Challenges of Caste Discrimination and Dalit Struggle in Contemporary India
A Powerful Presentation of 'Shocking Truths' about Caste Oppression, Hindutva Politics and the Failure to Protect Dalit and Tribal Rights
Summary of the Video:
In this powerful address, Adv. Justin Pallivathukkal, a social activist and a one-man-army who fights for the rights of the Dalit, Backward and Minority communities, raises serious questions about the continuing existence of caste discrimination, untouchability and atrocities against Dalits and other marginalized communities in contemporary India.
The immediate context of his address is the controversy surrounding Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, President of the Indian National Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Following Kharge's appearance at a public programme in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, a group associated with Shri Ram Sena reportedly conducted a purification ceremony at the venue. Kharge subsequently raised the issue in Parliament, describing the experience as deeply painful and connected to the continuing humiliation faced by Dalits.
For Adv. Pallivathukkal, the incident is not an isolated episode. He sees it as a disturbing symbol of a much larger reality: despite the constitutional abolition of untouchability and the existence of laws specifically intended to protect Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, caste-based discrimination, social exclusion and violence continue in different parts of India.
The speaker points to Article 15 and Article 17 of the Constitution, as well as the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. He argues that the existence of these laws means little if they are not effectively implemented and if victims are unable to obtain timely justice.
He describes numerous forms of discrimination allegedly faced by Dalits and tribal communities—including social boycotts, violence, segregation, humiliation, denial of access to public resources and educational opportunities, and attacks when members of oppressed communities challenge traditional caste boundaries.
A central theme of the address is the silence surrounding caste atrocities. The speaker argues that society often reacts strongly when a prominent political figure is insulted, while countless ordinary Dalits and Adivasis suffer humiliation and violence without receiving comparable public attention.
The address also strongly criticizes the political climate of contemporary India. Adv. Pallivathukkal argues that various Hindutva-oriented groups, operating under different names and organisations, have contributed to the spread of caste and communal divisions. He alleges that such groups are able to operate with confidence because of what he describes as the political protection, tacit support or silence of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government and its wider political ecosystem. In his view, divisive politics based on religious majoritarianism and caste hierarchy threatens India's constitutional commitment to secularism, equality and fraternity.
The speaker particularly emphasizes the vulnerability of Dalits, Adivasis and other marginalized communities when political power, social privilege and institutional influence are concentrated in the hands of dominant groups.
Another major theme is the functioning of the police, prosecution and judicial system. Citing government and National Crime Records Bureau data, he highlights the enormous number of cases pending before courts and the difficulties victims face in obtaining timely convictions and justice. He argues that prolonged delays and inadequate enforcement can discourage victims while creating a sense of impunity among perpetrators.
The address also highlights the historical contribution of Christian missionaries and Christian institutions to education, healthcare and social advancement among marginalized communities. According to the speaker, missionary education and social work challenged caste barriers by affirming the equal dignity of human beings and opening educational and social opportunities to Dalits, Adivasis, poor communities and others who had historically faced exclusion.
Ultimately, the speech is a call for social awakening and collective action. Adv. Pallivathukkal argues that Dalits, Adivasis and other marginalized communities must become more united and conscious of their constitutional rights. He calls upon the judiciary, administration, political leadership and wider society to reject caste discrimination and to defend the constitutional values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.
The central message of the address is clear:
India may have abolished untouchability in its Constitution, but untouchability and caste discrimination will truly disappear only when they are eliminated from society and from the minds of those who continue to practice or tolerate them.
Transcript of the Video
On August 13, 2026, Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and President of the Congress party in democratic India, was really shaken up.
A few days earlier, on August 8, 2026, at a public event at the Ramlila Ground in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, he said that his presence had somehow dirtied the stage and the whole place. In response, two days later, on August 10, members of Shri Ram Sena held a cleansing ceremony with Ganga water and conducted a fire ritual.
"Speaking as a Dalit myself and as someone who has experienced the reality of caste discrimination in India, I say that most of the Dalit community has been humiliated by this. This is straight-up discrimination. It goes against the Constitution."
