UNTOUCHABLES NEWS.19.04.2024.By Team Sivaji
‘Rich Get Richer, Poor Get Killed’: The Election Cycle Still Leaves Gaya’s Mahadalits Behind in Bihar
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: From childbirth to education to housing – government interventions are either inadequate or non-existent.
Tarique Anwar
Gaya- At 6.30 am, Ranjay Kumar knocks at 12-year-old Neetu Kumari’s door in their village of Gaura Dawar. He tells her to get ready for a tuition class at the primary school nearby. By the time Neetu is ready to leave, Ranjay has already visited multiple other homes in the area, gathering his flock.
Fifteen minutes later, 12 children have assembled, books and stationery in hand. Ranjay walks them to the one-room school where they’re taken through recitation and writing over the next hour. Class done, the children go home for breakfast and then return to the school for the next class.
This is a regular task for Ranjay, a 30-year-old tola sevak, or village volunteer, in Gaura Dawar, located in Pakri Guriya panchayat at Imamganj block in Bihar’s Gaya. A member of the Bhokta community, an untouchable SC group, his primary responsibility is to go door to door, urging parents to send their children to school.
“I urge them to get their kids enrolled, make sure they attend classes without fail, assist children with their education, provide basic literacy to women, and create awareness about the social security and welfare schemes for them,” he rattles off.
SC communities in Bihar struggle to get an education. Among Scheduled Castes in India, it is these communities that report the lowest literacy rates. About 92.5 percent of them work as farm labourers; 96.3 percent are landless.
Among them, the condition of the Manjhis in southern Bihar and Sadas in northern Bihar are even more appalling. Offshoots of the Bhuiya tribe, they are Mahadalits, among the most downtrodden, also called Musahars or rat-eaters. They are also considered untouchables, engaged in menial labour with no chance of advancement. Severely disadvantaged and socially excluded, they make up about 22 lakh people in Bihar, according to the Mahadalit Commission’s interim report in 2007 – though the actual figure is likely to be much higher.
Musahars have always worked as agricultural labourers for landlords. They used to be bonded labourers, their survival dependent on undecided largesse handed out by landlords. Their poverty is entrenched, alongside untouchability, landlessness, illiteracy and malnourishment.
Government programmes and initiatives have only gone so far. And with the general polls around the corner, there’s little hope of escape among India’s poorest people. Across Gaya, which votes in the Lok Sabha polls on April 19, families told The Mooknayak about how government assistance has left them behind.
‘Everyday we fight a battle for survival’
Ranjay is the first among his eight siblings – two brothers and six sisters – to get a bachelor’s degree. His father, like thousands and lakhs of Dalits and Mahadalits in Bihar, is a landless labourer who earns a living as a farm and construction labourer.
Farm labourers in south Bihar are paid as per a barter system. They receive five kilograms of foodgrains (wheat or paddy, depending on the season) for a full day of work. Labourers told this reporter that if they want money instead, they’re given a paltry sum of Rs 150-200 per day, despite the minimum wage being set at Rs 395 per day for unskilled workers. On construction sites, they’re paid Rs 200-300 per day depending on demand for and availability of daily wagers.
Gripped by a financial crisis and unmindful of the benefits of an education, Ranjay’s father did not send his children to school. Except for Ranjay, the third among his siblings, who had an interest in studies and refused to give up on it. He passed with flying colours from Class 10 in the local high school, and then pursued Class 12 and a BA (honours) in geography.
In 2010, when Ranjay was preparing for government jobs. His father was old, one brother had a mental disability, another made a meagre living as a daily wager. That’s when Ranjay came across the opportunity to work as a tola sevak, appointed by the Bihar government in villages with at least 50 Mahadalit families. As contractual employees of the state government, they receive a fixed remuneration of Rs 27,000 per month.
Without a second thought, Ranjay grabbed the opportunity with both hands. But it’s not an easy job.
The village primary school has three teachers sanctioned for around 58 enrolled students – but it’s rare for all the students and teachers to be in attendance. When this reporter visited the school in April, only one teacher was on duty but even he was out at the time to collect textbooks for the new academic year. In his absence, it was Ranjay who had to teach the students.
Additionally, his interactions with parents, all of whom belong to socially excluded communities, are difficult.
“Because of poverty and unawareness, these parents are forced to engage their children in odd jobs so they can contribute to the family’s income. Convincing them is not so easy,” Ranjay says. “Sometimes they send their children to school when there is an off season and no work. When they get a job, they take their children along so their earnings increase.”
Twelve-year-old Neetu, for example, is from a family in acute financial distress. Yet she continues her schooling because her father wants it for her.
A student of Class 7, Neetu says her grades have improved from D to C, even to B in one paper, in her half-yearly exams for the 2023-24 academic year. She credits her tola sevak for ensuring she went to school. Showing this reporter her marksheet, she smiles and shyly says she wants to study “compooter” – computers – and excel in her field.
But Neetu’s smile fades when she talks about her family’s struggle. Her parents, Jhamman Manjhi and Panwa Devi, are daily wagers. Living in a hamlet, they don’t own any land. They don’t even have a title to the plot on which their dilapidated half-kuchcha, half-pucca house has stood for decades. Neetu’s lunch every afternoon is rice with watery boiled dal. Vegetables or meat are a luxury.
