‘Dalits are being increasingly insulted in the name of religion and nationalism’

Rising attacks on Dalits discussed by Gulbarga University head, highlighting discrimination and threats to constitutional rights.

Referring to the rising attacks on Dalits across the country in the recent years, head of the Kannada Department in Gulbarga University H.T. Pote said that Dalit community members are increasingly subjected to insult and discrimination in the name of religion and nationalism.

He was speaking on the second day of the first District Conference of Dalit Movement’s Literature at Visvesvaraya Bhavan in Kalaburagi on Sunday.

“We have compromised with the people who have snatched our rights. Even after knowing their larger designs to replace the Constitution that guarantees rights of equality, freedom and life with dignity to all and replace with Manu Smriti that advocates oppressive and exploitative social hierarchy, we are voting for them to rule us,” Mr. Pote said.

On the recent Supreme Court judgment on internal reservation within Scheduled Castes (SCs) and its remarks on the creamy layer within the communities, Prof. Pote expressed discontentment over the silence of Dalit community members who have made use of reservation to get education and decent positions in public offices to draw lakhs of rupees as salaries.

“Those Dalit employees in government service who are drawing lakhs of rupees as salaries are surprisingly silent when a judge of the Supreme Court suggests keeping the creamy layer within the communities away from reservation. They do not understand what will happen to them once reservation isstopped,” he said.

Speaking on the life and work of president of the conference D.G. Sagar, Prof. Pote described the contributions of Mr. Sagar to the Dalit movement in the State.

“The life and fight of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar greatly inspired Mr. Sagar. Being an ardent follower of Buddha and Ambedkar since his school days, Mr. Sagar quit his native place Narona in Aland taluk of Kalaburagi district and set for building the Dalit movement in the State,” Prof. Pote said.