Atrocities and Interventions

Violence is certainly what describes best the nature of interactions between the Dalits and the non-Dalits in India. Untouchability, for a fact, is such an acute expression of psychological violence that right from childhood, a Dalit is made to feel that he or she is an inferior being, a person of low intelligence and a person whose life is worth only the service and the betterment of the dominant caste men and women.

Physical violence and atrocities unleashed on the Dalits are the logical and cruel outcome of the caste system. The magnitude and the depth of these atrocities are horrifying. Between 1990 and 1993, over 4,300 cases of atrocities committed against Dalits were reported in Gujarat, and this in only 14 Districts. During that same period, atrocities increased by an astonishing 90%. This increase is, nevertheless, indicative of the Dalits’ assertion and reaction to injustice. While traditional caste-based practices still constitute the major cause of atrocities, a growing number of atrocities are triggered by the protest and the political organising of the Dalits. Refusing to accept any challenge to their hegemony, non-Dalits engage in violent repressive measures to silence any form of dissent among the Dalits. These measures range from brutal murders, such as burning individuals alive or stabbing them to death, to gang rape, arson, and grievous injuries. Significantly it is not upper castes alone who abuse the Dalits, but the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) too engage in oppression and physical violence. On a sample of 3083 offences in 13 Districts of Gujarat, it came out that Patels (Patidar and Koli Patels) were the accused in 34% of the cases, the Kshatriyas in 32%, and the Brahmins only in 7% of the cases.

Violence is further aggravated as guilty persons are rarely immediately arrested, and by the time they are punished people generally have forgotten the crime. The unbearably slow legal procedures and the lengthy and costly processes only add insult to injury; victims and their relatives often live in proximity to the culprits, who often threaten them further. Despite the 1989 Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which provides for appointments of Special Courts and Government Prosecutors for expediting proceedings, these situations have not changed. In practice, the Act is often not properly implemented by the Police. In 11 surveyed Districts of Gujarat, it was found that the percentage of application of the Atrocity Act by the Police was only slightly more than 60%. Moreover, because the Police often “prefer” certain sections of the Act to others, and because, at other times, only a very vague reference to the Act is made, there has been a growing general impression that Dalits have been abusing this Act. The truth is that the Police constables are generally not familiar with the provisions of the Atrocity Act, and are also susceptible to both caste allegiance and bribery.