Ninjibhai and his wife Meghabais were brutally attacked by members of their village community. The men dragged Meghabais out of their home, threatened them and sexually harassed them. Meanwhile, her husband was beaten to death with iron pipes because he had dared to run as head of his village community. The 17-year-old Nitin was beaten up, tortured and hanged on a tree. His father found the mutilated body. Nitin had to die because he had spoken to a girl from a higher caste.
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Bant Singh was attacked by a group of men who hit him with iron bars, axes and sticks. Three of his limbs had to be amputated. Singh was attacked for demanding justice for raping his daughter. The perpetrators come from the same village as he.
This is how the survivors and survivors tell the photographers Helena Schätzle and Sudharak Olwe. And the list of victims’ stories and names is much longer.
Violence is increasing – also because the Dalits are now fighting back
Ninjibhai, Meghabais, Nitin and Bant Singh have been attacked because they are Dalits – people living in the Hindu caste system Indians are at the lowest social end.
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The Dalits have always had professions that nobody wants to take over from the upper castes. They skinned animal carcasses, tanned leather and made shoes. They cleaned the sewers and disposed of human waste or took care of the burial of the deceased. Many Dalits were also employed by members of the upper castes. All of these professions and jobs still define their social status in Indian society.
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More than 240 million people, or around a fifth of the 1.3 billion Indians, belong to the Dalit caste. The majority of them live in poverty, more socially Discrimination and economic exploitation. Although the rights of the Dalits were enormously strengthened by the 1950 constitution – discrimination was prohibited and the caste system was officially abolished – defamation, violence and living out of caste membership are still part of their everyday life.
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In derogatory terms, Dalits are referred to as the “untouchables” from which the members of the upper castes stay away in order not to become unclean themselves. In a study in 2014, more than a quarter of Indians said they practiced defamation of “untouchability” in some form. The survey was conducted across 42,000 households across the country. Violence against the Dalits has escalated in recent years. Between 2011 and 2016, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) around 193,000 crimes against them. A six- to eight-fold increase over the previous years. The number of unreported cases is probably even higher.
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An explanation for the increased violence: Many Dalits now stand up for their rights and demand equal and fair treatment. A quota has also been introduced that gives Dalits unhindered access to education and universities. However, the quota initially led to increased hatred, envy and further violence from other Indians across the country, who in turn now felt disadvantaged.
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The photographers Helena Schätzle and Sudharak Olwe pay tribute with their pictures the victims and survivors of violence and defamation. By introducing the quota or choosing one of their own, the Dalits have President of India reached some milestones. But especially in rural areas, the discriminatory form of “untouchability” is still practiced frequently and often results in brutal violence, writes Olwe.
Schätzle sees some positive changes and believes that consciousness is changing and the Dalits are slowly becoming aware of their rights. But the hatred is structural and deeply rooted in society and people.
According to Olwe, the corona pandemic is now facing another challenge for the Dalits: the crisis could make people even more vulnerable and further negatively impact their social and economic status in Indian society.
See the stories of Dalit people in the photo gallery:
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