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India Rejects "Caste Is Racism" Call at U.N. Racism Conference
DURBAN, South Africa, Sept 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - India has rejected calls by representatives of the country's low caste, or Dalit, population, to discuss the caste system at the U.N. conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, news agencies reported Monday.
The Indian representative at the conference, Omar Abdullah, claimed it was allegedly not the appropriate forum by which to discuss what he called "social engineering", BBC's online service reported.
During his speech, Dalit activists heckled him.
A BBC correspondent in Durban says that the Dalits have been among the best organized of the lobby groups at the conference and have won much support.
Abdullah claimed India condemned any form of discrimination and was allegedly taking positive measures to uplift disadvantaged castes. India has consistently opposed putting caste discrimination on the conference agenda.
Amnesty International (AI) and various Indian human rights groups have recently accused India of discrimination and human rights abuses.The charge followed reports of wide human rights abuses committed by Indian troops in Muslim Kashmir and the Indian northeast.
In a highly criticized move, Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani said the federal government was seriously considering granting a "general amnesty" to Indian military personnel facing human rights abuse charges in Kashmir and the northeast region of India, where at least 30 self-determination groups are active.
The proposal drew sharp criticism from AI. "No one should be allowed to operate outside the law. Any proposal to allow security forces to commit human rights violations with impunity is unacceptable," the human rights organization said in an open letter to the Indian Home Minister.
"Both the Indian constitution and international human rights law make no room for amnesties for grave human rights violations, such as torture, which constitute crimes under international law," the London-based group said in a statement received in New Delhi.
Amnesty International has repeatedly condemned discrimination and human rights violations by Indian forces in Kashmir, including the use of extra-judicial executions and illegal detentions.
Human rights activists in Kashmir and the Indian northeast also criticized India's discriminatory proposal, saying the move would curtail fundamental rights by allowing police and soldiers to kill without having to face consequences.
"If people who have indulged in grave human rights violations are spared, it will be very painful for the families who have suffered," said Parveena Ahanger, of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) in Kashmir, whose son disappeared in 1990 after the Indian army arrested him.
"If this happens, security forces will get license to kill innocents at will. You are straight away telling the troops 'go and kill people, you will not be accountable," she added.
Around 400 members of India's military forces in Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both, are facing prosecution for human rights offences against Kashmiri Muslims.
An estimated 1,000 cases of discrimination and rights violations by troops were reported in the northeast over the past ten years.
Pressure groups in the northeast also criticized Advani's proposal.
"The government's decision would allow the troops to commit excesses, with the people's basic rights bound to be affected," said Khaidem Mani Singh, a rights activist in the northeastern state of Manipur.
"No one is above the law, and troops are not supposed to be excluded from the purview of the law of the land," he added.
India has a widely diversified population of over one billion people, 72% of whom are Indo-Aryan, 25% Dravidian, and 3% Mongoloid and other.
Hindus constitute 80% of the population, with Muslims constituting 14%, Christians 2.4%, Sikh 2%, Buddhist 0.7%, Jains 0.5%, and others at 0.4%
There are 24 languages in India, each spoken by a million or more people, and many of the languages are mutually unintelligible.
India is also characterized by numerous political pressure groups, and religious and activist organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, as well as various groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy.
Thirty-five percent of India's population lives below the poverty line.
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