Abstract 

Leaders like Malcolm X and Dr BR Ambedkar emphasised the fight for justice in systems shaped by oppression. In various settings, marginalised communities have sought reforms in law enforcement to address systemic biases and ensure equitable access to justice. In the USA, the Navajo Police serves Native American communities, while women’s police stations in Brazil provide a safe space for women reporting gender-based violence. These models highlight a common question: can specialised, community focused institutions within the criminal justice system address the barriers faced by disadvantaged groups?

In India, caste specific or segregated police stations for Dalits and Adivasis are an attempt to tackle the violence they experience. Staffed by and serving members of marginalised castes, these institutions aim to empower Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe individuals, particularly in cases of hate crimes and sexual violence. This research analyses nearly half a million police cases from 2017-2022 and over a million judicial rulings to uncover the nature of hate crimes and highlight their impact, as well as shedding light on how these institutions operate. Segregated police stations for Dalits and Adivasis increase the state’s awareness of hate crimes, ensuring cases are addressed by senior officers from the same community. However, victims often face obstacles in the later stages of seeking justice, with little substantive change in final outcomes. Ethnicity-based segregation in law enforcement offers a partial solution in reforming the criminal justice system, amplifying marginalised voices at critical moments. Unfortunately, its limitations highlight the broader challenge of delivering meaningful justice.

About the speaker 

Nirvikar Jassal 

Nirvikar Jassal is an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His research focuses on criminal justice and police or judicial accountability. He collaborates closely with law enforcement agencies and bureaucrats, primarily in South Asia, to investigate mechanisms that can make the criminal justice system more equitable, transparent, and representative.

Chair

Anit Mukherjee

Anit Mukherjee is a Senior Lecturer at the King's India Institute. He joined King's after ten years in Singapore where he was an Associate Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. From 2010-2012, he was a Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), New Delhi.

He is the author of The Absent Dialogue: Politicians, Bureaucrats and the Military in India (NY: Oxford University Press, 2019), which examines the role of civil-military relations and military effectiveness. He is the co-editor of India-China Maritime Competition: The Security Dilemma at Sea (Routledge, 2019) and India’s Naval Strategy and Asian Security (Routledge, 2015).

Discussant

Professor Louise Tillin

Louise Tillin is a Professor of Politics in the King’s India Institute. Her research interests span federalism, democracy and territorial politics in India, and the history and politics of social policy design and implementation. Her books include Remapping India: New States and their Political Origins (Hurst & Co/Oxford University Press, 2013), Politics of Welfare: Comparisons across Indian States, edited with Rajeshwari Deshpande and KK Kailash (New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2015), Indian Federalism (New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2019) and The Politics of Poverty Reduction in India: The UPA Government, 2004 to 2014 (with James Chiriyankandath, Diego Maiorano and James Manor) (New Delhi, Orient Blackswan, 2020).

Her new book Making India Work: The Development of Welfare in a Multi-Level Democracy (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming) is a history of the development of social policy in India over the last century.

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