MADURAI
Since 2016, over 30 activists belonging to the Scheduled Castes have been killed in the southern districts alone, and arrests are yet to be made in 51% of such cases, according to a recent report by an NGO.
Evidence, which works on caste issues, carried out a study on the murder of Dalit activists in the past three years, the results of which are startling. “ These murders are not due to personal enmity but should be seen as suppression of socio-political growth of the SCs,” said A. Kathir of Evidence. “These activists have not just fought for issues concerning the Dalits, but have been the voices against human rights violations, swindling of environmental resources and atrocities against women and the marginalised. Unfortunately, these murders don’t get the attention they deserve,” he added.
The recent murder of 23-year-old Ashok, a DYFI activist and a Dalit youth from Karaiyiruppu village in Tirunelveli, has once again brought to the fore the disturbing trend of SC activists getting killed by members of the dominant castes. The main complaint of the victim’s relatives was that the police had, on previous occasions, failed to register cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, despite repeated pleas from Ashok.
Protection of SC activists
Besides presenting data on each of these murders, Evidence’s report also makes some recommendations.
“As per the recommendation of the UN Human Rights Defenders Declaration of 1998, the Focal Point of the NHRC [National Human Rights Commission] should conduct enquiry in person into crimes against human rights activists and ensure their protection. But that never happens in India,” Mr. Kathir claimed.
Citing the example of S. Murugan, a Dalit panchayat president who was murdered at Vembathur in Sivaganga district in 2017, he said: “Attempts were made seven times to murder Murugan and each time he had reported it to the police. Yet, there was no action. When Evidence filed a case in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, seeking a weapon licence for Murugan, armed protection was denied for him. Later, when Murugan intervened in a land issue concerning two BC communities, he was murdered.”
“Only the prime accused is arrested and the rest are let out on bail. More than 90% of these cases are not registered under the SC/ST Act,” he said, adding there was a need for a Special Act to protect SC social activists.
Senior advocate Lajapathi Roy said proper implementation of the SC/ST Act was sufficient. “The existing Act is strong enough. Sections 4, 7 and 10, for instance, can ensure safety of and justice for SC activists, but the police, and even the judges, sometimes have to be sensitised to invoke these sections. Section 10, for instance, suggests externment of those who threaten the life and property of an SC person. But these Sections are hardly invoked,” said Mr. Roy.
Root of the issue
Writer Stalin Rajangam felt that law alone cannot curb the trend. “Strengthening of Acts can surely be a deterrent, but finding a solution to the culture of murdering SC activists is possible only if the root [cause] of the issue is addressed,” he said.
“In the ‘90s, there was a surge in Dalit movements and the emergence of individuals from the community as activists is a result of that. However, such movements have now come out of their rural base and transformed themselves into political outfits. Parties such as the VCK and Puthiya Tamilagam were born out of such rural Dalit movements. But now there’s a lack of space for an active dialogue on caste violence and, as political parties, the VCK or the PT could not do as much as they did as movements,” said Mr. Rajangam.
“Today, modern political power, coupled with traditional and cultural privileges, have endowed intermediate castes with a new-found dominance. There’s a need for someone like Periyar, Ambedkar or Gandhi to keep aside personal agendas or beliefs and collaborate on a larger platform to break that dominance and initiate a dialogue on Dalit rights,” he added.