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PUCL Bulletin,
December 2001
Erode: TN & Pondy
PUCL
Casteism, Intolerance and Instruments of Law
-- By Justice Dr. K. Ramaswamy, Member, N.H.R.C.
Table:
Crimes on dalits and tribes
:Table
3: All india conviction rate under PCR Act and
SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act during 1991 to 1998
The acute and complex 21st century problem that would continue to plague
Indian democracy is Casteism. The clash of war between constitutionalism,
i.e., equality, fraternity and unity among the people of India, the grand
vision of the basic structure built in the Preamble and the caste-based
discrimination, instead of resolution, even after 54 years of Independence
and 52 years of the working of the Constitution, has been continually
raging. Casteism and the wicked assertion of caste hierarchy have been
much more menacingly raising ugly head. For failure to tackle this menace,
the civil society, instead of integration, is getting further fragmented
and disintegrated. The centrality of the issue, therefore, is to tackle
Casteism.
The quintessence
of human rights is dignity of the individual and equality of status, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (U.D.H.R.), 1948, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, the International Convention
on Social and Economic and Cultural Rights, 1966, the International Convention
on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination, 1965, the Elimination of
all Forms of Discrimination in Religion and Intolerance, 1981, are all
aimed at tackling intolerance and discrimination pervading the society.
All are born equal in dignity and rights and all are integral part of
humanity. The presumed superiority or inferiority has no scientific basis
and is contrary to the moral or ethical principles of humanity. It is
anti-social beliefs. It hinders development of the victim and perverts
those who practice it. The purpose, object and aim of UDHR and international
instruments which were pragmatically incorporated in the Indian Constitution
in the chapters relating to Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles,
is to ensure protection of dignity and equality inherent in all human
beings and pledged to promote and encourage respect for and observance
of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all groups of people.
The social structure in India is predominantly based on hierarchical caste
system, inculcating a sense of ascending scale of respect and descending
scale of discrimination and denigration of the people. Due to untouchability
which was given social and religious sanctions for its perpetuation, the
Dalits have been kept as outcastes, inflicting indignity; inhumanity and
denigration have been heaped on them for millenniums. International human
rights regime and the Constitution of India prohibit caste-based discrimination,
in particular, by Articles 14, 15 and 16 and abolished untouchability
by Article 17, life has been protected under Article 21, and equality
of status and dignity has been given in equal measure to the Dalits and
Adivasis. By practicing untouchability, Dalits have been deprived of education,
basic human right for intellectual excellence, cultural pursuits and economic
empowerment, social justice, equality of status and of dignity and opportunity.
The international Convention on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights is
aimed to ensure social, economic and cultural rights in equal measure
to reach all the people, including the deprived sections. Articles 38,
39, 41 to 46 of the Indian Constitution are equally aimed at attaining
the same goal. Because of the spread of education in post-Independence
era among the fringe of Dalit children, they became conscious of exercising
their fundamental freedoms and human rights, especially the right to dignity
and equality of status. It is unfortunately misunderstood to be an affront
to the hierarchical ascending order of respect, hitherto being the privilege
of the forward segments of the society. They feel that their hegemony
is at stake.
As a result, to maintain
the status quo superiority and to suppress the assertive spirit of the
Da1its for their human dignity and equality, the Dalits and Tribes have
become the target of atrocities. The atrocities are crimes against humanity
and symptoms of depraved conduct and degraded civility and civilization.
As time passes by, the frequency of committing atrocities on Dalits has
been rising. Though the Constitution has abolished untouchability in Article
17 and its practice in any form was declared a crime, in other words,
a crime against the Constitution; human rights violation and crime against
humanity, backed up by penal laws for prevention thereof, in other words,
the Untouchability Offences Act, 1956, christened as 'Civil Rights Protection
Act, 1976' and The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the frequency
has been on the rising scale and the machinery of criminal justice system
practically has failed. As a result, these laws are viewed by the Dalits
with cynicism and aggressors laugh as mere 'paper tiger with no teeth
to bite'.
As per 1991 document of the Government of India, Ministry of Welfare "that
every hour two Dalits assaulted, every day three Dalit women, raped, two
Dalits murdered and two Dalit houses burnt in India. It is a frequent
spectacle, the Dalit women are disrobed to the public view and paraded
naked in the villages for no fault of them, often mass murders of Dalits
committed.
State-wise statistics
also have been given and every year the maximum offence committed against
scheduled caste are from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Similarly for
Scheduled Tribes Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. As seen despite Article
17 a fundamental right guaranteed to the Dalits, human right to dignity
of individual and equality of status are human rights as also fundamental
rights, the aforementioned statistics tell a tale of ground reality that
the Dalits and Tribes, seldom enjoy human rights and the law has failed
to protect their right.
