All India Forward Bloc General Secretary Debabrata Biswas on Monday expressed concern on the increasing frequency of attacks on Dalits and said the government had failed to convince the apex court on the necessity of a strong law for the protection of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Announcing a nationwide campaign on the need to protect secular principles and to highlight Constitutional protections for the SC-ST population, Biswas said the National Crime Records Bureau records confirmed that atrocities on Dalits were increasing.
“The appalling fact is that most of these heinous acts are taking place in the BJP-ruled states. The fundamental right to choose one’s faith, what one eats or wears, who one marries and the freedom of speech are rapidly eroded,” he said.
The Dalit communities were losing their traditional jobs as there were attacks on them in the name of cow-protection and Hindu nationalism. The educated and employed dalits are not spared from discrimination, Biswas said. The government had promised legally mandated Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) and the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP), but allocation of funds was decreasing. It was reported that only a third of the already truncated funds were allocated for SCs and STs, the AIFB leader said.
“Published statistics are showing that thousands of indigenous Adivasi communities continued to face displacement by industrial projects across the country. The government acquired land for coal mining under a special law without seeking the free, prior and informed consent of Adivasis. In many places The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, was grossly violated,” he said.
The recent Supreme Court ruling on SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was also an assault on the rights of the Dalits. The ruling of the court dilutes the spirit of the said Act. But the Union government was initially reluctant to challenge the ruling of the Court.
When it went for revision, it was too late and the entire process has become a farce. The Attorney General appearing for the Government miserably failed to convince the Supreme Court about the implication of the ruling, Biswas said.