Candle light vigil to protest death of Dalit protestor during Bharat Bandh,Kolkata, West Bengal, India, April 4, 2018. Saikat Paul/ Press Association. All rights reserved.On April 2, 2018 violent protests under the banner ‘Bharath Bandh,’ (‘Shut Down India,’) broke out across northern and central India, resulting in the closure of public transport systems, schools and shops. Ten people lost their lives, dozens were injured and hundreds of protestors were arrested. The agitations were a response to an unanticipated judgement by the Indian Supreme Court, which curbed the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act (PoA), one of the most powerful anti-discrimination laws in the world.
First introduced in 1989, the PoA declared verbal, physical or ritual violence against India’s former untouchable community (Dalits / Scheduled Castes) and tribal population (Adivasis / Scheduled Tribes) criminal acts.
The law outlined strict punishments for such offenses, stating, for example, that anyone who causes ‘physical harm or mental agony’ to members of the aforementioned groups ‘shall be punishable with imprisonment for a minimum of six months and up to five years’. In addition the PoA introduced a number of exceptionally stringent stipulations: a blanket ban on ‘anticipatory bail’;[1] the immediate arrest of accused parties; and the possibility of prosecuting public servants guilty of ‘neglecting their duties’. As a result of these harsh punitive measures and the unprecedented agency the law awarded Dalits and Adivasis, the Prevention of Atrocities Act has always been a highly controversial piece of legislation.
