Dalit – Tribal Election Manifesto – Tamil Nadu State Assembly Election 2026

Tamil Nadu State Assembly Election 2026 Dalit – Tribal Election Manifesto

Submission to the European Commission on caste and forced labour in supply chains connected to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – to inform the EU Forced Labour Regulation Risk Database (March 2026)

With growing evidence of labour exploitation across South Asia—this report provides an evidence- based analysis to assist the European Commission in identifying high-risk sectors connected to EU supply chains and in enforcing due diligence in line with the EU Forced Labour Regulation.

NCCEBL survey: 63% of rescued migrant bonded labourers are Dalits (The Hindu Article)

New research on Migrant Bonded Labour in India, released by the National Campaign Committee for the Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL), reveals a stark caste pattern among rescued migrant bonded labourers. Based on testimonies from around 950 workers, the survey finds that all surveyed labourers belonged to marginalised caste groups, with 63% from Scheduled Castes (Dalits), 13% from Scheduled Tribes, and 24% from Other Backward Classes, and none from the general category. The report also documents serious gaps in State support following rescue, noting that 63% of workers rescued after 2016 did not receive the interim travel assistance mandated immediately upon release, and that many eligible workers, particularly women and children, received no compensation at all.

South Asia: Stitched up: Denial of freedom of association for garment workers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (Amnesty International)

A new report by Amnesty International, South Asia: Stitched up – Denial of freedom of association for garment workers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, documents widespread violations of garment workers’ rights to organise and bargain collectively, while highlighting how gender, caste, migrant status and other intersecting forms of discrimination deepen exploitation and exclusion from trade union activity. The report details patterns of intimidation, union repression and weak enforcement of labour laws across the region, leaving already marginalised workers particularly vulnerable within global supply chains. IDSN welcomes the inclusion in the report of the work of IDSN affiliate, the Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), and underscores the importance of caste- and gender-responsive approaches to freedom of association as a foundation for responsible supply chains.

IDSN delegation highlights urgent concerns ahead of Nepal’s 2026 UN rights review (IDSN News)

From 24–28 November, IDSN facilitated a delegation of Dalit human rights defenders from Nepal to come to Geneva for advocacy meetings ahead of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) pre-session of Nepal, as well as participation in the pre-session meeting. The visit enabled key Dalit human rights defenders to brief recommending States on ongoing caste and intersectional discrimination and the urgent need for stronger protections before Nepal’s UPR in January 2026.

IDSN at the Business and Human Rights Forum: Advancing caste-responsive due diligence (IDSN News)

At the 14th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, the IDSN #DalitVoicesUN delegation engagement underscored the urgent need to recognise caste discrimination in global supply chains and human-rights due diligence. Through active engagement in multiple sessions, the focus was on the importance of rights-based, people-centred frameworks aligned with international standards.

IDSN highlights milestone and the need to address caste discrimination at ICERD 60th Anniversary (IDSN News)

On 4 December 2025, the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) joined global human rights leaders at United Nations HQ in Geneva for the High-Level Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). IDSN Executive Director, Meena Varma, spoke on Panel 2: “Realizing the Promise of Equality Without Distinction as to Race, Colour, Descent, or National or Ethnic Origin.” She underscored that caste discrimination — recognised by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) as falling under “descent” — must be treated as a priority under ICERD’s mandate. Speaking about the millions affected globally by caste and analogous systems of inherited inequality, she highlighted that caste discrimination remains one of the most entrenched and intersectional forms of human rights abuse today and called for action.

