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Tamilnadu state and other affected areas with their relief teams. But how did India’s caste system and other traditional problems fare in the aftermath of the Tsunami? V.B. Rawat investigates.

When the Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong, reported that in India the Dalits were not receiving adequate relief in the aftermath of the Tsunami, I was not surprised, but I decided to find out more.

It is well known that in the grand Indian scheme of things, Dalits do not matter much – after all they are poor, and they could not have lost much. NGOs, funded internationally and often led by those who lack a deep understanding of Indian society, are also in a hurry to distribute relief and to do their best. In the process they often forget that there are also communities of Dalits who are victims in disasters like this – because no one speaks for them and because they live a few kilometres away from where everyone else lives. They too lose their houses and their livelihood, yet are usually not caught on the relief radar.

I first went to Karaikal, a village about 40 kilometers from Nagpattinam town, which was one of the worst Tsunami-affected areas in India. In this village of some 730 fishing families about 32 people died and 19 were missing. The Government of Pondicherry state was quick to distribute Rs 10,000 for each family to rebuild houses, and Rs 2000 for children’s uniform and books. One hundred thousand rupees were paid to the families of those who died, and Rs 5,000 for cremating each of the dead.

The relief material from the government was being handled and distributed by the fisherfolk community organizations which were operating from the community temple. Paramswamy, a local lad who could speak English came forward to assist me. He and his associates took me to visit their village. As I ventured to see the broken temple by the sea side, and the god who could not save his own believers, I also asked them about the Dalits. There was a conspicuous silence. "Please come with us, we want you to visit our village. A lot of people have died there", said Param.

I insisted I wanted to see the adjacent village too. There I saw a bare-chested man rebuilding his hut. My contacts did not want me to take a picture of the ‘poor people’. Only a few Communist Party workers were there, helping the 'poor people' erect some bamboo houses. According to the Communist Party workers, one hundred thirty two affected families in that village received no aid. Most went to nearby shelters; the local religious charitable organizations were taking care of their ‘own’ communities.

We then went to Cuddalore, again one of the worst affected areas. Near here in the village of Devanpattinam, Swami Chidananda, who had ‘descended’ from the Himalayas, had set up camp. He promised that he would rebuild the entire village. The Swami came with his famous disciple, the Bollywood actor Vivek Oberai. They were all moving around with a few foreign disciples with cameras in hand.

While I was uncomfortable with this glamorising of relief work, what perturbed me most was the news that some of the fisher folk objected with physical violence to the Dalits eating in the 6 community kitchens opened by the Swami. The Charity was forced to start a separate kitchen for the Dalits. Even in such a desperate situation, the relief workers did not have the courage to challenge the status quo and fight the criminal racial discrimination against fellow victims of a natural disaster. Many religious groups were present doing valuable work. The activities of religious groups reflect our joint concern for the victims. The Muslims, Christians and the Hindus were there. Visiting the excellent work being done by the Muslim groups, I could however notice the discrimination against their women. It is sad. The problem is that even when they help rebuild, the religious groups will help rebuild the old decadent system, rather than help build anew. That is why we need Secular relief organisations with a progressive outlook and agenda.

V.B.Rawat is a Human Rights activist and journalist and head of the Social Development Foundation, a Humanist organisation working in the development sector viz land rights, food rights and peaceful conflict resolution.