Do you remember when you were 17? Have you done anything memorable or were you busy studying to have a better future for yourself and your family?
One person, however, no longer had such a smooth sailing-life ahead of him. Akash Saah was sent to jail not for theft, rioting, or murder but for something far more severe than anything you could have expected. He committed an atrocity not by doing anything mentioned above but by refusing to pay Rs 5000 to the “Dalits” who demanded that he pay for their liquor and chicken.
Not sensational enough?
How about a Jaat family whose life became hell as told by Munni Devi (elderly woman of the family) on account of being bombarded with 12 false cases under the SC/ST act?
These aren’t isolated incidents but a part of an increasing number of attempts by some to settle personal issues using governmental safeguards while portraying themselves as victims of atrocities.
The implications of anti-caste rhetoric are far-reaching but let us first look at the legal basis that protects the SC/ST communities against crimes and atrocities.
The Civil Rights Act, 1955
The Indian constitution maintains in Article 15 that no citizen shall be subjected to any disability or restriction on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth while guaranteeing the equality of status and opportunity for every citizen. It manifests practically with the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 furthering the goal of Article 17 abolishing untouchability.
The SC/ST Act, 1989
Owing to the limited impact played by the Civil Rights Act, the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 took effect on January 30th of 1990; this extended “positive discrimination” by placing more stringent punishments for corresponding crimes as compared to those under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) extended by rules (1995). Many may already be aware of the denial of the right to seek anticipatory bail which we will cover shortly. The act defined 22 atrocities ranging from contamination of edible resources, forcing others to do demeaning work to violence.
The provisions of the act can be divided into three:
i) Establishes criminal liability on those that commit atrocities against the SC/ST populous.
ii) Relief and compensation for victims of atrocities
iii) Establishing special authorities for implementation and monitoring of the act—special courts are one such authority.
Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Amendment Act, 2015
In 2015, the number of atrocities recognised under the act increased to 47. PM Modi commenting on the issue during the inauguration of BR Ambedkar Memorial said, “Our government has always made efforts to maintain balance in society by law. It was our government in 2015 that strengthened the law on atrocities against Dalits.”
Some of the key features of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, are:
- Atrocities added to the list include: dedicating an SC/ST woman as a Devadasi, perpetrating witchcraft atrocities, abusing in caste name, etc.
- Addition of certain IPC offences like hurt, grievous hurt, intimidation, kidnapping, etc., attracting less than ten years of imprisonment, committed against members of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe, as offences punishable under the PoA Act.
- The establishment of Exclusive Special Courts and specification of Exclusive Special Public Prosecutors also, exclusively try the offences under the PoA Act to enable speedy and expeditious disposal of cases.
Intervention by the Supreme Court of India
In March 2018, The Supreme Court gave a verdict on the case: Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan vs. The State of Maharashtra. It appeared that the court understood the ground reality of the act’s application and made the following judgment (summarised):
- To lodge an FIR under the PoA, there needs to be a preliminary inquiry conducted by a deputy superintendent of police.
- The provision of immediate arrests after the complaint has been filed is no longer permitted. In the circumstance where the accused is a governmental employee, the police need the permission of an appointing authority to arrest the individual. When the accused is not a government employee, permission is required from the Senior Superintendent of police.
- Along with the above, the SC removed the provision of a blanket ban on anticipatory bail under the PoA. It should be noted that under section 18 of the original PoA, anticipatory bail couldn’t be granted. The SC ruled that if the court hearing the matter finds prima facie that there is no case or finds that the complaint could be mala fide in nature, anticipatory bail may be granted to the accused.
Safeguards Overturned by Parliament Legislation
This victory didn’t last long. Dalit groups called for a Bharat Bandh to protest the ruling and soon became violent leading to the death of seven.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi went on to comment,
“On the one hand, atrocities against Dalits are increasing and, on the other, their biggest weapon against atrocities is being diluted.”
