Thursday November 21, 2024

TESTIMONIALS

Cynthia Stephen Social Policy Researcher, India

There have been fewer conflicts at global scale in the last six or seven decades, though there have been ongoing conflicts in several hotspots. However, these localized conflicts have often happened in the areas with a large number of ethnic or religious minorities.

Dr Abhay Kumar Writer, Journalist and Social Activist, India

It is the strategy of elites to pit one group of minority against the other, such as Dalits against Muslims and Muslims against Dalits. This is the divide and rule strategy. The reality is that both groups are marginalized and exploited, but in different areas. It's an agenda of the state to create confusion against the communities. We must try to work to build the ‘unity of oppressed.’

Dr Goldie M George Activist & Social Scientist, India

It took centuries of struggle by Dalit-Bahujan leaders – including Jyotirao Phule, Iyothee Thass, BR Ambedkar, Baba Mangu Ram, Periyar, Aiyyankali, Narayana Guru, and others – to unveil casteism and expose the anti-human religious structure. What bothers today is how blatantly the state looks for opportunities to snatch away the constitutional rights and civil liberties of her citizens, particularly those hailing from oppressed sections of society in the creation of Hindu Rashtra.

D B Sagar Founder and president of the International Commission for Dalit Rights (ICDR), USA

A formidable barrier against minorities has been erected for decades, creating friction within society that makes it difficult for marginalized communities to access opportunities, basic rights, and essential resources.

Dilip Menon Director at Centre for Indian Studies in Africa, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa

No country can plant democracy on a caste society. Democracy depends on fraternity and where there is not the feeling of fraternity between people, democracy cannot sustain.

Anwar Arkani Founder & President of Rohingya Association of Canada (RAC), Canada

The discriminatory behavior exhibited in the present times is as severe as, or even worse than what was practiced by colonial rulers. This is primarily due to the actions of corrupt politicians and religious leaders who give rise to intercommunal conflicts for their own gain.