Oppression and Denial

Dalit Discrimination in the 1990s

Progressive legislation and constitutional safeguards have done little to rid the social order of
the widespread evil of caste discrimination. As this paper argues, taboos imposed by tradition
and belief still exert their stranglehold across most of India, impose social obligations and
economic deprivation on several of those in the dalit category, and as borne out in surveys
conducted across four Indian states.
SUKHADEO THORAT

ince 1948, the United Nations has

been promoting and codifying
human rights through the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which is a
common standard of achievement for all
peoples and nations. Over time, the concept of human rights has continuously
expanded. The first-generation concept of
political and civic rights, has been broadened with the input of socialist states and
states of the third world, to incorporate a
wide range of economic, social and cultural rights, a right to development and the
right of indigenous people. This ongoing
effort to establish a global human community-based on universal and evolving standard of human decency, morality and
dignity is considered a significant achievement of this century.
The UN human rights framework has
received wide acceptability. However, their
adherence and enforcement in certain cross
cultural-social situations has posed a serious challenge. In societies where the
social, cultural, religious and economic
notion or institutions are in general conformity with the UN framework, the enforcement and the practice of the human
right turn out to be less problematic if not
easy. But in situations where societal
notions and informal institutions do not
confirm to the UN framework enforcement
of human rights has been a major issue.
Social scientists have inquired into
whether religious and societal notions (or
ideologies) of behaviour in different societies confirm or come in conflict with
the secular and universalistic approach of
human rights. Also they have tried to
identify the (religious and social) codes of
behaviour that conflict with or support
universal rights. Such an analysis has
enriched our understanding about sources
of human rights violation in pluralistic
societies. Some have considered the UN

572

human rights framework to be the particular expression of secular humanists against

which other religious and social traditions
are examined and compared.
In this paper we take the UN human
rights framework and discuss how the
Hindu social order (particularly its main
pillar, the caste system and untouchability)
in its classical form comes in direct conflict with the universal human rights framework and how the continuation of the
practice of the caste system and untouchability in modified forms leads to the ubiquitous violation of human rights, particularly of the dalits. We also argue that despite
legal provisions, the caste system and the
institution of untouchability continue to
govern social behaviour of most high caste
Hindus, it makes the enforcement of
human rights difficult if not impossible
and thus results in a large scale violation
of human rights of the dalits.
This paper is divided into three parts.
The first part deals with the provisions in
the Indian Constitution and the laws, second part discusses the concept of human
rights from the perspective of Hindu social
order and the last part presents the nature
and magnitude of human rights violation
on the dalits.

I
Indian Constitution and
Human Right Laws
The drafting of the Indian Constitution
in late 1947-48 coincided with the UN
Declaration on Human Rights in 1948.
The section of the Constitution on Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles emulates the UN Declaration. The
provision in the Constitution resolves,
to secure to all citizens: justice, social,
economic and political, liberty of thought,
expression, belief, faith and worship;

equality of status and of opportunity, and

to promote among them all fraternity,
assuring the dignity of individual and
unity.

The Constitution also states that the

state shall not discriminate against any
citizen on grounds only of religion, race,
caste, place and birth or any form. In the
directive principles it adds that The state
shall promote with special care the educational and economic interest of the
scheduled castes/tribes and shall protect
them from social injustice and all forms
of exploitation.
In accordance with these constitutional
provisions a number of measures have
been initiated by the government for providing protection to the untouchables
(scheduled castes or SCs). These measures
are in the nature of both protective and
developmental. In the protective sphere
untouchability was legally abolished and
its practice in any form foreboded by the
Anti-Untouchability Act, of 1955. Nearly
two decades later, in 1976, the 1955 Act
was reviewed in order to make it more
stringent and effective, and the Protection
of Civil Rights Act 1955 (PCR Act) was
enacted. In 1989, the government enacted
yet another Act, namely the Scheduled
Castes/Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act
in order to prevent atrocities against
members of the SC/ST. The need for this
additional act was felt because under the
circumstances, PCR 1955 and normal
provisions of the Indian Panel Code had
been found to be inadequate to provide
safeguards to SC/ST against several crimes.
In the economic, educational and political spheres provisions have been made
through reservation and representation to
improve their access and participation. The
provision of political reservation in various bodies, reservation in government
services admission to educational

Economic and Political Weekly

February 9, 2002

institutions and in several other areas

are some of the promotional measures
under this category. It must be mentioned
that discrimination in private sphere,
social or economics is not covered by
this legislation.

