Study on Dalit employees reveals discrimination

MADURAI: A majority of Dalit Government employees, including sweepers, teachers and even doctors, are facing discrimination at workplace, according to a recent study conducted by Evidence, a human rights organisation here.

The study claimed that they were “humiliated, intimidated, isolated or subjected to other kinds of emotional torture” by their colleagues and higher officials. The discrimination at workplace also affected their familial life.

A. Kathir, Director of Evidence, said that the project was undertaken by collecting data from 77 government servants of whom five were women. Only those who agreed to affix their signatures in the questionnaires were included in the study.

Employees of education, highways, revenue, health and other departments in Cuddalore, Villupuram, Vellore, Salem, Dharmapuri, Pudukkotai, Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivaganga and Tirunelveli were interviewed.

A 33-year-old orthopaedician in a Government Hospital at Cuddalore had told that he was asked to treat only Dalit patients. Fellow doctors and other staff members also commented before him that beneficiaries of reservation were always incompetent.

Similarly, a 48-year-old schoolteacher from Vellore said that he was ill-treated by the headmaster who often made fun of him in the presence of other teachers. He claimed that many caste Hindu students did not respect him.

Of the 77 interviewees, 75 agreed that they were subjected to caste discrimination. Thirty eight per cent said that they were victimised in service-related issues, while 30 per cent said that they were humiliated for their physical appearance.
Plaints with rights panel

Forty seven government employees had lodged complaints with their higher officials or the National/State Human Rights Commission. But only four of them managed to get a solution to problems faced by them. Thirteen had approached courts.

Thirty Dalits stated that trade unions, particularly those meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, had supported them in seeking justice. Further, out of the five women, three said they were subjected to gender discrimination.

The only consoling factor the study found was that 49 interviewees did not face caste discrimination in their localities as against 34 people who claimed that they were discriminated both at their workplace and surroundings.