Defending the Dalits
Sarah Peng
Dalits are “outcastes” falling outside the traditional Hinduism caste system. They are considered as “Untouchables” and treated less than human beings. Many of the crimes committed against Dalits were unacknowledged or dismissed as unsubstantiated. Hindus should know that being violence would go against Ahimsa and get bad karma according to Dharma. However, crimes happened because the offenders did not know this. Publicizing the Hinduism concept of Ahimsa and Dharma could be the key in improving the current conditions that Dalits face in India.
Nearly 20 percent of the population in India are Dalits. Inadequate education opportunities are provided to the Dalits, and they need to do the lowest jobs with little pay ever since they were young. Statistic shows that in the year 2000, over 25,455 crimes were against Dalits, and the crimes that actually happened were much more than that. The village councils, policies and government officials will always support the caste system and do nothing for the Dalits because they do not have the duty to assist the people who are out-caste. Most of the Dalits live in a depression with constant fears of being victims of crimes that everyone ignores. Hopefully, some Hinduism ideas can be used to improve the situation of the Dalits.
Ahimsa is the principle of non-violence and non-injury. According to the Vedic Indian texts, Ahimsa is also the highest moral Hindus virtue. Gandhi promoted the principle of Ahimsa with his non-violent resistance movement which has had a monumental impact on India. It also improved overall the treatment of the Dalits, but it’s still not enough. In order to practice Ahimsa, Hindus