II
Concept of Human Rights
under Hindu Social Order
The Hindu social order, particularly its
main pillars, the caste system, and untouchability presents a unique case. As a
system of social, economic and religious
governance, it is founded not on the principle of the liberty (or freedom), equality
and fraternity, the values which formed the
basis of universal human rights, but on the
principle of inequality in every sphere of
life. In this context three unique features
of the caste system need to be understood.
In social sphere the caste system involves
(a) division of people in social groups
(castes); (b) the social, religious, cultural
and economic rights of member of the
caste are predetermined in advance by birth
into that caste and are hereditary an unequal distribution of these rights across
caste groups; and (c) provision of a mechanism of social and economic ostracism,
calculated to ensure rigid adherence to the
system and justification of the Hindu social
system by philosophy.
In the sphere of economic rights, this
concept of social order also lays down a
scheme of distribution namely, (a) it fixes
the occupations for each caste by birth and
its hereditary continuation; (b) unequal
distribution of these economic rights
related to property, trade, employment,
wages, education, etc, among the caste
groups; and (c) imposing a hierarchy of
occupation.
These features implies that the social
order is based on three interrelated elements, namely, predetermination of social, religious and economic rights of each
caste based on birth; the unequal and hierarchical (graded) division of these rights
among castes; and provision of strong
social, religious and economic ostracism
supported by social and religious ideology
to maintain the order. In Ambedkars view,
the doctrine of inequality is the core and
heart of this order. What is important is
that the philosophical elements in Hinduism also directly or indirectly support the
system. This leaves no difference between
legal philosophy (and law) and moral
philosophy (morality). What is legal also

becomes moral. There being no distinction

between the legal and the moral, morality
become social and binding on all [Moon
1987; Lal 1988].
In this framework the concept of human
rights under the Hindu social system takes
on a specific meaning. It become clear that
unlike other human societies, this social
order in its classical form does not recognise
the individual and his distinctiveness as
the centre of social purpose. The unit of
society is not the individual. Even the
family is not regarded as a unit of society
except for the purposes of marriages and
inheritance [Moon 1987]. The primary
unit of society is caste. There is no
room for individual merit and the consideration of individual justice. Any rights
that an individual has are not due to him
personally; it is due to him because he
belongs to a particular caste. Similarly, if
an individual suffers from a lack of rights,
it is not because he deserves it by his
conduct. The disability is imposed upon
a caste and as a member of the caste, that
is his lot.
The other implication is that, the caste
system also involves the principle of rank
and gradation, insofar as the rights increase in ascending order from untouchable to brahmin. It is a hierarchically interlined system. In this framework
castes are artfully interlined with each
other in a manner such that the right and
privileges of higher castes, become the
disabilities of the lower castes, particularly
the untouchables. In this sense, in
Ambedkars view the caste as a single
number cannot exist. Caste can exist
only as a plural number. So one has to look
at the castes as a system, which are
interlinked to each other in unequal
measures of social, religious, economic
relations and rights.
This hierarchically interliked character
of the caste system implies a concept of
human rights and humanhood which is
different and unique. In this particular order
of hierarchy, the brahmins are not only
placed at the top but are considered to be
superior social beings worthy of all special
rights and privileges. At the bottom, the
untouchables are treated as sub-human
beings or lesser human beings considered
unworthy of any rights. Untouchables are
considered as inferior social beings and
therefore not entitled to any individual
rights, i e, civic, religious, political and
economic. In fact, the disabilities they suffer
are so severe that they are physically and
socially isolated and excluded from the

Economic and Political Weekly February 9, 2002

rest of society. Isolation and exclusion

of untouchables is a unique feature of the
Hindu social order. Classes or social groups
are common to all societies, but as long
as the classes or social groups do not
practice isolation and exclusiveness they
are only non-social in their relations towards one another. Isolation and exclusiveness makes them anti-social and inimical to one another [Moon 1987].

III
Human Rights Violations
against Dalits
It is in this context we now present
empirical evidence on the violation of
human rights in different spheres, with
respect to scheduled castes. First we present
evidence on an all-India level, and then
from four selected regions in the country,
based on primary surveys by individual
scholars. Next, we will take a look at the
Table 1: Untouchability in Practice
(Cases Registered, 1955-1997)
Year

Number of Cases Registered

1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997

180
693
491
559
481
275
489
389
393
371
366
488
353
214
329
364
526
1515
2456
1908
3528
5108
3425
4729
4911
4303
4085
4087
3949
3925
3332
2531
1731
1528
1417
1157

Source: For 1955-1985, Annual Reports of

Commissioner for SC/ST; 1993-1997,
Commission for Scheduled Caste/
Scheduled Tribe, Delhi.

573

evidence on economic discrimination and

deprivation of the scheduled castes.

