The following is the testimony given before the UN Sub commission of Human Rights, Geneva, on Aug.1.1995 by Dr. Berwa. As a permanent representative (at the Center for Human Rights in Geneva) of International Human Rights Association of American Minorities under the guidance of internationally-renowned human rights champion, Dr. Y.N. Kly (Regina, SK, Canada), Dr. Berwa is a Dalit doctor from India practising in US. Honorable Chairman and Members of Sub commission on Human Rights: I thank you for this rare opportunity to express my views on Dalit issues to this distinguished body. It is indeed a great honor and privilege for me to ask you to intervene on human rights violations of Dalits in India. This is the second time this issue of Dalits is discussed here by me.. The first time was in August 1982. “Dalits” is another name for India’s ethnic group: which is called by many frequently used terminologies like the Scheduled Caste (SC), the Untouchables, a patronizing word coined by late M.K.Gandhi, Harijan (children of god).
These so-called Dalits, Untouchables or SC constitutes 16% of India’s total population. If one considers the total Indian. population of approximately 900-950 million people, then this particular group has the strength of 130-135 million. This is more than half of the US and a little more than half of the European USSR.
Hindu persecution: These people have been victims of systematically sanctioned persecution by the Hindu society since the time immemorial. I know many Indians take great pride in their heritage and culture however, these Dalits were systematically excluded from the mainstream of society in all spheres of life, other than being used as slave labor for the so-called Hindu high caste touch ables.
I remember very vividly In high school and in college days, the teachers would say, “You chuhraichamar go and do your traditional work.”(Chuhra means sweeper and chamar means shoemaker or leather worker.) That is go and sweep the streets, clean the latrines, make the shoes, take the hide of the dead animals and other slave labor and menial jobs. Some of them used intimidating tactics so that the SC boys and girls do not get an education and thus drop out of school and colleges.
If one needs a good example of what kind of harsh reprisals these peopled face, one has to look into the Indian press- national and the regional newspapers in which there is hardly a day that goes by in which the practice of untouchability, rape, murder, burning of houses, social boycott, etc., are not depicted against Untouchables. Rural violence: Many of my upper caste friends say, “Gee, untouchability is no longer an issue. “My response to that is, it may be loosening it’s grip in urban areas, which is only a small portion of the Indian population and the total SC population, 80% of Indians live in villages and 80% SC people live in villages as well.
Rural violence against Dalit is a part of daily living. The village is still the same stinking cesspool of social injustice as it was centuries ago. And it is very much a feudal India. The urban Dalits are not immune from violence. Even though the govt. has many rules and regulations on the books, their implementation has been derailed by the upper caste bureaucrats, politicians, police and other citizenry. The politicians and the bureaucrat come to the scene of crimes and shed their crocodile tears. The cases of violence have been brought up repeatedly by the Committee for Welfare of SC/ STS, by the Minority Commission and even the governments constitutionally appointed Commissioner for SC/STs, who reports directly to the President of India.
Govt. admits failure: The latest Report was the 29th report (1986-1987) published in 1992. In a letter to the President of India dated November 23, 1988, Dr. B.D. Sharma, Commissioner for SC/ST. states: “Investigation of the constitutional safeguards for about a quarter of our people, located at the margin, straggling for equity and justice against adverse forces, rooted both in tradition and also the nascent social and economic order, is, an unenviable task. This is particularly so when these forces operate with an aura of progressive monetization and are deemed a to be intrinsic to the process of structural transformation. It is in this context that an I attempt has been made in this report first to present a broad perspective of the constitutional safeguards comprising their legitimate scope, the rightful priorities and the requisite sense of urgency in the backdrop of fast socioeconomic changes.” In 1978, the Ministry of Home Affairs had set up a Commission for SC/ST whose job was to “investigate all matters related to safeguards provided for SC/ST in the Constitution, to also study the implementation of Civil Rights Act 1955, particularly in reference to the objective of removal of untouchability and invidious discrimination arises there from a period of five years. However, the Commission is greatly handicapped in performing it’s function effectively because it does not enjoy constitutional status. This makes the Commission at times, a helpless spectator of nonperformance and noncompliance. The Commission for SC/ST in its seventh report, April 1984 through March 1985, has stated:” as Untouchability continues to be practiced without any appreciable abatement mostly in the areas in which orthodox values and deeply rooted old fashioned customs prevail, it is high time for both the Central and State Government to make a most determined bid to launch a multi-prong attack on this evil practice and effective combination of effects by voluntary agencies, educational institutions, cultural organizations, etc.” The SC/ST Commission’s Report continued on atrocities: “As almost unabated penetration of atrocities against the members of SC/ST continues to be a matter of great concern for the Commission. This situation tends to negate the efforts of freedom and equality for all as enshrined in our Constitution. It is also pointed to the grim reality that despite protective provisions in the Constitution, the majority of the members of the SC/ST still continue to be suppressed due to their socio economical conditions.”
Only crime: The only crime the Dalits have committed is to take birth in low 1 caste, of which they have no control.
