Mithun Bashfor showing his burnt hand on Dec. 11. (Photo supplied)
A rights body in Bangladesh has called for lifting the unwritten ‘ban’ on the entry of Dalits – the lowest outside the four main castes in the Indian subcontinent's social order– into restaurants and eateries after a youth burnt his hand in a scuffle over the issue.
The Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement (BDERM) made the demand during a press conference held at the Bogra Press Club on Dec. 17 days after Mithun Bashfor, 23, suffered burn injuries at a local hotel in the Santahar municipal area of the northern Bogra district.
The next day, on Dec. 18, police arrested Masud Rana, 33, a Muslim youth for allegedly pushing Bashfor and causing him to fall on boiling oil, after a heated argument over serving him inside the restaurant.
“This age-old rule, this racist treatment of a specific class of people who are in a minority is a violation of human rights. All citizens of an independent country have equal rights. The ban on Dalit communities in hotels is a punishable offense,” Bibhutosh Roy, the central president of BDERM, told UCA News.
Bangladesh has approximately 5.5 million Dalits or former untouchables who suffer multiple forms of discrimination including social, political and economic exclusion, according to the BDERM.
Roy demanded stringent punishment for those guilty of refusing to admit Bashfor inside the restaurant and attacking him for defying their diktat.
Rezaul Karim, the officer-in-charge of Adamdighi police station, said Rana was arrested and presented before a court.
Sirajul Islam Khan, chairman of the Adamdighi sub-district, told UCA News that they have imposed a fine of 10,000 taka (US$940) on the hotel owner and it will be utilized for the treatment of the victim.
Though against the law, Dalits and other discriminated communities in Bangladesh are regularly prohibited from entering restaurants and other eateries or touching plates and glasses. They are forced to buy packed food and eat outside.
Any resistance or protest against the discriminatory practice leads to violence, as in the case of Bashfor.
The caste system is regarded as a Hindu tradition originating in India but does affect people across religious and national boundaries across the sub-continent.
The Bangladesh National Parliament introduced an Anti-Discrimination Bill 2022 in its last session and it is currently under review by the Parliamentary Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
Holy Cross Father Liton Hubert Gomes, secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Justice and Peace Commission, said that caste discrimination cannot be changed by legislation alone and requires better social education and awareness.
“So, besides the law, emphasis should also be placed on enhancing social values,” he told UCA News.