Official Evidence: All-India Level

The annual reports of the commission
for scheduled castes and schedule tribes
provide data on registered cases of untouchability and atrocities against the
scheduled castes. Table 1 reveals that
average number of cases registered under
the Anti-Untouchability Act was 480
during the 1950s, 1,903 during the1960s,
3,240 during the 1970s, 3,875 during
the1980s and 1,672 during the first half
of the 1990s. Table 2 shows that during
the nine-year period between 1981-86 and
1995-97 a total of two lakh cases of atrocities on the scheduled castes were registered, which means on an average 3,000
cases of atrocities were committed on the
scheduled castes annually.
The break-up of atrocities for the year
1997 shows 504 cases of murder, 3,452
cases concerning grievously hurt people,
384 cases of arson, 1,002 rapes and 12,149
cases of other offences. The data for a
period between 1981 and 1997 showed
that on an annual average about 508 scheduled caste persons were murdered, about
2,343 hurt, 847 subjected to arson, 754
became victims of physical violence and
about 12,000 were subjected to other
offences.

Four Regional Cases

Primary Survey
Generally, cases which are registered
with the police are of severe nature and
therefore receive public attention. A large
number of the cases however remain
unreported. The following studies based
on village surveys bring out the actual
magnitude of the practice of the untouchability and atrocities.
From the massive literature available on
the practice of untouchability and atrocities, only four regional studies are presented here. These include a study on
Karnataka (1973-74 and 1991), Andhra
Pradesh (1977), Orissa (1987-88) and
Gujarat (1971 and 1996).

Karnataka
The 1973-74 Karnataka study is based
on a fairly large sample of 76 villages, 38
urban centres and 3,330 households. Of
the total households surveyed 73 per cent
are untouchables [Parvathamma 1984].
Little more than half the untouchable

574

respondents were not allowed to draw water

from the public well in the village. The
magnitude of the problem was less severe
in urban centres, but even in urban areas
15 per cent of the respondents were not
allowed to draw water from public water
sources. The practice of untouchability
was more widespread concerning access
to the village temple and in allowing access
to high-caste houses. In both cases more
than 60 per cent of the former untouchables were not allowed entry. A little less
than half the former untouchables were not
allowed free access to the local village
teashop even two decades after the AntiUntouchability Act of 1955. In the urban
areas the discrimination is much less (only
6 per cent find themselves discriminated
against).
With regard to the provision of essential
services, the practice of untouchability was
widespread. Little more than half the
respondents did not receive to such services as the services of a barber and washerman in the village. In urban areas access
had improved considerably. Most of the
respondents had access to the service of
tailors.
In public services like post-offices, health
and educational centres for example, the
practice of untouchability was much less.
Almost all respondents had access to postal
services, but half of them faced some kind
of discrimination. Postmen avoided entering to the residential areas of former untouchables, and to hand over mail to a
formerly untouchable person of the locality for distribution. Generally, services
rendered by government doctors and nurses
and the village school saw much less
discrimination.
Still as late as the early 1970s one out
of 10 persons among scheduled castes
were not allowed inside village shops. One
out of 10 persons among scheduled castes
could not wear clothes of their own choice
or ornaments, without being harassed.

Nearly twenty years later another study

was conducted in Karnataka by taking 941
respondents from 52 villages and from
most of the districts [Khan 1995].
In the political sphere (i e, sitting together or taking tea in the village panchayat
office) the discrimination was seen to be
much less. Otherwise, not much had happened during the two decades since the
former study was carried out. About three
out of four respondents were still denied
entry into the village temple and also could
not participate in religious processions.
Social mixing or relations across caste
barriers were also not allowed. Most people
among scheduled castes did not have free
access to the water taps of the high-castes,
and three-fourths of them had no access
to the village tank.

Andhra Pradesh
This Andhra study was conducted in
1977 and covered a sample of 396 respondents (of which 196 were former untouchables) from six villages [Venkateswarlu
1990].
Temples were still barred to most of the
untouchables and they were also not allowed to enter houses of caste Hindus.
Marriage processions through the public
village road by untouchables were prohibited on one pretext or another. There was
no access to the public drinking water
source. The well or tap is located in the
high-caste locality and any attempt by the
former untouchables invites objection and
physical obstruction.
The majority of the untouchable respondents reported being beaten by the upper
castes, ranging from frequently to rarely.
Raids on untouchable hamlets or houses,
sometimes followed by looting, were reported. Violence was also perpetrated in the
form of kidnapping, insults, rape, physical
torture and threat or attempt to murder.
Many untouchable respondents were
prevented from exercising their franchise

