A new law for an old problem
Harsh Mander, Hindustan Times
July 26, 2011
First Published: 22:09 IST(26/7/2011)
In this country, women, men and children have too often been attacked
because of their identity as Dalits or tribals, religious or
linguistic minorities. A recurring feature of such brutal hate crimes
and mass violence is that elected and selected public officials fail
to uphold their
Constitutional duty: to secure equal protection to every citizen,
regardless of their caste, faith or linguistic identity. They fail not
because they lack the mandate, authority or legal powers but because
they choose to fail, because the pervasive prejudice against these
disadvantaged groups permeates large sections of the police,
magistracy, judiciary and the political class.
Based on my experience as a district officer, I am convinced that no
riot or anti-Dalit massacre can continue for more than a few hours
without the active collusion of the State. But public officials
enabling massacre is not recognised explicitly as a crime. Officials
who have been named as guilty of bias in numerous judicial commissions
of enquiry have rarely been penalised.
A similar culture of impunity surrounds those who instigate and
participate in murder, arson and rape. Impunity is the assurance that
you can openly commit a crime and not be punished. This impunity
arises from infirmities in, and corrosion of, the criminal justice
system. The collapse of the justice machinery is compounded when the
victims are disadvantaged by caste, religion, or minority language.
You are more likely to be punished when you murder a single person in
'peace time' with no witnesses, than if you slay 10 in broad daylight,
observed by hundreds of people. A careful study of major episodes of
targeted violence have shown that despite being separated in time and
space, there is a similarity in the systematic and active subversion
of justice. The impunity of the accused begins immediately after the
violence. Preventive arrests and searches usually target Dalits and
minorities. Police refuse to record the names of killers, rapists and
arsonists, and instead refer to anonymous mobs. If victims assert,
'cross-cases' are registered against them, accusing them of crimes.
Arrests are partisan, the grant of bail even more so. Accused persons
from dominant groups find it easy to get bail in weeks, or at most
months, while those caught in 'cross-cases' are not released,
sometimes for years.
This openly discriminatory treatment of the accused based on whether
they are from dominant or discriminated groups, is one way to coerce
them to 'compromise'. It amounts to extra-legal out-of-court
'agreement' by victims to turn 'hostile' and retract from their
accusations in court. Victims are intimidated, offered inducements or
threatened with exile or social boycott. Police investigation is
deliberately shoddy, and most cases are closed even before they come
to trial. The few that reach the court are demolished by the
prosecution.
It is agreed that no new laws are required to empower state officials
to control targeted violence. Most crimes already exist in statute
books, and no greater punishment is called for. The National Advisory
Council's (NAC) draft Communal and Targeted Violence Bill does create
a few new crimes — sexual assault, hate propaganda and torture — but
these can be written into the Indian Penal Code.
To discourage targeted hate-crimes in future, we require a law that
creates the offence of dereliction of duty of public officials who
deliberately fail to protect vulnerable groups. This must be coupled
with the principle of command responsibility, which ensures that
responsibility for failing to act is carried to the level from which
orders actually flow. This public accountability is at the heart of
the NAC draft Bill. We are convinced that if such a law existed, the
massacres at Khairlanji and Chundur, Delhi, Gujarat and Kandhamal,
would have been controlled.
I have spoken to victims of caste and communal carnages in many parts
of the country. Their failure to find closure even years later is
because legal justice was not done. "How can we forget, even less
forgive, if we see every day the man who raped our daughter or killed
our father, walk free?"
Harsh Mander is director, Centre for Equity Studies and a member of
the National Advisory Council. The views expressed by the author are
personal.
------------------------------------
----
INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/
PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com
TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/
Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
ZESTCaste-digest@yahoogroups.com
ZESTCaste-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ZESTCaste-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
No comments:
Post a Comment