The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989: Fighting Injustice

Background: Dalit Struggles and the 1989 Act

• Historical Ill-Treatment: This Act was framed in 1989 in response to demands made by Dalits and others that the government must take seriously the ill-treatment and humiliation Dalits and tribal groups face in an everyday sense, addressing issues of social exclusion.
• Assertive Dalit Groups: While such treatment had persisted for a long time, it had acquired a violent character in the late 1970s and 1980s. 
• Refusal of Caste Duties: During this period, in parts of southern India, a number of assertive Dalit groups came into being and asserted their rights.
  • They refused to perform their so-called caste duties and insisted on being treated equally.
  • They refused to follow practices that created the humiliation and exploitation of Dalits.
• Countering Untouchability: In order to indicate to the government that untouchability was still being practiced and in the most heinous manner, Dalit groups demanded new laws that would list the various sorts of violence against Dalits and prescribe stringent punishment for those who indulge in them, emphasizing the issue of social exclusion.

Nature of the Act: Combating Atrocities, Shaping social exclusion Behavior

• Passing of Act: The above struggles resulted in Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 which contains a very long list of crimes, addressing the issue of social exclusion.
• Extensive List of Crimes: The Act does not only describe terrible crimes but also lets people know what dreadful deeds human beings are capable of.
• Legal Punishment and Influence: In this sense, laws such as these seek to both punish as well as influence the way we think and act, aiming to combat social exclusion.

The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989: Protecting Dignity

The Act distinguishes several levels of crimes: Protecting Dalits and Adivasis from Humiliation

• Firstly, it lists modes of humiliation that are both physically horrific and morally reprehensible and seeks to punish those who:

• Force a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance;
• Forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or parades him or her naked or with painted face or body or commits any similar act which is derogatory to human dignity, emphasizing the issue of social exclusion.

• Secondly, it lists actions that disposes Dalits and Adivasis of their meager resources or which force them into performing slave labor.
• Thirdly, the Act sets out to punish anyone who:
  • Wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him transferred, addressing the issue of social exclusion.
• Also, Act recognizes that crimes against Dalit and tribal women are of a specific kind and, therefore, seeks to penalize anyone who:

• • Assaults or uses force on any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonor her, highlighting the concern of social exclusion.

Additional Information: 2006 Act for Land and Resource Rights

Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006: Restoring Rights

• The central government passed the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. 
• The Act states that it is meant to undo the historical injustices meted out to forest dwelling populations in not recognising their rights to land and resources. 
• This Act recognises their right to homestead, cultivable and grazing land and to non-timber forest produce. 
• The Act also points out that the rights of forest dwellers include conservation of forests and bio-diversity.