Branded Criminals

Independence for the Nation translates to Respect Only on Papers

When India embarked on a journey of reforms and growth- post independence, it was the bottom of the pyramid comprising of the middleclass and the lower class- a huge base that was not conjured overnight- that played a prominent role and brought about a revolution. But there was a huge chunk that was left out. There were sections of the society for whom independence had no historic significance as their lives remained unaffected, unchanged.

A large majority of them had absolutely no idea as to what democracy means and what rights it bestows upon them.

In 1952, the Indian Government withdrew the Criminal Tribes Act throughout India thus trying to justify it’s democratic outlook. But it is ironical that the government enacted the Habitual Offender’s Act. Both these Acts negate the universally proclaimed principle that "all human beings are born equal and freedom is for all". The listing of these De-notified and Nomadic under the Habitual Offender’s Act also negates the principle of the criminal justice system which states that an individual is innocent until proven guilty. The very name of the act tags them criminals, discriminates some people from the rest. It obtrudes their right to an equal standing in the society one of the basic civil rights entitled to the citizens of a free nation.

Though the Act was repealed the stigma of criminality tags along. This has made them the victims of persecution and torture at the hands of the state machinery.

Every year persons from the DN tribes are either mob lynched, beaten by the police or forced into criminal activities by the state executive bodies. It is the worst form of exploitation when the government, whose sole responsibility is to safeguard the rights of its citizens, forces a section of the people to be engaged in criminal activities.

The Nomadic and De-notified tribes- though they occupy the lowest rung of the social ladder have a culturally rich heritage that is distinctly different from other social groups and can be easily identified. From the way they dress, their dialect, the folklores to their customs and practices- all speak volumes about their heritage. But they have been left out of the mainstream of life because of a mere constitutional act and their life is fossilized in poverty, superstition and ignorance. They have remained backward economically and socially. The worst affected is their drive to survive. They have become so accustomed to the way of life that they have given up all hopes.

The Chharas in Ahmedabad

After the repeal of the Criminal Tribes Act, people belonging to the de-notified tribes were released from the forced labour camp which had been a prison for them for almost half of a century. The Chharas were resettled on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in Chharanagar. It is spread over three square miles, with a population of over twenty five thousand, Chharanagar is primarily known for its home brewed liquor – which illegal in the dry state.

There are more than 100 qualified lawyers but even after half a century they find it tough to bag jobs because they are “Chharas”. They can’t find accommodation in any other locality as neighbours complain. They have to face continuous humiliation at the hands of their neighbours. The society owners don’t want to let them stay as it’s considered to be a negative for the society complex if a Chhara stays in one of the apartments. Their children are thrown out of schools and are constantly taunted about their lineage.

This is all an outcome of colonial intrusion and legalism. They have been displaced in the past and their lands have been usurped by the state authorities. Even till date there are instances where the municipal corporation brutally uproots their houses and leaves them in the rubbles at the mercy of the nature. If it would have been any other slum dweller whose shack was rundown by a bulldozer- the whole society would have sympathized with them and there would be non profits who would criticize the act. But when it comes to the Chharas people turn a deaf ear.

As has been rightly said:

“You know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must” (Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, written in 416 BC)

The Act forcibly moved the notified tribes to permanent reformatory settlements - like Chharanagar - that acted as virtual prisons for the tribes, and sources of cheap labour to fuel the booming cities of the colonial era. The people were thrown into these camps in the evenings and released in the morning to let them to go and work. It was exploitation at its best. They were made to work in the industries for over 18 hours a day. It is inhumane to do this to fellow citizens just to give impetus to the industrial boom and to skim the resources- human resources. The explanation that the British gave for such an ignoble act was that ‘legitimate’ work would help in reforming these tribes which had taken to criminal activities as their source to income. But then freedom from the British colony did not land them into a place that they could call their own. They were crumpled and crushed under the social ladder that was so predominant.

All doors to upward mobility stand closed. Even after six decades of independence the discrimination, social and economic marginalisation that they are subjected to puts a question mark on the declaration of human rights as mentioned in the constitution of the land.

Moreover, anywhere an act of theft or robbery takes place in the city of Ahmedabad- it is the Chharanagar area of the city that the police comes to make an arrest. They would imprison any random person belonging to this tribe frame charges against him and subject him to various forms of torture. Even the women are subjected to physical assaults. Instances where innocents are being detained on false charges, beaten, extorted and humiliated in local prisons still have seen no decrement. There are cases of custodial deaths which never are reported as the police refuses to file an FIR.

The Budhan Theatre

Such things led to the inception of Budhan Theatre group which was born of the ignominy and punitive lifestyle foisted on this de-notified tribe since the British rule. It’s sole purpose being to let the world know about the conditions under which these people are compelled to live their lives and how the most basic of the human rights are being denied to them.

