INDIA: The government must do more to help 163 Dalit households affected by a social boycott

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-087-2009
ISSUES: Caste-based discrimination,

Dear friends, 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a Dalit community has been living under a complete economic and social boycott levied against them by their village since May 1, 2009. Dalits from 163 households in an Ahmedabad village cannot find employment, or sell or purchase anything in the village, ever since three Dalits refused to give money to a temple that they were not allowed to enter. Though the boycott is ongoing, the state government will only officially recognize it and provide aid for one month and the Dalits fear that they will be forced to leave their homes once this support ends. The government needs to strengthen laws criminalising social boycotts and stop playing down the issue, which in itself is a form of discrimination. 

CASE DETAILS: (According to information gathered by, Navsarjan, a local NGO

The incidents leading to the social boycott of the Dalits in Vanthal village began with the renovations on the Ramji Mandir temple, reports Navsarjan, a human rights NGO based in Gujarat. The temple is in a public area, and after the renovations the Dalit community gathered about Rs 11,000 (about US$ 227) for the temple in exchange for prasad (a holy offering). 

At 10am on April 30 the complainant, Ramabhai Sankarbhai Sarola, and two other Dalits from the village, went to the temple to offer the donation they had collected. Sarola asked that they be allowed to enter, contrary to custom, so that they could see the renovations and join the special programs. When they were refused by upper (Bharvad) caste members on the temple committee, they decided not to give the money they’d collected. The men were sent away, followed by caste-based insults. Worried about further insult, the Dalit community collectively decided not to take the prasad. 

The next morning Dalit women tried to buy milk in town but were told that a decree had gone out: anyone who sold or gave milk to a Dalit would be fined Rs 1100 (US$22) by the Bharvads. Many were also fired from their jobs that day. Land ownership and social power in Vanthal village is concentrated in the Bharvad community. Eighty percent of the Dalit men and women in Vanthal earn their living in Bharvad fields. 

By June 6 the Social Welfare Department officially recognised that the Dalit community had been collectively unemployed for a month and gave it Rs 200,000 (US$4,138), while under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NREGA) members of the community were given 100 days of work for Rs100 a day, beginning on June 4. However both of these solutions are short-term and there is no end in sight to the social boycott. The community is worried that after the monsoon season the NREGA term will expire and they will be forced to migrate to find field work. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 

On 3 May Ramabhai Shakrabhai Senwa registered a complaint against members of the Ramji Mandir Committee in the Viramgam Police Station, 17km away from Vanthal. The police at first refused to register a First Information Report (FIR) and Ramabhai was forced to wait three hours in the police station. He contacted someone in Navsarjan who in turn contacted the District Superintendent of Police (DSP). At the order of the DSP the officer lodged the FIR, the accused were arrested and then released on bail. 

Yet though this case is currently pending in court, the charges do not address the social boycott issue. 
The provisions used in this case were: 

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 Sections 3 (1)( x): …intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Schedules Tribe in any place within public view… and 3(1) (xiv): …denies a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Schedules Tribe any customary right of passage to a place of public resort or obstructs such member so as to prevent him from using or having access to a public place of public resort to which other members of public…have a right to use or access to. 

Sections (3) of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955: …punishment for enforcing religious disabilities… and (6): …punishment for refusing to sell goods or render services

Section 114 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860: …abettor present when offence is committed

But the crimes defined in the former act just deal with social boycotts indirectly and are rarely used by the trial courts. Due to this the Act has become less effective in protecting Dalits from these boycotts, and they have become a popular, legally immune form of crime and discrimination. 

As for the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, though it prescribes punishment for levying a boycott under Sections 6 and 7, it has its own shortcomings. For instance, this law is framed to address the practice of ‘untouchability’ not instances of social boycott or other forms of ostracism. Being a criminal prosecution, the law tends to be narrowly interpreted, which often results in discharges or acquittals. Even upon conviction the punishment is very minor considering the seriousness of the crime: imprisonment up to a maximum period of 6 months and a maximum fine of 500 Rupees. Being a criminal law, it does not deal with compensations. 

