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A Focus on Adivasis, Dalits and Muslims Proceedings of the TISS-Uoe Collaboration Workshop Compiled by Suryakant Waghmore & Hugo Gorringe

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A Focus on Adivasis, Dalits and Muslims Proceedings of the TISS-Uoe Collaboration Workshop Compiled by Suryakant Waghmore & Hugo Gorringe Social science research and inclusive policies: A focus on Adivasis, Dalits and Muslims Proceedings of the TISS-UoE collaboration workshop Compiled by Suryakant Waghmore & Hugo Gorringe ISS and University of Edinburgh insights of the debates with a wider audience received UKIERI funding for an through this summary of the workshop. T innovative collaboration on the In what follows we offer a transcript of themes of “Marginal Populations, Social key debates in the following sessions: Mobilisation and Development”. This thematic Session 1: Caste atrocities and Missing collaboration focuses on marginal populations convictions - Can social science research help – Dalits, Muslims, and Scheduled Tribes – and policy? analyses their adverse incorporation into or Session 2: Tribal dispossession and inclusion - exclusion from processes of development in Frameworks for policy research dialogue India. Session 3: Muslim Citizenship and A two-day workshop in Mumbai in Development – Challenges for policy research August 2012 focused on Social Science Session 4: Policies for Nomadic Tribes in Research and the possibilities for inclusion of Maharashtra. Muslims, Adivasis and Dalits. It involved interactive and deliberative exchanges Session one: Caste atrocities and Missing amongst advocacy groups, policy makers and convictions - Can social science research representatives of marginal populations as well help policy? as academic experts. The discussions offered The discussion in the first session pondered rich insights into the dynamic social contexts the question of why conviction rates for caste of marginalised groups and processes of violence are so low despite the presence of development (defined in a broad sense). We substantive legislation in this area? What are have, therefore, sought to share some of the www.southasianist.ed.ac.uk | Vol. 3 Issue 1, 2014 | ISSN 2050-487X | pg. 282 the gaps between practice and policy? What hold positions of power in village-level state can social science do to address this gap? structures. Speakers in this session included Eknath As activists, our role is to disturb “law and Awad, the President of the Campaign for order”. As per my own experience, there is no Human Rights (Mannavi Hakk Abhiyan) and justice without disturbing the law and order. long-standing Dalit rights activist in Incidents of atrocities are good moments to Maharashtra; Anoop Kumar, the founder of demand justice; we must question how the Insight Foundation; and also Professor agencies use these occurrences and monitor Ramaiah and Dr Waghmore from TISS. them to see that justice is delivered. With the police, village panchayat, judiciary, and local Advocate Eknath Awad, President of the people all averse to providing justice to Dalits, Campaign for Human Rights this [extra-institutional action] is the only The terminology of atrocities is changing option for them. Bureaucrats, socialists, especially after the Prevention of Atrocities activists and agencies can do a lot during these Act (PoA, also referred to as the Atrocities Act times by writing about these incidents and or the Act) was brought into force. Also, the raising them with higher authorities through form and nature of atrocities is changing. We various means. But the government is like the use PCR 7 D (1978) Act against atrocities to buffalo’s skin, you can hit it all you want but it book cases. Though the legislation is in place, makes hardly any difference to the buffalo. politics is the main setback in justice for Activists have to keep their resolve and will Dalits; since politicians are not giving back but power. simply taking votes. Some Dalit politicians The only alternative is that people should who are in powerful positions have become be in power, they should be economically, puppets of the higher castes. One can also politically and socially powerful. Local Dalit academics speaking up against caste atrocities witness a police-politician nexus. Police don’t record caste-based violence as such; they face repercussions, whilst academics who record it as any other crime which carries a maintain status quo are accepted/recruited. much lighter sentence. Police officers who do The same is true about activists, politicians not record or act on atrocities cases are etc. So those who speak up for justice won’t rewarded by the state. Often offenders are be accepted. Like Babasaheb [Ambedkar] has protected. These offenders are powerful and said before, those who accept the chaturvarna [caste] system are seen as being good citizens. www.southasianist.ed.ac.uk | Vol. 3 Issue 1, 2014 | ISSN 2050-487X | pg. 283 The conviction rates and registration of caste are various efforts involving activists and discrimination cases is very low. Tantamukti NGOs to address these issues. Atrocities began [reconciliation]1 is the license to goondagardi to be known as such after the Act came in. [banditry]. It is easy to get way with Before that these were incidents of violence committing atrocities. Based