A/HRC/31/56 political reasons.12 Dalits represent the victims of the most grave forms of caste discrimination, are often assigned the most degrading jobs and subjected to forced and bonded labour, have limited or unequal access to resources (including economic resources, land and water) and services, and are disproportionately affected by poverty. 33. In India, according to official data,13 Dalits (referred to as “scheduled castes”) constitute more than 201 million people. This figure does not include Dalits who have converted or are born and raised within non-Hindu religious communities, such as the Dalit Muslim and Christian communities; unofficial statistics estimate that the actual number of Dalits in India is much higher.14 34. In Nepal, official data indicate that the Dalit population comprises approximately 3.6 million people,15 although civil society organizations estimate that number at 5 million. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, where most Dalits belong to the Hindu minority, the figures are also contested. In Bangladesh, unofficial data estimate the Dalit population to range between 3.5 and 5.5 million people.16 In Pakistan, the most recent official data, from 1998, estimate the Dalit population to be 330,000,17 but researchers calculate that the actual number could be at least two million.18 35. In Sri Lanka, three parallel caste systems (Sinhala, Sri Lanka Tamil and Indian Tamil groups) coexist; caste discrimination is found in each one. Within the Sinhala system, lower-caste groups, including the Rodi, have low levels of education, suffer extreme poverty and lack of assets and are under continued pressure to pursue hereditary caste occupations, such as removing dead animals and dirt.19 In the Sri Lanka Tamil caste system, the bottom stratum is comprised of a myriad of groups collectively labelled as Panchamar and regarded as “untouchables”. Population displacement due to war and the 2004 tsunami has resulted in a large internal displaced population in the Jaffna peninsula, with a disproportionate presence of Panchamar groups now in camps for internally displaced persons.20 The caste system among Indian Tamils traces its origins to their arrival to the plantations as indentured labourers during the colonial era and presents unique characteristics, which differ from the traditional Indian caste system. Some features are common, however, including the avoidance of inter-caste marriage and the link between lower castes and greater levels of poverty. 21 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 8 “Caste-based discrimination in South Asia”, study commissioned by the European Commission to the International Dalit Solidarity Network (June 2009), pp. 2 ff. www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/PCA_Highlights/pca_highlights_file/India/ Chapter-2.pdf. http://idsn.org/countries/india. Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal, “National population and housing census 2011 (national report)” (November 2012). Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury, “Caste-based discrimination in South Asia: a study of Bangladesh”, working paper series, vol. III, No. 07 (Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, 2009), p. 2. www.pbs.gov.pk/population-tables. “Caste-based discrimination in Pakistan”, International Dalit Solidarity Network briefing note (May 2014). Kalinga Tudor Silva and others “Caste discrimination and social justice in Sri Lanka: an overview”, working paper series, vol. III, No. 6 (Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, 2009), pp. 3–6. Paramsothy Thanges and Kalinga Tudor Silva, “Caste discrimination in war-affected Jaffna society” in Kalinga Tudor Silva and others, Casteless or Caste-blind? Dynamics of Concealed Caste Discrimination, Social Exclusion and Protest in Sri Lanka (International Dalit Solidarity Network, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies and Kumaran Book House, 2009), pp. 50-77. Sasikumar Balasundaram and others, “Caste discrimination among Indian Tamil plantation workers in Sri Lanka” in Tudor Silva and others, Casteless or Caste-blind?, pp. 78-96.