The NHRC has also asked the Prime Minister to institute an appropriate mechanism at the Centre to monitor the steps being taken to prevent atrocities against the Scheduled Castes.

Addressing a press conference after releasing the Report in Delhi recently, Justice Anand said institutional injustice which hurt the weaker sections, and among them the weakest of the weaker sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, still persisted even after 57 years of Independence. ''The results of the Prevention of SC/ST Atrocities Act, seeking to punish the offenders, have been poor because of the lopsided implementation of the Act and lack of political will to deal with the situation,'' he said.

The main reason for the continuation of atrocities against the vulnerable sections, the NHRC Chairman said, was the indifference of society and its refusal to change its mindset to solve the problem.

Justice Anand said he had written to central and states authorities to implement important recommendations of the Report, prepared by former IAS officer K B Saxena for the NHRC.

Justice Anand said some states had been gracious enough to acknowledge the letter and had given assurance to take appropriate action on the recommendations, while some had already instructed the ministries and secretaries concerned to implement them.
''But some have even failed to acknowledge it.... So much so for their sensitivities,'' he remarked.

The NHRC Chairman pointed out that majority of cases of atrocities against the vulnerable sections had failed because they had not been dealt with the required sensitivity.