Racialisation in India is unique because it occurs through members of the same race being racist towards each other. In India, the racial difference is illusionary, rather than physically instantiated. The racial component is in the eyes of the beholder, the perpetrator of the discriminatory or negative, intentional racial attitudes (De Reuck and Knight, 1967). Dalits face severe forms of torture by state and private actors, in 1994-1996, there were 98,339 caste of brutality alone (Human Rights Watch, 2007).
The caste system is a larger instigator for racial violence on the basis of emotion. Conflicts arise due to feelings of superiority, pleasure, triumph and angst (Law, 2010). Intragroup violence and racial conflicts are common as status groups try to achieve or defend their position. When Dalits have sought to gain status, have resisted daily humiliations of vindicated socially constitutionally granted rights, they have been met with large resistance. “Hit back”, the Dalit Panther logo would suggest that treatment by institutions is unsatisfactory when dealing with Dalit atrocities, favouring the Brahmin and encouraging racialisation (Gorringe, 2010).
This argument is substantial as the Indian Criminal Justice is emerged in institutional racism. Racialisation occurs because Dalits are viewed by the police, often higher caste members, as criminals at best, and subhuman at worst (Narula, 1999). As Hannah Arendt suggested in ‘poignant irony’, there is a discrepancy
The manifestation of racist ideological representations of indianess will be highlighted by analyzing the Van der
Firstly, the caste system reflects the inequality of Indian society. Although religion in India is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices, majority of Indian population follow Hinduism. Therefore, the dominance of Hinduism beliefs is common in India. There is a belief in caste system, as Brood said, “a system of hierarchical social organization”1. Hindu society is divided into four main classes; the priestly class, the warrior and administrator class, the producer class who is farmers and merchants and the servant class. The remaining group of people who is “outcastes” is called “untouchables” or dalit. Brodd recognizes “dalits continue to suffer terrible oppression, especially in rural communities in India”. I still could not imagine how terrible this bottom class suffers until reading Max Bearak article. All sufferings of Rohith Vemula, from the hardships of growing up poor, interactions with society in caste to scholarship revoke and suicide, happened tragically because he was born in a dalit family. This is the
Introduction: As one who comes from a non-American background, with not enough knowledge of African American history, other than few course readings including James Cone’s The Cross and the Lynching Tree, there have been unanswered questions in my mind pertaining to the background of atrocities and injustice that take place in the United States of America, in the name of racial and ethnic differences. While growing up in Pakistan, I had been quite unaware of the main-stream and sub-cultures in the U.S, especially the idea about viewing a person from another race as “different” or inferior to oneself. One of the primary reasons for that is the Indian sub-continent has been predominated by the Hindu religion that even after experiencing conversions
As a first generation Indian-American, I am no stranger to being a part of a distinct community while observing two unique cultures. Traveling to India exposed me to a dynamic population with rich diversity comprising of numerous languages and differing religions. Though these individuals may have had differing customs from their neighbors, there were similar ambitions to conquer grinding poverty. This poverty can be clearly noticed by seeing citizens sleeping on floors of a railway station, or the lack of air conditioning in searing hot weather. The frailty and mortality of the human condition was starkly visible in India. As a fellow human, I was humbled not only by the lack of privilege and opportunity of many citizens, but also by their
This essay will argue that the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in England and Wales doesn’t provide justice for all. In particular, the institutionally racist nature of the police and courts towards Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME) will be addressed. The ‘Lammy Review’ has been instrumental in outlining the disproportionate representation of BAME groups within the CJS. In a letter addressed to the Prime minister, David Lammy reports the findings from his review. 51% of UK-born individuals from BAME backgrounds believe that the CJS discriminates against certain groups and individuals (Lammy,2016). In comparison, only 35% of the white population born in the UK believe the same statement (Lammy, 2016). Thus, choosing to focus on the
The caste system has been extremely stable in India for over two thousand years. It is only since the more modern, independent state of India was formed that the system has come under any scrutiny at all. It is presently outlawed, but many of the practices, attitudes and traditions remain ingrained in Hindu society (University of Wyoming, 1997).
