Abstract
The Constitution of India, through the 1955 Civil Rights Act, outlaws the practice of untouchability, which discriminates against Dalits and other 'untouchables'. Despite efforts made by the government to put constitutional and statutory safeguards in place in order to outlaw and eliminate discrimination arising out of the caste system, the practice remains hardly changed, and some Dalits and other untouchables, are still subjected to violence and are facing social ostracism. The government still has not provided, nor created, a relevant administrative and legal procedure that would enable Dalits to embark on law courts in case of violation of their rights either. Thus the punishment provision against discrimination on the basis of untouchability seems to be rather symbolic than with real enforcement ability. The focus of this essay is to present India as a secular democracy, which, despite appearing to have western-like intentions, is having difficulties in questioning religious and traditional practices, due to its desire to sustain a position of equanimity, and resulting in facilitating the increase of communal problems in modern India. Undoubtedly, Hinduism is predominant in India today. Even though Hindu traditions generally seem to deny the western concept of equal human rights, I argue that today, the Indian government's failure to engage with the impact of Hinduism upon the acceptation of the notion of human rights, limits the possibilities to reach a mutual understanding.
