Singh: Caste war

New Delhi, Dec. 29: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent statement equating caste discrimination with apartheid has ruffled many feathers.

The BJP, for one, has pointed out that his observation is a total departure from India’s stated position on the issue at all international forums.

“Dalits have faced a unique discrimination in our society that is fundamentally different from the problems of minority groups in general. The only parallel to the practice of untouchability was apartheid,” Singh was quoted as saying at a conference on caste-system injustices in India on Wednesday.

The statement appears to be against the stand taken during the World Conference Against Racism in Durban in 2001, when India had resolutely refused to allow a discussion on caste-based oppression. The government steadfastly maintained, in the face of criticism from Dalit rights groups and NGOs, that notions based on caste are entirely different from race as a concept.

The BJP says the Prime Minister has changed India’s official position on caste overnight, and done so without a debate or a discussion among political parties.

“Racism is not an abstract concept, it has a relation not just to social practices but also to legal frameworks. In South Africa, for instance, the term implied the exclusion of a set of people from the socio-political set-up. This is certainly not the case in India,” said BJP spokesperson and senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.

“Unlike apartheid, the Indian Constitution doesn’t exclude a social group from institutions of governance. Instead, there are provisions in the Constitution for positive discrimination and affirmative action for the uplift of these social groups, including Dalits,” he added.

Prasad accused Singh of creating conditions for international intervention, almost inviting sanctions against India on the issue.

“It is extremely naïve on the part of the Prime Minister to indulge in rhetoric that invites international intervention in our internal affairs. I have been to the UN recently and I can tell you there were enough overt and covert suggestions to change our stand on the issue so that the international community can be involved in improving the lot of Dalits.”

Prasad said some NGOs, especially those working for the rights of Dalit Christians, may be lobbying for such a change in position. “But we expect the Prime Minister to understand these nuances and not give in to pressures.”