Shivani Waldekar
On 25th May 2020, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man was murdered in police custody in Minneapolis, USA. A video showing a white police officer kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes while he was pinned to the floor went viral. Following this, large anti-racism protests took place with many white people also standing against racism and police brutality. I think that is one of the toughest things: stand against your own community and your own people and demand justice.
In India, from Rohith Vemula, Delta Meghwal, Akhlaq, Pehlu Khan, Dr. Payal Tadvi to Hathras, Balrampur, Azamgarh, Bulandshahr, Dalits are struggling to fight the social boycotts imposed by dominant castes, Dalit women are still seeking justice for mass rape, the death of manual scavengers keeps hitting national newspapers headlines, and the list of caste-based atrocities is increasing everyday but the Savarnas, the so-called upper castes, or the dominant or privileged castes, haven't dared to expose their own existence. They're always silent on Brahmin Supremacy, Brahminical patriarchy and their silence is violence and violation of many civil rights movements. On the other hand, these people are always asking about how to be an ally of the Dalit Rights Movement?
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