The last two weeks have been challenging, painful and taxing either mentally, physically or both. But it was reassuring to see so many people come to stand up and against CAA & NRC after the silence over Kashmir and the Trans bill. Dalits in 2019 have also offered many such moments of rebellion, protests and flipping off fascists who practiced rampant casteism both in the ministry as well as in reputed institutions. Here is a list of some of the anti-caste moments of 2019 in India.
1. The Social Media Outpour In Support For Dr Payal Tadvi
There is an ongoing criminal case over the death by suicide of Dr Payal Tadvi which was instigated by the casteist harassment from three of her seniors at Nayar Hospital where she was pursuing her MD. Three of her seniors – Hema Ahuja, Ankita Khandelwal and Bhakti Mehare, harassed Dr Tadvi which was corroborated by statements from 30 people. Social media support and outcry for quick action against the accused helped get swift action, and their medical licenses were suspended.
The solidarity extended across the country for Dr Tadvi was reassuring, it was also a reminder of Rohit Vemula’s institutional murder, and all other Dalit minority students killed in the hands of the casteist system.
2. MLA Mekathoti Sucharitha, First Dalit Woman Minister In The Cabinet AP
MLA Mekathoti Sucharitha, the first Dalit woman minister to be selected in the Cabinet in Andhra Pradesh is just one of the wins in 2019. In March 2019, Chandra Shekhar Azad announced his candidacy to contest against PM Modi and it wasn’t a war but a battle call. But the disheartening facts are Dalits in UP is why the Modi government made it across the line in 2019 elections. The Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Indian National Congress should evaluate why they are losing the Dalit votes now.
Dalits aren’t voting for BJP here, but the politicians they’ve been voting for have changed alliances to BJP. While ET blamed Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) for eating away INC’s votes in the Maharashtra elections, it is a reminder to the Congress to mend its casteist ways, because they won’t win elections without the Dalit voters.
3. Women’s Collective: Educating, Agitating And Organising
All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM) and The Blue Club (TBC) jointly organised a two-day event called Dalit Women in ‘Media and Politics’. A series of speeches made by Dalit women about politics, Dalit women in politics and the need for representation of Dalit women in politics is available here.
Dalit women came together to discuss their role in the country’s politics, their representation in media which took the discussion beyond the obvious need for representation. This two-day conference in January is a part of raising Dalit women’s