This criticism didn’t remain fixed to the opposition and we see that the Parliament went on to pass a bill in August of the same year. PM Modi assured the nation by stating that they took only 12 days to file the review petition and that they wouldn’t allow for the “dilution” of the act.
Taking jibe against the opposing party, PM Modi goes on to comment,
“I challenge the Congress to tell about a single work done by them for Baba Saheb, any single work done by them as a mark of respect to him.”.
The source of inspiration for the amendment was made quite clear.
The Amendment (formally upheld by the Supreme Court in 2020) introduced section 18a which overturned the safeguards introduced by: Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan vs. The State of Maharashtra.
Statistics vs Narratives of Oppression
Looking at all of the above acts and amendments, we may come to the conclusion that the crimes and atrocities committed against SC/STs constitute a grave epidemic that justifies all the attention and allocation of resources. As a disclaimer we don’t say that no crimes are being committed against them or any sort of discrimination is lacking.
As we shall see later, there has been a narrative created against varṇāśramā dharma portraying it as repressive, and all that hold on to tradition and customs as oppressive and bigoted. This is especially the case of brāhmaṇas who have become the face of all casteism along with other upper castes. To find the truth about this narrative, we must first investigate the reports detailing the number of crimes and atrocities.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the year 2021 had 50,900 incidents of crimes* committed against the SC/ST communities. After cases under the ‘simple hurt’ category, the greatest share pertains to the Prevention of Atrocities Act with 10.3% (5,269 cases). Below is a useful table for visualising the change and continuity of crimes committed over three years.
Our scrutiny of the data used to promote narratives of oppression is based on the work of Mr. Dunkin Jalki and Ms.Sufiya Pathan – Are There Caste Atrocities in India? What the Data Can and Cannot Tell us
For example, taking NCRB data from 2011, the number of criminal incidents against SC/STs was 33,719. They give a good perspective as to how one can play with these numbers stating that:
“As per Crime Statistics of India, every 18 minutes a crime is committed against SCs; every day 27 atrocities against them (3 rapes, 11 assaults, and 13 murders); every week 5 of their homes or possessions burnt and 6 persons kidnapped or abducted. “
This is bound to stir up those who read it, but its purpose is understood by the observant reader, which is not to state facts but to create an intended response. Not so different from propaganda now is it?
In the table above we have 2021 statistics and there was a 1.2% increase in the number of incidents from 2020. Instead of analysing potential reasons for this increase and whether any confounding factors may have contributed or not, we see articles going on about the same old oppression narrative.
Let us now put into perspective the incidence of crimes relative to total crime and see whether any reporter can maintain their oppression narratives using pure facts.
2011 reported 62,52,729 cognizable crimes in the entire country. So the above share of 33,719 incidents against SCs would comprise 0.53% of total crimes in that year. The SCs comprise 16.6% of the population and face 0.53% of crimes, while the remaining 83.4% face 99.47% of the crime. Now as for atrocities (PoA) alone, it would only be 0.18% (11,342 incidents) of total crimes for 2011.
An objection that is frequently raised is that casteism is responsible for under-reporting either because of its prevalence within the police force or society in general. Considering this to be true, a common sense response would be to ask why such hurdles for justice exist only for SC/ST cases. Why can’t we apply the same in the case of other crimes?
Even if we assume that the number of unregistered cases ranges between 1 to 1.5 times the number of registered ones, the incidents against SCs became only 1.32% of all crimes in 2011. If PoA and PCR (Protection of Civil Rights) are also added then we get 1.775% of total crimes. All of these estimates are done without accounting for the false cases that can reduce these percentages further.
Note: Crimes mentioned against SC/STs are by non-SC/STs only.
Narrative of ‘Brahminical Tyranny’
When one thinks of the caste system and the supposed subjugation of those on the lower end of the hierarchy, one concludes naturally, that those on the top would be the most involved in maintaining the status quo. This prompts propagandists of various backgrounds to use the term “Brahmanical” to help crystallise this conception in our minds.
