Indian Polity Notes-SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act-For WBCS Aspirants.

ভারতীয় পলিটি নোট – এসসি / এসটি অত্যাচার প্রতিরোধ আইন – WBCS পরীক্ষার্থীদের জন্য।

The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, or the SC/ST Act protects the marginalised communities against discrimination and atrocities.This part is very important from W.B.C.S Examination point of view.  On March 20, the Supreme Court expressed concern over misuse of the Act and ruled against automatic arrest of the booking of accused under the law. It also introduced the provision of anticipatory bail. The Supreme Court ruled that public servants cannot be prosecuted without the approval of the appointing authority and citizens too should be arrested only after an inquiry under the law. This led to widespread protests across five states and cost 11 lives. The government filed the review petition in the matter. However, turning down the government’s appeal to freeze the earlier verdict, the top court said today, “Our aim is to protect innocents, we have not diluted the law in any manner”Continue Reading Indian Polity Notes-SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act-For WBCS Aspirants.

Crimes against SC/ST – Atrocities of various forms

Violence against SC/ST is very nuanced in nature, so it is difficult to separate atrocities against SC/ST from law and order problems. So in many instances, the case is registered under IPC or CrPC than PoA.Also read Right to privacy as fundamental right, for W.B.C.S Examination.

1. Cow vigilantism

• The term “Cow vigilantism” is used to describe the lawlessness happening under the name of Cow protection.
• Dalits and Muslims are at the receiving end of this vigilantism.
• Since Dalits are concentrated in the occupation of leather making from hides of the cow, they are invariably targeted by vigilantes.
• Cow vigilantism has increased since past two years.

2. Honour killing

• In a society like India, where caste structures are still dominant in the form of endogamy, honour killings are prevalent on a wide scale.
• Dalits are almost always at the receiving end of the violence.
• In Lata Singh vs. the State of UP, Supreme Court has opined that inter-caste marriages are in the national interest as they destroy the caste system.
• Bhagwan Dass v. Delhi deemed honour killings in the “rarest of rare” category of crimes that deserve the death penalty.Indian polity and economy is a very important part of WBCS Examination Syllabus and how to prepare this subject and which books to read must be known beforehand.

3. Social boycott

• Khap panchayat – caste panchayat often acts as an arena for perpetuating atrocities against Dalits by ostracizing them from the society
• Ambedkar had recognized the atrocities meting out to Dalits in the form of social boycott. He had often fought against the practice
  • Mahad satyagraha for the opening of community tanks for Dalits
  • He proposed an anti-boycott law
  • He recognized that discrimination occurs in multiple axes like boycott-stigmatization-segregation and try to fight it out on all these axes
• Maharashtra enacted a law against a social boycott: Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016.
• Need a comprehensive anti-discrimination law in lines of civil rights entitlements in US-UK.
• Law Commission drafted the Prohibition of Unlawful Assembly (Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances) Bill, 2011 that sought to declare khap panchayats unlawful.Following previous years question papers are a must to get a proper idea about the types of questions asked in this part.

4. Caste clashes

• In rural India, OBC became dominant caste by ousting upper caste due to
  • They were able to convert their numerical strength into political force once universal adult franchise came.
  • Post-Indian rural development model was favourable to them: Land reforms, the green revolution etc.
• On the other hand, Post-Independent development model didn’t result in the upward mobility of Dalits. Thus OBCs became the new oppressor of Dalits in place of traditional upper castes.
• Post-1990 reforms, there was a resurgence among Dalits due to
  • reservation policy led to the emergence of middle class among Dalits who spearheaded Dalit movements.
  • Identity politics, from leaders among Dalits themselves, began to express itself.
  • urbanization and other opportunities followed by 1990 reforms lead to improvement in Dalits life
• This resurgence was met with violent clashes among upper castes/OBCs and Dalits.
  • Many scholars like Surinder.S.Jodhka have attributed the increased atrocities to the tensions caused between upper castes and Dalits due to the perceived upward mobility of Dalits.
• But Dalits were at the receiving end of almost all these atrocities like
  • Khairlanji massacre in Maharashtra 2008
  • Bhima-Koregaon violence in Maharashtra 2017
  • Una violence

5. Discrimination in universities

• The suicide of Rohit Vemula in Hyderabad 2016

Examples of atrocities in independent India

• Kizhavenmani, Tamil Nadu (1958) in which 44 SCs were burnt to death in a confined building because SC agricultural labourers sought a little raise in their very low wages. The high court acquitted all the accused.
• Karamchedu, Andhra Pradesh, 1984: Five SCs were massacred. The trial court convicted many of the accused. The high court acquitted all. The Supreme Court upheld the trial court judgment – a clear example that acquittals do not mean false cases.
• Tsunduru, Andhra Pradesh, 1991: Eight SCs were massacred. The trial court convicted the accused in 2007. The high court acquitted them in 2014. The Supreme Court has admitted a special leave petition (SLP) of the surviving victims and survivors of victims.
• Six cases of Bihar including the Bathani Tola (1996) and Laxmanpur Bathe (1997). In most of these, the trial court convicted the accused. In all of these, the high court acquitted the accused. Appeals are pending in the Supreme Court.
• Kambalapalli, Karnataka. The prime witness in this case, who is the sole survivor and head of the family whose other members were massacred, turned “hostile” due to a threat of life, resulting in the acquittal of all the accused.

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