Prejudice, bigotry, and stereotypes are all learned behaviors. Children, especially in America, absorb these stereotypes from what they see and hear from the adults in their lives. In Mukherjee’s essay, American Dreamer, she discusses the negative stereotypes of Indians saying, “Indians idealize the cultural continuum, the inherent value system of India, and are properly incensed when foreigners see nothing but poverty, intolerance, strife, and injustice” (358). The stereotype that Indians are nothing but poverty stricken living in subpar conditions is nothing but
On the other hand, India has spent a majority of its history as a colony of England. It was not until 1947 that India became an independent nation state, after a grassroots nationalist movement started by Gandhi, and even then they were a one party congress. They are also an interesting case of democracy because of how many unfavorable aspects towards it they had, such as high inequality, many peasants, and many different languages and religions (Lecture). In 1956, India was broken up into states by the States Reorganization Act, that made state lines based on linguistic group. India’s founding leaders mirrored the ideas of America, in balancing states rights with a central government (Sil, 2014). They have also more recently gone through a liberalization of their economy. India is unique in the way that their social hierarchy is constructed because of the fact that they have a caste system. The caste system is a combination of religious practice and community organization that is a part of Hinduism (Sil, 2014). This system was officially demolished in the country, but in the country it is still very prevalent, and the focus on helping those who were in lower castes succeed has made people more aware of the way they institute social policies.
In this essay, I will be discussing whether there is a race or a racism problem within the criminal justice system. Crime is a feature in all societies and criminal justice is the response to a crime and can include protecting the citizens from everyday threats to their safety such as ensuring dangerous and persistent offenders are monitored effectively when in the community and imprisoned when necessary. Racism is the unequal treatment of a population group purely because of its’ possession of physical or other characteristics socially defined as denoting a particular race (Scott and Marshall, 2005). There are strong beliefs that there is a correlation between race and crime also, race and how the criminal justice system deals with this problem and it is also believed that racism may play a part in this. This interest has largely been fuelled by one of the very few facts consistently recorded in crime statistics: ethnic minorities tend to be overrepresented in every stage of criminal justice systems.
In India, Dalits are what used to be called the "untouchables." The term Dalit means the "broken people." Symbolic-interaction theory would focus on the way language shapes the identity of all Indians, to give rise to an underclass like the Dalit. Systems of oppression stem from the embedding of symbols into the individual and collective psyche. Therefore, symbolic-interaction theory explains why the oppression of the Dalit continues even though the caste system has been officially and legally abolished. A symbolic-interactionist would also point out that the organization of the Dalit into a formal organization with a name has a powerful impact due to the interaction between symbols (language) and social institutions. Symbolic-interactionism would also explain why the leaders of the Dalit civil rights movement understand the importance of raising awareness via education. It is important to shift the discourse when discussing matters of political oppression. The discourse will impact reality. Moreover, religion also provides the core symbols that shape worldview. If Hinduism has a highly structured, hierarchical cosmology, a Hindu culture will organize its manifest institutions around this symbolic reality.
Can marginalized humans have genuine empathy for their oppressors? And if so, how does their passivity towards their oppressors lead to an accumulation of resentment? When reevaluating the narration of The White Tiger, readers should ask themselves these questions while reading it. In addition, Adiga uses the story to exploit the influence of modernization on India’s political corruption and India’s miniscule focus on the maltreatment of poor Indians. The country achieves the ambivalence of poverty by manipulating the lower class through political means. Politicians uphold socialist and democratic ideals without legitimate citizen participation in elections. Even so, the format of the country’s caste system relies on how the subordinate of
A few disadvantages of India’s social system are that Religion, caste, and language are major determinants of social organizations. According to the US Department of State-Background Notes website, even though the government has declared the caste system as illegal, it still has a presence in occupational and societal hierarchies (The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, 2010).
The researcher understood the specific theme chosen and was a bit au-fait with the topic, because she had a keen interest in Gandhi and all his work. In an age where violence is on the increase Gandhi’s message of non-violence is needed. It is the researchers hope that this IA will reach a wide cross section of people and will effect a change. Gandhi’s views on issues like untouchability are deeply dealt with. Never anywhere Gandhi’s views about untouchability were effectively heard. But, in this book they were dealt in detail with lots of arguments and convincing proofs of why untouchability is sin. Even his co-living with the untouchables and the resistance he faced for that is discussed. His views on religion, nationality, his movements like civil-disobedience, are also clearly shown. Even his opinions on many religions were discussed in deep; a striking
Gandhi’s first hand experiences in dealing with discrimination began in South Africa. In Chapter VII ‘Some Experiences,’ Gandhi recalls on his first days of his arrival the incident at the Durban court
could easily shove justice because the judges were also from the same race. Anand abhors favouritism on the basis of the colour of skin, "the strange colour of their skins made them more remote giving them aura of being of another world, frightening in their potencies. And the inhuman steel frame of officialdom which they made them more like the tyrannical demons of hell" (Agrawal, Anand .qtd2006: 43).