Article 15 of the Indian Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds including religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth. On top of that, Article 17 completely abolishes untouchability. The Protection of Civil Rights Act of 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 are also active laws.
In our great Indian nation, which is a democracy, it is truly disgraceful that Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and President of the Congress, has been insulted and subjected to caste-based abuse. This is a shameful thing for the entire country.
The economic sector has been badly affected, unemployment has increased, entrance examinations have been plagued by controversies, and farmers have been neglected. Indian youth fighting for justice have been beaten and left on the streets. Meanwhile, corruption and cover-ups continue as those in power hold on to their rule, even affecting education.
The Shri Ram Sena has, in my view, added another feather to the cap of a government that is working with the unspoken goal of destroying democratic traditions, selling out the country and turning India into a Hindu Rashtra.
Let us look at Mallikarjun Kharge, one of the prominent Dalit leaders India has produced. He has now become a victim of this controversy involving Shri Ram Sena.
Born in 1942 into a Dalit family in Warawatti, Bidar district, Karnataka, he experienced hardship from an early age. He fought against social systems, oppression and caste discrimination in order to achieve progress.
From 1972, he served as a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. He held ministerial positions, including State Home Minister, became a Member of Parliament in 2009 and served as Railway Minister in the second UPA government. He protested and raised his voice for various causes.
As the 61st President of the Indian National Congress and currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, even he is not safe from caste-based humiliation.
India is still torn apart by caste-based communalism. Dominant caste groups continue to refuse to accept Dalits and other marginalized communities as equals.
Various extremist groups are spreading communal poison mixed with casteism across India.
What Constitution or Hindu law justifies this?
Recently, leaders of Shri Ram Sena have reportedly told the media that anyone who does not support Hindu extremism is anti-Hindu.
But humanity and equality are the greatest religions in the world.
Who taught these hateful groups that hatred is superior to humanity?
They are the ones tearing down the Constitution, justice, freedom, equality and fraternity, all based on a rigid caste system.
When caste became deeply embedded in the social system, oppressed Dalit, Adivasi and other marginalized communities were pushed to the very bottom and treated as untouchable by so-called upper classes.
This is a mental sickness affecting society—a deadly disease that needs urgent treatment. Only by addressing this can we make progress.
Through social boycotts, physical attacks, denial of education and deprivation of rights, these oppressed groups have suffered endlessly.
If at any point they unite and decide to fight peacefully and constitutionally for their human rights, no force in this country can stop them.
It is a fact today that a small elite and economically powerful section exercises enormous influence over political and economic resources.
What action has been taken so far against those who openly violate the Constitution?
Even though they have blatantly stripped the Indian Constitution of its spirit, our rulers remain blind to it and continue to remain silent.
This still goes on and, according to the political ideology I am criticizing, will continue because it is connected to the survival of Hindutva.
To keep such a system going, social subordination is essential.
If slavery is to continue, then the caste system must continue.
Shri Mallikarjun Kharge raised his voice in Parliament not simply because he personally felt hurt, but because the Dalit community to which he belongs continues to face discrimination and violence.
In December 2025, in Udaypur, Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh, a man named Bharat Raj went to eat at a Dalit's house.
His family was a non-Dalit family. But the panchayat branded the family as social outcasts and announced it openly.
According to the reported verdict, eating food at a Valmiki or Dalit family's house was considered a sin.
At that time, none of us said a word.
In September 2025, near a Dalit community settlement in Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, caste-based walls were reportedly constructed around Dalit houses as part of a housing development.
The world watched in shock when people were segregated in this manner, but even then, we did not say a word.
On June 17, 2026, Prashant Solanki, a Dalit youth who had come for a wedding in Kuthirappuram, was reportedly beaten by members of a dominant caste group.
Still, we remained silent.
When someone claimed that at a temple event a lower-caste person had placed his foot over the foot of an upper-caste elder—a gesture they called "cross-legged sitting"—a Dalit youth was reportedly beaten to death in southern Tamil Nadu.
