INDIA: Medical doctor from Dalit community abused at the clinic and the local police refusing to take action

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) in Uttar Pradesh regarding an incident where a Dalit medical doctor was insulted in front of her patients. It is alleged that the doctor was insulted when she refused to prescribe medicines as demanded by the patient. It is also alleged that the insult upon the doctor was based on caste prejudices. The doctor had complained to the local police about the incident, but the police have refused to take any action upon the incident.

CASE DETAIL:

Dr. Usha Kiran, is from a scheduled caste family. Dr. Usha is currently working as the Senior Medical Officer at the Varanasi Division of the North Railway. According to the information received, on May 5, 2007 at about 11.45am when Dr. Usha was busy with her consultation in the clinic Mr. J. P. Dubey, an employee of North Railway stationed in Varanasi came to the railway clinic and entered the consultation room. Dubey did not care to wait for the other patients who had arrived at the clinic earlier than him to finish their consultation. After entering the room Dubey demanded that Dr. Usha must examine him immediately.

Dr. Usha told Dubey to go outside and wait and also to collect a registration slip from the counter. The registration slip provided at the counter is given to the patients on a payment of two rupees. This is also used as a prescription slip by the doctor. The clinic is managed by the Northern Railway for the staff and also for outsiders who wish to consult the doctor. However, Dubey did not go out from the room and started raising his voice asking the doctor to examine him. Dr. Usha examined Dubey and prescribed him some medicines. The medicine was supplied outside the consultation room at the pharmacy.

Dubey went out from the consultation room, got his medicines from the pharmacy and returned to the consultation room demanding prescription for more medicine. This time Dr. Usha refused to agree with Dubey and informed him that she can not prescribe medicines according to Dubey’s demands. Dr. Usha informed Dubey that there are several other patients waiting outside who had to be attended immediately and who had also arrived at the clinic earlier. Dr. Usha asked Dubey to go out from the room and to wait if he had anything further to inform her.

Dubey at this point became very angry and started to insult Dr. Usha using filthy language and indecent gestures. Dubey also shouted at Dr. Usha saying that since Dr. Usha is from a Dalit community she had an obligation to treat Dubey giving him the priority of being from an upper caste. Dubey soon became violent and Dr. Usha suspected that he would assault her, called for help. Mr. Vishwanath, an employee at the clinic and Mr. Awdesh Ram, the Section Engineer came inside and had to remove Dubey from the consultation room. Dr. Usha on the same day filed a written complaint at the Sigra Police Station asking the local police to take action against Dubey. However the police have taken no action so far against Dubey.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Insult, physical or verbal, with an intention to intimidate a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe is an offense according to a special law, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 of India.  This law mandates that if there is a complaint by any member of the Scheduled Caste or the Scheduled Tribe revealing an offense punishable under this law, the complaint must be registered and investigated by an officer not below the rank of the Deputy Superintendent of Police. The law also requires that the trial of cases registered under this law must be conducted in special courts constituted for that purpose. However, in India, very often the complaints to the police are not investigated by the police and they fail to investigate cases unless they are bribed or due to external pressure. This attitude worsens when it comes to investigation of cases of atrocities committed against the members of the lower caste.

The situation of the members of the lower caste has not changed much in India. Forced social isolation is the most commonly used tactic by the upper caste against the dalits. Caste prejudices dominate the social realm and is reflected in every aspect of societal interactions. People often refer to surnames indicating their ‘caste rank’. Even if a person is superior to another in office hierarchy, if the caste of the superior is ‘inferior’ to the subordinate, then the chances of the subordinates treating the superior officer with respect or with equal status is much less. This factor is evident from the above case.

Dr. Usha and Dubey are employed by the Northern Railway. However Dr. Usha is a senior medical officer whereas Dubey is a low-ranking staff. The arrogance and impatience of an upper caste Hindu, Dubey, required to wait for a dalit, that too a woman to examine him is reflected in his comment ‘…I will see to it that you are punished in a way a person from your caste deserve to be punished…’. This attitude of higher and lower social status, determined by the caste, is what that prompted Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution to resign from his first job as the Military Secretary to the then Baroda State.

At the core, the attitude towards the lower caste by the members of the upper caste has not changed in India. This is precisely why caste discrimination is till flourishing in India. In addition to the deep-rooted belief of origin, birth and rebirth of caste Hindus a criminal justice system that has failed to function as expected has also contributed to the continuation of caste based discrimination in India. For further details please see INDIA: Failed justice mechanisms ensure most Indians do not benefit from economic development.

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