As the country gets ready to celebrate its 75th Independence Day, we can take pride in the fact that we have a tribal woman as our head of state. Murmu is a self-made person who has gone through lots of trials and tribulations in her life. She has an impeccable political career. Her elevation as President is being hailed as a landmark achievement for the country and the tribal community, who are a neglected lot in this country.
While the euphoria is completely justified, the question remains: Will this development help in changing the conditions of the tribal population in India which has been subjected to poverty and various kinds of atrocities since ages? The list of crimes against the tribal people is very long.
Let’s have a look at some hard facts before moving any further. Crimes against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) continued to rise in 2020, with maximum cases of offences against the communities being registered in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2021 data.
It has stated that a total of 8,272 cases were registered for committing crime against Scheduled Tribes (STs), showing an increase of 9.3 per cent in 2019 (7,570 cases). The crime rate registered increased from 7.3 per lakh population in 2019 to 7.9 per lakh population in 2020, the NCRB, which functions under the Union Home Ministry, stated.
It showed that during 2020, simple hurt cases (2,247) formed the highest number of cases of crimes or atrocities against STs, accounting for 27.2 per cent of cases, followed by rape with 1,137 cases (13.7 per cent) and assault on women with intent to outrage their modesty with 885 cases (10.7 per cent).
In cases of crimes against STs, the country had logged 6,528 cases in 2018 and 7,570 in 2019, according to the NCRB, which is responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and special and local laws in the country.
Of the 8,272 cases in 2020, Madhya Pradesh accounted for the highest – 2,401 cases (29 per cent), followed by 1,878 (22.7 per cent) in Rajasthan, 663 (8 per cent) in Maharashtra, 624 (7.5 per cent) in Murmu’s home State of Odisha and 573 (6.9 per cent) in Telangana.
The tribal community has been at the receiving end of this society. Will the elevation of Draupadi Murmu as the President of this country make any difference to the lives of these people?
Similar euphoria was seen when K R Narayanan became the first Dalit to become President of India. But did the crime against Dalits reduce? The answer is no.
The decision of the Modi government to elevate a tribal woman leader for the top most constitutional position of this country is laudable. But at the same time, it should not remain a cosmetic appointment, because at the end of the day safety of the socio-economically weaker sections of the society is the State’s responsibility. But it has failed in its duty miserably.
The people from marginalised sections of the society are equally part of our country and they need to be honoured and should be given equal opportunities to grow. One only hopes that such appointments are not a symbol of tokenism but a real effort towards bridging the gap between the haves and the have nots of the society. Can and will the government do it, is anybody’s guess.
