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The term, Racial Discrimination defined by UN Convention:
"In this Convention, the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life."
- Article 1: International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Adopted and opened for signature and ratification by UN General Assembly resolution 2106 (XX) of 21 December 1965, entry into force 4 January 1969, in accordance with Article 19)
"Unique Discrimination"
"Dalits have faced a unique discrimination in our society that is fundamentally different from the problems of minority groups in general. Untouchability is not just social discrimination. It is a blot on humanity."
- Dr. Manmohan Singh, The Prime Minister of India, 2006
Source: One World South Asia
The term, Dalit:
Dalit,
a term that has become synonymous with Untouchable, is the name that many
Untouchables, especially politically aware individuals, have chosen for
themselves. The name means "oppressed" and highlights the persecution
and discrimination India's 160 million Untouchables face regularly. First used
in the context of caste oppression in the 19th century, it was popularized in
the 1970s by Untouchable writers and members of the revolutionary Dalit Panthers
(the name was inspired by the Black Panthers of the United States). Dalit has
largely come to replace Harijan, the name given to Untouchables by Gandhi, much
like the Black Power movement in the United States led to the replacement of the
labels colored and Negro with black. For some activists, Dalit is used to refer
to all of India's oppressed peoples whether Hindus, Muslims, Christians, tribal
minorities, or women.
—Heidi Schultz
Source: National Geographic
The term, Karmajan:
Karmajan refers to the people of traditional occupational castes in Nepal, who have been victims of discrimination imposed by Hindu hierarchical caste system for centuries, and by the law of the land until 2020 B.S. resulting in their socio-economic and political oppressions. The forms of these oppressions are manifold; untouchability has been the most outrageous one. It is said that there are approximately 20% of Nepal's 23 million population belonging to these castes. Karmajan people are placed on the lowest layer of socio-economic strata in the country today, and they are now called "Dalits" reflecting on their current socio-economic status.
A tentative definition proposed by Dr. D.P. Rasali, subject to debate.
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