The Indian Constitution banned the practice of untouchablity under Article 17 and the Schedule Caste/ Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989 was introduced to combat persecution and discrimination against Dalits and Adivasi (tribal) people. Despite the existence of these strong legal provisions, Dalit and Adivasi populations have found it virtually impossible to access their rights through the legal system. In this context, the Dalit and Adivasi Rights Initiative provides legal aid and rights-awareness to members of Dalit and Adivasi communities and uses the law to ensure that the violation of Dalit and Adivasi rights are addressed through the legal system.

For human beings who are born to “dalit” parents, it is the problem of getting over the feeling of being lesser human beings, of being invisible in the history of the nation, of searching for a new identity and of redefining one’s culture and roots. The dalit consciousness thus has negative and positive areas. The 19th and 20th centuries saw great social reformers like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Sri Narayan Guru, Jyothiba Phule, Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy Naickar and others. These social reform movements conducted many struggles against the caste system, caste oppression and untouchability in many ways. But, despite the struggles against caste oppression, the social reform movement did not address the crucial issue of radical land reforms.

THE ISSUES OF CONCERN IN THIS CELL ARE:

• The practice of untouchability and discrimination against Dalits/ Adivasis
• Unorganised labour (Migrant Labour, Bonded Labour & Child Labour etc.)
• Manual scavenging
• Dalit/ Adivasi women’s rights
• Protecting the rights of couples in inter-caste/ intra-gotra marriages
• Dalit/ Adivasi land rights
• Affirmative actions/ Protective Discrimination
• Special developmental schemes/ policies related to Dalit/Adivasi populations