▶ Caste Wars - India

Caste Wars - India
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Uploaded on May 10, 2011
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November 1994 - A woman in a brightly coloured sari crawls through a field of goats and cows with her gun at the ready. She is from India's poorest caste - the 'untouchables' - who have long been at the bottom of the heap. They are fighting back. Young 'untouchable' women are learning to kill. They are gaining self-respect and, most importantly, protection in a hostile world. Higher castes are also arming their people after repeated attacks. Villagers speak of terror campaigns. As India's ruling party faces crucial state polls the country's battle lines are being drawn not only by religion but caste. Politicians can no longer afford to ignore the lower caste majority. This film examines the plight of the 'untouchables' and how they're helping themselves to an improved life.
In 2001, the proportion of Dalit population was 16.2 percent of India's total population. The Dalit population is broadly distributed across Indian states and districts. In 2001, the state of Punjab had the highest proportion of its population as Dalit, at about 29 percent, and the state of Mizoram had the lowest at nearly zero. The government of India recognises and protects them as Scheduled Castes. The term Dalit has been interchangeably used with term Scheduled Castes, and these terms include all historically discriminated communities of India out-caste and Untouchables.