UN Minority Forum: Dalit activists call for action on caste-based violence, intersectional discrimination, shrinking civic space and labour rights (IDSN News)

At the Eighteenth session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues in 2025, IDSN delegates highlighted the urgent need to address caste discrimination, violence and exclusion across South Asia. Dalit delegates from South Asia raised concerns around institutional impunity, structural marginalisation of Dalit women and the shrinking civic space for human rights defenders. They also emphasised the vital contributions of Dalit women workers and activists in fostering accountability, dignity and social cohesion at local and global levels

This report presents a rigorous analysis of the last five years of data from the National Crime Records Bureau (#NCRB), exposing alarming trends in caste-based atrocities and revealing persistent gaps in the implementation and enforcement of the SC/ST (PoA) Act. It highlights systemic failures across stages of justice delivery ; from FIR registration and investigation to prosecution and conviction, raising serious concerns about institutional accountability. Beyond documenting the scale and patterns of caste-based violence, the report advances urgent and actionable policy recommendations aimed at strengthening monitoring mechanisms, fixing accountability at every level of governance, improving the implementation of legal safeguards, and ensuring meaningful access to justice for Dalit communities across India. It calls for structural reforms that move beyond symbolic commitments toward measurable, time-bound change.

Blind spots in textile recycling: Fashion’s sustainability claims overlook workers’ rights

Recycling sector workers are frequently exposed to dust, chemicals and dangerous machinery without proper protective gear. Evidence collected so far also suggests that this workforce’s proportion of child and migrant labourers, who are most prone to exploitation and abuse, is alarmingly high. The sector operates with little to no governmental regulatory oversight and is entirely non-unionised, meaning that risks and violations often go unaddressed. Other investigations of the textile recycling industry in Panipat came to the same conclusions, highlighting especially the severe health issues.7

South Asia: Abandoned by fashion: The urgent need for fashion brands to champion workers’ rights; Brand responses to Amnesty International survey – Amnesty International

This briefing highlights the responsibilities of fashion companies in relation to the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework (UN Guiding Principles), and assesses the key ways in which fashion companies compound the failure of states and factory employers to protect workers and respect freedom of association. In this briefing, Amnesty International analyses the areas where fashion companies can work harder to promote freedom of association and decent working conditions across their supply chain in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. We identify how the current model of complex supply chains and privatized auditing in the industry diffuses responsibility and places a low value on the labour of the predominantly female garment workers, solidifying an exploitative business model which fashion companies need to address at its core. We make recommendations for how these companies can play a much larger role in promoting freedom of association for workers in their supply chain. This briefing is designed to be read alongside Amnesty International’s Stitched Up: Denial of Freedom of Association for Garment Workers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka which looks in more detail at the human rights violations in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and the role of states and employers (supplier factories).

Factsheet on SMART recommendations to address descent and caste-based discrimination – Amnesty International

This factsheet by Amnesty International gives a brief introduction to states, civil society organizations, community groups, activists, and concerned individuals on how to formulate more useful recommendations to address descent and caste-based discrimination when engaging with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Bangladesh: Climate crisis magnifies discrimination against sanitation workers (Amnesty report 2025)

The Amnesty International report “Left Behind in the Storm: Dalit Women Sanitation Workers and the Fight for Water and Dignity” (2025) reveals how Dalit sanitation workers in Bangladesh—especially women in coastal Khulna and Satkhira districts—endure extreme exclusion. They are systematically ignored in climate adaptation, water and sanitation programmes, and disaster relief, while contending with intersecting caste and gender discrimination, lack of inclusive infrastructure, and economic precality. Many lack household water connections and must travel long distances or pay for water, work in informal sanitation roles without recognition or protection, and are excluded from decision-making. The impacts of climate shocks (floods, cyclones) exacerbate their hardship and drive further exclusion. “Caste and gender-based discrimination, lack of inclusive infrastructure, economic marginalization, and climate vulnerability have converged to entrench cycles of exclusion and indignity,” said Isabelle Lassée. “The findings by Amnesty International reflect a deeper national failure to uphold the rights of Dalit sanitation workers. The absence of caste-disaggregated data, targeted funding, and inclusive policymaking continues to leave Dalit communities significantly behind.”