Jhamman Manjhi says he wants his daughter to study as much as she wants.
“We are labourers but don’t get work for more than 12-13 days in a month. The wage is so low that it’s extremely difficult to make ends meet,” he says. “We are surviving somehow. Everyday we fight a battle for survival. Despite all these challenges, I will try my best to ensure my daughter studies and achieves her aim.”
In Guliyadih village in Gaya’s Banke Bazar, Jayesha Devi says she gets agricultural work only during sowing and reaping days, “which do not last for more than 10 days”.
“In the name of daily wages, we get five kg of wheat or paddy along with one meal,” she says. “If we demand money, we are not paid more than Rs 150 a day. Once the work is over, we go back to brick kilns where we are paid Rs 50-60 for carrying 1,000 bricks and arranging it into a furnace. On an average, each of us manages to shift at least 3,000 bricks to earn Rs 150 a day.”
Jhamman Manjhi says the “only support” he gets from the government is “free rations”, referring to the Public Distribution System.
Despite having job cards, Neetu’s parents do not get work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. They say it’s because their work has been “replaced” by JCBs. On housing, Jhamman Manjhi says most people in the village had houses built decades ago under the Congress government’s Indira Awas Yojana.
“But these are now on the verge of collapse,” he says. “We don’t sleep inside as the roof can collapse any day.”
We asked his opinion of Jitin Ram Manjhi, Bihar’s first Mahadalit chief minister and now the NDA candidate from Gaya.
“He claims to be a champion of Mahadalit causes but he has done nothing for the community,” Jhamman Manjhi said. “Calling him a representative of his family members is more appropriate than our leader. He promoted his family in politics – his son Santosh Suman is a minister and his father-in-law is an MLA. His son-in-law is also a legislator.”
A much-touted state scheme is the Jeevika Mitra programme for banks, where community members, or jeevika mitras, are posted at bank branches to facilitate transactions and act as interfaces between banks and borrowers. Through these volunteers, the state government lends small amounts to marginalised women to make them self-sufficient. These loans are granted at an interest rate of just one percent, to be returned in 20 instalments.
“Each one of us is assigned to a village or two where we have to form a group of 10-15 women who want to do something to earn a livelihood,” says Pratibha Kumari, one of the jeevika mitras for the scheme. “The group is initially sanctioned Rs 1.5 lakh to be borrowed. The limit is revised based on the recovery. We give different amounts of loans to individuals as per their requirements. Jeevika Mitras like us visit door to door to collect the EMIs.”
But there are issues, according to villagers and volunteers.
The women who take loans are expected to invest the sum in setting up small businesses. But most borrowers spend on basics like constructing and repairing homes, medical bills, marriages and sending their male relatives to big cities to earn. Volunteers say the loans are spent on construction because many women “don’t get funds” in toto under government housing schemes due to “corruption at every level”.
For example, if Rs 1.5 lakh is sanctioned under the housing scheme, beneficiaries allegedly get about Rs 1.2 lakh in hand, even though the amount is directly transferred into their bank accounts. So, while Pratibha thinks the Jeevika Mitra scheme is a “great step”, she worries that it doesn’t fulfil its real objective, since loans are used to address immediate requirements.
As for government schools, a 2023 survey in north Bihar by Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, guided by Jean Drèze, revealed a “serious failure to ensure even minimum norms of schooling”.
Attendance in primary and upper primary schools was barely 20 percent, none of the schools fulfilled conditions under the Right to Education Act, and there were “acute teacher shortages”. Children didn’t have textbooks or uniforms despite the government’s direct benefit transfer scheme, since the scheme was “conditional on 75 percent school attendance and also requires an Aadhaar”.
“Inadequate resources, ineffective policies and indifferent action are the issues these schools face and which can be seen as a reflection of their interdependent failures,” the report said.
This reporter reached out to KK Pathak, additional chief secretary of the state education department, for comment. He refused to speak, citing the Model Code of Conduct.
Gaya and the rise of Jitan Ram Manjhi
Located on the banks of the Phalgu river, Gaya is believed to be where the Buddha attained enlightenment. It’s home to the ancient Mahabodhi temple, a Unesco heritage site, and therefore sees thousands of pilgrims every year.
Gaya city, which finds mention in the Ramayana as well, also hosts the Pitru Paksha Mela every year at the Vishnupad temple.
As per the Election Commission, Gaya’s Lok Sabha constituency has over 18.13 lakh voters of which 9.4 lakh are men and the rest women.
For the last 56 years, the seat has been a reserved constituency for Scheduled Castes. Since 1999, the seat has been dominated by candidates from the Manjhi community – BJP’s Ramji Manjhi won in 1999, RJD’s Rajesh Kumar Manjhi in 2004, BJP’s Hari Manjhi in 2009 and 2014, and JDU’s Vijay Manjhi in 2019.
Of the six assembly constituencies that form the Gaya Lok Sabha seat, three each are held by the NDA and by the Mahagathbandhan. Which is why all eyes are on Gaya this election.
This year, the NDA has fielded Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha against the INDIA alliance’s Kumar Sarvajeet, an RJD leader and MLA from Bodh Gaya. Jitan Ram has contested unsuccessfully from Gaya in the general elections in 1991, 2014 and 2019, while the BJP has bagged the seat five times. Intriguingly, Jitan Ram was defeated by Sarvajeet’s father in his first electoral battle.
