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The desire for upward mobility has been growing among the Dalit community in India. But as contemporary reality refuses to accept the community, Dalit officers in New Delhi have decided to help themselves as far as houses are concerned. Gaurav Apartments in East Delhi's Patparganj area were built by a group of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe officers who felt they needed a colony for Dalit officers. People used to live in the Scheduled Caste colony in Karol Bagh earlier, but now some have moved in here," says Nakse Lal, President of Gaurav Apartments. But getting the finances together was especially tough. Many had to leave because they could not get the money together, which led the founders of the colony to think of inviting some upper caste officers to join. "We were short of funds. So we asked upper caste officers to join us saying we will keep you with respect. But when people realised that the name of the colony was SC/ST, they left," a resident says. The construction of the apartments began in 1979 and was finally completed in 1996. It took 17 long years and those who live here believe the name of the colony, SC/ST was what led to the incredible delay. Other buildings in the same area for instance were completed in half the time. Flat owners say their files would lie in government departments for years gathering dust without being cleared. Finally they gave up the fight and decided to call the society Gaurav Apartments, which is devoid of all caste connotations. The benefit was almost immediate as 25 non-SC/ST families agreed to become members. But even today the minute a property dealer points out that a majority of the flats are owned by SC/ST people, there is a fall in prices. "Even today if there is someone interested in this colony and enquires with a property dealer, he is told this is a Scheduled Caste colony," another resident says. It is perhaps a sad reflection of modern India where a large chunk of its population still struggles to be accepted simply because they were not born with the acceptable name. This is not just a story of Dalits building a housing society but that of their aspiration to become part of the middle class. In the last 50 years an estimated 25 million Dalits all over the country have gained from reservations in government jobs. This is the section that has the money and the clout to influence politics and consequently the pride to inhabit an apartment block whose name reflects that sentiment.
(Source: NDTV)
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