From Segregation to Labour, Manu’s Caste Law Governs the Indian Prison System – Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Similarly, Part 10 of the manual titled, Employment, Instructions and Control of Convicts, as also mentioned in the rules under section 59 (12) of the Prisons Act, states:

Sweepers shall be chosen from among those who, by the custom of the district in which they reside or on account of their having adopted the profession, perform sweepers work, when free. Anyone else may also volunteer to do this work, in no case, however shall a person, who is not a professional sweeper, be compelled to do the work.

The rule, however, remains silent over the issue of consent for those from the sweeper community.

These rules are drafted essentially keeping the larger male population in mind and get replicated in womens prisons too, in states where women-specific rules have not been formulated. In the absence of a woman prisoner from the appropriate caste groups, the Rajasthan prison manual says, two or three specially selected male convictMehtarsmay be taken into the enclosure by a paid worker under the condition Mehtar is a caste name, denoting those engaged in manual scavenging as a caste occupation.

On medical workers, the manual says, Two or more long- term prisoners of good caste should be trained and employed as hospital attendants.

Across states, prison manuals and rules stipulate the labour that needs to be carried out on a daily basis. The division of labour is roughly determined on the dichotomous purity-impurityscale, with the higher castes handling only work that is considered pure and those lower in the caste grid being left to carry out the impure jobs.

Consider the case of Bihar. The section titled Preparation of foodopens with this line: Of equal importance is the quality, proper preparation, and cooking of the food and its issue in full quantity. Further, detailing the measurements and cooking techniques in jail, the manual states: Any A class Brahmin or sufficiently high caste Hindu prisoner is eligible for appointment as a cook. The manual further specifies, Any prisoner in a jail who is so high caste that he cannot eat food cooked by the existing cooks shall be appointed a cook and made to cook for the whole complement of men. Individual convicted prisoners shall in no circumstances be allowed to cook for themselves, unless they are specific division prisoners permitted to do so under rule.

Not just on paper

These are not mere words printed in an official book and forgotten. The caste practice ubiquitous in the Indian subcontinent manifests in more ways than one. Several prisoners who were approached shared their experiences of being segregated and pushed into doing menial jobs purely on the basis of the caste they were born into. While Brahmins and other high caste prisoners considered their exemption to bea matter of pride and privilege, the rest had only the caste system to blame for their condition.

The jail tells you your rightaukaad(status), says Pintu, a former prisoner, who spent close to a decade at Jubba Sahni Bhagalpur Central Jail and a few months at the Motihari Central Jail. Pintu belongs to a naior barber community, and throughout his stint in prison, he served as one.

The Bihar prison manual too formalises caste hierarchies in labour. For instance, it says for those assigned sweeping work: Sweepers shall be chosen from the Mehtar or Hari caste, also from the Chandal or other low castes, if by the custom of the district they perform similar work when free, or from the caste if the prisoner volunteers to do the work. All three castes fall under the Scheduled Castes category.

From time to time, prison manuals have gone through a few tweaks. Sometimes this was triggered by public outcry or the Supreme Court or a high courts intervention; sometimes the states themselves felt the need for it. In most states, though, the issue of caste-based labour practices has been overlooked.

In some states, for instance Uttar Pradesh, religious scruples and caste prejudices are considered important for reformative influences. A separate chapter focusing on reformative influences in prison says, Reasonable respect shall be paid to religious scruples and caste prejudices of the prisoners in all matters as far as it is compatible with discipline. The prison administration holds sole discretionary power over the extent of the reasonability and compatibility of these prejudices. The reasonability, though, has only meant furthering blatant caste prejudices while assigning work and exempting some from harsh labour both in male and female prisons.

The Madhya Pradesh Jail Manual, which was amended only a few years ago, continues with the caste-based assignment in conservancy work the official term used for manual scavenging. The chapter titled Mal Vahan or conservancy states that a Mehtar prisoner would be responsible for handling human excreta in the toilets.

Identical practices find mention in the Haryana and Punjab state prison manuals and rules too. Selection of sweepers, barbers, cooks, hospital staff among others are all pre-decided as per ones caste identity. If any prison faces scarcity of prisoners of a certain caste to carry out the requisite labour, prisoners are to be brought in from nearby prisons. However, no exceptions or changes in rules are mentioned in the manual.

When Sabika Abbas, a programme officer working with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a non-governmental organisation working on prisoners rights, recently visited prisons of Punjab and Haryana, she said the blatancy of the practice shocked her. Male and female prisoners alike shared their experiences of caste and caste-based labour work assigned to them. Some were compelled to carry out the work due to poverty and lack of financial support from their families. But these prisoners too were primarily from the backward caste groups, says Abbas.

Her research, commissioned by the Legal Services Authorities of Haryana and Punjab, covers a plethora of issues plaguing the prison system. Abbas observes that even though pre-trial detainees are exempted from carrying out labour in prison, the prevailing system compels them to work. In most prisons in both states, we observed that the posts for sweepers and cleaners were lying empty for years. It was understood that those menial jobs will be carried out by prisoners belonging to lower caste groups, she observes. Unlike other state prisons thatare still following the colonial prison rules, Abbas points to the amendments in the Punjab manual. Punjab is relatively newer. It was last updated in 1996 but still did not do away with the caste-based provisions, she adds.

