Madhya Pradesh is once again in the spotlight for atrocities against the Adivasi community.
However, these incidents cannot be seen as isolated cases, but rather stemming from systemic issues, experts told BOOM.
Over the decade to 2021, crime rate against the scheduled tribes or adivasis in India have shot up by nearly 50%, from 5.68 crimes per 100,000 adivasis registered in 2012 to 8.4 crimes in 2021, as per BOOM’s analysis of National Crime Record Bureau’s data between 2012 and 2021, the latest available.
Further, cases pending police investigation in the country increased by 68.1%, from 1,974 cases in 2012 to 3,320 in 2021. While pendency in courts has risen by 23.5%, conviction rates also rose by 25%.
When compared between two political regimes (UPA and the NDA), from 2009 to 2019, there’s been a steady increase in crimes against scheduled tribes, a surge by nearly 40%, from 5,425 registered crimes to 7,570 in 2019.
Kerala, Rajasthan & Madhya Pradesh report highest crime rates against STs
Madhya Pradesh is home to the country’s highest population of Adivasis — with over 1.53 crore people, as per the 2011 census, the latest available data. In 2021, MP recorded a crime rate of 17.2. This means that for every one lakh adivasis, the state reported around 17 crimes against them.
However, in 2021 Kerala and Rajasthan have reported the highest crime rate against adivasis, with 27 and 23 cases reported per one lakh population, respectively. The three states have recorded a significantly higher crime rate than the national average of 8.4. Here, NCRB refers to atrocities committed against STs by non-STs.
In absolute terms or total registered incidences, Madhya Pradesh (2,627) reported the most number of registered cases against adivasis – a 9.4% increase from 2020. In fact, 2021 was the year with the highest number of cases against adivasis since 2009, NCRB data show.
Further, in 2021, the conviction rate in Madhya Pradesh stood at only 36%, a marginal increase from 34.3 in 2021 and pendency in courts increased from 92.1% in 2020 to 96% in 2021.
Non-inclusion of data
Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of crimes under simple hurt (1,304), rape (376), sexual harassment (89) and murder (52) in 2021. However experts say only specific kinds of violence gets reported in official records. “There are cases of forced evictions of adivasi homes, displacement, conflicts with the forest authorities which are not recorded officially,” Nitin Varghese, an activist with Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, a non-profit organisation that works with adivasis and dalits in Madhya Pradesh told BOOM.
Further he said that there are many instances of custodial torture and state-led violence. “Our own adivasi activists have been picked up by forest department officials and tortured in custody,” said Varghese.
“Another instance is that of bonded labour which is rampant in Bhanwari in Madhya Pradesh but the state will never accept that it exists. They are not paid minimum wages and are not allowed to leave these workplaces,” said Varghese.
“The tribal community are vary of approaching the criminal justice system for redressal. When they go to the police to complain, police officials generally push for mediation in most cases,” he added.
Crimes against adivasis more than a law and order problem
While The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, guarantees adequate protection from atrocities against people from the marginalised communities, implementation of this legislation is ineffective, say experts.
According to Sujit Kumar, Assistant professor, School of Development, at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, crimes against adivasis is mainly an institutional problem rather than only a law and order one.
The key hindrance to the implementation of the Act is the deep-rooted historical prejudices in Indian society which have excluded the participation of adivasis in governance, sharing of political power, distribution and control of economic resources, said Shomona Khanna, advocate at the Supreme Court of India and former legal advisor to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Criminalisation of Adivasis and the Indian Legal System, a book that Khanna co-authored says, “Dominant castes and classes use a multiplicity of violent methods to prevent the social and political mobility of marginalised groups such as dalits and adivasis. This includes systematic discrimination, physical and sexual violence and the abhorrent practice of untouchability, among others. Against the tribal peoples, these mechanisms also include persistent attacks on their traditional lands and resources..”
Similarly, Kumar said that certain perceptions have reinforced historical and cultural stigmatisation of the adivasi community. “There’s a mentality that they are uncivilised and hence have to be treated in a particular way,” said Kumar.