INDIA: Dalit Lives Matter

In India, the #BlackLivesMatter battle cry quickly became repurposed as #DalitLivesMatter. In doing so people pointed to the hypocrisy of Indian citizens, including celebrities and influencers, bemoaning US racism and expressing their support for BLM protests, but overlooking the everyday and long-term racism at home. One of the grimmest manifestations of that racism is violence against Dalits – a broad term designating the communities of around 200 million people at the bottom of the Hindu caste system – with hundreds of murders of Dalits registered over the past couple of years alone.