Caste System in India
Introduction
On the eve of the framing of the constitution of India the social order was dominated by the Hindu religion, the religion professed by majority of Indians. Premised on the superstitious notions of 'purity by birth' and 'pollution by touch', it stratified its followers into 'higher', 'lower' and 'lowest' strata. Such caste ridden social setting was not only full of social inequality and injustice, but also against the human dignity.
Dr. B.R Ambedkar, himself belonging to the 'under-privileged' strata envisaged an egalitarian social order devoid of any caste and class to ensure that liberty, equality and fraternity form the basis of a new social order under the Constitution.
The Preamble to the Constitution (assuring dignity), Article 17 (Abolition of untouchability) besides various other provisions like Article 14-18, etc. reflect some of the safeguards to prevent the Rights of SC/ST.
Casteism: Overall India Report
How so ever the number of provisions and laws in place to prevent the atrocities against the SC/ST, it has been reported by NCRB in 2017 that there has been a 5.5% rise in atrocities against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Current Picture of Casteism in India (Rural and Urban)
To mention a few atrocities faced by lower strata in rural India, they are not allowed to draw water from the common well, to enter the village temples. In certain areas, separate tumblers and plates are used for serving tea and meals. Their properties are taken away, the females are ill-treated, raped and sexually harassed. Education which is an empowerment tool is denied to their children.
The picture is not very transparent in urban India too. Modernization, Globalization, Industrialization were expected to get the society rid of caste factors and atrocities against lower strata. However, in its first ever report on 'Crime against SC/ST in Metropolitans' conducted in 19 cities across India, NCRB reported shocking figures that caste was not 'prima-facie' anonymous in urban societies too. And that, the figures could not be neglected with Bengaluru and Hyderabad, reporting 207 and 139 incidents respectively in 2016 and the BIMARU capitals, Lucknow and Patna, with 262 and 241 cases respectively at number 1 and number 2 spots in the incidence/reporting ranking.
Impact of Globalization:
In the case of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, the evident unavailability of education and employable skills resulted in the gradual fall in employment for the lower caste as they constituted the technologically backward class of the society. With large companies took over the market, the requirement for technically advanced jobs
increased thus crippling the poorly skilled backward class. Globalization further exasperated this horrible interrelationship amongst social and financial backwardness and thus inequality.
Other factors resulting to atrocities against weaker sections
One of the biggest factors of increased crime rate against SC/ST strata is the hatred in the minds of the people created by the same laws and Articles, since they provide an extra edge to these sections above other sections. To include some are 'Reservation', 'Prevention of Atrocities(SC/ST) Act,1989', etc.
Remedial measures to prevent atrocities to assure dignity of weaker sections:
1) Government should allow reservation in a way targeting each such family such that the reservation no longer applies to families who have settled and earning a good income. The focus should be on curtailing the reservation keeping the needs of highly under privileged sections which are otherwise not able to use its benefits and also keeping in mind the homogeneity of Indian society.
2) Though there have been laws and various schemes to promote education for weaker sections of the society, the government needs to implement these schemes at both rural and urban level with greater accountability.
3) NGO's are entrusted with the below tasks for upliftment of SC/ST section.
a) Grant-in-aid to Voluntary Organizations working for welfare of Scheduled Tribes (GVWST).
b) Educational Complex in low literacy pockets for the development of women in tribal areas (ECLP).
c) Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in left wing extremism rising areas for large scale employment of tribal youth.
Conclusion:
The enactment and implementation of statutes to prevent atrocities against the ST’s and SC’s remain a farfetched idea with the requirement for a procedural law remaining a dire need. A procedure established by law would ensure a better protection on their rights, as was laid down in the case of Maneka Gandhi vs. Union of India thus recognizing the delivery of justice to the downtrodden and the aggrieved and insuring that in the dynamic world with fast paced changes justice is reachable to the farthest hand.
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