Over one-sixth of India's population, some 170 million people, live a precarious existence, shunned by much of Indian society because of their rank as “untouchables” or Dalits—literally meaning “broken” people—at the bottom of India's caste system. Dalits are discriminated against, denied access to land and basic resources, forced to work in degrading conditions, and routinely abused at the hands of police and dominant-caste groups that enjoy the state's protection*. This discriminiation continues within World Bank funded programmes, as there are no strategies employed to avoid it at the project level. The following three presentations at the tribunal discussed the overall status of Dalits within World Bank programmes, and then gave specific testimony regarding education and post-tsunami development and disaster relief.
| Presentations | |
The World Bank and Dalits: Exclusion by Default
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The World Bank, Dalits, and Education: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
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*NCDHR Web site, http://www.ncdhr.org.in/ncdhr2/dalit-rights-situation/dalit-rights-situation.
