Martin Macwan (born c. 1959) is a

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

human rights activist in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Life and career

He is one of 11 children. As a student, he watched assaults and killings of fellow Dalits, which motivated him to become an activist for Dalit rights. He barely escaped death in 1986 when colleagues were murdered during a land rights campaign. Since suffering this tragedy, Macwan has fought to bring the killers, a group of feudal Darbars, to justice. He founded the

Navsarjan Trust Navsarjan Trust is a grassroots Dalit organisation based in Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1989 by Martin Macwan to empower Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, ...

in 1989 to promote the rights of Dalits, addressing issues of land rights, minimum wages, and women’s rights. He served as the organization's director until 2004, and he has also served as a convener of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights. Macwan has been trying to gain more exposure to the plight of Dalits, and has argued that the caste system violates the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...

, in hopes of gaining international attention to the discrimination against the untouchable class. He argues that the caste system cannot be considered simply a domestic matter: "We say that India did support the U.S. civil rights movement in the 1960s, and also the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa ... In this era of the globalization of markets and of human rights, no country can claim that it's a domestic matter. It's a universal concern."

Legacy and awards

The U.S.-based

Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (formerly the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, or RFK Center) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit human rights advocacy organization. It was named after United States Senator Robert F. Kenned ...

presented him its Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 2000. In the same year,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

named him one of the year's five "outstanding human rights defenders". He was also engaged in the bringing together of the Dalit Mithila artists of the godana tradition from Bihar. The godana or tattoo style within the Mithila paintings is practiced by the women of the Dusadh caste of the MIthila region.Sindali Thakur, "Imag(in)ing traditions: the contested canvas of mithila paintings" As Sindalli Thakur says "Macwan's plan was to introduce these painters to the dalit discourse, make them acquainted with icons like Phule and

Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly of India, Constit ...

, and inspire them to paint these icons and themes related to caste discrimination. Some of the themes that these artists depicted at Macwan's organization include aspects of

B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served ...

and Phule's life histories, such as the

Mahad Satyagraha Mahad Satyagraha or Chavdar Tale Satyagraha was a satyagraha led by B. R. Ambedkar on 20 March 1927 to allow untouchables to use water in a public tank in Mahad (currently in Raigad district), Maharashtra, India. The day (20 March) is observed ...

of 1927: caste discrimination in schools and in the access to public resources like village wells."

Notes

External links

Details at RFK Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macwan, Martin Activists from Gujarat Indian human rights activists Dalit activists Living people 1950s births Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award laureates