Unveiling the Shroud on the Hathras Rape Case - An Exemplar of the Systemic Casteism in India?
By Apurva Ambasth and Urvisha Kesharwani
Source: Press Trust of India (PTI)
Amidst the chaos of the pandemic-stricken world on September 14th in Hathras, India a 19-year-old lower caste (Dalit) woman was allegedly brutally raped and murdered by four men belonging to an upper Thakur caste. The case brought to surface the grim reality of casteism and the disingenuous attitude of Indian Government towards the plight of lower castes in India. The Caste System which is a social hierarchy based on ritual purity that is deeply integrated within the Indian society. Time and again, many privileged class citizens deny as well as willfully ignore the violent atrocities against the Dalits. The discrimination is nevertheless practiced either overtly or otherwise. The politicians and the law enforcement either turn a blind eye or at times, aid the upper- castes to carry on with their tradition of preserving dominance over the Dalits through violent means.
A quintessential example of such incidents is the Hathras Rape case, where the upper-caste accused had a history of violence against the victim’s family, hinging upon the caste-based power differential. The incident was dire in itself, but the reason why it raised more disquietude was due to the insensitivity and the obvious prejudice of police and those holding political power towards the Dalit victim and her family. The police denied the involvement of caste in the case ad nauseam, whereas the Yogi Adiyanath’s government completely evaded the responsibility by alleging international conspiracy to defame the government and instigate caste-based violence in the current case. This however does not come as a shock to the Indian Criminal Justice system, wherein, in the case of Bhanwari Devi, the Supreme Court acquitted the accused rapists on the grounds that “an upper-caste man could not have defiled himself by raping a lower-caste woman.”
The police in the Hathras Case even deprived the victim’s family of performing the last rites of their deceased daughter by illegally locking them inside their home and disposing the body by pouring petrol and burning it. The actions of the police made a complete mockery of the Hindu last rites rituals and stripped the victim of her “right to be cremated or buried in accordance with the religious beliefs of the person” enunciated in Ramji Singh @ Mujeeb Bhai Vs. State of U.P. and others. The botched-up investigation by the police and the lax attitude of the Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) Government led to several petitions to the Supreme Court, requesting the shift of proceedings from U.P. to Delhi. Eminent Indian advocates like Indira Jaising and Seema Kushwaha voiced their support stating that a 'fair trial' cannot be expected in U.P following the investigations being ‘botched up’. The recent affidavit submitted by the victim’s brother to the Supreme Court, further affirmed this claim. The affidavit threw light on the shocking incident that took place in the courtroom, where an unruly mob obstructed the course of justice and even threatened the victim’s lawyer.
The police brutality and insensitivity witnessed in this case is not a new phenomenon. We see repeated patterns of such caste-based brutality through incidents like the in the Unnao rape case, the custodial death of father-son duo in Tamil Nadu, and M.P.’s Dalit couple assault case, etc. Moreover, in the Hathras case, right-wing political groups like Bajrang Dal, RSS and Karni Sena and local BJP leaders rallied in support of the accused Thakurs because they themselves belonged to the upper castes. This is a testament to the flagrant disregard of the basic human rights of Dalit women and unveils how caste privilege is deep-rooted in the society.
The intersection of caste, class and gender hierarchies put Dalit women in a position of vulnerability. The vicious cycle of caste-based violence is a tactic by which the subordinate caste remains mute at the lower rungs of social hierarchy acceding to their ‘superiors’.According to a report published by Equality Now and Swabhiman Society, an average of ten Dalit girls and women are raped every day in India, and in a majority of these cases the perpetrator is an upper-caste individual. Another report by All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM) highlights that even if the victims make their way to the police, they are faced with contempt. The said report stated that the officials either discourage or refuse to file complaints at the first instance. When complaints are ultimately filed, officials delay the procedure and refuse to arrest the accused.
It takes not only a broken and corrupt system of law enforcement but also an entrenched acceptance of the caste system coupled with an indifference towards the plight of the Dalits for their continued rampant vilification. Through the Hathras incident, it has become evident that an abundance of legislation in place is not enough to protect and safeguard the rights of the Dalit community in India. Article 17 of the Constitution and Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955, along with the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 preventing discrimination and the commission of offences of atrocities against the Dalit community in place are for mere ornamentation.
In a country like India, where the criminal justice system is reliant upon investigations done by the police, a prejudiced police force is pernicious. As the Father of Indian Constitution Dr. Ambedkar puts it aptly “Law is for individuals. It can punish them when they violate laws. But when the whole community is involved in violation, law bounds to fail.” The caste bias in the system further solidifies the Brahmanical patriarchy.
However, merely conducting police-sensitivity training cannot solve the violent chain of such episodes. The independence of the police from the political system is crucial and is the need of the hour. The implementation of the police reforms ordered by the Apex Court in the case of Prakash Singh and Ors. V. UOI can bring about more transparency and unyoke the control of the [ruling political parties] over law enforcement. However, regrettably, rather than implementing such reforms, the current government is busy glossing over the state of affairs. Even after seventy-two years of independence, India as a country stands oblivious to the predicament of the Dalits, turning the visions of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar into dust.
Bios:
Apurva Ambasth is an undergraduate penultimate year student of B.A.LL.B.(Hons.) at NUSRL, Ranchi, India. Her areas of interests include human rights, criminal, and international law.
Urvisha Kesharwani is a penultimate year, B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) student pursuing law at the National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi. Her areas of interest include international human rights law along with securities and corporate law.