英國衛報如何看待來自賤民階層的印度總統候選人

本帖最後由 JESSICAACE 於 2017-7-19 17:09 編輯 Member of India"s lowest caste expected to be elected president印度最低種姓成員有望當選為總統Ram Nath Kovind, nominee of Narendra Modi』s party, is from dalit (Untouchable) community, the country』s most oppressed。拉姆納斯可文德是莫迪黨派提名的總統候選人。 他來自賤民階層，這個階層又被稱為不可觸摸的階層， 是印度最受壓迫的人群。

Michael Safi in Delhi Monday 17 July 2017 20.33 AESTLast modified on Tuesday 18 July 2017 07.00 AEST麥克薩菲於2017年7月17日星期一澳大利亞東部時間20點33分首發， 2017年7月18日星期二早晨7點修改後再發。A member of India』s poorest and most oppressed caste is expected to be elected president.印度最貧窮、最受壓迫種姓中的一員有望當選印度總統。Ram Nath Kovind, the governor of Bihar until last month, was announced as the nominee of Narendra Modi』s government in June, in what was widely seen as part of a decades-long strategy by Hindu nationalists to win over members of the dalit (Untouchable) community.Nearly 5,000 Indian state and federal members of parliament took part in a secret nationwide ballot on Monday to decide the next president using specially designed violet ink pens with unique serial numbers.The five-year post has significant responsibility under India』s constitution, but similar to other Westminster-style governments, it is largely ceremonial in practice. 拉姆納斯可文德在上個月以前一直擔任印度東部比哈州（Bihar）的州長。 在今年6月， 他被莫迪政府提名為下屆總統候選人。人們普遍認為， 這是印度民族主義者在長達幾十年中為贏得賤民（不可觸摸）階層的支持而做出的一系列措施中的一部分。 本周一，將近5000名印度州議員與聯邦議員參加了全國範圍內的秘密投票。 投票的方式是用紫色墨水筆選擇獨特的系列號碼。印度總統在憲法上承擔極大的責任；但是同西方國家政府一樣， 在實際運作中這個職位很大程度上是一個象徵禮儀性的指位。 The result of the collective parliamentary votes will not be known until Thursday, but Kovind, 71, has secured wide cross-party support and is expected to comfortably beat Meira Kumar, the former diplomat and MP nominated by the opposition Congress party and its allies.Kovind and Kumar are dalits, highlighting the community』s symbolic and electoral significance. 議會的集體投票結果要到星期四才出來。 但是71歲的可文德已經穩贏了兩黨廣泛的支持。 眾人認為他有望輕鬆擊敗由國大黨以及同盟黨提名的前外交官、議員梅拉庫馬。 可文德和庫馬都是賤民。 這突出表現了這個階層在象徵層面以及選票層面上的重要性。 Dalits, officially known as scheduled castes, were traditionally thought to fall outside the four castes that determined the shape of Hindu lives, from jobs and diets to marriage prospects.As a result, they were considered 「impure」 and banished to the periphery of Indian society, suffering thousands of years of exclusion and extreme poverty that affirmative action programmes in the past 70 years have done little to address.In historical examples popularised by the dalit leader BR Ambedkar, members of the caste in one village were forced to wear spittoons around their necks to collect their impure saliva, while in another, they had to tie branches to their waists 「so as not to leave any unclean footprints」.賤民被官方認定為從事特種行業的種姓，歷史上被排除在四大種姓以外。種姓製造成了不同印度教徒在生活方式的各個方面， 從工作到飲食再到婚嫁等存在著很大的差異。作為種姓劃分的結果， 賤民被認為是「不潔」的， 並被驅逐到印度社會的邊緣位置，千百年來盡排擠與窮困。　儘管印度在70年代出台了對賤民的優惠政策，實際行動卻少之又少。有些對賤民迫害的例子由於近代法學家、難民領袖ＢＲ阿姆巴德卡的宣傳而廣為人知。　比如有一個村莊的賤民們被迫在脖子上懸掛痰盂來盛他們不潔的唾液，　另外一個村子的賤民必須要在腰間綁上樹枝「來抹去他們不潔的腳印。」Badri Raina, a Delhi University professor for four decades, said winning dalit support had become essential to the vision of Hindu unity promoted by Modi』s Bharatiya Janata party.The BJP argues that India』s culture and institutions are inherently Hindu in nature, a premise that dalits have traditionally eyed with suspicion, seeing in the party』s platform the priorities of the same upper-caste Hindus who oppressed them.巴德瑞瑞納是在德里大學工作了４０年的教授。　他說贏得賤民支持對於莫迪領導下人民黨所倡導的印度教團結一致有著關鍵的意義。　人民黨認為印度的文化與制度根植於印度教，而賤民自古以來對印度教都持懷疑態度。　人民黨那些曾經壓迫過賤民的高種姓印度教徒現在把賤民看作是本黨平台的重中之重。Propelled by canny politics and Modi』s charisma, the BJP has recently made inroads into segments of the dalit community, but faces significant hurdles, especially when it comes to the key party priority of cow protection.「Dalit livelihoods have been predominantly dependent on the cattle industry, both for nutrition and the leather market, yet there, the BJP has made no concessions,」 Raina said.人民黨最近在政策投機以及莫迪個人領導力的推動下， 推行了一些侵犯賤民階層部分民眾利益的舉措，目前面臨巨大障礙， 尤其是在人民黨優先考慮的奶牛保護問題上。瑞納教授評論道：「賤民的生活主要依靠畜牧產業， 不僅為了獲得營養，也為了維持皮革市場的生意。 然而， 人民黨沒有做出任何讓步。」In Gujarat last year, seven young dalit men who skinned a dead cow, an 「unclean」 role traditionally carried out by members of the caste, were filmed being publicly flogged by self-styled cow vigilantes, triggering significant protests.Meat industry regulations introduced in May banning the market sale of cows and other livestock for slaughter are also thought to have hit dalits hardest, along with Muslims, another of India』s poorest social groups. In May, an advance team for the BJP chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, reportedly gave dalit villagers soap and asked them to clean themselves before an official visit.去年在古吉拉特邦，7名年輕的賤民男子剝取了一頭死去奶牛的皮毛。 這是這個種姓成員傳統上從事的一種工作。 然而他們遭到了自稱為聖牛義務警察的一伙人的鞭打， 有人把這一鏡頭記錄下來， 引發了大規模的抗議活動。5月份新發布的肉類產業規定禁止在人們在市場上銷售以屠宰為目的的奶牛與其他牲畜。 賤民被認為受到了最沉重的打擊。印度另一貧窮族群——穆斯林也受到了打擊。 另外有報道說， 5月份人民黨北方邦主政部長尤吉阿迪添納斯派出的先行隊伍（Uttar Pradesh)給賤民派發肥皂， 讓他們把自己洗乾淨之後再接受部長的正式訪問。 If elected, Kovind would be the second dalit president after KR Narayan, who held the post for five years from 1997.如果可文德當選， 他將成為繼KR納拉亞南之後的第二名賤民總統。 納拉亞南在1997年當選印度總統，併當政5年。
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