In Kerala, the Dalits are discriminated against during the relief work. During the natural disasters, humanity becomes helpless and many hands come to rescue the affected people. It is heartening to see the response of so many people appealing to contribute to relief work in Kerala aftermath massive flood that caused loss of life, limbs, and resources. While the humanitarian spirit is evoked, it is also sad to see that people are discriminated against during the relief work. It exposes divisions within the communities so deep that even nature cannot wipe the caste lines of discrimination.

It happens in all the relief work. After the Gujarat earthquake in 2001, the Dalits and Muslims were discriminated against during the relief work and during the rehabilitation work. After the tsunami in 2004, many Dalits were discriminated in Tamil Nadu and coastal Andhra during the relief work. Nature does not discriminate the communities when it strikes with wrath, but the fangs of discrimination are exposed even when humanity is vulnerable and helpless.

First of all, it must be noted there is antagonism against the Dalits. The sources of which is very difficult to locate, but it comes from the religious notion that some people are born low. Secondly, the relief agencies including the government officials are from the non-Dalit background and it was found that the officials favoured their own caste during the relief work in the previous calamities.

The amount of discrimination aggravates during the natural calamities as the Dalits and now increasingly minorities have been discriminated against during the relief work. Caste is a strange animal to describe as it has been reported from Kerala that the Christians are also discriminating the Dalits in the relief work. Whatever religion, society, community, and institution that exists in India gets ultimately stained by the caste virus.

Author – Mangesh Dahiwale