Excessive hours, wage theft and poor working conditions in Pakistan’s garment export factories (Arisa report 2025)

The Overworked and Underpaid (2025) report by Arisa examines labour rights violations in Pakistan’s garment industry, revealing systemic exploitation and precarity. From a caste perspective, it highlights how caste-affected and scheduled caste communities, often migrating from rural Sindh and southern Punjab, are funnelled into the most insecure, lowest-paid jobs in urban factories. Dalit Christians, in particular, are frequently relegated to cleaning and sanitation work, reflecting entrenched caste hierarchies even within urban industrial settings. These workers face compounded discrimination, invisibility in official data, and minimal access to unions or grievance mechanisms. Their marginalised social status intensifies vulnerability to wage theft, forced overtime, and retaliation for speaking up. The report underscores the need for brands and policymakers to integrate a caste lens into supply-chain due diligence and labour reforms to ensure meaningful inclusion and redress for caste-affected workers. The report is also available in Urdu here https://lnkd.in/eBqGke-3

UN Women policy paper Women Belonging to Communities Discriminated Against Based on Work and Descent (July 2025)

The policy paper details how women from communities discriminated on the basis of work and descent (e.g. Dalit, Haratine etc.) suffer overlapping, structural discrimination combining gender, caste or descent, and socio-economic marginalization. It shows that these women face exclusion from basic services, disproportionate poverty, unsafe and informal employment, violence and harmful traditional norms, lack of political voice, and barriers in education and health. The report underscores that existing laws and policies often fail to reach them, either through weak implementation or because they are not designed with descent- and gender-sensitive lenses. It offers examples of promising practices and calls for state and UN actors to adopt intersectional approaches: data disaggregation, legal recognition of descent-based discrimination, targeted policy action, meaningful participation of affected women, and stronger accountability mechanisms.

Addressing Caste Discrimination in India’s Supply Chains: Insights from Ethical Trade Norway’s Seminar (IDSN News)

In January 2025, Ethical Trade Norway convened a seminar titled “Responsible Trade with India – What Must You Know?” to explore the complexities of engaging with India’s vast and diverse market. The event underscored the critical importance of understanding caste-based discrimination, particularly against Dalits and Adivasis, within global supply chains. The Dalit Solidarity Network Norway also played an active role in the Seminar.

Precarious labour and silenced workers: The position of workers from Scheduled Caste communities in the textiles and garment industry in Pakistan (ARISA)

This report explores caste-based discrimination and challenges that Scheduled Caste workers face in Karachi’s export-oriented textiles and garment industry. While previous research has examined informality and marginalisation in the sector, there have been no previous studies of factors like race and ethnicity, religion and caste, beyond gender.

OECD side-event addresses caste related labour exploitation in global garment and leather supply chains (IDSN News)

On 14 February 2025, IDSN, Arisa and Homeworkers Worldwide hosted a side-session at the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector. The discussion addressed the exploitation of Dalit workers in South Asia’s garment and leather industries that form part of global supply chains. The panel featured voices from the frontlines of labour rights, each offering insights into caste discrimination, forced and bonded labour and caste and gender-based violence at work.

Dalit leader urges action to address the situation of Dalit women at UN CEDAW Review of Nepal (IDSN News)

On 3 February 2025, Durga Sob, founder of the Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO) and a leading advocate for Dalit women’s rights, delivered a statement in connection with the 90th Session of the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee’s review of Nepal. Representing both FEDO and IDSN, Ms. Sob highlighted the entrenched discrimination and social exclusion faced by Dalit women and girls in Nepal.

Sisterhood and Solidarity: Lessons from our Feminist Mothers Gail Omvedt and Ruth Manorama (The Wire – Article)

"We need to strengthen the transformational solidarity that our feminist mothers and ancestors have built. We must be bolder, louder, and more unrepentant than ever, at this moment. We must dare to think beyond what is considered possible, beyond what is seen as pragmatic, and instead craft a future that is just, abundant, and free from the violence of race, caste, class, and capitalism."