Social Boycott Prevention Act

In 1880, the irish home rule leader Charles stewart parnell developed the term “boycott” to describe a battle against captain charles Cunningham boycott by his irish neighbours.

As an expression of protest, a boycott is the nonviolent, voluntary withdrawal from a product, person, organisation, or country. Typically, it is for moral, social, political, or ecological concerns. The objective of a boycott is to impose economic loss on the target, or to demonstrate moral outrage, in an effort to persuade the target to modify a disagreeable practice. The social boycott is the prolonged avoidance of an individual by other members of society. It is the refusal of a society to engage a person in normal social and commercial relationships. Its purpose is to make the person so uncomfortable that he decides to leave society voluntarily. The Presidential Assent was granted to the Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2016 on July 13, 2017, making Maharashtra the first state in India to pass the law.

Social Boycott as Definition

The legislation defines social boycott as any attempt by a person or group to prohibit or block another member or group from observing a social or religious custom, usage, or rite, or from participating in a social, religious, or community function, assembly, congregation, meeting, or procession.

Individuals whose freedom is challenged in the name of jati panchayats, religion, or customs, or who are denied the right to practise a profession of their choosing, are also subject to social boycott.

Freedom includes the ability to marry outside of one’s caste, visit places of worship, wear clothing of one’s choosing, and speak any particular language. As a form of social boycott, discrimination on the basis of morality, political ideology, or sexual orientation is also acceptable. As does preventing children from playing in a certain area or denying malicious actors access to cemeteries, community centres, or educational institutions.

Penal Provisions

A Collector or District Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner may prohibit an unlawful assembly for the purpose of imposing a social boycott if informed of the likelihood of such an assembly.

Social boycott is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years and/or a fine of up to one million rupees. Individual or group complicity will result in the same punishment.

It is a cognizable, bailable offence that will be tried by either a Judicial Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class. In accordance with the Act, the trial must be concluded within six months after the filing date of the indictment.

Act against Social Boycott

• A caste system has existed in India from ancient times, and it continues to exist today. Its manifestation can be observed now

• The installation of gavkis’ jati panchayats in Maharashtra and the infamous khap panchayats in Haryana are examples of the severe application of the caste system

• After convening, these committees render extrajudicial judgements that are not only inhumane but also violate the dignity of the individual and are sometimes brutal and severe

• For instance, the naked parade of women through the entire village after applying black paint to their faces, the ostracization of certain individuals for committing acts against the so-called established rules of the assemblies, the whipping and lashing of individuals, and in some cases, the marriage of the rape victim to the perpetrator, etc

• To this day, these extrajudicial pronouncements are carried out in rural areas where the caste system and caste hierarchy are strictly enforced

Influence of the Act

• With the active participation of the government and the introduction of this act against the evil of social boycott, it is now feasible for community members to express their Constitutional Rights more freely and with legal support. For instance, individuals can now marry outside of their caste, and access to public spaces, wells, and temples cannot be denied

• In fact, the government has gone a step further by recognising sexual orientation as a matter of personal choice, and boycotting along these lines is also punishable under the aforementioned statute

Challenges for social boycott law

• Despite legal backing, there are fears of rising resentment among the nation’s diverse populations

• For instance, older Orthodox villagers who firmly obey the caste system and its established rituals may oppose the empowerment of the so-called lower castes of the villages, which could lead to an increase in the frequency of honour killings Additionally, this might promote social discontent in rural regions

• National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data made available in 2014 indicates that the number of crimes committed against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has increased by up to 20 percent in the previous three years

• The increasing understanding of their (SCs and STs) rights and the legal methods that are available to have their rights enforced and to prepare to use government procedures to safeguard their interests is a major factor for the rise in crime, which is a natural consequence of the first argument

Conclusion

The social boycott is the prolonged avoidance of an individual by other members of society. It is the refusal of a society to engage a person in normal social and commercial relationships. Its purpose is to make the person so uncomfortable that he decides to leave society voluntarily.

The Maharashtra administration has taken a positive step forward. With legal backing for the prohibition of social boycott activities, there will be a growth in the number of individuals who can now express their rights more effectively and have the chance to live a better life. In addition, the inclusion of these rights in the Constitution would lead to a greater utilisation of Fundamental Rights by various individuals. The Act is an excellent example of people empowerment. As with every other Indian Act, implementation remains the determining factor in this law.