Table 2: Crimes and Atrocities against Scheduled Castes

(1981-1997)
Year
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1995
1996
1997

Murder Grievous Injuries Rape

493
514
525
541
502
564
571
543
504

1492
1429
1351
1454
1367
1408
4544
4585
3462

604
635
640
692
700
727
837
949
1002

Arson

Others

Crime under POA

Total

1295
1035
993
973
980
1002
500
464
384

10434
11441
11440
12327
11824
11715
11056
13862
12149

14318
15054
14949
15987
15373
15416
13925
9620
7831

28636
30108
29898
31974
30746
30832
31433
30023
25338

Source: Annual Reports of Commission for the Scheduled Caste and Tribe, Delhi.
POA: Prevention of Atrocities Act.

Economic and Political Weekly

February 9, 2002

in elections. In some cases they were also

prevented from participating in political
activities like organising meetings in the
village or taking an independent position
on political issues, or contesting elections.

Orissa
The Orissa study covered 65 untouchable respondents from two villages (one
small and one large) for 1987-88 [Tripathy
1994]. In both villages the settlements of
untouchables were separated from that of
the upper castes. An overwhelming majority, i e, 80 per cent of respondents in
the small village and 70 per cent in the
large village were prohibited from drinking water from either the public open well
or the public tube well. In the large village
there were separate pulleys in wells for the
untouchables. 3 per cent of respondents in
the large village and 90 per cent in the
small village observed that while locating
public wells/tube wells, the untouchables
convenience was not taken into account.
In village community feasts and marriages in both villages the former untouchables were treated unequally. The same
discrimination is seen with regard to temple
worship, barbers service, washermans
services, priest services, etc, 64 per cent
in the large village and all in the small
village were treated unequally in the village meeting. 80 per cent of the respondents in both villages did not have access
to teashops; 70 per cent in the large village
and 80 per cent in the small village faced
unequal treatment or discrimination in
getting services from the grocery shops.
About 80 per cent in the small village and
all in the large village faced discrimination
during village cultural events (i e, drama)
and village festivals.
Their small number, poverty and fear (in
the small village) discourage the untouchables from contesting in elections. Most
of the former untouchables have however
free access to school and hospitals in both
villages.

Gujarat
The study in Gujarat, conducted in 1971,
is based on a survey of 69 villages. A repeat
survey of these villages was done in 1996
to see changes in practice of untouchability [Shah 1998]. To what extent and
in which spheres has untouchability been
abolished and in which spheres is it still
observed? The first study looks into the
practice of untouchability in 17 spheres of
village life, which include the private and
public domain.

The practice of untouchability as seen

in the sitting arrangement of the students
in village schools was negligible in 1971;
it had disappeared in 1996. SC and nonSC students intermingle in the school freely.
However their friendship in many villages
does not extend after school hours. NonSC teachers do not discriminate against SC
students but they are not easily accessible
to SC students outside the school boundary. Not all the schools have the facility
of drinking water for students. Where it
exists, all students take water from the
common vessel.
Nearly 10 per cent of the village schools
have teachers belonging to SCs. None of
them complained that their colleagues
discriminate against them in school. However except in south Gujarat, these teachers do not get accommodation in the highcaste locality of the village. They either
commute from their village or from the
nearby town or they rent a house from the
SC locality.
Almost all villages are covered by state
transport. Except in 7 per cent of the
villages, untouchability is not observed
while boarding and sitting in the bus. Crude
discrimination against SC is observed in
1 per cent of the villages, where untouchables are almost denied the right to sit with
an upper caste person. In the remaining 6
per cent of the villages, untouchability is
practised in a nebulous form. That is, a
member of the SC is expected to stand up
and offer seat to a high caste passenger; or
the latter is allowed to board the bus first.
The 1971 study found that there were
certain restrictions on the free movement
of the SCs on some roads in as many as
60 per cent of the villages. Their number
has declined considerably. Yet the SCs
encounter some restrictions on their movement in 23 per cent of the villages. As such
there is no ban on SCs using certain village
roads. But they do become victims of wrath
varying from abuse to even physical assault if they enter the streets of the upper
castes. They have to stop and give way to
members of the upper castes, particularly
brahmins and rajputs in general and elderly persons of the dominant upper castes
in particular.
Even in villages where the untouchables
do not face restriction in their day-to-day
movements, members of the upper castes
subject them to mortifying comments about
their former untouchable status.
Most of the village post offices and
postmen do not practise untouchability
while giving stamps and taking money as

