Josiane
and Jean-Luc RACINE |
After having been century-long victims of oppression and condemned
to illiteracy, the Dalits understood that one of the means for emancipation
was education. In her life story, confided to Josiane and Jean-Luc
Racine, Viramma, a dalit field worker in the Pondicherry area, tells
of her hopes in education for her son Anbin, her only son who, with
his two sisters, was the only of her twelve children to survive.
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Alphonse
MANICKAM |
Alphonse MANICKAM is a Jesuit priest of Tamil origin. He was born
in a small Dalit village. Unlike other members of his cast, he was
able to study at university. Thanks to his studies, he is now a
history teacher in one of India's best universities. At the moment
he is finishing his doctorate at the Sorbonne. Back in India he
will be looked upon as a Dalit, an untouchable. But according to
him "no one is untouchable". His personal testimony, given
to us in this interview, can help us to understand the interest
of the creation of Dalit movement in South India. He also underlines
the importance of education for all. And finally he shows that the
fight for respect and human dignity of the Dalits is a social fight
and not a religious one because in India "caste is more important
than religion".
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