'US should work with India to solve Dalit problems'

A top democratic lawmaker has asked the United States to work with India to find "new approaches" to solve the problems of the Dalits in the country.

In a resolution introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman from Pennsylvania Robert Brady, it has been pointed out that more than 160 million in India are considered untouchable and dehumanised by the caste system and that most of the "untouchables" are among the poorest people in the world, living on less than $1 per day.

"They live in constant fear of being "publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and raped with impunity by upper caste Hindus seeking to keep them in their place."

"...(the) caste-based discrimination is institutionalised throughout India and that its corrosive influence on the Indian people must be effectively addressed," the resolution says.

It also recognises the caste system's debilitating influence on the daily lives of millions in India "and encourages the United States to work with India to find new approaches to this age-old problem."