“In recent years, Dalit groups have started a campaign for a legal ban on caste discrimination in the UK, but upper-caste diaspora has successfully opposed it. Moreover, the upper-caste groups are providing fund and political support to RSS and upper-caste associations in India to demand revocation of country's caste-based job reservation policy, which wil lead to further social unrest in the country.” Picture Credit: NewsLaundry.com
ship in segregated temples. In recent years, Dalit groups have started a cam- paign for a legal ban on caste discrimination in the UK, but upper-caste diaspora has successfully opposed it. Moreover, the upper-caste groups are pro- viding fund and political support to RSS and upper- caste associations in India to demand revocation of country's caste-based job reservation policy, which wil lead to further social unrest in the country. India is the world's largest secular democracy. The election of Modi as India's prime minister has emboldened Hindu upper-caste diaspora in their efforts to turn India into a nation of theirs only. However, in a country of over 1.2 billion people, religious minorities, Dalits and indigenous groups make up roughly 50 per cent of the population. If this "model" dias pora succeeds in its objective, it can be disas- trous for "Mother India". Director, Research School for International Water Cooperation Ashok Swain is a Professor of Peace and Conflict Research and the Director of Research School of International Water Cooperation at Uppsala University, Sweden. He received his PhD from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi in 1991, and since then he has been teach- ing at the Uppsala University. He has been a Mac Arthur Fellow at the University of Chicago, visiting fellow at UNRISD, Geneva; and visiting professor at University of British Columbia, University of Maryland, Stanford University, McGill University and Tufts University. Ashok Swain Professor , Department of Peace and Conflict Research
leanings. Many of these organisers are also reporting to embassies against critical voices. After the 2014 general election in India, there are worrying signs suggesting that intrinsic right to free- dom of expression and religious practice is under threat in the country. This growing "intolerance" against minorities has however helped to further improve the popularity of Modi among the diaspora. Not only religion, caste also permeates the Indian diaspora. In the face of discrimination in the host soci- ety, many become more fundamentalist in their tradi- tion and caste is the part of that reactionary package. The strong urge to marry their sons and daughters within the caste very well shows the hold of caste identity present among the Indian diaspora. Unfortunately, caste discrimination amongst the Indian diaspora is getting stronger as religious and ethnic identity become increasingly important. The powerful and majority group in Indian diaspora is not only active promoter of the Hindu right-wing politi- cal agenda, it also encourages the social discourse that favours the Brahmanic upper-caste values. Any dis- cussion or debate on caste issue is seen as a taboo topic amongst the diaspora. Dalits form a numerical minority within the Indian diasporic space, so upper-caste Hindus domi- nates places of worship and other cultural associa- tions. In the UK, Dalit diaspora is even forced to wor-
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Summer Camp Special 2016
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