on the present and it was only since 1989 that violence political environment, there is a possibility that against Dalits have been termed as atrocities. the Act might be abolished in the coming 3- 4 As a Dalit activist I see law as a tool for social years as the statistics show that there are fewer justice, but there is also a need to address the cases now.2 The truth is that it hardly reflects root cause of these atrocities because if the the challenges of filing cases (finding root cause is not eliminated there will not be witnesses who are willing to bear testimony, any change in the problem. filing charge sheets, lapses in investigation, We have been focusing on getting delays in registration that benefit the offender) convictions and after several years of work we and that atrocities are taking newer forms. are getting some success in this regard. It is not just enough to see the loopholes in the Act Advocate Manjula Pradeep, Director, but to also see how we can use the existing Navsarjan Trust (http://www.navsarjan.org/) legislation in securing justice. Convictions There are various problems with the cannot happen without the role of civil society implementation of the Atrocities Act. There organizations – it starts from filling out the FIRs [First Information Reports submitted to 1 Eknath Awad here is making reference to ‘the police] and goes until the person gets justice. “Mahatma Gandhi Dispute-Free Villages Campaign”, or “Mahatma Gandhi Tantamukt Gaon Mohim” Justice doesn’t simply mean conviction; we launched by Maharashtra on 15th August, 2007’. have to go beyond the justice process to ensure According to A.N.P Sinha from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj: ‘The Campaign aims to resolve village that the person who gets justice lives with disputes amicably with the cooperation of the people by creating a podium for reconciliation. This campaign in dignity and self-respect. For instance, we its fourth year has resolved over 2.5 lakh disputes without police or court intervention. The overall impact handled the case of a college going Dalit girl of the campaign has been to improve caste and religious ties in multi-community villages, defuse political who was gang raped by four professors in an tension, create a general atmosphere of security and all-girls college. This was a political issue for ownership of common interest in the State’ (see the statement here: Gujarat. The right hand of the Chief Minister ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/decn/cr/res2010 1001.pdf). Awad suggests that the stress on ‘amicable was also involved since it was his resolution’ has allowed dominant castes to impose their will. constituency. Through this case we realised 2 This has to be seen in the light of various dominant caste political parties across several states demanding that the media plays a major role in keeping an the scrapping of protective legislation for Dalits. www.southasianist.ed.ac.uk | Vol. 3 Issue 1, 2014 | ISSN 2050-487X | pg. 284 issue in the limelight and creates pressure on We spent an entire night in the police station the administration. We were able to use the with the dead body but the police officer on provisions of the Act and get the six accused a duty and even the inspector general were sentence of life imprisonment. However, the refusing to file a case against the perpetrator delivery of justice in this case is not who was from the Rajput caste as well as representative, conviction rates remain very closely connected to the Bhartiya Janata Party low. A report by my organisation highlights (BJP) politicians in power.4 There were 250 of that conviction is the lowest in ten states in us in the police station and we were dragged India namely Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, out by the police officers who confiscated the Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, body of the murdered Dalit youth on the eve of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. A report by 26th January [Republic Day in India] without the National Human Rights Commission on registering the case. It was a national shame. the status of the Act also describes the rate of But finally the story was covered in the news conviction and the loopholes in the Act itself. and later the main accused was arrested. There is also a need to understand state So it is not just through the work of NGOs impunity in addressing atrocities against Dalits but the support of the community and mass and Tribals. movements are most important to ensure The forms of atrocities are changing. As justice. We have been trying to understand Dalits are getting economically empowered why atrocities happen so we conducted a study there is a tendency of the dominant castes to of untouchability in 1589 villages. The report impose social pressure to ensure that economic was released in 2010, which highlighted 98 liberation does not lead to social liberation.3 forms of untouchability being practiced by the We believe that social liberation is as dominant castes.5 However the act includes in important as economic liberation so in the its purview only acts of violence but not other cases that we see, Dalit youth seemed to be forms of untouchability associated with touch, becoming economically better off and eating habits etc.
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