As the outbreak of violent protests continue in the Modi’s Gujarat over the flogging of Dalit youth by upper-caste Hindu vigilantes, an IndiaSpend analysis revealed a conviction rate six times lower than the Indian average–over 10 years–for crimes against scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs).
In 2014 (latest available data to IndiaSpend), 3.4% of crimes against SCs in Gujarat ended in convictions, against a comparable national rate of 28.8%–that is, one conviction for every eight across the country. Against STs, that conviction rate was 1.8%, against the national average of 37.9%–that is, one conviction for every 21 across the country.
Dalit unrest began on July 11, 2016, when four Dalit youth were tied to a car and gaurakshaks, or cow protectors, took turns to flog them as a crowd watched. The crime: Skinning a dead cow. Later, the upper-caste vigilantes posted a video of the flogging on social media as a warning of sorts to others–Dalits and Muslims. The video of another attack in May has also now emerged.
The Gujarat government has arrested suspects, but the gaurakshaks’ courage appears rooted in the failures of Gujarat’s criminal-justice system in addressing crimes against the lowest of Hindu castes and tribes. A similar failure is evident in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
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