Despite his losses, Jitan Ram, 80, has considerable political experience. An engineering graduate, he left his job as a clerk to join politics in 1980. In 2009, he became the MLA from Bodh Gaya on a Lok Janshakti Party ticket – winning again in 2015 and 2020. He served as minister of tourism and then agriculture in the JDU-Mahagathbandhan government. Nitish Kumar then made him chief minister in 2014 – a decision Kumar later described as a “mistake”.
But Jitan Ram himself has big plans for Gaya if he wins.
“The city lags on developmental indices,” he told this reporter. “I am contesting to raise the issue in Parliament. If given a responsibility, I will develop it the way it should have been developed.”
He sketches his roadmap to development – interlinking the Falgu river with the Ganga and others, setting up a network of canals to irrigate water-starved south Bihar, and more.
We ask him about the literacy rate of the SC community, which stands at barely 30 percent as against 80 percent in the state. For Mahadalits, it’s even lower, around 15 percent while for Musahars, it’s seven percent.
In response, Jitan Ram invokes Dr BR Ambedkar who had advocated a common schooling system for children across caste, community and religion.
“Over 70 years have passed but no one could even think about the system,” he says. “As a result, the ‘haves’ have excelled and become more prosperous. The have-nots – those who are economically, socially and politically deprived – face the worst marginalisation…Today, parents belonging to socially excluded Dalit families send their children to big cities to either work as domestic workers or on construction sites.”
He adds that these decisions are not taken due to “greed” or “temptation”. “They are not doing it by choice. It’s their compulsion. Impoverished people want their children to help them economically…It’s in fact an economic tragedy. They send their children to work as servants with the hope that they will get food at least twice a day and it will lessen their burden.”
The former chief minister says his schooldays were punctuated by struggle. “I worked as a house help but had determination to study. We did not have food at home for three meals. Because of financial constraints, I was not regular in attending classes. But my father managed to ensure I didn’t leave studies. I somehow managed to successfully complete schooling and entered into college, where I studied well and reached this position.”
Jitan Ram accuses people in power of not caring enough to better government-run schools in Bihar.
“Even government teachers send their wards to private schools. If the government is serious in improving its school education system, it must enact legislation at once as ordered by the Allahabad High Court, which asked the Uttar Pradesh government of making a law mandating government employees – whether bureaucrats, high-ranking officers or peons – to send their children to government schools,” he says. “Then only will a change be noted and it will help the marginalised.”
But isn’t it the NDA that’s in power at both the centre and state? Why hasn’t it taken any steps in this direction? Surprisingly, Jitan Ram minces no words.
“You can say it is the government that is responsible for this sorry state of affairs,” he says. “In a democracy, everyone should have an equal opportunity. If it is not happening, who will ensure it? It’s the government. Since people are illiterate, their votes are secured using other means. Therefore, by and large, competent and good public representatives are not elected. It causes a hurdle in uplifting the people.”
Importantly, the NDA candidate says he opposes India’s current reservation policy. “But when I talk about equal opportunity, at the same time there should be uniformity in privileges and resources,” he adds. “Therefore the situation demands reservation.”
He mentions the Poona Pact between Ambedkar and MK Gandhi for political representation to the “depressed classes”. He says Ambedkar’s biography indicates that he had been in tears since he had been compelled to sign the pact.
“How genuine his tears and concerns were can be gauged from the fact that today, we have 84 MPs in Parliament but nobody talks about a common education system or dual franchise,” says Jitan Ram, pointing out that Ambedkar had demanded the latter but it had been vehemently opposed by Gandhi.
He also says if a vocal SC leader is elected to the state assembly or Parliament, they’re often denied tickets after one or two terms. “It’s by chance I got elected as MLA for eight terms. And to ensure it, I had to play a hide-and-seek game. Had I been as vocal as I am today, I would have been physically or politically eliminated.”
No hospital visits, poor nutrition
In January, 37-year-old Urmila Manjhi became a grandmother. That evening, she achieved yet another milestone – after giving birth to seven children over 20 years in her home, without the assistance of a nurse or doctor, she visited a hospital for the first time.
A resident of Bhogtauri village near Imamganj, Urmila’s older daughter went into labour at home. Urmila hired a three-wheeled vehicle to go to the Gaya district hospital. It took mother and daughter two hours to get there, after which Urmila’s daughter gave birth to a baby boy.
Why didn’t she call an ambulance instead of hiring a tempo traveller? Urmila’s reply is simple: “Since no one in our village visits a hospital, we are unaware of the existence of an ambulance.”
Children collect muddy water from a newly-installed tap in an SC-concentrated village on the foothills of Bodh Gaya.
Bhogtauri is home to about 300-400 Musahars, living across 40-odd mud and bamboo huts. Urmila is unconcerned about the fact that she herself delivered seven children alone at home “with no problem”.
Her deyadin – her husband’s brother’s wife – had cut the umbilical cord. When asked what was used to cut it, she isn’t sure though she remembers 10 or 12 women from the hamlet discussing how they should wash a kitchen knife. “It’s not something we even think about,” Urmila adds.
Most women in Bhogtauri give birth at home, going to the hospital only if there are dire complications. There are no skilled midwives in these parts; the women, many of whom have four or five children, aren’t sure whether there’s a primary health centre nearby or if deliveries even happen there.
