Abbreviation | DST |
---|---|
Formation | 2016 |
Type | Religio-political organization |
Legal status | Foundation |
Purpose | Social Reforms, Political rights |
Area served | Pakistan |
Chairman | Radha Bheel [1] |
Convener | Dr Sono Khangarani |
Vice-chairperson | Manga Ram Oad and Vesaki Mal Bhagri |
Main organ | 21 member Core Committee |
The Dalit Sujag Tehreek (DST) is a movement and organisation representing the scheduled caste Hindu communities in Pakistan. Its core committee consists of 21 people from different scheduled caste Hindu communities such as Kolhi, Bheel, Meghwar, Oad, Bhagri. [1] [2]
The movement was launched in 2016 during the 125th anniversary of the birth of Baba Saheb Ambedkar at Mirpurkhas. It was formed by the combination of different Scheduled Caste organisations in Pakistan like Bheel Intellectual Forum (BIF), Oad Samaji Tanzeem, Pakistan Meghwar Council, Baghri Welfare Association, All Sindh Kolhi Association, Sindh Kolhi Itehad (Nemdas group), Sindh Kolhi Itehad (Ranshal Group), Qaumi Awami Tehreek and the Scheduled Caste Federation of Pakistan (SCFP). It was launched as a campaign against social discrimination faced by scheduled caste Hindus in Pakistan from both Muslims and upper caste Hindus. [3]
Although Scheduled caste Hindus form majority of the Hindu population in Pakistan, they are underrepresented in the political sphere. According to the Radha Bheel the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) has about 2,000 Hindu members, among them only 7 are from Scheduled Castes. [2]
During the formation of the DST, Chander Kolhi, the leader of Progressive Human Front said that the DST will take shape of a Dalit political party in Pakistan. [3] In the 2018 Pakistan General Election, five members of DST including 3 women contested in the General election under the DST banner. [7] [6]
Dalit, also some of them previously known as untouchables, is the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna of the caste hierarchy and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of Panchama. Several scholars have drawn parallels between Dalits and the Burakumin of Japan, the Baekjeong of Korea, the Hukou system of China and the peasant class of the medieval European Feudal system.
Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Pakistan after Islam. While Hinduism was one of the dominant faiths in the region a few centuries back, today Hindus account for only 2.14% of Pakistan's population or about 4.4 million people according to the 2017 Pakistani census, although Pakistan Hindu Council has claimed that there are 8 million Hindus living in Pakistan, making up 4% of the country's population. The Umerkot district has the highest percentage of Hindu residents in the country at 52.2%, while Tharparkar district has the most Hindus in absolute numbers at 714,698.
Chuhra, also known as Bhanghi and Balmiki, is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan. Populated regions include the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, as well as Uttar Pradesh in India, among other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as southern India. Their traditional occupation is sweeping, a "polluting" occupation that caused them to be considered untouchables in the caste system.
Surendar Valasai (Balasiya) is a Pakistani Meghwal Dalit journalist from the Tharparkar District. He was a member of Provincial assembly of Sindh on minority reserved seat fr August 2018 to August 2023.
Khipro is a tehsil of Sanghar district. Its headquarters are in Khipro town. It is bounded to the east by India.
The Kolhi is a subgroup of Koli community native to Sindh, Pakistan. Kolhi's mostly are Hindu but some of them are Christian and Muslim. They engage in agriculture and most of them are poor peasants and sharecroppers.
The caste system among South Asian Christians often reflects stratification by sect, location, and the caste of their predecessors. There exists evidence to show that Christian individuals have mobility within their respective castes. But, in some cases, social inertia caused by their old traditions and biases against other castes remain, causing caste system to persist among South Asian Christians, to some extent. Christian priests, nuns, Dalits and similar groups are found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
In India, a caste is a social group where membership is decided by birth. Castes often have related political preferences. Broadly, Indian castes are divided into the Forward Castes, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes; sometimes Indian Christians and Indian Muslims may also function as castes. The reservation system in India essentially acts as affirmative action to provide representation to caste groups that have been systematically disadvantaged.
Tholkappiyan Thirumavalavan, better known as Thol. Thirumavalavan is a political leader, scholar and activist from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is a Member of Parliament from Chidambaram. Founder and President of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi. He rose to prominence in the 1990s as a Dalit leader, and formally entered politics in 1999. His political platform centres on ending caste-based discrimination and consequently the caste system. He has also expressed support for Tamil nationalist movements in Sri Lanka.
Persecution and discrimination against Dalits has been observed in the countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, the UK, and the US.
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Hingorno is a small town situated in Taluka Sindhri, Mirpur Khas District, Sindh, Pakistan. The town has a population of 35000.
Pakistan Hindu council is the representative body of Hindus in Pakistan, incorporated in 2005 by Ramesh Kumar Vankwani.
Abdul Haq is a Muslim cleric and Pakistani politician. He is among the leaders of the Bharchundi Shareef Dargah, and a locally influential figure. Haq was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Constituency NA-200 (Ghotki-I) as a candidate of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in 2008 Pakistani general election. He received 59,022 votes and defeated Khalid Ahmed Khan Lund, a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q).
Krishna Kumari Kohli, also known by the nickname Kishoo Bai, is a Pakistani politician who has been the member of the Senate of Pakistan since March 2018. She is the second Hindu woman to hold this position. She is known for her campaigns for women's rights and against bonded labour; and was named as one of the BBC's 100 most influential women in 2018.
In Pakistan, it is estimated that several hundred people belonging to the minority Hindu, Christian, and Sikh communities are kidnapped and forcefully converted or coerced through societal pressures to convert to Islam each year.
Hinduism is a minority religion in Punjab province of Pakistan followed by about 0.2% of its population. Punjab has the second largest number of Hindus in Pakistan after Sindh. Hinduism is followed mainly in the Southern Punjab districts of Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur.
Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Sindh, numbering 4.17 million people, comprising 8.73% of the province population as per 2017 Pakistani census. Sindh has the largest population and the highest percentage of Hindus in Pakistan. The Sindh hosts the Shri Ramapir Temple whose annual festival is the second largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan, after the Hinglaj Yatra.
The Sindhi Bhils/Bheels are a Sindhinised sub-group of the Bhil people who live in the Sindh, Punjab, and Balocistan provinces of Pakistan. They are one of major Hindu community in the region, and are one of the Hindu groups in Pakistan who are known to not leave Sindh during the Partition of India.
The Sindhi Meghwars are a Sindhinised sub-group of the Meghwal people who live in the Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan. They are one of major Hindu community in the region, and are one of the Hindu groups in Pakistan who are known to not leave Sindh during the Partition of India.