DALITS AND LAW

Meghna biswas
Varnashrama Vyavastha
• Varnashrama Dharma is a Sanskrit name given to the divisional
structure of the Indian society.
• Varna, in the context of Hinduism, refers to the Brahmin ideology of
hierarchizing society into classes.
• To organise and management of individual and society, these two
schemes together called Varnashrama vyavastha or Varnashrama
dharama.
• Bhramacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sanyasa.
Indian society was divided into five castes:

• Brahmins: the priestly caste. After their religious role decreased they
became the caste of officialdom.
• Kshatriya: warrior caste. ...
• Vaisya: the commoner caste. ...
• Sudras: represented the great bulk of the Indian population. ...
• Untouchables: descendants of slaves or prisoners.
Indian Muslims are stratified into three main
castes
• At the top of the pyramid are the Ashrafs (literally, the ‘nobles’, who
trace their ancestry to inhabitants of the Arab peninsula or Central
Asia or are converts from Hindu upper castes)
• Ajlafs (literally, the ‘commoners’, who are said to be converted from
Hindu low castes)
• Arzals (literally, the ‘despicable’, who are said to be Dalit converts).
• the Islamic conquerors consciously adopted the Hindu caste system
"as a compromise which they had to make in a predominantly Hindu
environment."
CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIA
• Castes are rigid social groups characterized by hereditary transmission
of life style, occupation and social status.
• The caste system in India has its origins in ancient India, and was
transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and
modern India, especially the Mughal Empire and the British Raj.
• the British formulated the caste system into their system of
governance, granting administrative jobs and senior appointments
only to Christians and people belonging to certain castes.
• The caste system consists of two different concepts, Varna and jati,
which may be regarded as different levels of analysis.
Varna

• Varna literally means type, order, colour or class and was a framework
for grouping people into classes, first used in Vedic Indian society.
• It is referred to frequently in the ancient Indian texts.
• The Varna categorization implicitly had a fifth element, being those
people deemed to be entirely outside its scope, such as tribal people
and the untouchables.
Jati

• Jati, meaning birth, is mentioned much less often in ancient texts,

where it is clearly distinguished from varna.
• There are four varnas but thousands of jatis.
• The jatis are complex social groups that lack universally applicable
definition or characteristic, and have been more flexible and diverse
than was previously often assumed.
Caste

