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Low-caste IG's office 'cleansed' with cow dung
Low-caste IG's office 'cleansed' with cow dung - Emirates 24/7
Published Tuesday, April 12, 2011
AK Ramakrishnan, a low-caste civil servant in Kerala, has complained that his office, furniture and even his car had been washed with cow dung (FILE)
Officials in the Indian state of Kerala said on Tuesday they had ordered a probe into claims that the office of a low-caste civil servant was "cleansed" with cow dung after he retired.
AK Ramakrishnan, who retired at the end of March as an inspector general in the southern state's ministry of registration and fisheries, complained to the Kerala Human Rights Commission that his office, furniture and even his car had been washed with cow dung water when he left.
Ramakrishnan belongs to the dalit, or "untouchable" community that inhabits the lowest rung of India's caste system.
"On the day of my retirement, some of my colleagues burst crackers outside my office as I had taken serious steps against their corrupt practices, and on April 1, they cleansed my office and vehicle" with dung, Ramakrishnan told AFP.
Many Indians believe that dung from cows, which are sacred to Hindus, has strong purifying properties. Watered-down cow dung is often used to wash a house after someone's death.
The state minister for registration and fisheries, S. Sharma, said the government took the complaint very seriously and had ordered an inquiry to submit a report within a week.
There are an estimated 165 million dalits in India, and while officially banned, caste discrimination still pervades many aspects of daily life.
Shunned by higher castes, dalits are usually limited to the lowliest occupations and are the poorest in terms of income, literacy and land.
Low-caste IG's office 'cleansed' with cow dung - Emirates 24/7
Published Tuesday, April 12, 2011
AK Ramakrishnan, a low-caste civil servant in Kerala, has complained that his office, furniture and even his car had been washed with cow dung (FILE)
Officials in the Indian state of Kerala said on Tuesday they had ordered a probe into claims that the office of a low-caste civil servant was "cleansed" with cow dung after he retired.
AK Ramakrishnan, who retired at the end of March as an inspector general in the southern state's ministry of registration and fisheries, complained to the Kerala Human Rights Commission that his office, furniture and even his car had been washed with cow dung water when he left.
Ramakrishnan belongs to the dalit, or "untouchable" community that inhabits the lowest rung of India's caste system.
"On the day of my retirement, some of my colleagues burst crackers outside my office as I had taken serious steps against their corrupt practices, and on April 1, they cleansed my office and vehicle" with dung, Ramakrishnan told AFP.
Many Indians believe that dung from cows, which are sacred to Hindus, has strong purifying properties. Watered-down cow dung is often used to wash a house after someone's death.
The state minister for registration and fisheries, S. Sharma, said the government took the complaint very seriously and had ordered an inquiry to submit a report within a week.
There are an estimated 165 million dalits in India, and while officially banned, caste discrimination still pervades many aspects of daily life.
Shunned by higher castes, dalits are usually limited to the lowliest occupations and are the poorest in terms of income, literacy and land.
