Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

‘Literacy, agitation needed to fight untouchability’

HYDERABAD: Former Supreme Court Judge K. Ramaswamy said here on Wednesday that education, mobilisation of people and agitation were required to eliminate untouchability, which was still being practised in villages.

Launching the AP Chapter of the National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ) (a movement against the practice of untouchability) to mark the International Human Rights Day, he said, it could not be eradicated unless the literacy rate improves.

He wanted the civil society, human rights organisations and others to campaign against segregation of Dalits .

Regretting that child labour was rampant, the former Judge stated that 80 per cent of the children, who are victims of the cruel practice, belonged to weaker sections, particularly Dalits and Adivasis.

He wanted the movement to campaign against child labour and the right to health. He cautioned Dalits against falling a prey to the attempts of politicians who are best to create division among them.

V. Nandagopal, convenor of the NDMJ-AP adhoc committee, said the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) had taken up four of movements on: rights of Dalit women, economic development, land problem and untouchability.

He said the NDMJ would focus on untouchability.

He demanded the implementation of the recommendations of Punnaiah Committee on eradication of untouchability in toto and a white paper with regard to implementation of G.O.s based on the committee report.

As many as 154 types of untouchability practices were identified in the State in 2002.

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