As a member of the Dalit minority in India, Beena Pallical knows the meaning of descent-based discrimination. The Dalit, commonly known as the ‘untouchables’ in India and other South Asian countries, are born into a lifetime of marginalisation, exclusion and human rights violations. They are strictly ‘ranked’ based on their descent, and are thereby placed at the lowest echelon of society’s classes.
Pallical left a corporate job to move to Delhi and work with the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights. She has been doing this work for the past eleven years, and is now the General Secretary.
“My dream is that every Dalit child has the same opportunity as any other child, so that they can be equal citizens in this country. My dream is that every Dalit woman is respected for the work that she does, and that she is not beaten up and raped, just because she is a Dalit.
My dream is that if I say I’m a Dalit and I’m at the table, I should be respected just like anybody else.”
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