Leela Kumari is the Governor for the National Federation of Dalit Women in India. The Dalits are considered the lowest in the Indian Caste system, and are currently fighting a battle similar to that the U.S. Civil Rights movement. She is a social activist and an advocate who has been working among the Dalits for two decades. She exposes the situation of Dalit Women, and the Indian black untouchable apartheid.

I met Leela at The World Social Forum, Kenya 2007. Her passion and dedication to her people was so inspiring that when she invited us to visit her in India and witness firsthand the spiritual activism of the Dalits, I couldn't say no. A month later she took me on a high-speed tour of the world of the Dalits in Hyderabad, India. There's nothing more terrifying that driving 100 miles an hour down a road filled with bicycles, auto rickshaws, water buffalos, lories and busses barrelling towards you, veering away at the last minute. But the terror was worth it because the stories that Leela brought us into were an incredible tribute to the power of the human spirit in the face of brutal oppression.

I was deeply touched by the infinite generosity of the Dalits who lavish their guests with food and gifts. Why is it that the poorest people are so often the most generous?

~ Velcrow Ripper

WEB LINKS
National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights