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Despite law promises of equality, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) look persistent caste-based unit and exclusion. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, released successful precocious September, reported that 57,789 cases were registered against SCs successful 2023, marking a 0.4% summation implicit the 57,582 cases reported successful 2022, and 12,960 cases were registered against STs successful 2023, a crisp 28.8% summation implicit the 10,064 cases reported successful 2022. From assaults successful agrarian areas for defying caste norms to municipality favoritism successful lodging and employment, caste continues to contradict citizens dignity and opportunity.
Caste hierarchies remain
Social reformers specified arsenic Mahatma Phule, B.R. Ambedkar, Periyar, and Mahatma Gandhi, who challenged the Brahmanical caste order, stay a beacon of hope. Their movements, coupled with law safeguards specified arsenic the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, aimed to dismantle caste hierarchies. Despite these efforts, advancement has been uneven. The content successful caste-based superiority persists, enabling societal elites to perpetrate acts of violence, ranging from forcing Dalits to portion urine to ostracising Adivasis for asserting onshore rights, with alarming impunity. Such acts bespeak not lone idiosyncratic prejudice but a societal nonaccomplishment to internalise humanitarian values. This raises questions astir India’s assertion of being a civilised society.
The existent governmental dispensation, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has fallen abbreviated successful addressing this crisis. The authorities occasionally promotes symbolic gestures — by including Dalits and Adivasis successful spiritual rituals, for instance; but these efforts deficiency substance. Hindutva narratives often framework absorption from marginalised communities arsenic a menace to taste unity. They often statement activists arsenic “Hinduphobic”. This rhetoric stifles morganatic demands for justice. This was seen, for instance, successful the vilification of those protesting an bid of the Supreme Court that diluted provisions of the Atrocities Act. Restrictions connected Dalit-Bahujan taste expressions (as seen during the merchandise of the Hindi movie Phule) further alienate these communities from becoming portion of the mainstream discourse. Moreover, policies promoting societal justice, specified arsenic reservations successful acquisition and employment, are inconsistently implemented. As a result, societal elites proceed to power and predominate institutions.
The lack of a robust argumentation model to span the spread betwixt societal elites and subaltern groups is glaring. The BJP and its affiliated organisations person not launched a nationalist run to situation caste prejudice oregon foster inter-caste fraternity successful the fearfulness that it would dilute the privileges of ascendant castes. Instead, the promotion of Brahmanical taste narratives often relegates the struggles of Dalit and Adivasi communities to the margins and portrays their absorption arsenic a situation to accepted authorization alternatively than arsenic a combat for cosmopolitan dignity. This ideological stance, maintained by Hindutva ideologues, undermines the law imaginativeness of an egalitarian society.
Historically, India witnessed almighty absorption movements that reshaped caste dynamics. The Dalit Panthers successful the 1970s galvanised marginalised communities, asserting their close to governmental powerfulness and societal prestige. The emergence of the Bahujan Samaj Party successful bluish India further empowered Dalits and OBCs, amplifying their voices successful governance and nationalist discourse. Intellectual and taste initiatives, from Dalit lit to Adivasi art, laid assertion to India’s pluralistic heritage. Yet, today, specified movements are fragmented oregon are relegated to the periphery, with small capableness to situation existent societal ills. The effect of civilian nine to caste atrocities has besides waned.
The limitations of existing law mechanisms and legislative orders are evident. While determination are laws, enforcement is hampered by delayed investigations, debased condemnation rates, and societal bias wrong the judiciary and the police. For instance, a 2023 survey by the National Campaign connected Dalit Human Rights noted that implicit 60% of cases nether the Atrocities Act stay pending successful courts. This underscores the request for systemic reforms beyond ineligible provisions.
A multi-pronged approach
Addressing caste atrocities demands a multi-pronged attack rooted successful governmental volition and societal reform. First, the authorities indispensable fortify the enforcement of existing laws, ensuring swift prosecution of perpetrators and sensitising instrumentality enforcement agencies astir the ills of the caste system. Second, governmental leaders indispensable champion a nationalist run to beforehand egalitarian values, utilizing education, the media, and nationalist platforms to situation accepted caste relationships based connected hierarchies and prejudices. Third, civilian society, including spiritual institutions, taste organisations, and academia indispensable foster dialog to span divides betwixt communities. Fourth, affirmative enactment policies should beryllium rigorously implemented, with transparent monitoring to guarantee equitable entree to education, jobs, and resources. Most crucially, Dalit, Adivasi, and Bahujan voices indispensable beryllium amplified. The bequest of absorption against the caste strategy needs a caller podium and leadership. A revival of anti-caste societal movements volition physique solidarity among marginalised societal groups and re-establish the societal justness docket arsenic a premier concern.
Harish S. Wankhede, Assistant Professor, Center for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, JNU, New Delhi
