If you are an ardent consumer of television news or follow prominent news on social media platforms, did the week before make you uncomfortable? I am talking about the incident of a man urinating on a tribal man in Madhya Pradesh. Thankfully, it was all blurred to protect our sensitivities. But I can’t help but think about the victim here…his nauseating emotions, trauma, and nightmares!
Police arrested the accused who had political links. But the videos of his arrest seemed like an episode of a fictional crime thriller…drama and suspense. Consequently, the state’s chief minister invited the victim to his house, organised a news-worthy photo-op by wrapping a shawl around him, washing his feet, and apologising to him.
I have two questions here – would the chief minister have visited the victim’s house? And will the washing of his feet ensure such attacks don’t happen on tribals in the country?
Okay, let’s set aside the government’s performance, and the politics involved. But let’s talk about the attacks on tribals in this country and not ignore this discourse as the mainstream media does. Indian journalists are tired, it seems, after their recent trip to Paris covering the Prime Minister’s visit!
After the urination incident, more videos started to surface. One such incident was from Madhya Pradesh itself, where a group of men brutally assaulted two tribal boys. Subsequently, social media handles started to post videos of young tribal boys being mercilessly assaulted.
Well, attacks on tribals in India are not new. As per the National Crime Records Bureau, in 2011, there were 5,756 such crimes reported. By 2020, the figure reached 8,272 – an increase by 30.4%. This might seem like a miniscule number to you and me, compared to other crimes in our country. But these are just the registered cases. Do you think the assaulted tribal community members will file cases against the powerful who find it convenient to batter them?
Injustice is injustice, even if the tribal community constitutes only 8.6% of India’s population. It is not enough to use their identity in election rallies, formulate feel-good policies in the Parliament or state assemblies, or simply study about their history in schools and colleges. I still remember studying about the Forest Rights Act (FRA) to understand the rights of the forest dwelling tribal communities and other forest dwellers.
But not all is wretched with the tribal community in India. The activist in me fondly remembers reading about the Dongria Kondh tribals in Odisha protest the mighty corporate giant Vedanta for its mining projects in the Niyamgiri hills. This community has a strong connection to these hills and Vedanta’s mining would have deprived them of resources, caused serious health issues and wreaked havoc in the community. But the Dongria Kondh tribals stood firm, and the company had to step back. This is still a case study in many courses.
Advocating for more laws won’t help. India has some of the strongest and finest legislation in the world. It’s the implementation and the societal conscience that require fixing. It starts when we hold our lawmakers accountable not only when they ask for votes but also during their term in power. It starts when we stop getting divided on religion, caste, and class. It starts when we stop mistreating others and learn to advocate for justice in whichever way possible.
As an Indian, do you know what Article 14 of the Indian Constitution entails? The government must guarantee equal rights and must not deprive any individual of equal treatment under the law as well as equal protection within India. This equality must come into reality and not just exist in books.