Karamchedu: July 17, 1985

"On July 16th, 1985, at about 3:30pm, a Kamma boy was washing his buffalo at the steps of the water tank of the Dalits, and letting out the soiled water into the tank. He watered the buffalo, and threw the remains into the tank. A lame Dalit youth objected to the way in which the drinking water was being spoiled. The Kamma boy reacted violently and beat him with the cattle whip. A young Dalit woman who had come there to fetch water protested against this beating. She was also whipped and kicked. Another Dalit intervened, and averted further incidents." (From a fact-finding report completed by a team of lawyers, Univ of Hyderabad professors, and journalists, Sept. 1985, Salaha Publishers.)

According to this report, the next day--21 years ago tomorrow--dozens of Kamma men armed themselves and descended on this small Dalit village in Andhra Pradesh. The Dalits--untouchables--were almost wiped out. Old women were beaten and raped. Axes thrown at children, pregnant women speared, men attacked in their fields. The police were present at the end of it and participated in the beatings--of the Dalits. Today, if you look online, you'll find a bizarre tourism website for Karamchedu. The only mention it makes of the massacre is this:

"In 1985 there was an unfortunate riot in the village, which was exploited by unscrupulous politicians and caused a temporary setback to the reputation and progress of the village. There is a unique co-operation and harmony among all castes and communities. There is mosque, church, Ashram and temples in the village and people lead a healthy and peaceful life."

I don't know how long it takes for a people to shake old ways. Some of the world's most socially progressive thinkers are Indian women, and yet the caste system is alive and well there. Everyone in his and her place.

I admit, thinking of the reality of overcoming old ways of thought, that I have a terribly heavy heart watching the missles flying through the skies over Israel and Lebanon this week. The kids quizzed me about it in the car today, and I tried to explain; they know the story of the Holocaust, and the refugees turned back even from American shores. They know that Israel is a young country--a homeland for Jews--and that its birth required a pretty massive assertion of eminent domain. They know that Jews and Muslims have been quarreling over it ever since. They know that the U.S. has backed Israel. They know that I generally don't.

"So how are they going to sort this out?" Maisie asks. "I don't know," I say. "They'll just keep shooting until somebody runs out of bombs," Liam answers. As good a guess as any.

My guess: Israel will disappear off the map one day in my lifetime.