Untouchability and the idea of ‘purity’, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• A "shuddhikaran" (purification) ritual was performed at Haldwani’s Ramlila ground on August 10, two days after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally there.
• Mr. Kharge, a Dalit leader, stated the ritual made him feel the "sting of untouchability" and sought legal action.
• The organization that performed the ritual cited alleged objectionable slogans raised during the rally and Mr. Kharge’s earlier political remarks as reasons, denying caste-based motives.
• The incident has sparked a legal debate on whether such "purification" after a Dalit person's presence constitutes untouchability under Indian law, specifically Article 17 of the Constitution.

Detailed Insights:

• Article 17 of the Indian Constitution abolishes untouchability and forbids its practice in any form, making its enforcement a punishable offense.
• The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, enacted to give effect to Article 17, punishes the preaching and practice of untouchability and the enforcement of disabilities arising from it.
• Section 7(1)(d) of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, specifically punishes insulting or attempting to insult a member of a Scheduled Caste on the ground of 'untouchability'.
• The Supreme Court, in Sukanya Shantha v Union of India (2024), described untouchability as connected to the caste system and its notions of "purity and pollution," stating that Article 17 rejects such ideas.
• The court emphasized that there cannot be any stigma attached to the existence, touch, or presence of any person.
• The Rajasthan High Court, in Surya Narayan Choudhary v State of Rajasthan (1988), held that caste-specific ritual purification imposed on Dalit devotees as a condition for equal temple access violated Articles 14, 15, and 17.
• The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, creates separate criminal offenses for atrocities against SC/ST members, including intentional insult or intimidation with intent to humiliate in public view.
• The legal determination of untouchability in the Haldwani case hinges on whether the ritual was motivated by caste-based notions of pollution related to Mr. Kharge’s presence.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Untouchability: A social practice, abolished by Article 17 of the Indian Constitution, involving discrimination and exclusion based on caste-based notions of purity and pollution.
• Shuddhikaran: A purification ritual, which, if performed due to caste-based notions of pollution after a Dalit person's presence, can be legally challenged as an act of untouchability.
• Civil Rights: Rights accruing to a person due to the abolition of untouchability by Article 17 of the Constitution, protected by the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.