Manish Chandra Mishra
Satna: While modern society likes to believe that caste-based
discrimination is decreasing, it’s what is keeping three standard five students
in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh from going to school.
As the Madhya Pradesh government was celebrating ‘School
Chale Hum (let’s go to school)' on 24 June — the day schools in the state
reopened after summer vacation — the primary school in Putrichuwa village of
Majhgawan block witnessed zero attendance.
The three students — who belong to the Domar community,
incidentally the same as Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar — stopped going to school months
before summer vacation. They are yet to rejoin after the vacations ended.
Sachin Bansal (name changed), 10, while playing with his
siblings at the playground in school’s campus, said he does not come to school
once the vacation ends. “We can roam everywhere in school during vacations. We
can even touch the hand pump, but during school days, we are not allowed to do
such things because of untouchability," said Sachin.
After four years of being treated as an untouchable by his
teachers and peers, Sachin dropped out of school. He said the teachers would
make him sit away from other students, and never stopped other students from
making casteist comments.
Nisha Bansal (name changed), 10, who used to study in the
same school as Sachin, said they faced discrimination from people of other
communities and they would protest, but when the teachers would indulge in such
behaviour, opposing them wasn’t an option.
Dalit students face discrimination in schools in Madhya
Pradesh
“When I oppose our teacher, they beat us, and that's the only
time when they touch us without caring about our caste,” she said, adding that
she was instructed to sit at least four feet away from others.
Manju (name changed), one of three students of Domar
community, said she has found mud in her mid-day meals and suspects that
someone puts it there deliberately.
She said that while she is hoping to just complete her
education at the primary school, she fears her teachers wouldn’t allow her to
pass the exam without meeting the attendance criteria.
Phool Bai (name changed), the mother of Sachin Bansal, said
her children have questioned her about untouchability, but they have resigned
to such behaviour from the residents of the college.
However, school authorities denied the prevalence of
untouchability. Manjula Shrivastava, assistant teacher and in-charge of school,
said the students have not been attending school despite several attempts to
inform the students and parents about the school's opening.
Manjula said most of the students belong to the Mawasi
community, and only a few are from the Domar community. She said that though
she is trying to make people aware of the evils of untouchability, parents of
the students ask her to not make Domar students sit with Mawasi students.
Madhya Pradesh is ranked third in terms of cases of
atrocities against members of Scheduled Caste. As per the latest statistics by
the National Crime Records Bureau, Madhya Pradesh reported 3,294, 3,546 and
4,922 cases in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.
While the statistics show the rising trend of atrocities
against members of lower castes, government officials seem to be caught
unaware. Satendra Singh, District Collector of Satna, pleaded ignorance of the
issue.
Krishna Mohan Tiwari, director of the Social Justice
Department of the Madhya Pradesh government, said that this issue does not fall
under the ambit of his department. The Ministry of Social Justice &
Empowerment is responsible for the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 except the
administration of criminal justice in regard to offences under the Act.
Despite several attempts to contact him, TP Singh, District Education
Officer of Satna, was not available for comments.
According to data by the National Crime Records Bureau,
Madhya Pradesh did not register even a single case under the Protection of
Civil Rights Act, 1955, in 2016. There was only one case registered under this
act during calendar years 2006 to 2008 in Madhya Pradesh. Article 17 of the
Constitution of India has abolished the practice of untouchability; its
practice in any form is forbidden and it is an offence punishable in accordance
with the law. An Act of Parliament, namely, the Protection of Civil Rights Act,
1955, prescribes punishment for the enforcement of any disability arising from
preaching and practice of untouchability.
Stigma upholds casteism
Shiv Kailash Mawasi, an activist, said the Dalits are being
discriminated against not only by members of the upper caste, but by other
Dalits also. He narrated an incident from a few years ago when he was
disallowed from drinking water from a well — which belonged to a member of
upper caste — by a Dalit woman.
Rajaram Mawasi, a resident of Putrichuwa, said it’s not only
the kids who face discrimination, but also the villagers during the collection
of forest produce. People from upper castes capture ‘Mahua’ trees with a cloth
or stick, and then no one can pick produce from those trees except people from
a particular community, he informed.
Rajju (name changed), 12, a member of the Mawasi community,
said that he was forced to take baths after playing with children of Domar
community. His grandmother wouldn’t even allow him to enter the house after he
had played with his friend from the Domar community. However, Rajju himself
faces discrimination as he not allowed to touch anything whenever he goes to
Thakur Muhalla.
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