Among the villages this reporter visited in Gaya, not one had a government-run dispensary or sub-centre. And while the District Health Action Plan mandates 10 sub-centres for every block, some blocks have two or three at the most. Several have none.
Similarly, the government’s Integrated Child Development Services scheme says pregnant and lactating mothers are entitled to get nutritional supplements in the form of hot/cooked meals from anganwadis or groceries. They are also to be supplied with iron, folic acid and calcium supplements for 180 days during their pregnancy.
Urmila says would get calcium and iron supplements from the anganwadi, but never had a medical checkup. She would also get “eggs and some fruits” once a month from the government. She’s never heard of the ICDS programme. Urmila also says she worked every day throughout all her pregnancies until the day of delivery. She would return to work 10 days after each birth.
Anganwadi and ASHA workers blame the women themselves for not identifying and registering at their respective centres. An ASHA worker tells this reporter that Musahar women do not prioritise personal hygiene.
“It’s really difficult to take people to the hospital,” she says, while also acknowledging that there’s been little effort by the government to raise awareness.
Urmila agrees that there’s a perception that her people are obstinately stuck in their way. She’s therefore extra cautious while discussing Musahar rituals and practices. She also dislikes discussing nutrition. When specifically asked about the persistent stereotype about her community, she only says, “We don’t eat rodents.”
The ASHA worker agrees with this, explaining that a Musahar meal typically comprises rice and potatoes. Green vegetables aren’t eaten which is why many women and children here are anaemic. “At night, there will be rotis with potatoes. We are unable to afford eggs, milk and green veggies, and fruits are much more scarce.”
No land, no homes
In early April, around 20 huts in Bakrour village in Bodh Gaya were set on fire. The huts had been built less than a year ago on government land near a riverine to house landless SC families. While the district administration paid Rs 12,000 per family, there was no word on allotting them land to live on.
It’s unclear how the fire began, but the families lost all their possessions. They now blame the government itself for trying to “chase” them away from government land.
Phulwa Devi, 62, is one of the families who lost everything. She has six sons, all of whom earn paltry sums as daily wagers – when they can find work.
“Where will we go if we don’t settle on gair-mazarua land?” she asks, referring to government-owned land. “When elections approach, political leaders make tall claims to win our votes. But nothing happens later.”
After losing her home, Phulwa Devi says she met with Kumar Sarvjit, the RJD MLA from Bodh Gaya, several times but he “never listened to us”.
“Similarly, Jitan Ram Manjhi, who belongs to our community, also did nothing for our welfare,” she says.
She also points out that in 2015, the Bihar government promised to provide three decimals of land – one decimal is one-hundredth of an acre – to landless people if no gair-mazarua land was available in a particular area. Importantly, in 2013, the state government said it would give three decimals of land, later increased to five decimals, to Mahadalit families to build homes. The government told the state assembly that 96 percent of eligible families had already received their land.
“The words are yet to turn into reality. When we claim government land, we are either chased away or our houses are set ablaze. What should we do? Where will we go?” Phulwa Devi asks.
Also losing her home to the fire is Prerna Kumari, who had moved there because she had been unable to accommodate eight family members in her in-laws’ two-room ancestral home.
“Getting a house to live in is constitutionally guaranteed. The government is duty-bound to provide us with dwelling land,” she fumes. “Since the government has failed us, we are left with no choice but to claim its land. But the authorities, when they fail to chase us away, engage sponsored agents to burn our settlements. But they must remember they will be taught a lesson in the upcoming elections.”
The anger and rage bleeds across Gaya. On the outskirts of Gaya city, we meet Kamla Devi, a resident of Bengali Bigha, an urban village. Sitting on the ground near a sewage tank, she says no political leader is “really concerned” about their welfare.
“Whatever they say turns out to be mere lip service. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting killed,” she says. “We don’t have work. Whatever we earn is insufficient in this era of price rise. Except for the small piece of land where we’ve lived for generations, we don’t have even an inch of land for farming. Even the dwelling land in our possession is not legally ours, as we don’t have purcha.”
Purcha refers to title deeds to the land. “We can be evicted any day if the government wants,” says Kamla Devi.
Her own one-room house was built decades ago under the Indira Awas Yojana. “But it is collapsing now. It needs renovation which we are unable to afford.” She adds that they can’t expand their houses to, since the land is small – the only option is to make it multi-storeyed which is too expensive, considering they can barely afford two square meals a day.
“I have five children. The first two have passed Class 10. But they are working on agricultural land. How can we afford to let them study on such little earnings?” she says. “Even after pursuing further education, there is no guarantee that they will get a government job. Therefore, they have begun working in agricultural fields and elsewhere to support their father.”
This is the first story in a special series in collaboration with News Laundry on the election machine in reserved constituencies.
Courtesy : The Mooknayak.
Rajasthan: Development and Caste Big Poll Issues in Jat-Dominated Bharatpur Constituency
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: The BJP won the reserved constituency in 2014 and 2019.
Meena Kotwal
Bharatpur- In Rajasthan, the tradition has been to overthrow the incumbent state government. Will this sentiment pervade the Lok Sabha polls?
