The recent parliamentary proceedings have highlighted a concerning state of justice for the tribal community in the country. The Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Bishweshwar Tudu, presented the figures related to the actions taken by the National Commission on Scheduled Tribes (NCST) in relation to the cases of atrocities committed against the tribals.

A perusal of the data reveals a disturbing trend - the number of registered cases has increased from 7570 in 2019 to 8272 in 2020 and further to 8802 in 2021. This disturbing rise in cases highlights the insecure environment in which the tribal community of the country is living. Unfortunately, the NCST has not been able to keep pace with the increasing cases, with the number of charges framed declining from 741 in 2019 to 347 in 2020 and 548 in 2021.

Despite this disheartening trend, there have been some positive developments, as the number of convictions has increased over the years, with 1148 convictions in 2019, 605 in 2020, and 824 in 2021. The states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of cases.