Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Shameful and tragic” (May 7). Dalit women are at a double disadvantage on account of gender and caste. Given their vulnerability, they are constantly in fear of being raped and mauled. For them, constitutional rights and guarantees exist only on paper; in real life, they are violated with impunity.
low social status and straitened material circumstances make them an easy prey for potential rapists. In all probability, the abode of the Kerala victim, which was also the crime scene — a mud house in a two-cent purambokku land (law owned by none, hence Government’s) on a canal bund was an open invitation to the rapist-cum-murderer.
To ignore the injustices done to the poor Dalits is to betray our common humanity. For a moment, we must imagine ourselves in place of the Dalits to understand the burden and pain of existence on account of the abomination of caste. It is the primary duty of the Government and the civil society to end the atrocities (hate crimes) against Dalits and secure them a life of dignity.