The Narendra Modi-led BJP, which has been in power for two consecutive terms, won 24 out of the 25 constituencies in Rajasthan in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The remaining seat, Nagaur, was won by its alliance party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Bharatpur, one of the four seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes in Rajasthan, is dominated by the Jat community. It also has a significant Jatav population. As per the 2019 voter list issued by the election commission, out of 19.43 lakh voters in the constituency, five lakh are from the Jat community, and there are about 3.50 lakh Jatav voters.
In the fray in Bharatpur are the BJP’s Ramswaroop Koli, the Congress’s Sanjana Jatav, and the BSP’s Anjila Jatav. Notably, the BJP won the seat in the last two Lok Sabha polls. The constituency is also home to incumbent Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.
So what are the issues plaguing the lives of people in Bharatpur? Will they give another chance to the BJP?
To read the full story, please visit the Newslaundry
This is the second story in a special series in collaboration with News Laundry on the election machine in reserved constituencies.
Courtesy : The Mooknayak.
Shopkeeper kept beating Dalit boy all night, gave Taliban punishment for stealing and eating biscuits worth Rs 2
(Durgesh Shukla) Shravasti : A case has come to light from Shravasti district of Uttar Pradesh, knowing about which will shock your heart. Where a shopkeeper tied a 10 year old child to a pillar and started beating him when he stole a biscuit worth only Rs 2 and started eating it. First the shopkeeper tied the innocent child to a pillar and then started beating him fiercely, the video of which is now going viral on social media.
Dalit boy gets Taliban punishment for stealing biscuits worth Rs 2
According to information received from sources, the incident took place in Balapur village of Malhipur police station in Shravasti district. Where a 10-year-old Dalit boy stole a biscuit worth Rs 2 from a shop and started eating it, on which the powerful shopkeeper Baburam Mishra first tied the minor youth with ropes and tied him to a pillar, then beat him severely and kept him tied to a pillar all night long, hungry and thirsty. Taliban punishment. Someone made a video of this act of the shopkeeper and made it viral on social media. As soon as the video went viral, the police came into action mode and registered the case and started investigating the video. Now it has to be seen how the police wreaks havoc on the overbearing shopkeeper who wreaks havoc on the innocent.
Only politics in the name of Dalits! Neither did they get a house nor any facilities, the family is forced to live the life of a refugee – POLITICS ON DALITS OF MURUMATU
Politics in the name of Mahadalits of Murumatu. The condition of Dalit family of Murumatu in Palamu is bad. Year after year many representatives have come and gone but till now they have not got the facilities they deserve. As elections are round the corner, what does this Dalit family of Murumatu say now?
Palamu: A big example of how politics is done in the name of Dalit can be seen by looking at the Dalit family of Murumatu. On August 30, 2022, about two dozen Dalit families were uprooted in Murumatu of Pandu police station area of Palamu. Even today the uprooted families are living the life of refugees. At that time, after the uprooting of Dalits, Pandu area remained the center of politics for a week. During this, an announcement was made to provide land and housing for Dalits. Voter ID and Aadhaar cards were made to Dalits by organizing camps during that time. At the time when Dalit families were uprooted, the then State President of BJP, State President of Morcha, MP, MLA, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and many social organizations had gone to the spot. Everyone announced to provide land and housing to the Dalits. State President, MP, MLA, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and many social organizations had gone to the spot. Everyone announced to give land and housing to Dalits
Haven’t got land and house yet, many families scattered
Even after 20 months of this incident, the families have not been able to get houses and land. Even education arrangements have not been made for the children of the family. However, in the presence of the then CM, a pamphlet was given to a Dalit family. When the incident took place, more than 20 families were kept as refugees in the old building of Pandu police station. But today many families have scattered and migrated.
Santosh, a member of a Dalit family, said that no arrangements for house and land have been made for them, they are living the life of refugees. They were told to leave this place only after getting land and house. Radha Devi tells that she is living as a refugee with the hope that one day she too will get land and a house. At the time when the incident took place, some family members were given assistance under SC-ST provisions but the rest did not get anything.
Voter card made for Dalit family, administration is alert for voting
Voter cards of Dalit families of Murumatu have been made. BLOs have also been asked to run awareness campaigns regarding voting. In the administrative records, there are only two families who are taking shelter in the old building of the police station. According to administrative sources, review is being done for the land. Many families have also changed their residence, due to which the administrative system has to face problems.
“There was talk at the administration and government level to settle the Dalit families, the party had continuously raised the voice of the Dalits. But the administration and the government did nothing, this incident is an example of the government’s indifference and appeasement politics. Appeasement Because real people did not benefit, this incident was quite heinous”. -Amit Tiwari, District President BJP.
“There was talk of giving two decimals of land and Rs 25-25 thousand to each family and permission was also given for this. At present it cannot be said what is the update, during that time the BJP leaders had done a lot of politics. “BJP did politics but did not help”. -Rajendra Kumar Sinha, District President, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
The long journey of Venkatayapalem Dalits to an inadequate justice
A dominant caste politician of YSRCP, Thota Trimurthulu, was convicted in a 28-year-old case for assaulting Dalits, but it continues to be an unfinished story for the victims.