Economic and Political Weekly February 9, 2002

well as delivering mail. The postmen go

to the SC localities and hand over the mail
to the addressee. But postal employees
observe untouchability in 8 to 9 per cent
villages. They do not give postal stationery
and mail in the hand of the SC addressee.
There has been a slight decline in the
practice of untouchability during the last
20 years in delivering mail, but in the
selling of stamps the proportion of villages
practising untouchability has increased.
Open or subtle untouchability is practised in panchayat meetings in 30 per cent of
the villages, as against 47 per cent in 1971.
The sitting arrangement in panchayat
offices is common for all the members, but
there is a tacit convention whereby certain
seats are marked for SC members. Though
tea and snacks are served to everyone,
separate plates and cups are reserved for
SC members, and stored separately. In the
past SC members had to wash their used
utensils, but no longer.
In most village temples, 75 per cent SCs
are not allowed to enter beyond the threshold, though they may worship from a
distance. One temple may be opened for
the SCs and another temple restricted
to their entry. The SCs in many villages
where their numbers are large have constructed temples in their localities to avoid
confrontation.
In 1971, 44 villages had separate water
facility for the SCs near their localities.
Two villages have been added to this list
in 25 years. Untouchability is not experienced in normal times, but when water is
scarce, the SCs experience difficulty and
discrimination in taking water from high
caste localities. In the remaining 23
villages in which the untouchables take
water from the common source, untouchability is practised in 61 per cent of the
villages. In most such villages SC women
take water after the upper caste women,
or their tap or position on the well is
separately marked. In seven villages (11 per
cent of the sample villages) the SC women
are not allowed to fetch water from the
well. They have to wait till the upper caste
women pour water into their pots. The
upper caste women shout at them constantly humiliating them with comments
like: Keep distance, do not pollute us!
The practice of untouchability has strikingly declined in occupational activities,
i e, in buying and selling commodities. In
1971, in as many as 85 per cent of the
villages SC members were barred from
entering shops; now in 1996 shops in only
30 per cent villages are so restricted.

575

Similarly the practice of untouchability

while giving things and receiving money
has been reduced from 67 per cent to 28
per cent.
The status of being formerly untouchable comes in the way of potential SC
entrepreneurs. They fear that upper caste
members would not buy from their shop
or would harass them. In a village in
Ahmedabad a SC autorickshaw driver who
asked for the fare from a sarpanch belonging to a middle caste was severely beaten.
This is not a rare case, and such upper caste
attitude inhibits SC enterprise.
Most tailors do not practise untouchability. However, in most cases they do not
repair used clothes of the SCs. Nearly onethird of the potters observe untouchability
while selling pots to SC clients. Most of
the barbers (nearly 70 per cent) refuse their
services to SC males. Muslim barbers do
not practise untouchability. The traditional
patron-client relationship still continues,
though the client pays in cash for the service.
A few barbers in large villages have set
up shops. Many do not mind serving a SC
client, but some do.
The extent of untouchability has remained almost intact in the sphere of house
entry. Except in a few villages, SC members of village society do not get entry
beyond the outer room of the high caste.
Even in villages where the young folk do
not believe in physical untouchability, and
who serve tea to SC guests in their houses,
entry in the dining room is not encouraged.
The practice of untouchability has been
considerably reduced in the public sphere
which are directly managed by the state
laws and which have a relatively nontraditional character like schools, postal
services and elected panchayats. The
number of villages observing untouchability on public roads, restricting free movement of the SCs has considerably declined
from 60 per cent in 1971 to 23 per cent
in 1996, but it is too early to say that the
untouchable is not discriminated against
in the public sphere. As many as 30 per
cent of the village panchayats still observe
open or subtle discrimination with their
elected SC members.

Caste, Economic Discrimination

and Deprivation
There are very few empirical studies,
which have tried to study the phenomenon
of economic discrimination. Banerjee and
Knight (1991) and also Deshi and Singh
(1995) have brought out the significant

576

presence of caste- and untouchability-based

economic discrimination in urban job
market. Banerjee and Knights (1991) study
of the Delhi urban job market during 197576 revealed use of the standard methodology showed that there is indeed discrimination by caste, particularly job discrimination. They further observed that discrimination appears to operate at least in
part through traditional mechanism, with
untouchables disproportionately represented in poorly-paid dead-end jobs.
Among the regional studies considered
earlier, the studies on Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka also provide evidence about
economic discrimination in occupation,
employment, wages and loan and other
economic spheres. The study on Andhra
Pradesh [Venkateswarlu 1990] indicates
that when untouchables wanted to switch
over from their traditional occupation in
the rural area to some other occupation,
they were abused or beaten. The Karnataka
study [Khan 1995] revealed that nearly 85
per cent of the respondents continue with
their traditional occupation and only 15
per cent could make a switch. In the urban
areas, however, 56 per cent expressed a
shift from the traditional occupation. The
Orissa study for 1987-88 [Tripathy 1994]
observed that nearly 96 per cent of respondents in one village and all the formerly
untouchable respondents in the second
village were discriminated against in wage
payment. 28 per cent in one village and
20 per cent in another faced discrimination
in the share of rent. Discrimination in
interest rate changed by the moneylender
was found in both villages.
We will add to these studies by looking
at some complementary data, and putting
forward some similar or related questions:
How far do traditional customary restric-

