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A Dalit manifesto

CHANDRA BHAN PRASAD

This Dalit manifesto proposes to annihilate the caste order

Any manifesto that emerges from Dalits would foremost seek annihilation of caste. No doubt, the caste order is on the decline and degrees of discrimination have reduced. The cities appear relatively liberated for Dalits too. However, the caste order has not ended. Discrimination hasn’t become a thing of the past. This Dalit manifesto promises processes that would help annihilate the caste order — most notably, connect between castes and occupations. There hasn’t been a caste without a distinct occupation and vice versa. But then, machines, new tools and technology have been at the forefront in producing caste neutral occupations; to the extent, that the link between castes and occupations have been broken.

Dalit Diary would do the following:

A: Farm Sector

  • Farming will be mechanised.
  • To ensure that agriculture is mechanised, small land holdings will be discouraged in favour of large farms.
  • To encourage farming on large farms, land Ceiling laws will be abolished.
  • All machines and tools that relate to farm work — from tractors and harvesters to food processor, all will be free of all kinds of taxes.
  • Farm workers will be entitled to all the benefits that factory workers enjoy.
  • Refrigerated warehouses meant for storing farm produce/fish etc will be free of all taxes.
  • Refrigerated transport vehicles that carry farm produce, fish, meat, chicken, medicine will be free of all taxes. 
  • Crops will be ensured.
  • Contract farming will be encouraged.
  • Dairy will be made an industry and big corporate houses will be encouraged to launch dairies with a minimum of hundred milk cattle.
  • Fisheries too will be encouraged as industry, along with poultry.

B: Industry         

  • All efforts will be made to eliminate Green Terrorism.
  • land acquisition for industry will be made easier and farmers will be well compensated.
  • Industrialists will be able to be job givers.
  • labour intensive technology will be encouraged to create more non-farm jobs.

C: Service Sector

  • FDI in retail will be welcomed and foreign companies will be given all facilities that they would require.
  • Foreign companies in retail will be rewarded for introducing Indian products to the world market.
  • Hotel industry will be protected as the industry is key in developing the service sector.

D: Dalits

  • A thousand scholarships to Dalit students to study abroad.
  • A long time goal to help produce a hundred Dalit billionaires.
  • Government to invest in Dalit-owned enterprises as partners.
  • Each bank branch in the country to mentor one Dalit entrepreneur every third year.
  • Government to buy goods and services from Dalit entrepreneurs.
  • The private sector will be encouraged to embrace Dalits in their board rooms.
  • The private sector will also be encouraged to invest in Dalit enterprises and buy back their products.
  • Education to all Dalits as their fundamental right.

E: Tribal

  • All the above promises that are made to Dalits will be for Tribals also.
  • In addition, efforts will be made to encourage Tribals to migrate to cities.

F: OBCs

  • OBCs will be encouraged to join non-farm occupations.
  • Cattle-free OBC families will be handsomely rewarded.
  • OBC children will be drawn into Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
  • 2000 Overseas Fellowships to OBC students.
  • OBC families to be awarded for educating their kids.

G: Minorities

  • All efforts will be made to draw Muslims into Government jobs with maximum focus on police, judiciary, para-military forces and military, with complete Government funding
  • Muslim families to be awarded for sending their kids to English medium schools.
  • Muslims to be encouraged to leave occupations of artisanship.
  • One lakh fellowships to Muslim students for pursuing higher education.

E: Women 

  • Women to be encouraged in all walks of life.
  • Acid attacks liable to capital punishment.
  • Rape will be a crime at par with murder.

F: General Category

  • Brahman families will be encouraged to quit temple services.
  • Children of Brahman ritual doers will be awarded scholarships for higher education.
  • Any upper caste person/family that needs State’s protection will be treated well.

G: Taxation

  • Tax rates in all areas:  Sales, Excise, Income, Entertainment, luxury will be lowered in order to expand the tax basket and earn more revenue to the State’s treasury.
  • One uniform tax to the businesses.
  • Higher tax payers to be celebrated with a Padma Award

H: Foreign Policy

  • Friendly relationships with neighbours, will punish those shielding Dauds.
  • Closer ties with US, Europe, Japan and Australia.
  • India will join NATO.

I: Much More

  • Primary education to be nationalised so that central Government will take over as State Governments can no more offer decent education
  • School teachers will be asked to take classes.
  • Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas will be opened in each Block of the country.
  • Panchayati Raj to be abolished as the institution is making corruption fashionable in the countryside.
  • PWDs too would be nationalised.