Dalit Initiatives in Bangladesh

Dalits and other minority communities across the country continue to experience social exclusion, caste2 discrimination and practices linked to untouchability. There have been no systematic efforts made to identify and implement measures for the inclusion and equal
treatment of Dalits in society. According to sociologist Samuel Koenig, a class which has a strictly hereditary basis is a caste. A member of a caste is never allowed to break though its rigid barriers, whereas one belonging to a class may, under certain conditions, change his status. The term “caste'' first used by the Portuguese to denote the divisions in the Indian
class system, which was derived from casta, meaning “lineage” or “bread”.

The Sanskrit word for caste is varna, which means “color”. One of the most tragic consequence of caste system is it prevents the development within the population of a general national consciousness and thus denies the individual the feeling of belonging to a common people. (E. Schmidt, Ceylon). Notions of purity and pollution led to the division of occupations into pure and impure, and different castes in terms of their occupations varied accordingly in social esteem. According to Louis Dumont (Homo Hierarchicus, 1972) caste and profession were linked through the intermediary of religion.

The report follows: