Last year, an upper-caste person in Himachal Pradesh had locked a 12-year-old scheduled caste boy in a cowshed for the 'crime' of entering a space meant for a dominant caste. In many areas, people of the same caste reside together, a pattern visible in rural India and now in modern towns. This kind of segregation creates an invisible divide where dominant castes often treat the marginalised as territorial intruders. In segregated villages, Dalit communities are often economically dependent on dominant caste groups. Every state should establish SPSs in its districts, and the legislature should enact a uniform witness protection Act.

Source: The Telegraph March 16, 2026 01:57 UTC