tions related to ownership of sources of

income imposed on low-caste untouchable continue? Has their access to agricultural land and capital in rural and urban
areas improved? We have select data on
the comparative situation of the scheduled
castes (SC) and others in rural and urban
areas in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Some sources also go back to the 1960s,
1970s and early 1980s.

Lack of Access to Agricultural Resources

About three-fourths of SCs live in rural
areas, where the main sources of income
are either cultivation of agricultural land,
wage labour or some kind of non-farm
self-employment. Access to agricultural
land for cultivation and capital for undertaking non-farm self-employment is critical. In 1993-94 only one-fifth of all SC
households cultivated land as (independent) self-employed worker whereas among
the others (i e, non-SC/ST) the percentage
was more than double, (Table 3). The
percentage of those employed in some
kind of non-farm self-employment activities, which indicate access to capital was
very low among the scheduled caste. Taking
both farm and (rural) non-farm self-employment, about one-fourth of SC households seem to be engaged in self-employment activities as compared to more than
half for others, in rural area [Thorat 2001].
In urban areas the disparity in obtaining
access to capital is well reflected in the
lower proportion of self-employed workers among the scheduled castes. The lower
proportion of SC as self-employed in
agriculture, in non-farm sector in rural area
and in urban area as compared to others,
revealed the continued lack of access to
SCs to ownership of agricultural land and
capital. The limited access to agricultural

Table 3: Occupational Pattern Scheduled Caste and Other

(in percentage)
Occupational Category

1987-88
SC

Rural
Self-employed in agriculture
Self employed in non-agriculture
Self-employed (total)
Agricultural wage labour
Non-agricultural wage labour
Rural wage labour total
Others
Urban
Self-employed
Regular wage/salaries
Casual labour
Others wage
All

1993-94
Other

SC

Other

18.90
11.0
29.8
51.7
11.4
63.1
06.9

43.3
13.8
57.1
23.2
09.7
31.1
11.5

19.12
10.32
29.49
50.6
10.22
60.28
9.67

42.42
13.89
56.31
22.37
6.67
29.14
14.62

28.0
39.4
26.0
08.5
100

35.2
45.0
10.3
09.2
100

24.08
39.27
26.96
9.67
100

35.05
43.11
10.57
11.25
100

SC= Scheduled Caste; Others = Non SC/ST (excluding, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe).
Source: NSS Employment/Unemployment Survey, 1987-88, and 1993-94 CSO, Delhi.

Economic and Political Weekly

February 9, 2002

land and capital assets is both due to the

historical legacy associated with restrictions imposed by the caste system and
ongoing discrimination in land market and
capital market and other related economic
spheres [Thorat 2001].
Inadequate access to agricultural land
and capital (for self-employment activities) leaves no option to SC workers except
to resort to manual wage labour, consequently it leads to enormously high level
of (manual) wage labour among the SCs,
nearly 60 per cent as compared to only
one-third for others. In urban areas also
disparities in the incidence of wage labour
are evident. The proportion of casual labour
among the SCs is around one-third as
against only 10 per cent among the others
[Thorat 1999].
Since more than 60 per cent of the SC
workers in rural areas and more than one
third in urban areas depend on wage
employment, their earnings are determined
by the level of employment and wage rates.
It seems most possible that the SC worker
suffer from discrimination in employment.
The unemployment rate of SCs are much
higher than that of other workers and they
suffer from high underemployment as
compared to other section in Indian society
(Table 4). Higher unemployment rate of
SC workers (which is twice that of others)
indicates a possible existence of castebased discrimination against SC workers
in hiring. In the earlier section we presented evidence of discrimination against
SCs in occupation, employment and wages.

