Image Credit: The Hindu
Context
Addressing caste-based atrocities in India remains a critical social and human rights challenge, demanding both urgent systemic reform and societal introspection. Despite constitutional safeguards and growing awareness, caste-driven violence and discrimination persist, manifesting in both overt brutality and subtle exclusionary practices.
Historical Roots and Enduring Structure
Caste-based violence is not an isolated incident, but innate within the fabric of Indian society. Historically, the caste system has created deep hierarchies that have marginalized Dalits (Scheduled Castes) and Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes) and denied them access to basic rights, education, and dignity. While Article 17 of the Constitution prohibits untouchability since 1950, vertical inequalities and social exclusion continue to thrive. Dalits still encounter obstacles to clean water, religious institutions, housing, and public places, in addition to being coerced into demeaning work such as manual scavenging.
The Scale of Atrocities: Recent Data and Regional Trends
- In the first six months of 2025, a total of 113 caste-based crimes against Dalits were reported across the country, according to the CJP and other sources. These crimes included physical violence, humiliation, harassment, murder, and sexual violence. For instance, strategies of violence and violence-related crimes accounted for almost 26% of cases, and murder or sexual violence were involved in crimes against more than 39% of the cases.
- Some districts of several states serve as noted sites for many of these caste-based crimes. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of cases, followed by states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. For example, Uttar Pradesh, recorded 34 in the first half of 2025 alone, by state, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh consistently reported the largest numbers of caste-based crimes against Scheduled Castes each year. The caste-based crime rates are highest per lakh populations in Madhya Pradesh, at 72.6, Rajasthan, 69.1, and Bihar, 42.6.
Forms and Typologies of Violence
Violence manifests across several typologies:
- Physical Assault and Humiliation: Assaults, often intended to degrade and intimidate, are rampant.
- Sexual Violence and Rape: Dalit women are disproportionately targeted, facing constant threats and actual violence from upper caste men. This violence frequently goes underreported due to fear and institutional apathy.
- Exclusion and Harassment: Social discrimination is routinely manifested in access to education, workplace environments, and public services.
- Land Grabs and Economic Oppression: Land rights violations, where Dalit landowners are forcibly evicted or harassed by dominant castes, remain common.
Institutional Response and Barriers to Justice
- Although laws like the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act exist, implementation is still an issue. Police experience delay in investigations, officers are unsympathetic, and we do not see enough SC/ST police to prevent creating a barrier of denial and underreporting. The Home Affairs Ministry acknowledges that receiving timely justice is hampered by institutional inaction.
- Report of Justice K Chandru et al., to establish structural changes such as barriers to caste based segregation of children, and to ensure responsive policing of communities makes these communities vulnerable. Structural implementation is taking too long, or is patchy.
Socio-Political Dynamics and Stigma
Family systems, educational systems, and workplace systems are deeply embedded with social ostracism and stigma related to caste. Inter-caste marriages are typically met with violent retribution, while efforts toward social mobility from Dalits often lead to being ostracized or being physically impacted. In addition, tribal and Adivasi communities experience similar marginalization, sometimes based on conflicts around land, displacement as a result of government and corporate development, and militarization in areas in conflict with Maoist insurgency. Violence in both instances is compounded by both state-led and non-state-led violence, leading to mass displacement, loss of life, and cultural erasure.
Pathways Forward: Policy and Community Engagement
Addressing caste-based atrocities requires a multi-faceted approach:
- Legal Reform and Enforcement: Strengthen the enforcement of existing laws, ensure timely investigation and justice, and increase SC/ST representation in institutions.
- Social Awareness and Education: Promote caste sensitivity through educational curricula, campaigns, and training for public officials and law enforcement.
- Empowering Victim Communities: Support public hearings, citizens’ tribunals, and legal aid for Dalits and Adivasis; foster community-led initiatives for social monitoring and advocacy.
- Intersectional Approach: Recognize the intertwining dimensions of caste, class, and gender that elevate the risk for certain groups.
Conclusion
The persistence of caste-based atrocities reveals a grave failure to realize the constitutional promise of equality and dignity for all. Systemic reform and sustained social engagement are essential to disrupt generations-old patterns of violence, empower the marginalized, and forge an inclusive future for India.
Source: The Hindu
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