The Dalits of India
Summary of the Issue:
The Dalit Freedom Network works with a people group in India called the Dalits, or “untouchables.” Hinduism, the major religion of India, teaches that humans are made from four different parts of the body of god- head, shoulders, legs and feet. The Dalits are a fifth group of people who are taught that they are not created from god’s body at all. People cannot help which part of god’s body they are created from, and they are part of one of these five groups, or castes, from birth. Because they are not created from god’s body, this means that they are considered to be less than human. Sometimes they are treated worse than animals and are attacked or beaten for no other reason than that they are Dalits.
Dalits are Hindus, but not allowed in Hindu temples or to read Hindu scriptures. In some places in India, Dalits are not allowed to drink from the same cup as a member of a high caste person- people created from god’s head, shoulders or legs – to draw water from the same well, or to cross into the high caste part of the village. They do the jobs in society that are considered disgusting or unclean and that no one else wants to do: Dalits sweep street gutters, cremate the dead, skin animals to make leather and clean sewers by hand.
There are more Dalits in India than there are people in the United States.
The Dalit Freedom Network works with the Dalit people in four different ways:
Education- the Dalit people want their children to have access to quality English
Education, and the DFN has established schools to allow these children to earn an excellent education. Our schools are reconstructing society by allowing Dalits,
Low caste, and poor high caste to all be educated together.
Economic Development- we work with people from India in different villages to teach the
Dalits skills that will allow them to get jobs like sewing clothes or repairing bicycles instead of having to sweep gutters or clean sewers.
Social Justice- we work with the government of India and the government of the US to
bring attention to the Dalits and the caste system. We work to pass laws and policies that protect the Dalits and allow them to be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Healthcare- the Dalit people cannot afford visits to a doctor or a hospital, and often suffer
and sometimes even die from diseases that are curable or no longer exist in other parts of the world. The DFN provides basic public health awareness, vaccines and surgeries.
How You Can Make A Difference:
Sponsor a Child: Children in the US can help free the Dalit children all over India.
Here’s a story from the child sponsorship department:
“One day I visited a very poor area where we did not have any schools or other programs yet. I asked a 7-year-old Dalit boy in the front row of a rally to stand up, “What do you want to be when you grow up?’ The crowd cheered the boy on with encouragement, ‘doctor! ‘teacher!’ ‘lawyer!’ The boy, worn-down by 3000 years of caste oppression, simply replied the way he thought he should:‘sweeper.’ He had lost all hope that his future could be any different. My next stop was a Dalit Education Center, where I asked Babu, another Dalit boy, the same question. Babu, who had attened our school for a couple years, was wearing his school uniform proudly. Without hesitation Babu enthusiastically replied, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a police officer!’ With just two years of schooling under his belt, Babu has found hope for a brighter future.”
The families of the children that attend DFN’s schools are often unable to afford basic needs like food, clothes or shelter. By sponsoring a child through DFN, these children are able to go to school, have school books, uniforms and when necessary, eat lunch. They can grow up to be doctors, engineers, teachers or anything else they want to be.
Contacting the Orgznization:
(303) 221-1333
1-866-921-1333