Published : Apr 19, 2024 12:39 IST - 7 MINS READ
Thota Trimurthulu leaving court after attending proceedings of the tonsuring case against him. | Photo Credit: C.V. Subrahmanyam
For nearly three decades, five Dalit men of Venkatayapalem village of Ramachandrapuram mandal in Andhra Pradesh have fought relentlessly to get justice in a case of assault, forceful tonsure, and humiliation by a dominant caste politician. A Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act case, the trial should have seen a speedy hearing and conviction but was dragged on by Thota Trimurthulu, the prime accused. The victims also withstood further discrimination, including from the government and various departments. One of the victims, witnesses, and an accused, died during the inordinately delayed trial.
On April 16, a Visakhapatnam Special Court for SC & ST Prevention of Atrocities cases convicted Trimurthulu and others in the case. Merely hours later, he got bail and continued his electoral campaign for the Mandapeta Assembly Constituency. The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) has yet to issue an official statement.
“It’s sickening to see the accused getting back to their lives on the very day of the judgment. In contrast, the victims were left in a haze of the judicial interpretations and ramifications of the judgment,” Y. Rajesh, an advocate and general secretary of the Human Rights Forum (HRF),
told Frontline.
‘Not INDIA Bloc or NDA Alliance, I Am Working For Janta Alliance’, Says Chandrashekar Azad ‘Ravan’
Uttar Pradesh elections: Bhim Army and Aazad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad, the renegade new face of Dalit assertion, is taking on the BSP, BJP and SP in Nagina this year in what appears to be a battle for the future of Dalit-Bahujan political leadership in West UP.
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The relatively new Lok Sabha constituency of Nagina, one of the eight seats in Western Uttar Pradesh that went on to polls on April 19, has become an interesting seat this year for the future of Dalit-Bahujan politics. Carved out of Bijnor seat where Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati won her first Parliamentary election 35 years ago, the seat this time is seen a tough fight between the party and its recent nemesis, Chandrashekar Aazad ‘Ravan’. Having emerged as a new and influential face of Dalit identity politics and assertion in the region, the ‘son of Saharanpur’ formed his party, Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) in 2020 and is contesting his first Lok Sabha polls from Nagina solo, hoping to get support from the majority Muslim followed by Dalit population of the seat. The importance of his candidacy from the seat, with respect to Dalit politics, was underscored by the BSP which sent Mayawati’s nephew and political successor Aakash Anand to kick off the party’s election campaign from Nagina on April 6. Aazad, who rose to national prominence following the 2017 Saharanpur caste violence between Jats and Jatav Dalits, has been seen by many as a contender to the legacy of anti-caste stalwarts like Babasaheb Ambedkar and Kashi Ram, political mentor of Mayawati.
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Read edited excerpts from the interview:
Nagina Lok Sabha constituency is a relatively new one, carved out of Bijnor in 2009. Why did you choose Nagina to contest your first Lok Sabha elections? Any particular significance of choosing this seat? What are the issues of voters on this seat?
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Contesting from Nagina was the party’s (Azaad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram)) decision, I did not play a big role in the selection. The party wanted to contest elections for Parliament this time and I agreed to whatever was decided. We are a very young party with no financial stability. Our workers have a lot of passion and conviction. Indian politics is driven by money. Kanshi Ram used to say “this is not a loktantra, this is a dhan-tantra”. Only people with money can fight elections and only people with money can rise in politics. The poor, the weak, the farmer, the labourer, the ones with good hearts and intentions, cannot compete with the power of money. Keeping this in mind, tje party felt that in order to establish the party at a national level, we need to fight for some seats in Parliament. Nagina was one of the eight seats in West UP going to polls in the first phase (April 19) and so we gave it priority. The primary objective of the party was to field me as a candidate and I accepted whatever it decided for me.
In 2022, during the by poll elections in Rampur and Khatauli Assembly seats and Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, you had reportedly lent support to the SP-RLD candidate Madan Bhaiya in Khatauli. There were talks about you contesting Lok Sabha elections as part of the INDIA alliance. What happened? Why are you not contesting with SP-Congress?
I wanted to contest as part of the alliance. Initially, they (SP) even assured me that it would happen which is why I also spoke to my party members about it. They said many good things at the time. They said that the alliance was the only way to save democracy in India which is under attack. The Constitution is in danger. They said they wanted to fight these problems together. So I too agreed to fight together. But in the last moment, they pulled the plug by announcing their own candidate - Deepak Saini - from Nagina, making their allegiance clear. I welcomed the decision with grace. It’s not like I want to force or pressurise anyone to field us as their candidate. I and my party cadres have done a lot of hard work in this region. The ASP leadership has also worked very hard to foster goodwill for the party on ground. Based on that, we are saying that we are fighting from the “Janta Alliance (people’s alliance). On one side, there is the INDIA bloc, on the other is the NDA alliance. Our alliance is strongest of all because we are working for the Janta Alliance. We speak for and boast the janta (common public), we fight for them, we represent them.
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Nagina has a Muslim and Dalit majority population with Muslim voters exceeding Schedule caste voters. You have been making appeals for “Dalit-Muslim” unity. How important is this demographic combination electorally and do you think it will work in your favour on ground?
This (Dalit-Muslim unity) should have happened a long time ago. Ye majloom aur majdoor ka ek majboot vikalp hai. (This is a strong alternative for the historically oppressed and the worker). “Dalit Muslim unity” can provide the much needed platform for the rise of those people or communities who want to participate in democratic politics but have historically remained outside its purview due to oppression, social or financial constraints. No one can function or move forward in a loktantra without shakti (power) and power is only with those in satta (in office). Satta prapt karna har aadmi ka lakshya hona chaiye (Achieving political power should be the goal of every individual). I am also fighting for satta.
