Unknowingly or deliberately, the reporter has not dragged in high caste hindus for the plight of this small community. The community members are decently dressed and sport respectability with cheerful faces.
The government will do well to remove caste names at least from the list (we don't know how many are left out), club all dalits in a single reserved category, and provide educational and livelihood facilities for all, by expanding the facilities. That is the primary job assigned to a king - welfare of all in his kingdom.
Unfortunately, Manu's name is used as a proxy by many for all social practices. Accepting or rejecting not-in-vogue manusmruthi is not going to change anything. Will including the name of the community in the government computer solve the problem?
“Sometimes, officers bluntly tell us that there is no caste called Dakkaliga. That there is only Vokkaliga (the dominant Gowda community). Our caste is not in the government’s computers.”
... for these are beyond tears!!