As has been mentioned
though, fundamental freedoms and human rights incorporated in the Constitution
are equally available to all citizens and no one has been given higher
rights over others. Every day Dalits and Adivasis are being discriminated
due to Casteism, poverty and illiteracy. The law prescribes punishment
for violation which is a crime against humanity but the mindset has not
been changed. No one had bargained to be born in a particular community
or caste, religion or region. Birth is the result of the biological act
between wife and husband/man and woman. The hitherto mythical belief that
Brahmin is born from the head, Kshatriya from the arms, the Vaishya from
the stomach and the Shudra from legs, no longer is believed by anyone
including the hardheaded casteists. In democracy governed by rule of law,
everyone is entitled to exercise his/her constitutional, civil and political
rights including right to contest and to be elected to the elective bodies.
Hitherto perpetration of Casteism by the four varnas has now been given
way to its perpetration of untouchability and atrocities on Dalits, in
particular, and on Adivasis is more now by new found middle class backward
class segments in the society than the traditional Brahmins, Kshatriyas
or Vaishyas.
The root for committing crime against humanity, in other words atrocities
on Dalits, in particular, is due to mindset of not to appreciate that
everyone has been born equal and entitled to equal fundamental freedoms
and human rights and that the exercise thereof by the Dalits, Adivasis
and other poor people is for the protection of their human rights, dignity
of person, equality of status, economic empowerment and right to be elected
to an elective office etc. Every right carries with it equal duty to fellow
citizens. As has been mentioned the caste system, though, has come to
stay in India for over centuries, Casteism is no longer relevant in a
democratic polity. Each is entitled to equal right, equal protection and
non-discrimination and equality in dignity of person, status and of opportunity.
Therefore, to disseminate these human rights perceptions constitutional
guarantees, human rights education and inculcation of human rights culture
and Human Rights spirit are necessary which should be brought about through
educating students by formal education of human rights, adult education
on human rights to uneducated adults; in particular, to the enforcing
agencies, the police.
When the law entrusts
on them they are under law and not above law. In a democracy the police
are part of the civil society and humane governance is expected of them
and the police are accountable. They have no right to kill the Dalits
and Adivasis in police custody. Equally the police should be sincere in
implementing the law. It is not so much the lacuna in the law but the
spirit to abide by the law by the people and the zeal, devotion and sincerity
to enforce the law by the public functionary and, in particular, the police
force is necessary. Sensitization, motivation and sincere implementation
of law are their duty. Periodical orientation training courses on human
rights, human rights culture to the police force will inculcate in them
sensitivity and will disabuse their mindset to be amenable to law. The
duty of the state too is to disseminate the human rights culture and spirit
in the civil society. Without cooperation of the civil society, it is
impossible to bring about unity, fraternity and integration among all
sections in the society. Therefore, human rights education, adoption and
cultivation of human rights spirit and observance of human conduct should
purge human rights education, adoption and cultivation of human rights
spirit and observance of humane conduct.
In the civil society all are not hostile towards the Dalits or Tribes
or other poor people. There are many an enlightened and public-spirited
persons and human rights activists in the society like PUCL, which have
been doing yeoman service for the past 25 years. All should join together
to eradicate the evil of casteism, and to educate the perpetrators of
human rights violation, literate who are either intolerant or do not appreciate
the human rights of the weaker segments, particularly, the Dalits, the
Adivasis and other poor people in the society. While carrying on the human
rights campaign and its regime with the cooperation of these segments
and proactive role by the media, print as well as electronic and sincere
implementation of the law by police, commission of atrocities on Dalits,
Adivasis and other poor people could be prevented and the spirit of unity
and integration could be spread.
Here is a classic instance that Shri Rathinam and his colleagues even
at the cost of their practice as advocate championed the cause of murder
of Shri Murugesan, Dalit Panchayat President and carried it as a campaign
and successfully prosecuted the offenders. I do not propose to go into
the merits of the matter since it is the subject of a pending appeal in
the High Court. Suffice it to say that to prevent repetition of such atrocities,
cooperation of all enlightened and public-spirited persons and human rights
activists are absolutely necessary, for prevention is better than cure.
Therefore, even at threshold the spirit of human rights education, human
rights spirit, and human rights culture should spread among the people
so that harmony and peace in the society would be brought about, unity
and integration among the people would be established. I appeal to all
right conscious, public-spirited persons and human rights activists to
join hands and carry this campaign to eradicate Casteism and proclivity
to commit atrocities on Dalits, Adivasis and other poor so that peace
and social stability would be a reality.
- S. Balamurugan,
Joint Secretary, TN & Pondy PUCL
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