UK-based anti-caste discrimination groups today asked British Prime Minister Theresa May to call on the Indian government to take "stern action" against caste-based violence in the country.
Nearly a dozen groups led by the Anti Caste Discrimination Alliance submitted a joint statement to the UK government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Secretary General asking them to intervene and send a team to investigate.
"We strongly condemn the increasing violence against Dalits and minorities in India. We also condemn the rise in the so-called 'cow vigilantism' in a country paradoxically the top exporter of beef in the world, the rise in 'Hindu nationalism' and the failure of the authorities to provide legal justice and redress to victims and to eradicate caste-based discrimination," the statement reads.
"We stand in solidarity with protests in Una, Gujarat and around the world including the UK and the USA against these rising atrocities," it adds.
The statement comes ahead of a protest planned outside the Indian High Commission in London on Saturday to protest against caste discrimination and violence in India.
The protest, organised by Castewatch UK and South Asia Solidarity Group, will include handing over a memorandum and a charter of demands to the High Commission addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The organisers said the demonstration is being held in solidarity with Dalit protests in India followingan attack on four Dalit men in Una, Gujarat, on July 11.
Some of the other UK groups involved include AWAAZ South Asia Network, Dr Ambedkar Buddhist organisation Birmingham UK, Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK, IndiaMattersUK, India Workers Association GB and Indian Scheduled Caste Welfare Association UK.
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