caste discrimination in india

A tsunami hit countries around the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004. It brought misery to all living along their coasts and India was one of them. Tamil Nadu, which makes up of Chennai, Cuddalore, Kanyakumari and Nagapattinam, was one part of India that was most badly affected. However, in India, the suffering of Dalits, who are at the bottom of the hierarchy, affected by the disaster has been exacerbated due to caste-based discrimination in the provision of relief supplies and other assistance.
Places such as Kadapakuppam and Pattipulam of the Kachipuram district in Tamil Nadu have received no relief after the disaster. Despite complaints by villagers in these two places, no government officials, political parties or non- governmental organisations (NGOs) have gone to the assistance of these people. Likewise, in Pannanthittu village of Tamil Nadu's Chidambaram Thaluka, people have been denied aid. This is because the Dalits who are mostly poor and illiterate, cannot document their economic and property claims and so have been unable to access relief and also compensation and relocation schemes. Furthermore, they are without effective local or political clout, are mostly servants to higher-caste people and remain subservient about their demands, needs and rights
This lead toThe Dalits literally starving. They have finished their stored grain. The crops were destroyed. They cannot grow their crops anymore as the land is full of salt.
However, there has been some attention to rehabilitation of and assistance to Dalit victims.In some villages in Nagapattinam, Dalits have been given temporary shelters. But discrimination is evident from the location and the quality of material provided to them.For instance, the Dalits' temporary shelters are near graveyards or garbage dumps without proper sanitation or lighting facilities.Their roughly 14 sq metre shelter, for a family of six to 10 members, are made of poor-quality cardboard sheets. Plastic roofing has long blown away in the strong wind and rain while asbestos sheets make the shanties unbearably hot during summer, so that many have simply left.
In addition, Dalits have been brought in to bury the dead, as 'traditionally' they have been obligated to do. The community kitchens which were established to distribute food to victims were divided into two: one for caste Indians and one for Dalits. This is because upper castes do not consume food prepared by the Dalits. This is a disheartening reality that caste prejudices dominate social exchanges even during such time.
The tsunami relief operations in South India are indicative of persistent caste discrimination throughout the country.