According to the 2010 Annual Report of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, Rajasthan reported one of the highest incidences of atrocities against dalits, with 4,302 cases registered under the SC/ST (PoA) Act 1989 in 2008. Rajasthan reports an incidence of 44.7 cases per lakh of population, which is the highest in India. Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) in collaboration with Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR), Jaipur has undertaken an action learning research to study the implementation of protective measures and development measures aimed at securing rights and entitlements of scheduled castes (SCs) in Rajasthan, in particular the role of statutory commissions in ensuring such rights in the state.

The study highlights that two statutory commissions—the Scheduled Caste Commission and the Women’s Commission—have not been appointed and the SC commission has never brought out its annual reports. These and other findings of the study were shared on 2 December 2010 in Jaipur during a one-day state level consultation on “Role of Statutory Institutions in Ensuring Dalit Rights”. Participants from the grassroots, academia, media and government attended, including Prof. V.S. Vyas, Member, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council and Vice Chairperson, State Planning Board, Government of Rajasthan; Prof. Prahlad Rai, Dr. Ambedkar Study Centre, University of Rajasthan; R.K. Saxena, I.G. (Jail) (Retd); A.K. Jain, eminent advocate for human rights, Rajasthan High Court; Mohd. Iqbal, special correspondent, The Hindu; Harish Chander Singh, senior journalist, Danik Bhaskar, R.K. Ankodia, ex-member, Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission; and Sunita Satyarthi, ex-member, Women’s Commission, Rajasthan.

The action learning research used data available in the public domain to analyze the constitution, composition and quality of functioning of the statutory bodies. Thirty-one case studies from the state were analyzed from the point of view of implementation, constitutional safeguards and the process of grievance redressal. Interviews with various stakeholders, including members and office bearers of these commissions and committees, were conducted to gain understanding of the functioning of these institutions. The research also spoke with many individual victims of atrocities—women being killed when they protested and tried to protect their daughters from being raped by male members of the dominant castes, being beaten up as punishment for using the public hand pump to get water, and the lack of compensation even when a case was registered under the provisions of the law.

The study highlighted the high levels of dissatisfaction with these constitutional and quasi-legal bodies, which are meant to protect the interests of SCs. The report observed: “It is clear that the protective measures and developmental measures have not been implemented in the spirit in which they were conceived. Its reach therefore remains limited and impact is not very clearly visible at the micro level.” While macro development indicators portray a healthier picture, grassroots realities are grim. Government data reveals inefficient utilization of resources under various schemes. Pockets of poverty and deprivation still remain.

The study recommended that on the basis of available data non-appointment of constitutionally mandated commissions ought to be taken seriously. Measures need to be taken to appoint these commissions at the earliest and also to respect the tenure of these commissions.

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