Gujarat touchy over own report on untouchability

Times of India: Rajkot: Thursday, April 11, 2013.

A Gujarat government-sponsored report on the prevalence of untouchability in the state can adversely affect the law and order situation in villages if it is made public. This has been stated by the state government itself while replying to a Right to Information (RTI) plea by activist Kirit Rathod for a copy of the report.

Activists and academicians, however, say the government's claims are hollow as the high prevalence of untouchability in the state is known. A detailed study by NGO Navsarjan Trust and three US-based organizations in 2009 had even documented 99 forms of untouchability in more than 1,000 villages of the state.

TOI had even run a series of articles based on the findings. Following these revelations the state government had commissioned Cept University to prepare the report, 'Abhadchet ni Bhal' (Understanding Untouchability) in October 2010.

Besides fearing violence, the state scheduled castes welfare department made some shocking claims while denying Rathod the report. According to the officials, dalits themselves don't want friction with other communities and therefore voluntarily refrain from entering temples in many villages. If barbers refuse to cut their hair, they don't confront them and instead go to nearby towns.

The government also fears that the lives of those who have given statements in the study would be threatened if their names become public. "The government has said dalits will lose jobs if other communities come to know of the report's findings," Rathod said. "Instead of abolishing untouchability, the government has left dalits to fend for themselves," said Martin Macwan, dalit rights activist and founder of Navsarjan. The NGO won TOI's Social Impact Awards 2013 for empowering the marginalized.

Sociologist Ghanshyam Shah added, "How can the government say publishing details about untouchability would create trouble? The study is in the public domain in both Gujarati and English, but we have not heard of any untoward incident so far."