Caste-related violence raises its ugly head again

Four days ago, the nation woke up to the nauseating news that the aide of a BJP MLA in Madhya Pradesh had urinated on a tribal, with videos of the incident going viral on social media.

In poll-bound MP, the ruling BJP scampered into damage-control mode with CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan trying to send out a message of repentance by washing the feet of the tribal; the government went a step further by demolishing the house of the accused, but the bitter truth is out loud and clear – 75 years after Independence, the cruel web of caste continues to wield its tortuous influence on Indian lives with Dalits and tribal people at the receiving end of the worst crimes one can imagine.

There have been many such dastardly incidents in recent times; a Dalit man was beaten to death over a food order in Gujarat; in the same state, another Dalit man was killed after he rushed to the rescue of his nephew who touched a cricket ball during a match; a water tank was ‘purified’ with cow urine in ‘Namma Karnataka’ after a Dalit drew water from it.

And in the most recent incident, an employee of the Uttar Pradesh electricity department has been arrested for beating up a Dalit man and forcing him to lick his slipper!

The accused has been terminated from service, but the incident shows how the caste system fosters such brazen acts.

The ‘cow belt’ of India – which comprises states like UP, MP, Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar among others, is where these shocking crimes happen the most.

For instance, UP recorded the highest Dalit atrocities in 2021 – a full 13,146 cases, followed by Rajasthan with 7,524, MP with 7,214 and Bihar with 5,842 cases. In the 2018-21 period, a whopping 1.8 lakh cases of crimes against Dalits were registered in the country.

In the absence of a strong anti-caste movement, the social hierarchy prescribed by Manusmriti (laws of Manu) reigns supreme and anyone from lower castes daring to breach the social order and claim his rights under the Constitution, would be doing so at their own risk.

The Constitution no doubt lays it out clearly; Article 16 says the state shall treat everyone equally and no citizen shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, caste or religion.

But the rules have remained in the rule book with no conscious effort made by those in power to bridge the caste divide and ensure every Indian citizen – Dalit or upper caste – is entitled to the same rights.

Most political parties, while paying lip service to the cause of Dalit rights, have only tried to exploit the schism between different castes to further the prospects of their poll candidates.

It’s always a Lingayat for a constituency dominated by the community in Karnataka and it’s inevitably a Kurmi candidate for a seat where the caste is present in the largest numbers whether it be in UP or Bihar.

Politicians are quick to defend this approach, contending that if you cannot overcome the casteist bent in people’s minds, why not make the best of it?

So as India progresses with its billionaires growing in leaps and bounds, the other side of the story is pathetic to say the least – abject poverty, the caste bias and the persecution of the vulnerable sections continue like ever before.

Those in power have conveniently forgotten the guiding principles of the Constitution like equality and social justice and are instead intent on strengthening a pernicious system that should have given way to a modern society ages ago.

The desire for freedom, equality and justice is something that should be ingrained in every Indian’s heart.

Unless that happens, we are condemned to live and suffer in a system where crimes of the worst kind will continue to happen with impunity.