Throughout the year we documented incidents of hate crimes based on caste as well as attacks on tribals. Such incidents were reported from various parts of the country and a common thread between these incidents is that caste based atrocities are often triggered by miniscule and trivial matters such as sporting a moustache, drawing water from a well, eating food at a ceremony and so on.
To witness such incidents even in this day and age is not only disheartening but should shock the conscience of the nation.
As per the statistics provided in the NCRB report, atrocities/Crime against Scheduled Castes have increased by 1.2% in 2021 (50,900) over 2020 (50,291 cases).
Uttar Pradesh (13,146 cases) reported the highest number of cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs) accounting for 25.82% followed by Rajasthan with 14.7% (7,524) and Madhya Pradesh with 14.1% (7,214) during 2021. The next two states in the list are Bihar accounting for 11.4% (5,842) and Odisha 4.5% (2,327). The above top five states reported 70.8% of cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes.
Furthermore, as per the report, Atrocities/Crime against Scheduled Tribes have increased by 6.4% in 2021 (8,802 cases) over 2020 (8,272 cases).
Madhya Pradesh (2627, cases) reported the highest number of cases of atrocities against Scheduled Tribes (STs) accounting for 29.8% followed by Rajasthan with 24% (2121 cases) and Odisha with 7.6% (676 cases) during 2021. Maharashtra was next in the list with 7.13% (628 cases) followed by Telangana at 5.81% (512 cases). The above top five states reported 74.57% of cases of atrocities against Scheduled Tribes.
In terms of ratio to the overall population, Dalits (SCs) are estimated to be at 16.6 per cent of the population and Adivasis/Indigenous peoples (STs) at 8.6 per cent.
We look at some of the most shocking instances of crimes against Dalits and Adivasis in 2022.
DALITS UNDER ATTACK
DECEMBER
Karnataka: Dalit minor allegedly gang-raped multiple times
A minor Dalit girl was allegedly raped by five men in Karnataka. At a coffee estate in Karnataka’s Hassan district, four people, one of whom is a minor, have been accused of gang raping a 13-year-old Dalit girl. When authorities received information about a girl who was six months pregnant and admitted to a hospital, the sexual assault of the minor child was discovered.
Four men, including the minor, have been held by police while five people have been charged in the case. Police said that the incident occurred in a town where the girl’s parents are laborers. The girl was raped more than once by more than one person, police said, and the information was shared with child development protection officers, counselors, and female police officials.
Rajasthan: Dalit family attacked, women beaten in Rajasthan’s Alwar
A Dalit family of six, including three women, was attacked in Ukeri village of Alwar district in Rajasthan. The family was attacked for allegedly vandalising and setting fire to Gorakhnath temple of the Nath sect. The accused, who attacked the family, also burnt the cattle fodder of the victim’s family to ashes. The victim family’s lawyer further said that during the physical attack, women of the family were thrashed with sticks and rods. Further, the accused is alleged to have made a video of the beating and uploaded it on social media.
Even after complaining about this to the police, no action was taken. The victim’s family has accused the Raini police station of conspiring with the accused.
This story was originally published in cjp.org.in . Read the full story here