Tougher laws need mindset change too

The government has done well to notify the new rules under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after tightening the law. The UPA government had brought in amendments through an ordinance to make the Act more stringent, and the NDA government got them passed by both Houses of Parliament during the winter session. It notified the new rules on April 14, Dr B R Ambedkar’s birthday. There have been demands to amend the Act as it was found wanting in some ways. New offences, like social and economic boycott, have been added to the list of atrocities, relief amounts to be paid to victims have been rationalised and a provision has been made to set up special courts for trial of offences. Importantly, the rules have made it mandatory to complete investigations and file a charge-sheet within 60 days of the lodging of a complaint. The quantum of relief has been raised for victims of various offences and the payment has to be made within 7 days. Offences against women have received special attention.

The amendments have been made with the intention of providing better and speedier justice to victims of atrocities. New forms of discrimination and atrocities have emerged, and they need to be dealt with under the law. Unfortunately, offences against Dalits have increased over the years. There was an increase of 19% in the number of crimes against them, according to the National Crime Records Bureau figures released last year. Every 18 minutes an offence is committed, 13 Dalits are killed every week and 6 women are raped every day. Cases are not always registered. Even when they are, justice is elusive. About 85% of the cases are indefinitely stuck in courts, and even after trial the conviction rate is low.

But widening and tightening the law and introducing new rules are not enough to ensure fair treatment and justice to Dalits. Effective implementation of the law and its rules are very important, as the statistics show. In fact, the problems of discrimination and atrocities against Dalits cannot be fully addressed by the law, as caste prejudices are ingrained in society. About 40% of the Dalits are very poor. The combination of economic deprivation and social oppression makes it difficult for Dalits to claim their rights. The concern and the actions of governments and parties also do not always go beyond empty political gestures and tokenism. Changes in social attitudes are needed more than the laws to ensure justice to Dalits.