Running head: LOWER CASTE TRUST IN INDIAN POLICE 1

A Study of Lower Caste Citizens’ Trust in the Indian Police Force

Sameeksha Sudhindra Hoskote

Christ (Deemed to be University)

 Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS)

June 17th 2022

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Abstract

The subject of public trust in rule of law is a highly nuanced topic, owing to the several factors

that influence the same. The matter of public trust in the rule of law and/or the legal system as a

whole is not a homogenous topic, as research indicates that there are differing views regarding

the subject based on differing conditions of a citizen’s life. Factors include religion, economic

status, sexuality, gender, caste, and other metrics that decide one’s social status and personal

identity, as well as outsider perceptions of their identity (such as sexual/gender identity falling

outside the binary). In this paper, the metric chosen to analyse the research at hand is that of

caste, and caste-based interaction/opinions of the law enforcement body of the Indian Justice

System that has the closest and most immediate contact with citizens- the police. This review

consists of evidences from previously conducted research, the minutiae of which have been aided

by studies of both qualitative and quantitative statistics, thought the former’s usage has been

decidedly more.

Keywords: Caste, Law, Rule of Law, Police, Trust

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A Study of Lower Caste Citizens’ Trust in the Indian Police Force

As per the oxford dictionary, trust refers to a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability

of someone or something. Trust in the legal system is of utmost importance as it encapsulates the

entire power that the justice system of a country holds amongst its people. Laws that are to be

created and followed must be based on the perception and opinions of people, in order to be

effective to any degree. In a country consisting of this diverse a population, be it based on

religion, caste, economic status, or any other such personal identity, discrepancies in opinions

regarding the rule of law are bound to occur- all of which have no doubt been shaped by equally

diverse personal experiences. Therefore, this paper examines one such angle, namely, caste.

Many things remain to be desired in the aforementioned interaction between the lower caste

community and the police. Atrocities and unfairness that the lower caste population has been

subjected to includes lack of care/concern regarding justice, undeserved blame/prejudices, police

brutality, scapegoating, and several other scenarios. These undoubtedly affect the lower caste

view of the police force/their trust and faith in the police system, which is the subject of this

literature review.
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Trust in the police

Studies and research regarding police interaction with the public in India date back to the

1970, when the post-independence Indian government first appointed a commission to monitor

the activities of the Police force in September 1971 (Bayley, 1971). According to this report by

D.H Bayley, opinion surveys conducted in the 1960s seemed to indicate a very low opinion on

the police amongst the general public at the time. These surveys showed that the public thought

of the police as unsympathetic, unresponsive, and not at all as trusted servants of the people they

have supposedly been appointed to serve. People at the time would generally hesitate to

approach the police, and apparently only did so when there was an immense need to contact the

police, or when contact was simply unavoidable. In this article, the police from independent

India have still been described as “Largely Colonial” (Bayley, 1971).

Therefore, the question that arises form this article is that whether or not things have

changed for the better in the 50 years since it was published. According to a research paper

published by professors from Raksha Shakti University, in the year 2017, the public opinion of

police in the present day has not undergone a significant change from the opinions reflected in

D.H. Bayley’s article. The paper states that anecdotal evidence indicated the Police Departments

are plagued with problems such as inefficiency, corruption, and an insular police culture (Alladi,

Dr.S.L.Vaya, & Kumar, 2017).

According to the findings depicted by the accompanying survey, a significant majority

identified the perceived relationship between the people and police as highly negative and the

perception of police performance in three states is very poor that signifies that the population

believes that the police in the neighbourhood are ineffective. They are considered not to be doing

good work, not at all responding swiftly to the calls, not successful in dealing with the
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challenges. The public's perception of police is that they are doing inadequate performance in

dealing effectively with the community issues. This finding mirrored the view of that the public

attitude towards police in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are the same,

there is no discernible difference in public opinion, all the three states hold a common opinion

that is negative attitude and perception about the police performance in their community (Alladi,

Dr.S.L.Vaya, & Kumar, 2017).

Specific to opinions of lower caste individuals regarding the police, there is very little

research or literature available to accurately ascertain the perceptions of members of the lower

caste vis a vis possibility of discrimination in and of itself, let alone a possibility of being

discriminated against by law enforcement personnel, therefore, it can be said that there is a rather

significant research gap in this area. The research available at present indicates that the

perceptions regarding discrimination at the hands of the police appears moderate.

While these numbers appear to be more reasonable when compared to the bleak picture

painted in the literature on the subject, the fact that more than a quarter of individuals

interviewed reported felt caste-based discrimination by the police is an important finding in and

of itself. In absolute terms, this proportion would amount to enormous sums (Hathi, Coffey,

Khalid, Khurana, & Thorat, 2018).

