Dance of Demonocracy

As the much flaunted “Dance of Democracy” had reached its high pitch in the media, 201 million dalits in the country were experiencing another low of their existence, encountering a veritable dance of demonocracy. Democracy anyway has been a far cry for them; in this alien tamasha, they wondered whether they should continue calling this country their own.

“Every hour two dalits are assaulted; every day three dalit women are raped, two dalits are murdered, and two dalit homes are torched” has become a catchphrase ever since Hillary Mayell coined it while writing in National Geographic 11 years ago. Well, today these figures have to be revised upwards; as for instance, the rape rate of dalit women has shot up from Hillary’s 3 to well over 4.3, a whopping 43% rise. What annoys one is the duplicity even of the country’s saner population – it had admirably raised a storm over the brutal rape of a Noida girl two years ago – in keeping silent over the horrific rapes of four minor dalit girls in the Jatland of Haryana or a honour killing of a dalit schoolboy in Phule-Ambedkar’s Maharashtra. There could not be any possible explanation for it but for that vile word – caste. If this is the state of the minuscule population in the country that could be called sensible, what should dalits expect from the sea of insanity deeply poisoned with caste and communal venom?