In 2021, over 23% of all detenues in Indian prisons were from the Scheduled Castes (SC) whose share in the population was 16.6% (as of 2011). The share of SC detenues saw an increase from 18% in 2019 to 23% in 2021. Indian jails host four types of prisoners — convicts (persons found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court), undertrials (currently on trial in a court of law), detenues (persons held lawfully in custody), and those who do not belong to any of these three categories and who comprise a small share of the total number of prisoners. Notably, in Tamil Nadu, over 30% of convicts and 30% of undertrials were SCs, while the SC share in the State’s population was 20%. Among States with a relatively high number of detainees, the share of SC detainees was notably disproportionate to the SC population share in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
Share of SCs
The chart shows the share of SCs in the total population in India in 2011, the share of SC convicts, the share of SC undertrials, and the share of SC detenues in Indian prisons as of 2021
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Share of Others
The chart shows the share of non-SCs, non-STs, and non-OBCs (Others) in the total population in India in 2011, the share of convicts from this category, the share of undertrials from this category and the share of detenues from this category in Indian prisons as of 2021
Share of SCs State-wise
The chart shows the share of SCs in the total population in 2011, the share of SC convicts, the share of SC undertrials and the share of SC detenues in prisons across States as of 2021. While the share of SC detenues was high in some States, the total number of detenues (numbers in brackets) was higher only in two of them. So, the share has to be read along with the total number of detenues
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The total number of detainees was relatively high in J&K U.T., U.P., Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Nagaland. Of these, the SC share was disproportionate to the population share in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. In T.N., 37% of the detainees were SCs, while the share of SCs in the State’s population was 20%. Only 7% of Gujarat’s population were SCs. Yet, 16% of the total detainees were SCs
Maharashtra does not provide a caste-wise break up of detenues/undertrials. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were not considered as the population split was unavailable
Source: NCRB Prison Statistics
Also read: Over 30% of detainees in Indian prisons are Muslims, double their share in population
