Dalit and Tribal Rights

There are 14,438,445 (20.01%) Scheduled Castes (Dalits) and 794,697 (1.10%) Scheduled Tribes (Adivasi, literally indigenous people/first dwellers) in Tamil Nadu (Census of India 2011). They are pushed to the bottom rung of society in several human development indicators. While the literacy rate of the general population is 82.15% for the Scheduled Castes it is 73.26% and for the Scheduled Tribes it is 54.34%. Several protective legislation and social security measures for their well-being remain in the statute books. 

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 (popularly ‘the atrocities act’ or POA) and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (popularly Forest Rights Act or FRA) are two key legislations for both the Dalits and Adivasis.

The cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 continue a sharp increase from 2007 (1359) to 2014 (1636) while the convictions have plunged. In the meantime, the number of atrocity-prone villages have gone up from 407 to 471. In 2009 it reached a peak of 680 atrocity-prone villages. After a secular decline from then, it has again increased from 2012 onwards.

HRF has been active in the National Coalition for Strengthening the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, with a key role in drafting amendments to the SCs and STs (PoA) Act 1989 and Rules 1995 which were passed by the parliament in 2015 and notified in 2016.

For economic justice, the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) and the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) are the key provisions. There is a need to legislate to make these allocations and support mandatory with sufficient accountability of the officials in charge. HRF, together with our coalition partners, has submitted a draft bill to the Government of Tamil Nadu for consideration.

Resources (Downloads)

Dalit Media

PoA Monitoring the Monitors Training at Theni

17 February 2023

To implement the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, organised...

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PoA Monitoring the Monitors Training at Perambalur

15 February 2023

To implement the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, organised...

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PoA Monitoring a Case

11 February 2023

How to file a complaint and monitor a case under The Scheduled Castes and The...

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PoA Monitoring the Monitors Training at Krishnagiri

11 February 2023

To implement the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, organised...

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Training

Dalit Training

PoA Monitoring the Monitors Training at Perambalur

15 February 2023

To implement the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, organised...

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Master Training Day II

3 July 2022

Master Training on Village Resilience Mapping – Nilgiris 2022 To strengthen the Local governments, We...

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Master Training – Day I

2 July 2022

Master Training on Village Resilience Mapping – Nilgiris 2022 To strengthen the Local governments, We...

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Advanced Training – Day III

1 July 2022

Advanced Training on Monitoring the Monitors – Nilgiris We have organised the Advanced training for...

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Events

Dalit Events

Z-SMART- Kallakurichi 2023

23 February 2023

To monitor the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)...

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Z-SMART at Nagercoil 2023

20 February 2023

To monitor the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)...

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Z-SMART at Theni 2023

18 February 2023

To monitor the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)...

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Z-SMART at Pudukkottai 2023

16 February 2023

To monitor the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)...

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Recent Posts

SCs and STs PoA

Lawyers’ Training

21 May 2023

Nuances in the Court The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 w/ The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 Tiruchirappalli (20, 21 May 2023) The lead resource persons were advocate Bhavani B Mohan and Vudayagiri Nandagopal 41 advocates (9 women and 32 men) participated They were joined...

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PoA Monitoring the Monitors Training – Puducherry

24 February 2023

To implement the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, organised a district level meeting in Puducherry on 24 February 2023. In this 52 participants (31 women, 21 men) from the UT (Puducherry) and six districts of Tamil Nadu (Cuddalore, Theni, Sivagangai, Tiruvannamalai, Madurai, Mayiladuthurai) participated....

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Z-SMART- Kallakurichi 2023

23 February 2023

To monitor the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, a Zonal Strategic Multi Actor Round Table (Z-SMART) was organised in Kallakurichi on 23 February 2023. In this 40 participants (21 women, 19 men) from four districts (Kallakurichi, Namakkal, Tiruvannamalai, Mayiladuthurai participated.   ...

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PoA Monitoring the Monitors Training – Kallakurichi

22 February 2023

To implement the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, organised a district level meeting in Kallakurichi on 22 February 2023. In this 37 participants (24 women, 13 men) from two districts (Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai) participated.            

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