High Poverty
With the higher incidence of wage labour
associated with high rate of underemployment the SCs would suffer from low income
and consumption and a resultant greater
level of poverty.
This is reflected in the proportion of
persons falling below a critical minimum
level of consumption expenditure, what is
called the poverty line. In 1993-94 about
half of SC households were below the
poverty line in rural areas as compared to
only less than one-third for the general
population. The poverty level among SCs
was thus high compared to others. What
is striking is the variation in poverty ratio
among wage labour across occupation
group. The incidence of poverty was about
60 per cent among agricultural labour
followed by 40 per cent among non-agricultural labour. The level was relatively
low for persons engaged in self-employed
activities in agriculture (37.71 per cent)

and in the non-agricultural sector (38.19

per cent). For each of these occupation
groups, however, the proportion of SC
household was much higher than their
counterparts in the non-SC/ST group
(Tables 5a and 5b).
In urban areas about half the SCs were
below the poverty line in 1993-94, as
compared to only one-third among the
others. Further, the incidence was astonishingly high among the casual labourers
as nearly two thirds were poor. The disparities in the level of urban poverty
between two social groups were relatively
higher in the case of self-employed and
regular salaried and wageworkers but less
in the case of casual labourers.
This indicates that by the early 1990s

still half the SC population was below the

poverty line both in rural and urban areas.
The 1993-94 figures revealed that the SCs
were at least 25 years behind the other
group in terms of level of poverty.
This macro-level comparative account
of the economic position of the formerly
untouchable and upper caste persons
covering relevant economic indicators
provides convincing evidence of the continuing economic inequalities associated
with caste. It is thus beyond doubt that the
historical impact of traditional caste-based
restrictions on the ownership of property,
employment and occupation are still visible
in significant measure, the access of the
formerly untouchables to income-earning
capital assets and employment is limited,

Table 4: Unemployment Rate (Percentage of Unemployed, Age 5 Years and Above)

Category/
Year

Usual
Principal
Status

Male
Usual
Current
Principal and
Weekly
Subsidiary
Status
Status

Rural
SC
1993-94
0.90
1977-78
1.23
Others (Non-SC/ST)
1993-94
1.20
1977-78
1.57
Urban
SC
1993-94
2.60
1977-78
3.40
Others (Non-SC/ST)
1993-94
2.40
1977-78
3.30

Current Usual
Daily Principal
Status
Status

Female
Usual
Current Current
Principal and Weekly Daily
Subsidiary Status Status
Status

0.60
0.00

1.90
2.93

4.30
6.73

0.30
2.56

0.10
0.00

1.10
1.90

2.00
4.09

0.90
0.00

1.60
2.15

2.70
3.90

0.40
1.53

0.30
0.00

0.50
0.97

1.10
0.97

2.40
NA

3.30
NA

4.90
NA

1.00
3.40

0.90
NA

1.20
NA

1.70
NA

2.10
NA

2.70
NA

3.30
NA

1.11
2.60

1.10
NA

1.30
NA

1.40
NA

Others - Non SC/ST.

Source: NSS, Employment Survey, 1987-88, and 1993-94 CSO, Delhi.

Table 5(a): Percentage of Persons Below Poverty Line

(Household type for scheduled caste and others)

87-88

93-94

Rural
Self-Employed Agriculture Non-Agriculture
Others
All
in NonLabour
Labour
Agriculture
87-88 93-94 87-88 93-94 87-88 93-94 87-88 93-94 87-88 93-94

Scheduled
Caste
41.21
Others
27.68

27.71
25.57

41.6
31.42

Category Self-Employed
in Agriculture
Year

38.19
29.49

59.77
53.30

60.00
52.34

46.49
34.45

41.44
35.59

29.98
19.26

29.00 50.07 48.14

20.51 34.37 31.29

Others- Non-SC/ST.
Source: Based on Consumption Expenditure Survey, NSSO, 1987-88 and 1993-94.

Table 5(b): Percentage of Persons Below Poverty Line

(Household type for scheduled caste and others))
Category
Year

Self
Employed
87-88
93-94

Regular Wage
Earner/Service
87-88
93-94

Scheduled
caste
Others

61.48
43.14

43.69
25.26

54.60
33.64

35.28
19.04

Urban
Casual Labour

Others

All

87-88

93-94

87-88

93-94

87-88

93-94

73.45
70.11

69.48
60.60

56.84
32.21

45.00
26.06

56.84
37.21

49.90
29.66

Others- NonSC/ST
Source: Based on Consumption Expenditure Survey, NSSO, 1987-88 and 1993-94.

Economic and Political Weekly February 9, 2002

577

and their segregation into manual labour

is overwhelmingly high. The two prime
economic attributes of the caste system
thus seem to be present in sizeable measure, even today.