Before you enter Chharanagar you would have a lot of apprehensions about the people who stay there. All the warnings from the auto driver to take constant care of your belongings and to watch your steps would ring in your head. But they all vanish the moment you step into the locality. You are welcomed with smiles and heads nodding in appreciation of the fact that there still are people who consider the Chharas -as humans who tread the same ground as anyone of us and not as people that are nothing but mere parasites on the face of the planet. What meets your eyes would leave you surprised? Chharanagar is a township in its own ways. There are general stores, roadside eat outs, a small library with a couple of thousand books, a computer kiosk where children can play computer games throughout the day and are taught to use computer during the week. This library also serves as the stage to practice the plays that the Budhan theatre puts up. The kids are born artists and they would leave no opportunity to impress you with their talent to act. They exude confidence and are not scared to voice their opinions to move the sentiments of the public who always views them with tainted glasses.

This vicious cycle is further compounded when media reports address these tribes as “criminal tribes” and accuses them of crimes they never committed, and even describes their various occupations as immoral. Words like de-notified brand them as erstwhile criminal and now “ex- criminal”. All of this leads to the patterns of continued abuse and discrimination of DNT-NTs.

This is a Catch -22 situation for these innocent people. They have no choice and what they do to survive is tagged immoral. This is very similar to the ethnic cleansing of the Jews in World War II.

One of the shocking things was that the children in Chharanagar were actually proud of the fact that their father had been arrested even though the arrest was made on false charges, contrary to being ashamed of it. Also they associated it with being heroic. This is representative of the fact that the raging struggle for equality of rights has not spared the younger generations either.

It’s actually oxymoronic because we all revolt and criticize when it comes to a terror attack in the industrial capital but most of us are unaware of the atrocities inflicted on our very own citizens since time immemorial, leave alone voice their concerns and fight for their rights. What quite a lot of people do not realize is that psychological torture aimed to annihiliate the self respect and dignity of a person is also a violation of human rights. But another school of thought says that to get on in the world one has to restrict one’s canvas, where all discordance of other people’s needs and conditions are best shut out. So it doesn’t really matter what treatment is meted out to the Chharas as long as you get your daily bread, get to enjoy the freedom a democracy bestows upon you and are not being subjected to any inhumane treatment or face adversities.

Who is to be Blamed?

The question that lingers in our minds is, is it the government of the nation that is to be blamed for such a shameful state of affairs in the so called “largest democracy” or is it the society which constitutes the citizens- a society which is so ‘poised ’ that it refuses to recognize a large chunk of it’s members. It’s like a boat with a hollow base- which could topple even in the weakest of the tides.

Or is it the underprivileged who bear the brunt of the society to be blamed for their own conditions? As political science theorists like Edmund Burke & Karl Marx argued the efficacy of the institution of rights- defining them as being abstract and theoretical concepts that de-motivate the people to protect and fight for their own values.

It also questions the ethic of reciprocity, that one must respect the rights of another fellow being to command respect oneself, one must do unto others as one would want to be treated themselves.

Chharas and the ‘Yes We Can’ attitude

If we take a careful look at the Universal Declaration to Human Rights, we would understand that there are hardly any of those 30 Articles that are executed in it’s entirety. India is not just bound by the chains of casteism but it is also indifferent to sections of the society which are christened as ‘tribes’.

The government has neglected them and so has the society. They neither have the resources nor the support of the people. Still the Chharas have taken upon themselves to not let their children suffer from what they have been through. They had all dropped their family names and have taken up Chhara as their family name because it is in their solidarity that their resistance is engrained. They have realised that there lies immense potential in each one of them to overcome the hurdles that have been existent ever since. People like Dakshin and Roxy have been the torchbearers to the struggle for recognition. It’s under their leadership that they have managed to unite the DNT’s in the Gujarat and fight for a common cause. They have been successful in moving the government sentiments, won court cases to get a stay on the demolition of their houses by the municipal corporation. They have been successful in attracting international support from anthropologists like Kerim Friedman who have even produced documentaries on the dismal conditions of the DNT’s in India. Budhan Theatre was Dakshin’s brainchild and it has proven to the world how theatre could be used for voicing your opinions when no one’s ready to listen to you. Their determination to help themselves, keep away from going back to criminal activities-something that they have always been forced into- is commendable.

This clearly is a reflection of the ‘YES WE CAN ’ attitude that has embarked them on a journey to break the shackles of the society and take up a firm stance against the government who does very little to help them.

Conclusion

In the eyes of the society they are still criminals, and a wide gulf exists between them and the rest of the society.

What needs to be questioned here is aren’t we wrong in segregating people, accepting man made divisions of the society and protecting them under the aegis of preserving either ethnic diversity or religion. Am not saying that we need to dissolve the cultural heritage but preserving it by discriminating individuals, is a strict ‘No- no’.