Uncaste India

The Problem

The official story in India is that the government has abolished their social caste system. The reality however, is that oppression through discrimination is still the norm in lower caste villages and small towns throughout the country.

Formerly known as “Untouchables”, members of India's lowest caste have reclaimed the name of Dalit to describe their disadvantaged place within Indian society. Dalit discrimination is rampant and purposeful even though the Indian constitution now outlaws this practice.

Entire Dalit villages are deprived of government aid leaving the most vulnerable to starve to death or die from disease. Dalit workers are refused well paying jobs and decent housing. Dalit children face abuse and violence from their upper caste teachers in public schools. The caste system is entrenched and until it is truly abolished the Dalit people will continue to suffer unjustly.

ARV’s Solution

Longitude's purpose in India is to work directly with grassroots leaders to stop the cycle of discrimination and violence that plagues the Dalit people.

The UnCaste India Campaign directly supports the Association of Relief Volunteers (ARV), a network of 280 motivated and talented Indian volunteers, led by a visionary human rights advocate named Ravi Kumar.

✤ SURVIVAL

ARV starts with the basic needs – shelter, food and medical supplies. Before a people can take care of themselves they need the strength to stand, a safe place to think and the confidence to smile. Depending on a village's needs, ARV creates a program that provides the resources that the government is not supplying.

All ARV programs are continually assessed for progress and accountability. ARV's goal is show success through their programs so that the local government will become motivated to get involved in the communities that it had previously been ignoring. Through the use of news media and continued lobbying, Ravi and the village elders have had much success convincing the local government leaders to step up and take over the projects that ARV has started.

✤ EMPOWERMENT

For centuries Dalits have been isolated in their rural villages working only the most menial and disgusting jobs. This system of societal degradation has had success at brainwashing the Dalit people to believe that they are less intelligent and less qualified to work at one of the well paying and prideful jobs that their upper caste neighbors hold.

Longitude's UnCaste India Campaign will provide ARV and its local volunteers with the resources they need to help train and educate Dalit villagers. Helping Dalits gain trades and skills helps them to believe in their own value as people, parents, and members of Indian society.

✤ EQUALITY

Getting up on your feet is hard enough when you're starting at the bottom. The last thing people need is outside forces pushing them back down. They want to keep their fair share of what they earn. They want to send their kids to respectable schools. They want the benefits of health and safety afforded to the rest of their country.

For this to happen, local awareness about caste discrimination needs to increase. The casted need to partake in political lobbying and use the tools available to seek justice.

Ravi and his network of volunteers are trained in human rights practices. When Dalit land gets stolen or a family member gets beaten, ARV will help find a lawyer and seek justice. Under the Indian constitution, entitlements are available for all Indian citizens, including a guaranteed right to food. Ravi and his network help the villagers realize what is rightly theirs for the asking.

Survival. Empowerment. Equality.

Helping members of India's lowest social caste, Dalits, raise themselves from a life of impoverished banishment and discrimination to one of self-sustained equality.

The Association of Relief Volunteers (ARV) has had great success in focusing its programs on the 200 residents of Gummallapadu village. This success has enabled ARV to lobby the Indian government for funds. With a successful strategy and increasing government support, ARV now has the opportunity to expand its programs to 22 more villages. This means that ARV will be able to empower 5,500 Dalit villagers. In order to expand this transformative program that feeds children, builds houses and educates India’s lowest caste about their rights, we need your support. Please Donate Now!

Together we can UnCaste India and give everyone the opportunity to live a life filled with hope and possibility.

You can watch the video documenting the work we have done in Gummallapadu village or read more below about the strategy of empowerment Longitude supports in India.

You can also learn more about the specific projects encompassed by the UnCaste India Campaign, by reading our UnCaste India Projects page.