The Epic Struggle
I finished a book the other day called, "Dalit Freedom: Now and Forever" and subtitled "The Epic Struggle for Dalit Emancipation."
How I got the book was really cool. I've emailed a couple times with George Verwer and in his last email he told me that he would like to send me his books so he wanted to know what my mailing address was. Then last week in the mail I received several books from him: 3 of his own, one by Randy Alcorn, one called True Grit that I already had but will pass on to someone else, and this one about the Dalits by Joseph D'souza. What a great guy George is to have given me all these books!! I emailed him to thank him, but George if you ever read my blog, let it be known that I want to thank you publicly as well. I already thought you were one of the best men in the world, and I now I know that you are also extremely generous. Thank you.
The book helped to open my eyes to the plight of the Dalits. Probably no one will read this book (though if you want to I will happily give it to!) but I think we would all do well to get aware of the Dalit people in India. A good website to look at quickly would be Dalit Awakening or Dalit Freedom. Dalit Freedom is the website connected to the book. Dalit Awakening is a GFA website.
Let me share just one little story out of the book to give you a small idea of past and present Dalit persecution. Guruammal's only crime is that she was born a Dalit.
Guruammal
"I am a 26-year-old Dalit agricultural laborer. I earn 20 rupees per day (US $0.44) for a full day's work. In December 1997, the police raided my village . . . The superintendent of police [SP] called me a pallachi, which is a caste name for prostitute. He then opened his pants (zipper) . . . At 11:00 am, the sub-collector came. I told the collector that the SP had opened his (zipper) and used a vulgar word. I also told him that they had broken my silver pot. The SP was angry that I had pointed him out . . .
"The next morning the police broke all the doors and arrested all the men in the village . . . The SP came looking for me. My husband hid under the [bed]. My mother was with me at the time. I was in my night clothes. The police started calling me a prostitute and beating me. The SP dragged me naked on the road for 100 feet. I was four months pregnant at the time . . . A 60 year old woman asked them to stop. They beat here too and fractured her hands . . . They brought me to the police station naked . . . 53 men had been arrested. One of them took off his lungi [warp around cloth] and gave it to me to cover myself.
"I begged the police officers at the jail to help me. I even told them I was pregnant. They mocked me for making such bold statements the day before. I spent 25 days in jail. I miscarried my baby after 10 days. Nothing has happened to the police officers who did this to me."
How I got the book was really cool. I've emailed a couple times with George Verwer and in his last email he told me that he would like to send me his books so he wanted to know what my mailing address was. Then last week in the mail I received several books from him: 3 of his own, one by Randy Alcorn, one called True Grit that I already had but will pass on to someone else, and this one about the Dalits by Joseph D'souza. What a great guy George is to have given me all these books!! I emailed him to thank him, but George if you ever read my blog, let it be known that I want to thank you publicly as well. I already thought you were one of the best men in the world, and I now I know that you are also extremely generous. Thank you.
The book helped to open my eyes to the plight of the Dalits. Probably no one will read this book (though if you want to I will happily give it to!) but I think we would all do well to get aware of the Dalit people in India. A good website to look at quickly would be Dalit Awakening or Dalit Freedom. Dalit Freedom is the website connected to the book. Dalit Awakening is a GFA website.
Let me share just one little story out of the book to give you a small idea of past and present Dalit persecution. Guruammal's only crime is that she was born a Dalit.
Guruammal
"I am a 26-year-old Dalit agricultural laborer. I earn 20 rupees per day (US $0.44) for a full day's work. In December 1997, the police raided my village . . . The superintendent of police [SP] called me a pallachi, which is a caste name for prostitute. He then opened his pants (zipper) . . . At 11:00 am, the sub-collector came. I told the collector that the SP had opened his (zipper) and used a vulgar word. I also told him that they had broken my silver pot. The SP was angry that I had pointed him out . . .
"The next morning the police broke all the doors and arrested all the men in the village . . . The SP came looking for me. My husband hid under the [bed]. My mother was with me at the time. I was in my night clothes. The police started calling me a prostitute and beating me. The SP dragged me naked on the road for 100 feet. I was four months pregnant at the time . . . A 60 year old woman asked them to stop. They beat here too and fractured her hands . . . They brought me to the police station naked . . . 53 men had been arrested. One of them took off his lungi [warp around cloth] and gave it to me to cover myself.
"I begged the police officers at the jail to help me. I even told them I was pregnant. They mocked me for making such bold statements the day before. I spent 25 days in jail. I miscarried my baby after 10 days. Nothing has happened to the police officers who did this to me."
posted by Mark D. Smith | 3:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home