Since before Independence, India has witnessed many governments led by many parties. They got the opportunity and worked for the country in their own ways. But even then, Babashabe Ambedkar had to form his own political party because he realised that even though the parties in power were claiming to be people centric, no one had was working on the foundational issues of the country like caste. The problems faced by the marginalised people was never on the agenda of these parties. I believe that these parties did not support us and the Dalit-Bahujan cause. And so we had to chart our own course in the country’s electoral landscape. We (Aazad and his supporters who are part of Bhim Army), could not sit at home anymore. The rebels, the people facing lathicharge of police and upper caste discrimination, the ones who are fighting unwarranted court cases for protesting against casteism, the ones who are facing bullets and even possible death, these people cannot just sit at home. They must organise and agitate. They must protest against injustice.
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What is the relationship you and ASP have with Mayawati and the Bahujan Samaj Party? While you have often spoken about being on cordial terms with Behenji, the latter has in the past made allegations against you for being an “BJP mole”. Are you on cordial terms or is BSP your competitor? Would this rivalry have a polarising impact on Dalit politics in the region
I am on very cordial terms with BSP and Mayawati and there is no competition. Our relations are good and I hope they will remain so in future as well.
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What about the movement for Dalit political assertion and identity that was started by Kanshi Ram in the 80s. Who is the successor of that, you or Kashi’s protege led BSP? Who are the current faces of Dalit politics in UP?
There can be many faces of Dalit politics but whether they are honestly working for the Dalit-Bahujan movement for emancipation forward is another question. Many claim to be carrying forward the legacy of Kanshi Ram’s movement but there is a difference between just saying it and doing it on ground in real time. We (ASP and Bhim Army) used the power of people’s movement to mobilise the issues of new current Dalit generations. Through the movement, in Nagina where we are contesting LS polls, we have seven to eight Zilla Panchayats under us. In one of them, the candidate who contested elections and won, had just Rs 50,000 for his poll campaign. So these are the kind of people who are the real leaders of the movement and that was the point of the movement itself, to bring people who have knowledge of the area and the desire to work for the area to political arenas and become policy or lawmaker that can work honestly for the upliftment of the community.
That is what ASP tries to do. Many of the parsed (zilla panchayat heads), chairmen, party officials etc from the party are from marginalised backgrounds and many even face financial constraints. These people might be poor but they are winning local body elections with the mandate of the janta. Aazad Samaj Party’s goal is to promote the mission of our mahapurush (emancipators of the oppressed castes). The rest are just working for their personal gains.
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BSP supremo Mayawati, who was the succour of Kanshi Ram, has named her nephew, the London-returned MBA graduate Aakash Anand, as her successor. He even kicked off the party’s poll campaign this year on April 6 from Nagina seat which you are contesting. Do you think it was a way to send you a message?
He is a non-famous person. He is my younger brother and I have affection for him. But in politics, we often see that non-political or non famous people often take the support of known or established politicians or persons in power to gain momentum. Anand perhaps things that by making regular comments and jibes about me, he can get some publicity. Maybe he knows that many actors the country know my name and he thinks that by associating his name with mine, he will also become a household name. I don’t mind it. A democracy should always have room for debate, discussion and diversity of opinions. But the level of debate and discourse should not stoop so low that it brings shame to those indulging in it. He (Anand) speaks less against BJP, who should be our primary opponent, and more against me.
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You were very active and vocal in your protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (2019) a few years ago and were seen leading protests in Delhi. The centre recently passed the CAA notifications this year but we saw no protests or condemnation from you this time. Why?
It is election season and the you, me and everybody else is aware of their poll strategies. We did not want to give the BJP any benefit of doubt. I have previously protested against CAA and my views about the same are publicly known. Once the elections are over, we will raise protests again. Our fight is not just with CAA but with NRC too. These laws, when seen together, discriminate against a certain religion which is against the constitutional values of the country. Your call for “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one) and promises of Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas are false and empty. These promises have no relation to the needs and quandaries of common public.
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What are the promises you are making to the people of UP and Nagina in particluar if you win the elections and become and first time MP?
I can promise to do many things now. But I will do it on ground. I will take the issues of the local voters here to Parliament. These issues include unemployment among educated youth, flooding of agrarian areas in Bijnor, rising water levels in Kho river, deaths of locals due to ‘Guldaar’ (animal) attacks etc that are of specific importance to the Nagina-Bijnore region. Issues like providing electricity, clean and constant water supply, development of roadways, cleanliness and garbage disposal, building schools and hospitals, medical colleges continue to persist. I would also like to highlight the lack of any sports colleges or institutions dedicated to nurturing local athletes or sporting talents. These internal areas across the country are a store house of talented sportspersons, especially from marginalised sections, who never end up being “discovered” due to lack of sources, resources or social capital. These are some of the issues I am hoping to work on. If possible, I would even like to create a cricket stadium to aid young talents in the region. Active participiation is sports not only keeps one healthy but also build character and helps youth stay away from social ills like substance use/abuse or petty crime.
