'Dalits, tribals in prison disproportionate to their population'

CHENNAI: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on prisons show that Dalits and Tribals continue to be jailed in numbers disproportionate to their share of the population, unlike OBCs and those belonging to the general category.

According to the National Crime Record Bureau report titled ‘Prison Statistics India 2021’, around 30 per cent of all the convicts, 29.54 per cent of undertrials and 37 per cent of detenues in Tamil Nadu’s prison are Dalits who constitute 21 per cent of the state’s population.

At the end of 2019, tribals made up 3.20 per cent of all convicts in jails across the country. The share of Scheduled Tribes among undertrials languishing in jails stood at 2.97 per cent. The 2011 census put the tribal population in the state at 1.10 per cent.

This disparity has long been cited by activists as proof of widespread discrimination against vulnerable communities. However, the NCRB study provides no reason for the high rate of Dalit convicts, undertrials and detenues.

CPM central committee member P Shanmugham who is also vice president of the Tamil Nadu Tribals Association, said that the police booking undetected theft cases on tribal communities like Irulas and Kuravars are common in the state.

Though the Criminal Tribes act was abolished a long time ago, the de-notified tribes like Kuravas still suffer the “criminal tribes” stigma, he said.

“If a theft happens, the police are picking up innocent people belonging to the Kurava community. Besides, it is common to see many people belonging to the community have multiple cases,” he said, noting that till a few years ago, the police training syllabus had a chapter called “Kurava crimes”.

He said that police booking counter cases on the Dalits who file cases under the SC/ST act has become rampant in the state. He noted that people belonging to the marginalised sections of the society are not able to engage good lawyers and that is the main reason for the high proportion of Dalits and Tribals languishing in prison.