West Bengal, perhaps the only state that makes special provisions for prisoners arrested in connection with political or democratic movements, continues to be just as regressive and unconstitutional as others when it comes to assigning labour according to caste. Similar to Uttar Pradesh, the West Bengal prison manual follows non- interference with religious practices or caste prejudices. Certain specific preferences are accommodated in the manual a Brahmin wearing sacred thread or a Muslim desiring a certain length of trousers. But with that, the manual also states: Food shall be cooked and carried to the cells by prisoner-cooks of suitable caste, under the superintendence of a jail officer. Likewise, Sweepers should be chosen from the Mether or Hari caste, also from the Chandal or other castes, if by the custom of the district they perform similar work when free, or from any caste if the prisoner volunteers to do the work.

These practices have remained in the prison rule book but have gone unchallenged. Dr. Riazuddin Ahmed, a former Inspector General of Prisons in Andhra Pradesh and former director of the government-run Academy of Prisons and Correctional Administration in Vellore, says the issue of caste has never been deliberated upon while making policy decisions. In my career spanning over 34 years, the issue has never come up for discussion, he says. Ahmed feels that clauses mentioned in the manual are mostly a reflection of the states attitude towards those incarcerated. Prison officials, after all, are a product of the same caste-ridden society that exists outside. Regardless of what the manual states, it is entirely up to the prison staff to ensure dignity and equality of prisoners, Ahmed feels.

Disha Wadekar, a Delhi-based lawyer and a vocal critic of the Indian caste system, compares prison laws with the regressive laws of Manu. A mythical figure, Manu is believed to be the author of theManusmriti,which had sanctioned the degradation of humanity on the basis of caste and gender in ancient times.

The prison system simply replicates Manusdandniti(laws). The prison system has failed to work on the normative penal system that is built on the tenets of equality before the law and protection of law. On the contrary, it follows Manus law that is founded on the principles of injustice a system that believed that certain lives are to be punished more than others and that some lives have more value than others. The states have stuck to the ascribed caste-based understanding of justiceand decide on punishment and labour as per an individuals standing in the caste grid, explains Wadekar.

Indian states, barring West Bengal, have borrowed from the Prisons Act, 1894. Not just borrowed but also remained stuck there, Ahmed adds. In 2016, the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) came up with an elaboratemodel prison manual. The model prison manual is aligned with international standards such as the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners (UN Bangkok Rules) and the UN Minimum Standards for Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules). Both call for the repeal of practices that discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or any other status. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, propounded by the United Nations in 1977, to which India is a party, has clearly stated that: No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.

No desire for change?

Since prison is a state subject, it is entirely on the states to implement these changes suggested in the model prison manual. Acknowledging the problems in the existing prison manual of different states, the model prison manual states, Management of kitchen or cooking of food on caste or religious basis will be totally banned in prisons. Similarly, the model manual also bars any kind of special treatment to a prisoner on the basis of her caste or religion. In fact, the model prison manual lists agitating or acting on the basis of caste or religious as a punishable offence. But implementation of the model prison manual leaves much to be desired.

It is not as if state prison departments have not struck down inhumane and unconstitutional practices from the books. Goa did, so did Delhi, Maharashtra and Odisha. They specifically stated that caste wont have any relevance in running prisons. Over the years, several inhuman practices like using fetters and whipping as a mode of punishment were done away with, so were caste-based occupations in some state prisons.

But did that weed out the caste practice entirely? No, says Lalita*, a former prisoner. Between 2010 and 2017, Lalita faced multiple cases in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. While most of her incarceration period was spent in Byculla womens prison, she was also taken to other prisons from time to time. The travel and interactions with other prisoners and prison officials gave her the opportunity to understand the carceral system in all its complexities.

Unlike the male prisoners, women are fewer in number and so are the provisions made available to them. Lalita was a fierce fighter in jail, demanding basic rights and dignity for herself and her co-prisoners. So, when women prisoners revolted against the prison authorities, demanding better food quality and more frequent supply of poultry and meat, Lalita was at the forefront.

Prison rules are plenty and prisons authorities quote them each time to prevent any intervention by prisoners and their legal representatives. But these official documents are seldom accessible to common people, let alone an incarcerated individual. Nothing is more dangerous than an informed prisoner asserting her rights, says Lalita.

Ahmed agrees with Lalita. And to explain the unavailability of the updated manual, Beluah Emmanuel, professor and a senior faculty at the Academy of Prisons and Correctional Administration in Vellore, says that on average, it takes at least 15 years for changes in the manual to reflect. Each time states introduce any change to the manual, it is merely noted at the official level. The revision to the prison manual reflects only when it is reprinted once in 15 years. Finding all amendments at one place is practically impossible, adds Emmanuel. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), which has been working on prisoners rights for several decades, has been unsuccessfully trying to access updated prison manuals for a long time. Only about 10 states have prison rules/manual on the state prison websites. It is extremely difficult to access updated rules of other states. In our experience, access to prison manuals is a challenge for prisoners as well. Ideally, all prison libraries must have a copy of the prison rules, says Sugandha Shankar, a senior programme officer at CHRI.

A sadhvi in the mix

In Maharashtra, Lalita says, unwritten caste practice is rampant. Her stay in Byculla prison coincided with that of Pragya Singh Thakur, a prime accused in a bomb blast case of 2008 in Malegaon, a town in northern Maharashtra. Thakur, on her release in 2017, was inducted into the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and later in 2019, became an elected member of parliament from her hometown, Bhopal.

At the time of her arrest, she was merely a self-appointed seer. That, however, did not stop her from growing her clout in prison, nor did it prevent her from influencing prison officials. Thakur was lodged in one of the three separate cells, which doubles up as both a VIP cell for the rich and influential seeking privacy, or in the case of erring prisoners, a torture or a solitary cell.

Continue reading here:
From Segregation to Labour, Manu's Caste Law Governs the Indian Prison System - Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting