on their heads. Braving the worst possible form of caste...