GENERAL NEWS - Friday 08 July 2005

ANALYSIS / INDIA

Caste courts deliver medieval justice

Verdicts in summary trials conducted by India's caste courts are becoming a major cause for concern
By DINESH C. SHARMA

New Delhi _ Revenge rape, stoning to death, public lynching, naked parades, forced marriage of rape victim to rapists, forced poisoning. It may be hard to believe, but such punishments are still meted out to the so-called guilty in summary trials held by caste courts in northern India.

The medieval justice system is still prevalent in many Indian states despite the country boasting a modern, independent and pro-active judiciary and law-enforcement system.

These courts, known as Jaati Panchayats (or caste-based village councils), reinforce the age-old caste system and handle disputes involving members of a particular caste or community.

The past month witnessed a spate of ''judgments'' from caste panchayats in Uttar Pradesh state bordering the national capital. In one such case, the caste court directed a woman who was raped by her father-in-law to accept him as her husband. In another similar incident, the rape victim was told not to report the matter to the court.

These are not isolated cases. A few months back, a caste panchayat in Haryana state directed a husband and wife to live as siblings because they belonged to the same sub-caste (people from same sub-caste are not allowed to be married to each other).

In another case, a young couple was publicly killed for their inter-caste marriage. There have been instances when caste panchayats have ordered ''revenge rape'' as punishment while hearing rape cases.

If a woman belonging to a particular caste is raped by men of another caste, panchayats have ordered men belonging to the victim's community to rape women of the other caste.

These self-styled courts also exile men and women out of villages, seize their land and property and order social boycotts _ all in the name of caste justice.

In some cases where Muslim panchayats are involved, the matter gets complicated further because they settle disputes citing the Shariat law.

Most of the diktats of these caste courts are directed against women and people belonging to weaker sections or the so-called lower castes. Certain backward castes are recognised in the constitution as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and are supposed to be getting special treatment in government schemes.

''For the past few years we have come across a number of appalling judgments given by caste panchayats, especially in cases where women have decided to break the caste barrier and made a decision to marry someone outside their caste,'' said Dr Ranjana Kumari, director of New Delhi-based Centre for Social Reserch.

For example, Dr Kumari said, a couple in Uttar Pradesh was made to immerse their hands in heated oil because the girl married a Scheduled Caste boy. Another caste panchayat in Madhya Pradesh decided to publicly lash such a couple, she pointed out. ''Caste panchayats do not have any democratic and legal framework to operate. They are extra-constitutional, illegal and undemocratic and hence should be banned. They should not be allowed to supercede the law of the land.''

Caste panchayats also encourage ''honour killings''_ killing anybody who marries a low-caste person or does anything that is against the so-called honour of a particular caste or community.

Brinda Karat, general-secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), said at the core of such killings was a patriarchal society's felt need to control women's sexuality _ women's chastity equals a community's, caste's or family's honour.

The government records do not show any statistics on honour killings or crimes committed by caste panchayats, as it may tarnish its human rights image internationally. But data compiled by AIDWA show that both honour killings and crimes ''ordered'' by caste panchayats are rising steadily in major north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. It has petitioned the National Human Rights Commission to intervene, as these panchayats are violating basic human rights, particularly of women. The association feels caste panchayats should be banned through a separate law.

India has a constitutionally-mandated system of local governance called the Panchayat system, in which a third of the seats are reserved for women. In many states, the system is working fine with a sizable participation of women. Many of the elected panchayats are all-women and have done commendable work. But in a society with a deeply entrenched caste system, these elected panchayats have not been able to reduce or counter the influence of caste panchayats on people, particularly in areas with low education and social status.

The country has no specific law that bans illegal or parallel justice systems such as caste panchayats. In addition, caste-based formations, including caste panchayats, get tacit support from politicians of different parties and even local police and administration.

Caste has been reinforced by politicians due to self interest as caste serves as a vote bank, and caste leaders are goons who become vote bankers.

As a result, the caste panchayat, instead of resolving disputes, are becoming more powerful. In a democratic set-up, such undemocratic and feudal caste panchayats should be totally abolished, pointed our Dr Ranjana Kumari.

Increased social awareness is making the youth and women rebel against diktats of caste panchayats, but the process is slow and painful. If police and local administration deal with specific cases of crimes perpetuated by caste panchayats effectively, it may act as a deterrent. BANGKOK POST