The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on atrocities against Dalits punctures the long-held view that caste matters less in urban areas. The data for 2016, which for the first time gives figures for violence against Dalits in 19 metropolitan cities in India, reveals that crimes against Dalits in urban centres reflect the pattern in the rural hinterland. For instance, Lucknow and Patna top the list of cities that have reported the highest percentage of atrocities against Dalits, and match the figures for UP and Bihar, which have reported the maximum number of violent incidents against Dalits among states.
It is often argued that urban India, being a melting pot of communities and identities, is less oppressive towards Dalits. The nature of productive forces and relations and the wealth of employment opportunities in the cities foreground class identities over caste and, in turn, help to eradicate prejudice and caste-centric violence. Babasaheb Ambedkar was convinced that urbanisation could end Dalit oppression. However, the NCRB data reveals that urban centres tend to reflect the social mores and power relations of rural hinterlands instead of evolving an autonomous social or political dynamic that is accommodative of Dalit concerns and aspirations. Cities, indeed, offer more economic opportunities. But these opportunities need not necessarily subdue or end social discrimination. The trigger of caste oppression may be different in urban and rural areas, but urban India, clearly, is no less an unequal space than rural India for Dalits.
