For a country which has been independent for 65 years, it is a matter of shame that we have not yet shaken off the tyranny of caste-based discrimination. Countless people have to live in degrading conditions, children are unable to go to school, employment avenues are closed, and even education does not open bigoted minds. No measure of progress can be true unless the question of people’s equality is factored into it. And we can only be considered a progressive nation when we refuse to accept caste differences.
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While the Constitution of India decrees equality for all, in reality India is a complexity of layers, social structures and hierarchies which deny large numbers of its citizens their very basic rights.
For a country which has been independent for 65 years, it is a matter of shame that we have not yet shaken off the tyranny of caste-based discrimination. Countless people have to live in degrading conditions, children are unable to go to school, employment avenues are closed, and even education does not open bigoted minds.
Dr Kaushal Panwar hails from Rajour village in Kaithal district of Haryana, and is currently teaching Sanskrit at Delhi University. Her family were traditionally landless labourers and worked in the fields as well as on road constructions. Her community are for the most part still engaged in scavenging and manual labour, but due to her late father’s unstinting support she studied her way out of the life that would otherwise have been earmarked for her.
There are a number of things that distinguish Gandhi from most of his fellow freedom fighters and the leaders of that time. One of them is that he gave equal importance to one more thing along with the struggle for independence, and that is, the emancipation of people supposedly of the lower caste.