Gap between Laws and Practice

In the end the question is that why do
higher caste persons continue to practise
untouchability, and discrimination in social, cultural, religious, political and economic spheres. Why do they resort to
physical and other violence whenever the
untouchables try to gain a lawful access
to human rights and equal participation in
social, political, cultural, religious and
economic sphere of community life? The
reasons for the wide spread practice of
untouchability, discrimination and atrocities as well as violent reaction by high caste
persons are to be found in continuing belief
and faith of the high caste Hindus in the
sanctity of institution of caste system and
untouchability. The traditional social order continues to govern the thought process and behaviour of the large majority
of Hindus in rural area. The provisions in
the constitution and law are secular and
equal but the customary rules of caste
system and the institution of untouchability are based on the principle of inequality
in social, economic, cultural and religious
sphere. This obviously brings a conflict
between what is contained in the constitution and law, and what is contained
in the traditional customary rules, norm,
and values of the caste system and untouchability. People continue to follow the
latter because it provides immense
privilege and serve their social, political
and economic interest. Whenever the dalits
try to get equal access and assert their
rights, this often invites the wrath of the
higher caste persons in the form of atrocities and physical violence. About the
reasons for the atrocities on SC/ST the
report of the commission of the SC/ST 998
observed,
Some of the major causes of atrocities and
other offences against scheduled castes
and scheduled tribes are related to issues
of land and property, access to water, wage
payments, indebtedness and bonded or
forced labour. Issues of human dignity,
including compulsion to perform distasteful tasks traditionally forced on scheduled
castes, and molestation and exploitation of
dalit women are also involved. Caste related tension is exacerbated by economic
factors, which contribute to violence. It is
the assertion of their rights, be they

578

economic, social or political, by the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and their
development, which often invite the wrath
of the vested interests. Disputes during
elections, animosity due to reservation,
jealousy due to increasing economic prosperity, violence related to the process of
taking possession and retaining government allotted land, tension due to refusal
of SCs to perform tasks such as disposal
of dead cattle or cutting the umbilical cord,
are manifestations of the resentment of the
high caste against increasing awareness
among scheduled castes, assertion and
prosperity among the SCs. Like land, water
is another sensitive issue. Accessibility of
drinking water and water for irrigation and
disposal of water removed from water
logged areas become issues that can trigger
off atrocities on SCs. Caste fervour during
religious and social ceremonies, disputes
arising during sowing and harvesting
operations, and removal of crops from the
granary after harvesting, have also been
known to cause tension. Increasing awareness and empowerment of SCs, manifested
in their resistance to suppression, also result
in clashes.

Conclusion
The official evidence and regional studies based on primary data revealed that in
rural India in several spheres, if not in all
spheres, the social behaviour of the high
caste Hindus is still governed by norms
and codes of the traditional caste system,
although there are changes in some spheres
of social relations. The settlements of the
untouchables in rural areas are away from
the high caste locality, endogamy (which
is the backbone of the caste system) continues, entry to the untouchables in private
houses and temples in rural areas are limited, and common sharing of tea and food
is also extremely limited. Pressures and
restrictions on voting and political participation also prevail. The restriction on the
change of occupation and discrimination
in employment, wage rate, share of rent,
rate of interest charged and in sale of
items from shops owned by untouchables
is still observed in some degree in the rural
areas, where three-fourths of the untouchables live.
This goes to shows that the enforcement
and practice of universal human rights
in society is not conditioned by the
formal supportive legal framework (such
as the constitution and other laws) alone.
Often, cultural, social, religious and
economic notions make the enforcement
and practice of human rights difficult.

Non-formal institutions; social, religious

as well as economic, involve a framework
of social behaviour of their own, which
may not be in consonance with the principles enunciated by the UN, or the Constitution of a nation in which case different
sets of values may result in conflicts. The
values of the classical caste system with
its ideas of unequal rights and untouchability present such a case which makes
the enforcement and practice of secular
human rights difficult in India. It implies
that unless inequalities imbedded in the
social, economics and cultural structure of
society are not addressed the legal measures will make much less difference in
providing basic human rights to the dalits
in India. -29

References
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Discrimination in Indian Urban Labour
Market, Journal of Developing Economics.
Deshi, A K and H Singh (1995): Education,
Labour Market Distortions and Relative
Earning of Different Religious-Caste
Categories in India, Canadian Journal of
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Khan, Mumtaz Ali (1995): Human Rights and the
Dalits, Uppal Publishers, Delhi.
Lal, Deepak (1988): The Hindu Equilibrium,
Clarendon, Oxford.
Moon, Vasant (1987): Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar:
Writings and Speeches, Volume 3, Government
of Maharashtra.
Parvathamma (1984): Scheduled Castes and
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Report of the Commissions for SC/ST (1998):
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Shah, Ghanshyam (1998): Caste and Untouchability: Theory and Practice, paper
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Economic and Political Weekly

February 9, 2002