India Caste Protests
Violent protests involving tens of thousands of the Dalit community across India erupted in April 2018 following a Supreme Court order that protestors say weakens a law designed to protect lower caste communities. The federal government has asked the court to review its decision.
The court had concerns that the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, popularly known as the SC/ST Act, had been “misused” in the past.
Caste violence continues to be a problem in the country. More than 40,000 crimes against lower castes were reported in 2016 alone, according to official statistics.
Dalit leaders raised concerns that this left their community “vulnerable”.
KP Choudhary, the general secretary of an all-India association for lower castes said “The SC/ST Act ensured the protection of Dalits in India by making any discrimination against our community a punishable offence. With this new Supreme Court order, these legal obligations have ended. We’re all sad and shocked,”
BBC Hindi are reporting a number of deaths in connection to the protests.
Dalit organisations staged demonstrations across India including in the capital, Delhi, but police said there was no report of any violence in Delhi itself.
Why do Dalits need protection?
The unforgiving Hindu caste hierarchy continues to discriminate against Dalits who are unfairly treated both in a general sense and specifically by a minority from higher castes who are unable to accept that the winds of justice have changed, the times have changed and India needs to live up to its beliefs in a meritocracy and fair play for all its people regardless of class, caste, ethnicity or social circumstances.
Despite the laws to protect them, discrimination remains a daily reality for the approximately 200 million Dalits in the Indian population.
Segregation has meant Dalits have not been allowed to attend the same temples, schools or even drink from the same cups as upper caste people. Education levels are far lower and job opportunities scarcer and lower paid, and too frequently involving exploitation, abuse and violence.
Higher aspirations among young Dalits have improved their situation along with changes in the law but this has gone hand in hand with increased levels of violence against Dalits by upper caste community members unable to accept changes to the status quo.
“Conflict increases where social conditions may be getting slightly better,” Pratap Bhanu Meht, vice chancellor of Ashoka University, told the BBC.
What is the SC/ST Act?
The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was brought into law to prevent crimes against people belonging to lower castes and tribes in India.
The act allows for instant arrests, severely limits opportunities for bail and also automatically sees the registration of criminal cases against anyone accused of committing an offence against a member of a lower caste or tribe.
It also prescribes several other stringent measures such as the attachment and forfeiture of property of an accused.
The act also allows public servants to be prosecuted for neglect of duties – a significant step given that many lower caste people said their complaints were often ignored by officials who belonged to the same communities as those they were accusing.
It was amended in 2015 to cover newer forms of discrimination and crimes against lower caste communities.
In its ruling, the court stated that 15-16% of the total number of complaints filed under the act in 2015 were false.
Critics say that the ruling has diluted the law which will pave the way for officials to turn a blind eye to caste atrocities. They also say that the provisions will lead to increased violence against lower castes. Time will tell but it may is looking like some considerable work and significant changes will need to be made to satisfy both sides of the argument.