News and Events | Dalit Solidarity Network

APPG for Dalits and the Parliamentary Human Rights Group on the 24th of May 2016 hosted a successful event at the Houses of Parliament titled “Dalit Rights are Human Rights”

19th July 2016

[ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end] The speakers at the event included Diya Sen Gupta, Satpal Muman, Santosh Dass, Clive Baldwin, Rania El Rajji, Aidan McQuade and Jin Kalkat. The first part of the event overviewed the UK scene in relation to Dalits’ situation and anti-caste discrimination legislation. The event started with Meena Varma reading Jeremy Corbyn’s[/ezcol_1half_end] message in which he stated that he is sad to step down from the APPG for Dalits Chair’s role but happy to pass it on to Yasmin Qureshi, and will continue supporting Dalits’ campaign. Diya Sen Gupta gave an overview of anti-caste discrimination legislation progress and [..]

Big thank you to Methodist Women in Britain

24th May 2016

On Saturday, 21 May 2016, Methodist Central Hall in London hosted a wonderful concert organised by the Methodist Women in Britain. The event was opened by Revd Tony Miles of Methodist Central Hall, Westminster. Linda Crossley, the former President and current Vice President of Methodist Women in Britain welcomed some honoured guests and introduced the speakers. [ezcol_1half] The honoured guests included Kasta Dip, Director of India Peace Centre in Nagpur and Revd David Haslam MBE, founder of the Dalit Solidarity Network UK and the Churches’ Dalit Support Group, and Meena Varma the Director of the Dalit Solidarity Network UK, which had provided much [..]

Tributes to Dr Ambedkar on his 125th birth anniversary

27th April 2016

This April a range of events and ceremonies have been organised around the world to celebrate Dr Ambedkar’s 125th birthday. The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York hosted a Special Event at the UN Headquarters on 16 April with the title 'Combating Inequalities for the Achievement of SDGs'. UNDP Administrator and Chair of the United Nations Development Group, Ms. Helen Clarke, who is among the candidates for the post as the next UN Secretary General, delivered the key note speech wherein she commemorated the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar and stressed the relevance of his vision [..]

Minorities and caste-based discrimination side event on a new report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

22nd March 2016

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="256"] Panel of speakers UN side event 16 March 2016[/caption] DSN-UK Director, Meena Varma, was invited by the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights to be one of the panellists for a side event with Rita Izsák-Ndiaye, the United Nations Special Rapporteur (SR) on Minority Issues following her report on caste-based discrimination. The event took place on 16 March 2016 and focussed on the global nature of caste discrimination including in Mauritania, Yemen and UK. The SR’s report on caste-based discrimination as presented below provided the perfect opportunity to widen the discussion beyond South Asia. Alongside Meena [..]

DSN-UK at the United Nations Human Rights Council 15 and 16 March 2016

21st March 2016

The International Dalit Solidarity Network working with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues to combat caste-based discrimination. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="186"] Rita Izsák-Ndiaye, UN SR on Minority Issues[/caption] On 15 March 2016 the SR on Minority Issues, Rita Izsák-Ndiaye, presented her annual report to the Human Rights Council, which focused on caste-based discrimination. She encouraged all caste-affected states to take progressive and instrumental steps to protect caste-affected communities. The report highlighted that individuals and groups ascribed to the lowest strata by their caste status share minority-like characteristics, such as marginalised position, stigma and the use of minority protection mechanisms by [..]