Caste needs to be discussed: Mbeki

By M.S. Prabhakara

DURBAN, AUG. 29. Caste and untouchability continue to figure prominently at the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) even if they are not on the official agenda.

The President of South Africa, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, in his address at the opening of the NGO forum, being held in conjunction with the WCAR here, departed from the text of his speech to mention caste as among the other forms of intolerance, like those based on race and colour, which needed to be discussed. And, asking the forum to ``give voice to the voiceless,'' the secretary-general of the conference, Ms. Mary Robinson, identified the ``voiceless'' as the Roma, the Palestinians, the victims of racism, xenophobia, intolerance and almost in response to demands from a section of the audience, ``the Dalits of India.''

Despite all the official efforts of India to exclude caste from the deliberations of the WCAR, the issue is figuring prominently in the NGO forum. It did so yesterday at the opening of the forum where the presence of over 150 Indian delegates, most of them representing Dalit organisations, made a mark. During two panel discussions on `Institutionalised Racism and Caste' today, the manifestation of this phenomenon, deeply internalised in many societies, was discussed. Another discussion dealt exclusively with `Dalits and other caste-based discrimination.'

Indeed, the emphasis has been on untouchability and caste as a global phenomenon. Instances of untouchability in societies as diverse as the Japanese and some West African countries like Nigeria, Senegal and Mauritania were highlighted.

The very success of India in securing the omission of these issues from the main agenda has given a greater impetus to the discussion of these evils in the NGO forum. The issue continues to generate wide interest and indignation.

`Anomaly' rectified

The final version of the NGO forum's draft declaration, to be adopted at the end of the four-day deliberations on September 1, omits the earlier ill-informed reference to northeast India as `occupied territory.'

However, the section `people under foreign occupation' (paragraphs 72-77) retains the reference to Tibet where people ``continue to suffer institutionalised form of racism under the Chinese regime.'' The declaration identifies only the people of Palestine and Tibet as ``people under foreign occupation''.

The section which details remedial measures for this extraordinary and plainly a-historical perception of the situation in Tibet, has this to say: ``We call on all States to pressurise the Chinese Government to open negotiations with the Tibetan Government-in-exile headed by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, in order to find a mutually acceptable and lasting solution to the situation in Tibet. We call on all States to pressurise the Chinese to begin the process of compensating the Tibetan people for the destruction of their religious sites, religion, culture and environment over the past five decades. This should include compensating for natural resources taken in the form of timber, wildlife products, mineral resources and Tibetan artefacts.''

The formulations about caste and Dalits remain in the declaration - but have been modified to drop the explicit description of caste system as a ``crime against humanity.''

PTI reports:

The NGOs, here to highlight the caste issue, include the Human Rights Forum for Dalit Liberation, the Dalit Sector Support Team and the Canada-based Ambedkar Centre for Justice and Peace. The president of the Ambedkar Centre for Justice and Peace, Mr. Yogesh Varhade, accused India of not adopting the United Nations' principles against discrimination.

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