Only two wrought the nightmare in Oklahoma City. It will be tragic if support from covert paramilitary groups causes the violence to escalate. Now Dalits are demanding a better life. Groups representing India's 260 million Dalits have presented a Dalits Human Rights Charter to the Indian government. The petition and accompanying 22-point charter asks the Indian government to enforce laws already on the books that protect Dalits.
Resource allocation is lopsided in favor of the upper castes.
In addition, Dalits are subject to violence, including assault, rape, and murder. Two Republican members of the House committee that directs the District of Columbia's budget have asked a federal prosecutor to investigate the use of money to pay for abortions. Though Congress stipulated in 1993 that the District was not permitted to provide money to poor women for abortions, District officials admit that the practice continued until recently, when a financial control board officer discovered the restriction in the latest appropriations act. Lewis did not comment on the probe. District officials admit that the abortion ban had been ignored, even though it could be found consistently in appropriation bills and those measures were heavily reported in local newspapers.