HZ Exclusive Interview With Beena Pallical: The Dalit Activist Who Is Fighting The Caste System

Dalit History Month is observed in the month of April every year. The month is celebrated as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Dalits (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes).

Throughout the month, we heard and read many powerful voices and stories from Dalit leaders. However, as we enter the new month of May, the Dalit history month has come to an end, but their struggles are still the same and their stories are as relevant as any other time.

In an HZ exclusive interview with Lakshita Singh from HerZindagi,Ms. Beena Pallical, General Secretary of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rightsdiscussed in detail about the injustices and stigmas that the Dalit community still faces today, explained some important terms, and highlighted how social media platforms like Twitter have created a public sphere to advocate for the Dalit community's development and much more.

Justice For The Dalit Community Is A Dream

Lakshita: What are the injustices and stigmas that the Dalit community has to face even today?

Beena Pallical: The centuries-old system of caste and the hierarchies that come with it continues to perpetuate the exclusionary system of caste. The manifestation of this results in untouchability practices and instances of violence; about 40,000+ cases of violence are registered under the special provision of the SC ST PoA Act. Besides this, communities are unable to access services and education and are discriminated against while accessing their rights. The caste system is so embedded in the cultural practices, religion has endorsed it and everything in society is determined by it from elections to jobs to personal ceremonies to marriages. Women of the Dalit communities are further marginalized not only due to her caste location but also due to her gender and class. Justice for the Dalit community is a dream and most of the time in cases of violence we have to wait for years before we get any form of justice.

'Because I Am Dalit, I Was Invisible At The Conference Tables'

Lakshita: What triggered you to work in the area and what challenges did you face?

Beena Pallical: I belong to the Dalit community and felt that the caste system is increasing the inequalities in this country and globally too, I felt my skills and contribution could be utilised for the community’s empowerment and to enable the community to access rights and entitlements.

Most of my work focuses on budgets, governance, and fiscal accountability, an area dominated by dominant caste men. For a long time, I was invisible at the conference tables, I was looked past because Dalit women do not talk budgets, they are poor and cannot sit at the table negotiating policies. But slowly I took this challenge up, fought against the tide, in fact still fighting but moving towards a just society.

Difference Between Equality & Equity

Discussing further, Beena Pallical explained the difference between Equality & Equity in detail. She said,

"Equality is about providing an equal space; however, it is good only so far as everyone is starting from the same position. For example, universalisation does not work for all, as having universal policies may sound good but may not be accessible to all even though they may seem equal. This is where equity comes from. Equity recognises that all do not start at the same position and may need targeted policies to ensure access and fairness and justice comes only when there are specific solutions based on specific needs. Therefore, the aim should be to try to strive to have more equitable solutions to address the issue of caste-based discrimination. Many times, the issues are systemic and systematic, and therefore at the policy level, it is important to always look at it from the lens of equity to be able to impact marginalized communities."

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The Role Of Social Media In Her Journey As An Activist & Policymaker

Talking about the role of social media, Beena Pallical said, "Twitter plays a very important role in providing a service for communities from the marginalized sections to voice their opinions. Twitter also has over the years managed to personalise one’s experience and make it safe and healthier. In our work with Twitter, we were able to work together to bring in caste in their policy and most recently mention caste in the reporting flow on Twitter. These are significant changes that Twitter is taking to make the space more safer and inclusive. Yes, there is so much more to do but there is a positive outlook to change and make it a more inclusive and safe platform."

Online Platform Is Only A Reflection Of Offline World

Lakshita: How do you deal with hate projected through online and social mediums?

Beena: The online platform is only a reflection of what is happening offline, hate continues online defaming, and relegating people from the Dalit communities. This continues, specifically on women, rape threats, violence, calling out physical characteristics like colour etc to totally strip women of their dignity. We are working closely with Twitter to identify abuse online, recognize it and address it. But young Dalit girls and boys are challenging this onslaught, building solidarities across these platforms with others from the communities but also allies to fight back and address some of these issues.

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Role Of Twitter In Bringing About Change For Good In Society

We further talked to Payal Kamat, Public Policy & Government, India - Twitter about the role of Twitter in bringing about change for good in society.

Payal said that Twitter is a unique service that’s home to a world of diverse people, perspectives, ideas, and information. In recent times, their service and the Open Internet have emerged as catalysts for social change which is providing an unmatched way to connect with, and directly speak to public officials and representatives. This direct line of communication with leaders and officials helps to democratize political discourse and real-time conversation to increase transparency and accountability.

Talking about efforts undertaken specially for the Dalit History Month, she said, "Protecting the voices of everyone on our service and promoting healthy conversations is a top priority and one we are constantly working on. The Twitter Rules are a living document and our work to update, refine, and improve both our rules and enforcement options are informed by research, input from members of our Trust & Safety Council, and feedback from the people who use Twitter. Further, we added caste to our hateful conduct policy two years ago. We realise we have so much more to do and are committed to strengthening our allyship and engagement with marginalized groups."

She added, "Talking specifically about #DalitHistoryMonth, to further our efforts in empowering communities and amplifying Dalit voices, we have launched a dedicated Event page where people can follow conversations, news, and access video content around the occasion. We’ve also launched an emoji to mark the occasion, that people can trigger by Tweeting with #DalitHistoryMonth, and participate in meaningful conversations with people within and outside the community. By bringing together a wider and more diverse range of perspectives, we hope to engage in more substantial discussions on emerging trends and issues. We’ll continue to serve the public conversation and take a stand for inclusion and diversity — and we will do so #UntilWeAllBelong."

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