Bengaluru: “The discrimination against dalits have reduced in public places such as shops and police stations however it still remains unchanged in private spaces such as homes and religious spaces of rural India”, said Sukhadeo Thorat, Chairperson, Indian Council for Social Science Research. He was addressing a seminar on ‘Dalits and African-Americans in 21st Century: Learning from Cross-Cultural Experiences’, organized by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) on Thursday July 9.

He stressed that it is difficult to eliminate deeply inclined discriminatory religious and caste-based beliefs and philosophies. However, with time the withdrawal of the government in various sectors and the privatisation of major sectors will lead to a wide economic divide between the oppressed and oppressors that may bring about change he said.

He also mentioned the need for safeguards in the form of law and affirmative action in order to protect the interests of the marginalised sections.

Vice Chancellor of NLSIU Prof R Venkata Rao, and Kevin D Brown, American author and academic who has researched race-based discrimination spoke on the occasion. The seminar also saw a prominent number of American and Indian researchers deliberating on the need to define and provide solutions to the continuing discrimination against the oppressed communities.