Novelist and activist Arundhati Roy has called the Indian caste system, “the great project of unseeing.” In an effort to be seen and heard, a powerful group of Indian women are traveling through the United States drawing attention to the plight of Dalit (formerly called “untouchable”) communities in India.

For those unfamiliar: The Indian caste system is a social structure that divides different groups into ranked categories. A person’s caste can determine their social status, their livelihood, who they can marry and where they can live. People in “higher” castes have more access to social, political, and economic power than those in “lower” castes.  The system is understood to have ancient roots — Sanskrit texts from the second millennium BC refer to a practice of dividing individuals into social groups called “varnas.” These categories, associated with early Hinduism, are the first record of India’s caste system. Over time, the caste structure has become an elaborate system known as “Chatuvarnya,” bolstered by the British colonial rulers. They put categories in place that exist to this date. Now there are more  more than 3,000 castes in India, and an even greater number of sub-castes. Even though discrimination based on caste is illegal in India, it still occurs, and against some communities with complete impunity.

The organization of the traditional caste structure is as follows: Brahmins are considered the highest of all the castes, and traditionally priests or teachers. They make up a tiny percent of the population, but dominate the key positions in science, business and government. Kshatriyas were traditionally the military class. They are now predominantly a land-owning caste with less power and influence than they have had in the past. Vaishyas were traders,  traditionally agricultural workers, artisans and merchants. They make up 20 percent of India’s population and are now associated with middle class advancement. The Shudras are the lowest of the four ancient social classes. They were prohibited from religious study of Hinduism and are historically disadvantaged. The Adivasis are a collection of ethnic and tribal groups — India’s aboriginal people. More than 95 percent of Adivasis live in rural areas and 68 percent do not make it to high-school. Afterwards enter the Dalits. They are considered to be at the lowest rung of the hierarchy and are typically only able to work jobs considered ritually impure (i.e. involving waste or carcasses). These are the people who have been considered “untouchable.” Not only do they live in poverty and social and economic vulnerability, they often face discrimination with impunity.

Earlier this year, two sisters from a Dalit family, were sentenced to a gang-rape as “punishment” for their brother’s “crime” of marrying a woman from a higher caste. The sisters fled their village after an all-male council ruled that they should be raped, have their faces blackened and then be paraded naked in penance of their brother’s actions. Meenakshi Kumari, who is 23, is petitioning for protection from the Supreme Court of India, her 15-year-old sister and and other family members at risk of violence. Amnesty International is hosting a petition to support Meenakshi’s claim to the Supreme Court.

Earlier this week, a Dalit couple were reportedly stripped by the police in a suburb of New Delhi and paraded naked through the town. Why such horrible treatment? Because this couple insisted on registering a police report after an alleged robbery. So far, no action has been taken to reprimand the police officers — despite their being video evidence of this brutality.

Just today, a story broke about an incident in which upper caste members of the community allegedly set fire to the home of a Dalit family in Sunpedh, a village in Faridabad near Delhi. In the early hours of Tuesday morning the family, two parents and their young children, ages 2 and 9 months, were sleeping when a fire consumed their home. The children died on the scene, and their 23 year-old mother Rekha has just awoken after being in critical condition. Their father Jitender has been released from the hospital. Rekha and Jitender now have to face the loss of their two young children. The calls for accountability from the local and national authorities have erupted on social media.

Published October 22, 2015 on http://www.salon.com/2015/10/22/the_modern_horrors_of_indias_ancient_injustice_how_a_government_has_abandoned_millions_and_they_are_fighting_back/