A large number of them do not have Computerised National Identity Cards. It portrayed a bleak picture of the community in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The national primary enrollment rate of Dalits was 48 per cent but only 10 per cent of Dalit girls had access to primary schools and less than one per cent of Dalit women had studied till the eighth grade. It stated that during the floods, Dalits were discriminated against and were not allowed to live in relief camps. There are an estimated seven million Dalits in Pakistan, out of which 3.5 million live in flood-affected areas of Sindh. Nearly 70 per cent of these Dalits were labourers. The report suggested that Dalits have no representation in parliament.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th, 2012.
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Ali Tanoli : You post lies all the time : Gandhi was not a dalit, He belongs to Vysya community. And about Jinnah ?? Do muslims practice castes ??? I thought you forced dalits to convert to islam so that every one will be equal and no castes ??
how can there be 7 million dalits in pakistan? 7m/180m = 3.8 %
so dalits are almost 4 % of pakistans population? Lol has tribune turned into a joke? and please stop censoring.
@proud pakistani, DOnt forget Jinnah and Gandhi were Dalit too.
Yet another attempt to convert social problem into a religious one. In simple words "Poor has no access to schools in whole subcontinent. More and more people are falling into this class due to corrupt political elite."
Every indian and Pakistani must read the resignation letter of Mr Jogendar Nath mondal from the 1st cabinet of Pakistan to Liaqat Ali khan. If you have a heart, you will weep , irrespective of the religion you belong to.
This is the reality of the Land of the Pure in sharp contrast to the big claims made by the military and mullahs about how Islam treats everyone equally!
Islam of Indian subcontinent has all the footprints of Hinduism. Caste system is still prevalent among Muslims of subcontinent. Even Sikhs suffer from this problem. Caste loyalties often override even religious loyalties. Being a Hindu myself, even I feel very happy when I see my Muslim caste counterparts' achievements, even if they are from Pakistan. Blood is always thicker than anything else. However, being a human its shame when we treat fellow human being with so much contempt.
@ProudPakistani: Please check Pakistani contribution to Dalit cause on Wikipedia! As leader of the Scheduled Castes Jogendra Nath Mandal was one of the central and leading Founding Fathers of modern state of Pakistan. He, however, realized his folly in 1950 when thousands of lower caste Hindus were massacred in East Bengal generating a wave of refugees to India. He himself fled to India and submitted his resignation to Liaquat Ali Khan, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan.
We had a Dalit companion in All India Muslim league with Quaid e Azam & we assured them that unlike Hindus we will treat them equally...Don't know who r the elements behind their deprivation...
this is outrageous. dalit organizations should press for UN resolution condemning Pakistan for discrimination against dalits.
Dalit ? In Pakistan ? Where are those India bashers who howl from the top of a column about castes in India. Gone hiding??
I thought the mere notion of "Dalit" should cease to exist in an Islamic Republic. But when we have powerful untouchables in Politics, Education and the Economy -- not to mention untouchable mullahs -- why not untouchables in the lowest segment of society?