Again, all of us kept quiet.
In the west, in a village in Maharashtra, when three Dalit milkmen were reportedly caught bathing in a well used by dominant castes, they were stripped, beaten and paraded naked.
And we said nothing.
In Gujarat, a 13-year-old Dalit boy named Mahesh, accused of putting a shoe in a letterbox, was subjected to unimaginable abuse.
And we remained silent then too.
So why now, when Maulik Yadav added "Sinh", a title associated with an upper caste, next to his name on Facebook, do we react differently?
Even when the young man was brutally attacked, none of us said a word.
We were all silently suffering, our hearts shattered by what we saw and heard, realizing that there was no safety even for ourselves.
It was at this breaking point that, in India's Parliament, facing rulers whom he believed were appeasing this barbaric mentality, Mallikarjun Kharge boldly expressed the unbearable pain that he and his community had experienced.
He was speaking of the endless oppression and injustice forced upon Dalits.
Even the wells, public places and facilities in our own land and villages have been affected by caste discrimination.
Even after nearly 80 years of independence, this country still has millions of children who do not have adequate access to schools, teachers or food.
Dalits and other oppressed communities continue to face the same old mindset.
Over the past 10 to 12 years, governance has not, in my view, produced sufficient improvement in this situation. Instead, frustration and tension have increased.
There are many reasons for this, but two of the main reasons are the dominance of privileged groups in administrative and political power and the failure of the judicial system to act effectively.
Based on the Crime Records Bureau reports, the Honourable Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Ramdas Athawale, gave a written reply in the Rajya Sabha to a question by MP Shri Sanjay Singh.
The figures are shocking.
In India, a very large proportion of cases relating to untouchability remain pending.
Under the Protection of Civil Rights Act of 1955, hundreds of cases remain pending before the courts.
What more can be said?
Looking at cases registered under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act of 1989, we also see a disturbing situation.
Thousands of cases are registered every year, while large numbers remain pending for years.
The real question is not merely how many cases are registered.
The real question is: How many victims actually receive justice?
Do you know how many SC/ST cases are pending in various courts across India?
There are tens of thousands of cases pending.
So where and how can an ordinary person obtain justice?
How can we prevent disrespect, harassment and discrimination?
The courts of justice need to wake up.
They must wake up from their deep slumber and their state of inaction.
And thirdly, the most important thing is the decline of Christian missionary activities in today's India.
The role Christian missionaries played in shaping India is something words cannot fully explain.
They taught people to see each other as human beings.
They taught that everyone is a child of God.
They provided education and healthcare without making caste the basis of human worth.
They taught people to live together and share the same space in unity.
They lifted the poor, tribals and Dalits through education and social advancement, opening opportunities for communities that had historically been excluded.
They challenged deep-rooted divisions, injustices and superstitions that had existed in this land.
They bravely fought against them, and their contribution became part of the making of modern India.
Christian institutions continue to provide education, healthcare and social services to millions of people.
The importance of this contribution should not be forgotten.
The real reason behind the constant attacks by right-wing groups and radical Hindutva extremists on missionaries and Christian educational institutions in India, in my view, is fear.
They are afraid of the progress that Dalits, Adivasis, backward communities and marginalized people are making in villages across the country through education and social development.
They know that such progress challenges the caste system.
And if the caste system is challenged, many traditional structures of privilege and domination will also be challenged.
That is why Christian and Dalit communities continue to face opposition.
No one can argue that democratic India should not confront this issue in a truly democratic manner.
The removal of untouchability is not optional.
It is a constitutional obligation.
Nobody should ever be allowed to say that a human being is inferior because of his or her caste.
Nobody should ever be allowed to say that a Dalit has polluted a place merely by being present there.
We must not allow it.
India must not allow the Constitution to remain merely a document.
Equality must become a lived reality.
Untouchability must disappear—not only from the law, but from the minds and hearts of society.
