Tribal Pride Day: Grim state of tribals in the land of Rani Kamlapati

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday celebrated the first 'Tribal Pride Day' in honour of tribal leader Birsa Munda. During his visit to Madhya Pradesh, he sought to reach out to the tribals. He tore into earlier Congress governments for completely ignoring the tribal society, culture and potential for decades. Addressing multiple events, Prime Minster Modi criticised the Grand Old Party for not paying heed to the suffering of the tribals, their hardships, their children's education and their health. 

But even as the Prime Minister hammered the former governments of committing the 'crime' of not prioritising the tribals, the National Crime Records Bureau's data for the last three years paints a grim picture of his tenure. 

NCRB data on crime/atrocities against Schedule Tribes shows an uptick of roughly nine per cent in 2020. Out of the total of 22,370 cases of crimes against tribals, 6,528 were reported in 2018, 7,570 cases in 2019 and 8,272 were reported in 2020.  

Irony abounds as Madhya Pradesh, from where the Prime Minister was addressing the 'Adivasi Gaurav Diwas', leads the country regarding crimes against tribals. Out of the 8,272 cases reported across the country in 2020, the state had 2,399 cases and 2,461 victims. Besides Madhya Pradesh, also figuring among the top five states category were Rajasthan (1,849 cases), Maharashtra (639 cases), Odisha (605 cases) and Telangana (545 cases). Both MP and Rajasthan have been on the top spot in crimes against tribals since 2018. 

A deep dive into the NCRB data reveals how most of the crimes were listed under a category called 'Simple Hurt', with a total of 2,247 incidences in 2020 alone. But what is more shocking is that at least 1,137 cases were of rape alone. Of the rape cases, 691 victims in 681 cases were 18 years and above, while the remaining 456 cases involved minor victims. Similarly, at least 903 victims in 885 cases were reported under the 'assault on women with intent to outrage her modestly (adults and children)' category. 

Once again, going by 2020 data, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government, which renamed railway station after a tribal queen, Rani Kamlapati's name, shockingly led the nation when it came to crime against tribal women with a total of 339 cases, followed by Chhattisgarh (195), Maharashtra (129), Rajasthan (119), and Odisha (114).

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• Madhya Pradesh
• NCRB
• Rani Kamlapati
• Tribal Pride Day
• Tribals
• Crimes against tribals
• NCRB data