The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday said the four accused in the gangrape and torture of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras in September were formally charged with the crimes, reported NDTV. The development in the case came more than three months after the incident, which sparked a countrywide outrage.
Rape culture in India. A social environment where sexual violence is normalised, impunity is widespread, and victim-blaming rife; meaning rape becomes increasingly common.
The ongoing conversations on gender and caste in the feminist discourse emphasise on the importance of Dalit women’s voices. The lives and stories of women from marginalized sections of the society are important starting points for understanding this intersection of gender and caste. One such strong and resilient voice is the voice of Manisha Mashaal. Manisha Mashaal is a grassroots anti-caste activist, an orator and a singer.
On 5 November, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that insulting a Dalit or tribal person would not amount to an offence in itself, that could be registered under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (1989). The abused must prove that they suffered on grounds of their caste or tribal identity.
Almost three months after she was allegedly raped on Independence Day, a 15-year-old Dalit girl from Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr died of burn injuries at a Delhi hospital on Tuesday, 17 November, allegedly after being set ablaze by relatives and acquaintances of the rape accused, who is now behind bars.
Several prominent activists, academics and scholars from across the globe have joined hands to condemn the Hathras case, saying an alarming number of rapes and killings have been reported in India just in the last month.
Rights groups said men from dominant castes frequently use sexual violence as a weapon to reinforce caste and gender hierarchies, which place India’s 200 million Dalits on the lowest rung of an ancient caste hierarchy.
“the State must acknowledge the crimes as caste atrocities and not as law and order issues.”
“Maria Arena, the chief of the panel, said that protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act have led to “arbitrary detentions and an unnecessary loss of life”. She said that journalists and peaceful critics were being arrested under “draconian counter-terrorism and sedition laws”
"oppression and discrimination experienced by members of the community have been multidimensional – from brutal physical, emotional, psychological and sexual abuse to everyday microaggressions, leaving a haunting imprint on the psyches of the people."
"the very police administration and judicial system that Dalit women approach to seek justice works against their interests ... how long will this keep happening to our Dalit women and children and for how long must they be deprived of justice?"
Collection of press clippings on rape cases in India and Nepal in September 2020.
Thought provoking photo feature depicting some of the reasons Dalits have been killed in India.
National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ), headquartered in New Delhi, has released a detailed report on increasing human rights violation cases against Dalits, Adivasis and other marginalized communities of India during COVID-19 lockdown.
The New York Times reports on how caste still rules in India and how violence against Dalits is rising in tandem with Dalits trying to claim their rights.
Arrested during nationwide protests in April, called by Dalit organisations, the juveniles' families have stated that the boys were picked up by police only because they were Dalits standing up for their rights. “My son’s only crime is that he is a Dalit,” says the father of one of the boys. “We thought that if our son studied well, the family’s fortune would change for the better. But now they have pressed so many charges against him that his whole life will become embroiled in it.” News site The Wire has covered this story and IDSN members in India are currently conducting fact-finding in relation to this case.
A 30-year-old Dalit ragpicker was beaten to death over suspicion of theft from a factory in Shapar industrial area on the outskirts of Rajkot on Sunday. Four persons were arrested and a 17-yearold boy held on Monday for beating Mukesh Vaniya (30) to death and assaulting his wife Jaya and aunt Savita. While police said that the accused suspected Vaniya and his family members to be thieves, Vaniya’s wife Jaya alleged that the accused had first inquired about their caste, hurled casteist abuses, and then began thrashing them when they refused to clean up filth near their factory.
The actions of the police and the media during the April 2 bandh against changes in the Atrocity Act demonstrates that prejudice runs deep.
A five-month pregnant Dalit woman was beaten up by a group of upper caste men for refusing to dispose of the carcass of a cow in a village in North Gujarat. The incident occurred late on September 23 night.
LUDHIANA: Just three months ahead of the assembly polls in Punjab, PM Modi, addressing a public gathering in Ludhiana on Tuesday, said his head hangs in shame every time an atrocity is committed against Dalits. He added that he has called for more focused efforts against "social anomalies."