All The Same

Global Racial Dynamics

India and The Caste System: Dalits

In India, systemic oppression of marginalized communities is deeply rooted in the caste system, an entrenched social hierarchy shaped by ancient Hindu texts, particularly the Manusmriti. This system categorized people into rigid castes: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (laborers), with the Dalits existing outside this structure altogether. Referred to historically as “untouchables,” Dalits were forced into degrading occupations such as manual scavenging and were denied access to public spaces, including temples, wells, and schools. British colonial rule intensified this system through census classifications and administrative policies that reinforced caste as fixed and biological. These policies privileged upper-caste Hindus with better access to land, education, and government jobs.

Post-independence, India sought to dismantle caste discrimination through constitutional measures, notably Articles 15 and 17, which banned caste-based discrimination and untouchability. Led by Dalit scholar Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the state introduced affirmative action policies in education, employment, and politics for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Despite these protections, caste-based violence and segregation remain pervasive, especially in rural areas where Dalits are still often barred from temples and water sources. Discrimination continues in urban areas too, where Dalits face barriers in employment and housing. A 2010 study by the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies found that Dalit job applicants with similar qualifications were significantly less likely to receive callbacks compared to upper-caste candidates.

Caste-based inequality has prompted both legal reforms and social resistance. The implementation of the Mandal Commission in 1990, which extended affirmative action to Other Backward Classes (OBCs), sparked national backlash, including protests and self-immolations by upper-caste groups. Similar demands from dominant castes for inclusion in reservation policies, such as the Patel and Jat protests, reveal ongoing tensions around state benefits and caste identity. Media representation adds another layer of marginalization, often portraying Dalits as victims or political agitators while excluding their voices from intellectual and cultural narratives. The 2016 suicide of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit Ph.D. student, underscored how casteism persists even in educational institutions.

Although legal protections exist, enforcement remains weak, and crimes against Dalits often go unpunished or unreported due to fear of retaliation. Nevertheless, Dalit activism has grown, with artists, scholars, and grassroots movements challenging societal norms. New media and political platforms are being used to amplify Dalit voices and resist structural discrimination. The Indian Constitution envisions a society free from caste hierarchy, but the path to that vision remains obstructed by political, cultural, and institutional resistance.

Australia and Settler Colonialism

The marginalization of Indigenous Australians stems from the legacy of settler colonialism, which aimed not only to dominate but to erase Indigenous presence. With the arrival of the British in 1788 and the declaration of terra nullius (land belonging to no one), the sovereignty of Indigenous nations was denied. Colonial policies were driven by ideologies of white superiority and Christian paternalism, casting Indigenous people as primitive and justifying violent dispossession. This included massacres, land seizure, and the enactment of Aboriginal Protection Acts that restricted nearly every aspect of Indigenous life.

Among the most damaging of these policies was the forced removal of Indigenous children, now known as the Stolen Generations. From the 1890s to the 1970s, thousands of children were placed in white homes or institutions to assimilate them and erase their cultural identity. These children suffered abuse and were disconnected from their languages and heritage, with the trauma extending across generations. Legal reforms began dismantling such laws in the mid-20th century, but exclusion persisted. Indigenous Australians weren’t granted the right to vote federally until 1962 and weren’t counted in the national census until 1967.

Afro-Latinos: Colonial Legacies, Racial Invisibility, and Structural Anti-Blackness

Afro-descendant communities in Latin America continue to face the enduring legacies of slavery, colonialism, and systemic exclusion. Countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador received millions of enslaved Africans during the transatlantic slave trade, forced to labor in plantations, mines, and households. Colonial racial hierarchies placed Europeans at the top, mixed-race individuals in the middle, and Africans at the bottom, a social order maintained through both religious doctrine and pseudoscientific racism.

In Brazil, emancipation in 1888 was followed not by integration but by a campaign of racial whitening (branqueamento), promoting European immigration and discouraging Black population growth. Afro-descendants were denied access to land, education, and employment, relegated to precarious labor sectors. Across the region, the myth of racial democracy obscured structural inequality by promoting the idea that racial mixing eliminated racism. This narrative suppressed recognition of systemic anti-Blackness and hindered policy reform.

Institutional racism persists through policy neglect and statistical erasure. For decades, many countries did not collect race-based demographic data, rendering Afro-descendants invisible in national policy. Only in the early 2000s did countries like Brazil and Ecuador begin recognizing these populations in censuses, enabling affirmative action programs such as Brazil’s 2012 Lei de Cotas. These policies have made some progress but also sparked backlash from those resistant to acknowledging racial privilege.

Afro-Latinos also face media misrepresentation. In television, news, and film, they are often portrayed as criminals, servants, or comic relief, while positive or complex representations remain rare. This underrepresentation sustains a national identity that excludes Blackness and marginalizes Afro-descendant histories and contributions. When Afro-Latinos appear in news coverage, it is frequently in the context of poverty or crime, reinforcing stereotypes that justify neglect or punitive responses.

Despite these challenges, Afro-Latino resistance has a long history. In Ecuador, grassroots movements have advocated for cultural recognition and political inclusion. Organizations like CODAE work to shape public policy and promote equity. In Brazil, activists and leaders such as Marielle Franco—a Black, queer city councilor and critic of police violence—have challenged systemic racism, even at great personal risk. Her assassination in 2018 underscored the threats faced by Black women in power but also sparked renewed activism and international solidarity.

The fight for Afro-Latino equity continues amid limited resources and widespread denial. Organizers face challenges from colorism, national narratives of harmony, and accusations of divisiveness when they assert racial identity. Still, Afro-Latinos are using law, media, education, and culture to resist erasure and reclaim power. Though they remain marginalized in many aspects of public life, they are central to the cultural and political fabric of Latin America, pushing forward a movement for justice, recognition, and lasting structural change.

Sources:

Sources for India and the Caste System: Dalits

Sources for Australia and Settler Colonialism: Indigenous Australians

Sources for Afro-Latinos: Colonial Legacies and Anti-Blackness