Social boycotts may be series of small offenses committed over a period of time against a targeted community but the impact–moral, psychological and economic–is long lasting and often reverberates through generations. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: 

By ostracising Dalit communities and preventing their access to the law, particularly when they try to assert their rights, social boycotts have become a powerful tool of oppression. Public awareness of them has been minimal yet they wear down morale and community cohesion and keep Dalits firmly on the fringes of society. Families sometimes go for months without income and must depend on charity, or are forced to travel long distances daily for bare necessities or low wage labour. Women bear much of the burden and have to cope with constant threats to themselves and their family in their neighbourhoods. 

SUGGESTED ACTION: 

Please send letters to the authorities below expressing your concern in this case. The AHRC is also sending a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance calling for an intervention in this case. 

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear __________, 

INDIA: The government must do more to help 163 Dalit households affected by a social boycott 

Names of victims: 
1. Ramabhai Shakrabhai Sarola 
And the Dalit community residing at Vanthal Village, Viramgam Taluka, Ahmedabad District 

Names of alleged perpetrators: 
1. Ranubhai Virabhai Bharvad 
2. Kalabhai Valabhai Koli Patel 
3. Sakulbhai Gagjibhai Bharvad 
4. Simabhai Meghabhai Bharvad 
5. Vasharambhai Bijalbhai Bharvad 
And others in the non-Dalit community at Vanthal Village, Viramgam Taluka, Ahmedabad District. 

Date of incident: April 30, 2009 
Place of incident: Vanthal Village, Viramgam Taluka, Ahmedabad District 

I am writing to express my concern about the social boycott against the Dalit community, reported from Vanthal Village, Viramgam Taluka, Ahmedabad District. 

I am informed by Navsarjan, a human rights NGO based in Gujarat, that the entire non-Dalit community in the village is behind the incident. I am aware that the reason for the social boycott stems from caste-based discrimination. 

A social boycott was allegedly put into place against the Dalits when they refused to give their donation to a newly-renovated temple which they were forbidden to enter by upper-caste residents. Since May 1 Dalits have not been allowed to engage in any economic or social interaction with non-Dalits in their shops or areas. 

I am also concerned about the manner in which the case was handled by the Social Welfare Office. The Office has recognized and financially address only one month of the boycott, though there is no sign that it will soon end. The whole Dalit community was also given 100 days of work for 100 rupees a day under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) on June 4, however both of these solutions are short-term, and legislation used in these incidents (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989) deals only indirectly with social boycotts, which are therefore rarely addressed, and remain a popular, legally immune form of crime and discrimination. 

Social boycotts may be series of small offenses committed over a period of time against a targeted community but the impact–moral, psychological and economic–is long lasting and often reverberates through generations. The government often tries to play down or dilute the seriousness of these incidents but this sends the wrong message and is in itself a form of discrimination. 

I therefore request that: 

1. An independent investigation is made into the incident; 
2. The district administration, particularly the office of the District Collector, is instructed to visit the village and take all necessary actions to end the social boycott; 
3. The statement of victims of the social boycott is recorded and the case against the accused prosecuted without delay. 

Yours sincerely, 

________ 

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO: 

1. Secretary of Department of Social Justice and Empowerment 
Government of Gujarat 
Block No.5, 8th Floor, Sachivalaya 
Gandhinagar, Gujarat 
INDIA 
Email: secswd@gujarat.gov.in 

2. Directorate of Scheduled Caste Welfare 
Secretary of Department of Social Justice and Empowerment 
Government of Gujarat, Block No.5, 8th Floor 
Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 
INDIA 

3. Director General of Police 
Police Bhawan Sector – 18 
Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382 009 
INDIA 
Email: dgp_gs@gujarat.gov.in 

4. Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment 
Government of India 
Shastri Bhawan, Dr Rajendra Prasad Road 
New Delhi – 110 001 
INDIA 
Fax + 91 11 23384918 
E-mail: min-sje@sb.nic.in 

5. Chairperson 
National Commission for Scheduled Castes 
5th Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan 
Khan Market, New Delhi 110 003 
INDIA 
E-mail: jointsecretary-ncsc@nic.in or chairman-ncsc@nic.in 

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Thank you. 
Urgent Appeals Programme 
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia

Document Type : Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID : AHRC-UAC-087-2009
Countries : India,
Issues : Caste-based discrimination,