• The term caste is not originally an Indian word, though it is now

widely used, both in English and in Indian languages.
• According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is derived from the
Portuguese casta, meaning "race, lineage, breed" and, originally,
"'pure or unmixed (stock or breed)".
• There is no exact translation in Indian languages,
but Varna and jati are the two most approximate terms.
Constitutional Provisions
• Article 15 of the Constitution of India prohibits discrimination based
on caste.
• Article 17 declared the practice of untouchability to be illegal.
• the Untouchability (Offences) Act (renamed in 1976, as the Protection
of Civil Rights Act).
• Caste Disabilities removal act,1850.
• SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Features of Untouchability (offences) Act,
1955.
• Religious disabilities, social disabilities, disability of residence,
Untouchability amongst Untouchables, Educational disabilities,
economic disabilities, political disabilities.
• For the eradication of untouchability the Untouchability Offences Act
was passed by Indian Government in 1955 in which any person forcing
the disabilities of untouchability can be sentenced to six months
imprisonment or a fine of Rs. 500/- or both for his first offence.
• For every subsequent offence the sentence will include both a term in
jail as well as fine. If considered necessary, the punishment can also be
increased.
• This Act provides penalties for the offences like preventing a person from entering into
public temples or places of worship, preventing the drawing of water from sacred lakes,
tanks, wells etc.
• The Rajya Sabha passed on September, 2, 1976, the Bill to amend the Untouchability
(Offences) Act, 1955 and changed its title to the “Protection of the Civil Rights Act”.
• This Bill had proposed stringent measures against those who still practice
untouchability. It sought to make willful negligence on part of the investigating officers
of complaints relating to untouchability tantamount to abatement.
• It has proposed surveys and fieldwork for determining the areas where untouchability
is practiced.
• It envisages setting up of committees for implementing the Act and grant of adequate
facilities to persons subjected to disabilities arising out of untouchability so that they
will be in a position to avail of their rights.
• The Act prescribes punishment for compelling any person to scavenge, sweep,
remove carcasses, flay animals or remove umbilical cords.
• It empowers the state Government to impose collective fines on the inhabitants
of any area who were concerned with abetting the commission of offences
relating to untouchability.
• All untouchability offences have become non- compoundable and in cases where
the punishments given are less than three months, they can be tried summarily.
• In addition to enacting laws against untouchability the Government of India also
instituted propaganda against untouchability throughout India. “Harijan weeks
and Harijan day” were observed all over the country. Advisory Committees have
been formed in State and District level, to encourage close contact between
untouchables and the upper castes.
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
• The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989 is an act of the Parliament of India enacted to
prohibit discrimination, prevent atrocities and hate crimes
against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
• It was enacted when the provisions of the existing provision were found
to be inadequate to check these crimes.
• "to prevent the commission of offences of atrocities against the
members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, to provide for Special Courts
for the trial of such offences and for the relief and rehabilitation of the
victims of such offences and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto".
• the Act authorizes the Central Government to frame rules for carrying
out the purpose of the Act.
• The purpose of the Act was to help the social inclusion of Dalits into
Indian society.
• A number of cases of misuse of this Act has been reported from
different parts of the country.
• "preliminary enquiry shall not be required for registration of an FIR
against any person”
• SC & ST act, 2015.
Features of the act
• The first category contains provisions of criminal law. It establishes
criminal liability for a number of specifically defined atrocities, and
extends the scope of certain categories of penalizations given in the
Indian Penal Code (IPC).
• The second category contains provisions for relief and compensation
for victims of atrocities.
• The third category contains provisions that establish special
authorities for the implementation and monitoring of the Act.
• Creation of new types of offences not in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or in the
Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 (PCRA).
• Commission of offences only by specified persons (atrocities can be
committed only by non-SCs and non-STs on members of the SC or ST
communities. Crimes among SCs and STs or between STs and SCs do not
come under the purview of this Act).
• Defines various types of atrocities against SCs/STs
• Prescribes stringent punishment for such atrocities
• Enhanced punishment for some offences
• Enhanced minimum punishment for public servants Punishment for neglect
of duties by a public servant
Drawbacks
• Bias
• State of Karnataka v. Ingale (1992).
• The State of Karnataka had charged five individuals with violating the SC/ST Act.
At trial, four witnesses testified that the defendants had threatened Dalits with
a gun to stop them from taking water from a well. The defendants told the Dalit
that they had no right to take water, because they were 'untouchables'. The
trial judge convicted all of the defendants. On appeal, the Additional Sessions
judge confirmed the conviction of three defendants but acquitted two. On
further appeal to the High Court, the judge acquitted all the defendants after
rejecting testimony of the four Dalit witnesses. The Dalits finally got relief from
the Supreme Court. The High Court's reluctance to believe the Dalits was a
"patent error," according to Justice Ramaswamy.
• Misuse
• The case Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan vs. State Of Maharashtra
is landmark due to the fact because it laid down as to how Schedule
tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989 is being misused and there
is importance of quashing complaints where no concrete evidence
could be found against the said wrongdoer.
• Failure of legal system
Investigation

• not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)

• The rule is to ensure that the investigations are of high quality, and the
assumption is that senior officials would not be as biased, nor as vulnerable to
other pressures, as those in the lower rungs of the police force.
• The Andhra Pradesh High Court, in D. Ramlinga Reddy v. State of AP,took the
position that provisions of Rule 7 are mandatory and held that investigation under
the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has to be carried out by only an officer
not below the rank of DSP. An investigation carried out and charge sheet filed by
an incompetent officer is more than likely to be quashed.
• M. Kathiresam v. State of Tamil Nadu held that investigation conducted by an
officer other than a DSP is improper and bad in law and proceedings based on
such an investigation are required to be quashed.
Rise of Bahujan samaj party
• The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in
India that was formed to represent Bahujans.
• Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward
Classes (OBC), along with religious minorities
• Kanshi Ram- Founder- 1984
• The party claims to be inspired by the philosophy of Gautama
Buddha, B. R. Ambedkar
• The BSP has its main base in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where it
was the second-largest party
• The Bahujan Samaj Party was founded on the birth anniversary
of B.R.Ambedkar, 14 April 1984, by Kanshi Ram,who named former school
teacher, Mayawati, as his successor of BSP in 2001
• Mayawati formed a coalition with Samajwadi Party president Mulayam
Singh Yadav as Chief Minister.
• she withdrew support from his government, which led to a major incident
where Yadav was accused of sending his zealots to keep her party legislators
hostage at a Lucknow guest house and shout casteist abuses at her.
• Mayawati then obtained support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to
become Chief Minister on 3 June 1995. In October 1995, the BJP withdrew
their support and fresh elections were called.
• Manywar Shri Kanshi Ramji Shahri Garib Awas Yojna, housing scheme
for poor was launched by Lucknow Development Authority (LDA).
• https://upavp.in/article/en/msksgay
• BSP believes in "Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation"
of the "Bahujan Samaj".
• "Our policies and ideology are not against any particular caste or
religion. If we were anti-upper caste, we would not have given tickets
to candidates from upper castes to contest elections"