Here, I will focus on three issues which are of great concern to any human rights activist or civil rights champions. First is untouchability, second are atrocities on SCs and third is police brutality. The first issue: Untouchability is officially abolished according to Article XVII of the Indian Constitution. However, the practice of untouchability is part of daily 3 living in Indian society more so in the rural areas. Anytime, someone does not practice this norm they are either brutally murdered, killed and he or she is shown his place in society by force. Since the independence of India many amendments and resolutions have been passed by the government but implementation has been extremely poor. The data compiled for 1981-1985 shows a number of cases registered in the police stations. There are countless cases which go unnoticed and unreported for fear of persecution. So these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg
Second Issue: Since 1974, the Ministry of Home Affairs started collecting statistics of such crimes, indicating that atrocities on SC/STs might be classified into four categories: viz. murder, grievous hurt, arson and rape. Later the collection of these statistics encompasses all IPC (Indian Penal Code) offenses in which SC/ST persons were victims. The govt. described various measures being adopted to check the atrocities on SC/ST by the Center on the State Governments, atrocities on members of these communities persist. For 1986, the data collected showed that the nature of crimes where as follows: murder 564, grievous hurt 1,408, rape 1,002, other offenses 11,750. For a total of 15,416.
The following is a recent compilation of the numbers of cases of crimes against “The Wounded Society-Dalits of India”.
Year
1.Murder 1989
1990
1991
1992
No. of cases
652
691
731
556
(incomplete 6-9 mos.)
- Arson
1989
754
1990
630
1991
645
1992
466
(incomplete)
- Grievous Hurt
1989
1820
1990
1913
1991
1890.
1992
796
(incomplete)
- Rape
1989
1173
1990
1163
1991
1067
1992
1236
(incomplete)
Other crimes against Dalits under IPC (Indian Penal Code)
1989
1990
1991
1992
15,023
16,880
17.029
1,279.
(Incomplete: some states reported 6
mos, and some 9 mos. only)
Total number of cases against Dalits-
SC/ST
1989
19.422
1990
21,307
1991
21,362
1992
13,393
(6-9 mos. reporting)
N.B. Source for above data is from 1992- 1993, Annual Report Ministry of Welfare, Government of India, presented in Parliament during Budget session, 1994. Inspire of the Untouchability Offense Act of 1955, Protection of Civil Rights: Act 1976 and SC/ST Protection Act 1989, all types of atrocities are continuing to be committed due to toothless departments and commissions.
In its last report submitted to Parliament for 1986-1987, the National Commission for SC/ST concluded: The failure of the police and prosecuting officers to discharge their duties effectively and promptly had resulted in the commission of atrocities with greater impunity.
To make the matter worse, the culprits get away by prolonged disposition of cases brought to the court of law. As Anita Katyal in the Times of India writes (23 May 1993), “SC/ST tormentor’s getaway.” Official figures for 1987-89, reveals that there were as many as 35,874 atrocity cases pending while the number of convictions was 14,718.
Police connivance: The most recent incidence of the ghastly crimes was April 14,1995 on the birth anniversary celebration of the late Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar, when over 500 Hindus rushed in a frenzy. carrying lethal weapons, knives, petrol and burnt 68 houses. Hundreds of Dalits brutally attacked and injured at Karuvanoor village, near Madurai. The perpetrators of these atrocities were al- lowed to go scot-free but 46 innocent Dalits were taken into custody. The police officials connive with the upper caste people and conceal the facts, which is more often than not.
Coming to police brutality, even though the officials including police, politicians at all levels, i.e. state and federal, do not acknowledge the police as the very people who commit crimes against Dalits, but one just has to read the regional and national press to have an idea of it
Punia’s letter in DV: In a recent “Letter to the Editor” of the internationally renowned Dalit fortnightly, Dalit Voice (July 1, 1995), Dr. K.R.Punia, L.A.S (retd) and a former Haryana Industries Minister, and a Congress party member writes: “We submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister on 10.5.1995 regarding police atrocities on the SCs of Haryana. About 5,000 SCs led by me demonstrated at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, and also courted arrest in protest against the inaction by the State Govt. In one village Butana, Sonepat dt., a Balmaki woman was tortured fracturing her pelvic bones. Because of the police terror half a dozen families have fled away. In another village of the same district, a 19-year-old Dalit woman was raped and murdered. The police forcibly cremated the body at night and about 10 persons were booked wrongly when they objected to the cremation of the deceased at night and tortured. All the SCs of this village have also deserted their homes and sought shelter elsewhere. We met the Haryana Chief Minister on 13.4.1995 in al delegation but he did nothing.”
This is a classic example of police inaction and police terrorizing Dalits and politicians Ignoring Dalit Issues especially a Congress Party Chief Minister TSS Mani of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, who led a fact-finding team to the affected areas, said:”It was a horrid sight. The caste Hindus who had always been jealous of the relative prosperity of the Kodiyangulam Dalits-many of whom have made some money through stints in the Middle East-have had their vengeance…it was they who set the Government machinery on the Dalits. All of them complained that the district collector himself led the operations though he denies it vehemently. That he is a Thevar and anyway he did not come to their rescue even after the court directive has made him the tar- get of their suspicion…unless justice is done to them, they are adequately compensated and the present siege is lifted, the sense of alienation on the. part of the Dalits will not be overcome..such a situation could even lead to large scale conversions all over the area…”
After all the dust kicked up by various political parties including the CPM, did the Jayalalitha Government announce a judicial inquiry.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 1, 1995
