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Friday, Jun 24, 2005

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Opinion - Leader Page Articles

Where caste oppression mocks the Constitution

D. Raja

In several villages of Tamil Nadu, the dominant castes have continuously mocked the Constitution by refusing to allow Dalits to become panchayat presidents, and have got away with it. It seems that for ruling politicians, decentralisation and local governance are only means of electoral propaganda.

THE LETTER and spirit of the constitutional mandate for Dalit reservation in panchayats is being openly flouted in several villages of Tamil Nadu without the authorities, in either Chennai or New Delhi, doing anything about it.

In Pappapatti, a village in Madurai district where the post of sarpanch is reserved for Dalits, vested interest groups have repeatedly subverted the election process. Out of the 19 attempts made between 1996 and 2004 to elect a sarpanch, only thrice was the process allowed to be completed. Even on these three occasions, however, a candidate supported by the local dominant caste won, only to resign a few minutes later.

Pappapatti may be particularly blatant in its violation of the 73rd constitutional amendment mandating reservation but it is not alone. The Dalits of Keeripatti and Nattarmangalam in Madurai district and of Kottakachi Yendal village in Virudhunagar district have been facing similar methods of exclusion.

India is a country that has a rich tradition of local self-governance. The founding fathers of the Constitution gave lots of importance to panchayati raj institutions or the local self-governance units. The 73rd Amendment of the Constitution once again brought to the fore the place and role of panchayats or village councils. Further, in keeping with the spirit of the 73rd Amendment, special provisions were made to reserve the post of ward member or president of a panchayat. This was done to reinforce the mandate of the Constitution, which made special provisions for the weaker sections, especially the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, and women. Moreover, it was a means to `include the excluded.' From the point of view of the Constitution, any reservation or positive action or affirmative action is intended to provide space and scope for the historically discriminated communities to move away from discrimination and exclusion.

It is pertinent to note here that the 73rd Amendment reserved the post of ward member or of the president of a panchayat for one full term, that is, for five years. For instance, if a post of panchayat president is reserved for one full term, it will be reserved for women or remain open for the next term. Significantly, while reserving the post of ward member or of president of a panchayat for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes or women, the proportion of these communities is not kept in mind. This special provision made under the Constitution is to ensure the presence and participation of the weaker sections in governance.

Let us examine the argument given by the dominant castes in support of their constant disruption of constitutional measures. The Thevar and Paramalaikallar communities are the dominant castes in the relevant area. They argue that the out of the 1,142 voters in the panchayat, the Dalits constitute only 364, that is, they are only 31.87 per cent of voters. Thus, Dalits are a minority and hence "have no right to be president of the panchayat." The second dominant caste argument is that they have been "looking after the interests" of Dalits for ages; and that in the panchayati raj system too, they look after their interests and hence "there is no need for any Dalit to become president."

The dominant castes not only decided to continue with the age-old system of caste discrimination by not adhering to constitutional provisions. They also continuously derailed the process so as not to allow a Dalit to become president. They came up with this idea that if no nominations were filed repeatedly or if the person elected as president was forced to resign repeatedly, then five years would pass and the post could be de-reserved.

A careful reading of the entire process and outcome of panchayat elections in Pappapatti, like many other panchayats of India, points to some hard realities about the continuation of untouchability and the caste system in new forms.

First, it becomes clear that caste discrimination has not ended, although the state claims it has "abolished" the caste system. During the World Conference Against Racism in Durban in 2001, the Indian Government repeatedly claimed it had abolished the caste system and provided enough mechanisms to do away with caste. But the reality is that in changed circumstances, caste discrimination takes different forms. Secondly, these incidents reiterate the truth that there is a strong nexus between the dominant castes, politicians, and the administration.

Evidence?

* Narasingam, one of the earliest Dalit candidates to contest the elections against the wishes of dominant castes, had complained to the administration that his life was under threat. Hearing this, the District Collector came to Pappapatti to enquire. He conducted the enquiry from that part of the village inhabited by dominant castes; he did not go to the area where the Dalits live to hear their version. This behaviour of the administration, in a sense, reinforces caste discriminatory principles and practices.

* A high-level committee was appointed by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to enquire into the incident. However, instead of enquiring into it, the committee met the members of dominant castes. The committee did not visit the area inhabited by Dalits.

* It is also learnt that the Dalits of Pappapatti repeatedly made representation that there should be a polling booth in their locality. They were intimidated by the dominant castes if they dared to go and vote in the polling booths located in dominant caste area. However, on the 19 occasions elections were held, the appeal of the Dalits was not heard. Nor was a polling booth ever put up in the Dalit locality.

Thirdly, all those engaged in this discriminatory exercise may think that technically they are on sound ground. What they fail to see is that they are going against the very spirit of the Constitution. Considering this fact, the Government should rectify the situation and penalise those who continue to engage in atrocities against Dalits. Here is a clear case of violation of the rights of Dalits and the culprits should be booked under the Prevention of Atrocities Act.

Interestingly, the Minister who handles panchayati raj institutions in the Central Government hails from Tamil Nadu. He has vociferously defended the decentralisation process and repeatedly focussed on the importance of local governance. He has been boasting that the UPA would be known as the United Panchayat Alliance in future. Yet, neither he nor his Ministry has shown the political will to implement the provisions of the 73rd Amendment in favour of the weaker sections. This once again goes to show that for politicians, decentralisation and local governance are only means for electoral propaganda. The discrimination suffered by the Dalits despite constitutional safeguards does not draw their attention. And if it does, they are not able to challenge age-old caste practices enforced by the dominant castes.

It is also pertinent to point out that the United Progressive Alliance, in its Common Minimum Programme, spoke eloquently of implementing the 73rd Amendment. It went a step ahead and promised "affirmative action in the private sector." The UPA should be ashamed of the fact that it claims to be the protector of Dalit rights, on the one hand, and, on the other, its Government is incapable of addressing caste discrimination that is taking place with total disrespect to the Constitution.

Will those in power take note of this unsavoury situation and rectify it early?

(The writer is National Secretary of the Communist Party of India.)

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