The truth is that the main accused in such crimes are not Brahmins or Rajputs etc., but OBCs (page 14 of the report linked above by Dunkin Jalki about EPW). In contrast, only one incident (from 60 articles in 2283 issues over 50 years) was reported to show evidence of a brāhmaṇa being involved—indirectly.
Those with vested interests frequently use OBCs to their advantage as they can either use them to promote misleading titles to show evidence of crimes/atrocities against SC/STs or portray them as victims themselves (page 16 of the report linked above by Dunkin Jalki).
In the report, K.K Singh maintains that caste-based violence is specifically economic, which was exacerbated by the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act of 1963. This only proves that careful analysis of diverse fields is needed to address conflicts between castes instead of promoting baseless conspiracy theories.
False cases under PoA Act
We are now faced with the severe abuse of the Prevention of Atrocities Act. We have mentioned the reasons why many consider it atrocious owing to its unfair strictness but we shall now deal with the state of false cases under the act.
The MP High Court Association has noted that 75% of SC/ST PoA cases were false. What was even more startling is that 81% of the cases were registered against OBCs as opposed to only 14% against the Upper Castes. Such observations have been made in other places such as in Rajasthan where the Police revealed that nearly 40% of the cases were false while Bihar found only 8% of cases to be true over 10 years. These are just to name a few observations.
So for crimes against SC/ST, which are, as demonstrated statistically, at best less than 2% of total crimes reported in a year (not taking into consideration false cases), is an Amendment that introduces a blanket ban on anticipatory bail justifiable?
How can such a narrative even hold ground in a nation with such diversity in all aspects and yet produce significantly less conflict even in an era where politicians etc. pit one caste against another?
Hatred against Sanātana Dharma
Now that we have looked into such baseless theories (that’s giving too much credit), we need to address the intense hatred towards the caste system and brāhmaṇas.
Irving Babbitt in an essay (Interpreting India to the West) comments:
On the one hand, is the ascending path of insight and discrimination. Those who take it may be termed spiritual athletes. On the other hand, is the descending path towards the subrational followed by those who court the confused reverie that comes from the breakdown of barriers and the blurring of distinctions and who are ready to forego purpose in favor of “spontaneity”; and these may be termed the cosmic loafers.
The above accurately describes those who discard a transcendental way of life, including its hierarchy, in favour of false conceptions of rights and freedom. Without even realising it, modern man including the Hindu posit such positions as they in actuality see no difference between the body and ātma. This thought process is contrary to our ancestors who forged a social contract requiring the cooperation of all castes which sought harmony and preservation of traditions and culture through the Puruṣa model, despite appearing obsolete to many today.
There seems to be no greater weapon in this world than repetition. This becomes especially relevant when we observe the self-hating “accidental” Hindus who waste no time in scoring self-goals against their religion and people. Despite claiming to be free from the shackles of superstition and authority, they, including the spectrum from leftists to right-wing reformists, spew venom against Dharma in the manner of our enemies.
The sheer antagonism that the reformist (whether he identifies as such or not) has against Hindu Dharma is not even an organic revolution as observed in the case of the French Revolution, but merely a cultural import serving no purpose other than to destroy what’s sacred.
Our Hindu brethren of all backgrounds, for various reasons, discarded or have forgotten this truly rooted system of unity and in recent times tried to establish it by having common opposition towards the Abrahamic faiths. Under the garb of wanting to create ‘unity’, there are many anti Hindu stances taken by politicians across all parties, including those in power. While some called for the elimination of sanātana dharma, others want to normalise/promote the idea of devouring our sacred cow for equality and assimilation. Such comments are often just repackaged ways of what the muslims and christians propagate in order to undermine our faith—involves the crypto-conversion of the commentator and the accepting audience. True unity can be established when all have a similar goal which is not possible with superficial opposition to Abrahamism. By associating with noble individuals focused on transcending the material world (Satsangatya), all can be elevated. This is not possible as long as a sense of vengeance exists in the minds of the SC/ST populous.