The perception that the police discriminate on the basis of caste is stronger among the

economically affluent than among the economically disadvantaged. That is, the upper and middle

classes among Hindu Upper Castes, OBCs, SCs, STs, were more likely to believe that the police

discriminate based on caste than the lower and poorer parts of all these communities (Common

Cause, 2018).
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There has been a possibility of underreporting being cited, with participants being

unwilling to self-report, or intentionally underreporting with the intention of providing answers

that enumerators “may have been looking for,” as discussed in the study conducted by Social

Attitudes Research, India (Hathi, Coffey, Khalid, Khurana, & Thorat, 2018).

Evidently, there is not enough research available to draw a conclusion. from the

perspective of the lower caste. The only further available is from that of the police, as discussed

in the following section. This area, too, presents a research gap that must be addressed before a

clear conclusion can be drawn about the situation at hand.

Perspectives of the police

Police officers in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh have the largest proportion of individuals

who believe that persons from Dalit communities are predisposed to commit crimes

(approximately one in every five reported 'very much'). Furthermore, in Maharashtra,

Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, more than half of police officers say they are predisposed to

commit violence (combining ‘very much' and 'somewhat'). While approximately half of the

police officers in Rajasthan and Maharashtra believe that Adivasis are inherently prone to

committing crimes ('very much' and 'somewhat' combined), approximately two-fifths of the

police personnel in Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat believe so (Cause,

2019). This evidences a clear issue regarding prejudices against certain backwards classes which

could very well translate to discrimination against such classes, giving them cause to be

distrustful towards law enforcement authorities.

Furthermore, looking into situations where discrimination has indeed occurred on these

grounds gives rise to further concerns, owing to the grim picture being painted in this scenario.

Available research indicates that lower caste citizens are more likely to face police brutality or
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unfair convictions due to their social identities, and also subjected to unfair treatment. This threat

to their liberties is exacerbated if the citizen in question is a lower caste woman.

Political intervention can also play a significant role in influencing justice in some

circumstances. In addition to strict legislation, rape victims must deal with police, administration

advocates, and judges who are highly prejudiced and biased. The police themselves create

impediments to justice for Dalit women. The barriers/hurdles established by police in securing

Dalit women's access to justice include non-registration/undue delay in FIR, failure to invoke

applicable sections of the PoA Act and POCSO Act in FIR to cover the perpetrators and weaken

the Dalit women's case, filing a counter-case against the Dalit women and her family, partial and

prejudiced investigation, and delay in arresting the culprits (Navsarjan Trust, 2011).

Information from CSOs tracking atrocity cases and DHRDs continues to indicate a

number of ways in which police ensure that atrocity cases are not registered. These include:

neglect and disinterest in SC/ST atrocity victims; discouraging SCs/STs from registering cases

and instead encouraging compromises with the accused; threatening victims into silence or even

inflicting violence on victims; refusing to register cases under the PoA Act in order to avoid

punitive measures against the perpetrators of atrocities; filing false cases against victims at the

behest of the perpetrators of atrocities in order to push through a settlement (NCDHR, 2015).

Conclusion

Therefore, one can safely infer that police officers are not fostering an environment of

trust in the SC/ST/OBC populations. An overwhelming amount of official research and statistics

indicates a high rate of discrimination against such groups, by the aforementioned police, yet the

perceptions amongst the afflicted groups regarding the police seems to be either optimistic or

moderate.
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This indicates either a lack of adequate research, or parameters affecting their opinions

that are yet to be studied, such as social phenomena/self-perceived expectations regarding what

their perceptions “should be.”

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References

Alladi, K. k., Dr.S.L.Vaya, & Kumar, D. (2017). PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF POLICE

PERFORMANCE. Global Journal for Research Analysis, 523-525.

Bayley, D. H. (1971). The Police in India. Economic and Political Weekly, 2287-2291.

Cause, C. (2019). STATUS OF POLICING IN INDIA REPORT 2019. Delhi: Common Cause &

CSDS 2019.

Common Cause. (2018). Status of Policing in India Report. Delhi: Common Cause & Lokniti -

Centre for the Study Developing Societies (CSDS).

Hathi, P., Coffey, D., Khalid, N., Khurana, N., & Thorat, A. (2018). Experiences and Perceptions

of Discrimination among Dalits and Muslims. Economic and Political Weekly..

Navsarjan Trust. (2011). Gender-Violence and Access to Justice for the Dalit Woman.

Ahmedabad: Navsarjan Trust.

NCDHR. (2015). ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR DALITS IN INDIA. New Delhi: Swadhikar —

National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights.