Friday, 17 May, 2024
On one hand we are celebrating the 75th year of Independence, while on the other hand, freedom from casteism in the nation doesn't seem to be getting any easier. The latest case being the death of a nine-year-old Dalit boy in Rajasthan's Jalore district, who was allegedly beaten up by his teacher for drinking water from a water pot (meant for upper castes).
On one hand we are celebrating the 75th year of Independence, while on the other hand, freedom from casteism in the nation doesn't seem to be getting any easier. The latest case being the death of a nine-year-old Dalit boy in Rajasthan's Jalore district, who was allegedly beaten up by his teacher for drinking water from a water pot (meant for upper castes). The boy later died from his injuries in a hospital. The teacher has been arrested under sections pertaining to murder and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The crime has sent shockwaves not only across the desert state but the whole country.
This incident is one more addition to the bucket of 4,15,821 cases of violence against Dalits in India that took place between 2011 and 2020, according to the data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). It has been observed that atrocities against Dalits are mostly committed by the dominant castes. Consider a further incident in February 2020 in Gujarat when a Dalit man was forcibly dragged off a horse and beaten by upper caste men in the middle of his marriage procession.
The accompanying chart shows the rise in crimes and atrocities against Dalits between 2015-2020 in Rajasthan. According to the NCRB data, there were 5,911 cases of crimes against Dalits in 2015, which rose to 7,017 in 2020. Although there was a slight decline in cases of crime against Dalits in 2016 and 2017, cases continued to surge under the Congress government's tenure (2019 and 2020) in Rajasthan.
The accompanying pie chart shows state-wise rising crime against the Dalit community in India (2011-20). If we take a deep look into NCRB's data, between 2011-2020, a total of 4,15,821 anti-Dalit crimes have been registered, of which Uttar Pradesh (23%), Bihar (15.2%), Rajasthan (14.2%), Madhya Pradesh (10.7%), and Andhra Pradesh (6.5%) contribute the most. The highest number of cases in the past decade have been reported from Uttar Pradesh (95,751), followed by Bihar (63,116), Rajasthan (58,945), Madhya Pradesh (44,469), and Andhra Pradesh (26,881). As these figures only show registered crimes, one can argue that the ground reality is much worse.
Source: NCRB
But why has there been such an upsurge in violence against Dalits? While there are many contributing factors, intellectuals and their studies suggest that a primary cause is their low position on the economic and social hierarchy. Socio-economic inequality systematically victimises Dalits and makes them vulnerable to violence by upper castes. Untouchability also plays a great role in perpetuating violence on a daily basis. Some experts argue that it is not merely poverty that shapes their identity, but the endemic violence against Dalits are subjected to also shapes their identity.
The only thing Dalits can trust is the state machinery in India. But the increasing pendency ratio, low convictions, and higher acquittals give the impression that the government is operating with laziness. This lack of certainty of punishment in cases of anti-Dalit violence empowers the upper caste perpetrators, and Dalits experience increased insecurity.