Caste narratives play into this and when they have practical effect, even if the output from them may directly be small, there is an enormous psychological effect observed. The above serves such purposes and only furthers tensions between castes facilitating an increase in resentment towards one another. One could argue that these are nothing compared to caste politics observed every day. We should contemplate how pathetic our state of affairs is when politicians openly call for the destruction of Sanātana Dharma; the excuse is under the name of eradicating caste discrimination yet the voter base wearing Hindu symbols still rallies around their caste identities and leaders; the argument that upper castes maintain this system because of the power they historically held (and to some extent today) hence doesn’t hold ground.
Such division and the indifference of our people only help in the manifestation of unprecedented consequences. One such manifestation on the international level is the SB403 anti-caste discrimination bill that took effect in California recently. So if one thinks that escaping one’s country or focusing only on family is going to turn out all fine, we are mistaken.
We have previously mentioned that PM Modi draws a great deal of inspiration from B.R. Ambedkar. Despite the latter’s comments on the “fusion of blood” for eradicating caste, one quote is noteworthy from his book – Annihilation of Caste:
The acts of the people are merely the results of their beliefs inculcated in their minds by the shastras, and that people will not change their conduct until they cease to believe in the sanctity of the shastras on which their conduct is founded…. Make every man and woman free from the thraldom of the shastras, cleanse their minds of the pernicious notions founded on the shastras, and he or she will inter-dine and intermarry, without your telling him or her to do so.
Anyone who thinks that these sorts of talking points are unique is mistaken. They are a repetition of the ideas espoused by Christian missionaries and even go back to Al-Biruni among other Muslims. Al-Biruni, not nearly as hostile in writing against Hindu customs, does indirectly shape an image of the brāhmaṇa as the crafty priest.
Mr.Jalki quotes (in page 18) Biruni writing,
The crowd is kept in thraldom by all kinds of priestly tricks and deceits.
Christian Missionaries have been even more vocal against Caste and brāhmaṇas. Saint Xavier is popularly known for his anti-Brahmin comments,
If there were no Brahmins, all pagans would be converted to our faith.
Bishop Spencer says:
Idolatry and superstition are like the stones and brick of a large fabric, and caste is the cement. Let us undermine the common foundation, and both will tumble at once.
This is just a drop in the ocean compared to the vitriol these foreigners have against the brāhmaṇas in particular illustrating the role they played in keeping Dharma intact.
A brief look into how this vitriol has affected our Antyaja brethren.
Śrīmajjagadguru Svāmī Śrī Nischalananda Sarasvatījī Mahārāja, the Shankaracharya of Puri, comments on the plight of “Dalits” (Antyaja or youngest brother in Hindu tradition) by stating that varṇāśramā system is not the cause of the plight of “Dalits” rather it is a product or an extension of British/Christian narratives and later their successors who profit by exploiting the fault-lines they have created between castes.
He speaks about the inherent unity of the caste system, comparing the ideal to that of a healthy body where each organ has its function but ultimately coordinates with one another to constitute a proper whole. He then mentions the story of the noble king Harischandra and his enslavement by a “Dalit” in order to demolish myths about the latter having no economic or social power under traditional Hindu rule (in accordance with Śastras).
Dom Raja Jagdeesh Choudry Ji (descendant of Kallu Dom Ji) gives us insight into how he views his profession/Dharma. He states that there is no profession more noble as it helps one achieve moksha and mentions that his grandfather installed a tiger statue considering himself a king.
He later laments on how they used to be given grain, property, gold, and silver in olden days and that they are now struggling to even get a nose pin. We only wonder why self-proclaimed reformers don’t ever show this side of the “Dalits” (they can’t even eradicate this egregious label) who have such self-respect but instead use them for their inane politics.
How many of the reformers ever sought to provide security or recognition for such professions and to address their grievances?
