BANGALORE: The two-day All- India Delegates Conference of the Indigenous People of India, organized by the Council of Indigenous People India, here on Dec.24- 25,1993 has come out with a clear statement saying that the country’s Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Castes are indigenous people of India. The statement was adopted at the conclusion of the conference here on Dec.25.

The statement calls upon the United Nations and the Government of India to recognize this “historical fact” and confer on the SC/ST/Bcs all the rights declared by the “UN Working Group on Indigenous Population.”

The conference was attended by delegates from all parts of India.

It was inaugurated by K. Veeramani, Gen. Secretary of the Dravida Kazhagam, Madras and presided over by V.T., Rajshekar, Editor, Dalit Voice.

Maiku Ram, IPS, Inspector-General of Police (Training), Bihar. Patna, was the Chief Guest. Our Adviser, Yogesh Varhade, from Canada, who is fighting at the international level to include Dalits in the list of indigenous people, also attended. The other speakers were: Sreedhar Murthy. Advocate, Bangalore, R.Elumalai, Madras, S.S.Khazi. Raju Thomas, Iqbal Ahmed Sharif and Ambujakshan, Dalit Panthers, Kerala.

Aryans are aliens: The conference was also attended by noted social scientists, anthropologists, writers and social activists. The statement said:

(1) Our land, now called India, was overrun by the alien Aryans from the west. The descendants of those Aryans are now ruling India and they enslaved the aboriginals of India.

(2) Dalits. Tribals and Backward Castes, the three sections of original inhabitants of India who lost their territories to Aryans, are the victims of an oppressive hierarchical system, i.e. casteism, imposed on them by the Aryans.

(3) We the Dalits, Tribals and BCs, who are still the conquered nations, have separate identities as against the so-called “Hindu” identity which is a proxy for non brahminism. It is this Hindu- ism which submerges our separate nationalities and identities, and responsible for the total neglect of our basic human rights.

(4) Dalits and Tribals built the Indus Valley Civilization. Muslims/Christians/Sikhs are the converts from the above three sections.

(5) We appeal to the United Nations to include Dalits, Tribals and Backward Castes in the list of In- digenous People. We also appeal to all the persecuted nationalities of the world to support us in this regard. As indigenous people, our human rights are to be protected by the treaty of the United Nations. Self-determination: Our right of self-determination economically, socially, religiously and culturally – should be honored and our lost lands (territories) will have to be restored by creating separate settlements independent of Hindu areas. In other words the declaration of 1993 of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Population should be applied to us in to. Don’t call us Hindus: (6) We appeal to all the people of India and

the world not to call us  the Dalits, Tribals and Backward Castes  as Hindus and hide our identities. We should be called and identified by our respective original names. (7) We request the UN Human Rights Sub-Commission to intervene in the incidents of human rights violations of all forms against us. Because, untouchability and caste system are no more an Indian problem but the problem of the whole universe.

WCC congratulated: (8) We congratulate the World Council of Churches, Geneva, for having sup- ported our declaration that Dalits are the indigenous people of India and victims of racism in the form of casteism. We call upon the WCC to support us in our fight against Indian apartheid under its Program to Combat Racism.

Press blackout: The conference was a big success but the Aryan brahminical press did not publish even a line of report. This proves our charge that the ruling Aryans want to suppress the historical fact that we are the indigenous people. Courtesy: Dalit Voice.

Article extracted from this publication >> March 25, 1994