Sanātana dharma deprives no one in any sphere of life and we request all those who read this to reconsider their views against caste and to take a stand. You may consider yourself a noble being for attacking caste because it doesn’t mix with freedom and equality. In the same way, should’t we discard mūrti pujā as well? After all, isn’t such a concept merely a superstition that brāhmaṇas created in order to steal money from all sections of society? Even if we put that aside, many people already say that the purpose of “idol worship” is just for concentration i.e to mediate. When one takes such an approach there is also no need to see gaumātā as a mother either.
Therefore, it’s in one’s best interest to shape their views in accordance with Dharma unless we want the consequences to result in a complete uprooting of the Vedic tree.
Those who seek to destroy caste are there to destroy our dharma.
Revive what has been lost or waned. Correct what has been corrupted. Revolt against those that seek to destroy.
May Dharma prevail.
References
“The Scheduled Castes and the Schedules Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.” Press Information Bureau, pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1844972. Accessed 5 Sept. 2023.
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 to Be Enforced with Effect from January 26, 2016, pib.gov.in/newsite/printrelease.aspx?relid=135764. Accessed 5 Sept. 2023.
Desk, Neo Politico. “दारू चिकन के लिए नहीं दिया हफ्ता तो लगाया SC-St एक्ट, छात्र गिरफ्तार, भेजा जेल.” नियो पॉलिटिको, 11 Aug. 2023, hindi.neopolitico.com/student-sent-to-jail-in-sc-st-act-refused-to-pay-for-chicken-bihar-purnia-news/.
Desk, Neo Politico. “Tired of Twelve Cases of SC-St Act, Jaat Family Demands Death Sentence in Aligarh.” Neo Politico, 15 Oct. 2022, neopolitico.com/sc-st-act/tired-of-twelve-cases-of-sc-st-act-jaat-family-demands-death-sentence-in-aligarh/.
“PM Modi on SC/ST Act Verdict: We Will Not Allow Its Dilution.” The Indian Express, 13 Apr. 2018, indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-modi-on-sc-st-act-verdict-we-will-not-allow-its-dilution-says-pm-modi-ambedkar-memorial5136402/.
Are There Caste Atrocities in India? – Researchgate, www.researchgate.net/profile/Dunkin-Jalki/publication/318318717_Are_There_Caste_Atrocities_in_India_What_the_Data_Can_and_Cannot_Tell_Us/links/5e86b93892851c2f5277a8d8/Are-There-Caste-Atrocities-in-India-What-the-Data-Can-and-Cannot-Tell-Us.pdf?origin=publication_detail. Accessed 5 Sept. 2023.
Hafeez, Qura tul ain. “Increase in Crimes against Dalits and Other Scheduled Castes in India.” Modern Diplomacy, 11 Feb. 2023, moderndiplomacy.eu/2023/02/12/increase-in-crimes-against-dalits-and-other-scheduled-castes-in-india/.
Siddartha Pandey / TNN / Sep 24, 2018. “75% Acquittals in SC/St Act: HC Bar Association: Bhopal News – Times of India.” The Times of India, TOI, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/75-acquittals-in-sc/st-act-hc-bar-association/articleshow/65932490.cms. Accessed 5 Sept. 2023.
Staff, OpIndia. “Rajasthan: 40% Cases Filed under SC/ST Act, 39% of Cases Filed for Atrocities against Women Were Fake.” OpIndia, 20 Jan. 2021, www.opindia.com/2021/01/rajasthan-police-sc-st-act-crimes-against-women-fake-gehlot-2020-ipc/.
Desk, Neo Politico. “Bihar: Only 8% Cases of SC-St Act Were True in Last 10 Years, Officials Report to CM.” Neo Politico, 2 Jan. 2022, neopolitico.com/sc-st-act/bihar-only-8-cases-of-sc-st-act-were-true-in-last-10-years-officials-report-to-cm/.
Jalki, Dunkin. “Evolution of the Figure of the Brahmin in Early Muslim Writings.” Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 1 Jan. 2022, www.academia.edu/82732798/Evolution_of_the_Figure_of_the_Brahmin_in_Early_Muslim_Writings.
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