Tamil Nadu
Custodial torture alleged in Dalit man’s death in Tamil Nadu
VILLUPURAM: A week after a 44-year-old man died after allegedly suffering brutal attack at the hands of police personnel at the Villupuram taluk police station in a case of illegal sale of Tasmac liquor, the family members have filed a petition with the Villupuram district court demanding exhumation of the buried body and investigation into the alleged custodial torture. As per a death report issued by the Villupuram GH under 174 CrPC, the death has been categorized as ‘unnatural death’.
According to family members, K Raja, a dalit resident of GRP Street in Villupurm town, went missing on April 9 night and was found to be in police custody on April 10 morning. “After we came to know that he is in police custody, my son and I went to see my husband but the police personnel did not allow us to meet him. They threatened us saying that if we created trouble, we’d be arrested too and they would drop my husband at our home in some time,” Raja’s wife Anju (42) said.
“My husband finally came home around 11.30 am. As soon as he entered the house, he started crying about how brutally he was thrashed by the police. He was gasping for breath and wanted some water. Soon after taking a sip of water, he collapsed on the floor,” Anju said.
“We rushed him to the nearby Villupuram government hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. Within a few minutes, police officers arrived at the spot and took my husband’s body to Mundiyambakkam GH for postmortem which barely lasted for 10 minutes,” she said. Raja’s elder son Kuberan said, “In just a few minutes they wrapped up my father’s autopsy, made us sign some papers, and gave us the body. The cops kept nagging us to cremate the body but since we had doubts about the reason for my father’s death, we buried him on April 11.”
“With the help of human rights activists, we gave a complaint to the Villupuram district superintendent of police seeking justice for the death of my husband due to custodial torture on April 13. But citing election duty, police officers have not investigated it yet,” Anju said.
Human rights activist P V Ramesh, who is helping the family in the case, told TNIE, “We have filed a petition at the Villupuram district court seeking orders for exhumation of the body and investigation into the police atrocity. We have also sent petitions to the CM’s cell seeking justice.”
According to sources, Raja had recently joined work as a cook in a hotel adjacent to a Tasmac outlet at Tirupuchavadi Medu, about seven km from Villupuram town. According to police, Raja was arrested for selling liquor in black market after stipulated hours near the Tasmac outlet. Though no FIR was registered for the crime, he was taken into custody by Villupuram taluk station police on April 10, Raja’s friends said.
A senior police official told TNIE that the complaint has been received and 7 Apr 2024.
News > Article > Mumbai Employer booked as Dalit man claims caste discrimination at workplaMumbai: Employer booked as Dalit man claims caste discrimination at workplUpdated on: 19 April,2024 06:00 PM IST mid-day online correspondent |
- The 23-year-old complainant told the police that the owner of the company, located in Goregaon area, passed a snide remark showing caste discrimination on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar
The police have registered a case against the owner of an event management company in Mumbai after one of its employees accused her of caste discrimination at workplace, an official said on Friday, reported news ageew 4 Aug
The 23-year-old complainant told the police that the owner of the company, located in Goregaon area, passed a snide remark showing caste discrimination on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.
ADVERTISEMENhe man received a WhatsApp message from his employer that day asking him whether he belonged to the SC (Scheduled Castes) community, the official said citing the complaint, reported PTI.
When the man replied in the affirmative, the company owner said she didn't employ people from the "backward" community, he said.
In the WhatsApp exchange, the employer said "main Jai Bhim wale ko job pe nahi rakhti (I don't employ Dalits)," the complainant alleged, reported PTI.
The man, who had joined the company as a marketing executive, informed his parents about the experience and then approached the Goregaon police station with a complaint, the official said, reported PTI.
Acting on the complaint, a case was registered against the company owner under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, the official said, reported PTI.
As the man lives in the Vokola area, the case was transferred to the Vakola police station for further investigation, the official said, reported PTI.
Meanwhile, a purported screenshot of the WhatsApp exchange between the man and his employer went viral on social media.
- The 23-year-old complainant told the police that the owner of the company, located in Goregaon area, passed a snide remark showing caste discrimination on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar
The police have registered a case against the owner of an event management company in Mumbai after one of its employees accused her of caste discrimination at workplace, an official said on Friday, reported news ageew 4 Aug
The 23-year-old complainant told the police that the owner of the company, located in Goregaon area, passed a snide remark showing caste discrimination on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.
ADVERTISEMENhe man received a WhatsApp message from his employer that day asking him whether he belonged to the SC (Scheduled Castes) community, the official said citing the complaint, reported PTI.
When the man replied in the affirmative, the company owner said she didn't employ people from the "backward" community, he said.
In the WhatsApp exchange, the employer said "main Jai Bhim wale ko job pe nahi rakhti (I don't employ Dalits)," the complainant alleged, reported PTI.
The man, who had joined the company as a marketing executive, informed his parents about the experience and then approached the Goregaon police station with a complaint, the official said, reported PTI.
Acting on the complaint, a case was registered against the company owner under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, the official said, reported PTI.
As the man lives in the Vokola area, the case was transferred to the Vakola police station for further investigation, the official said, reported PTI.
Meanwhile, a purported screenshot of the WhatsApp exchange between the man and his employer went viral on social media.
Politicians visiting Madhya Pradesh are making big promises to the people, but for the Adivasis, it’s still about Jal, Jungle, Jame
Politicians visiting Madhya Pradesh are making big promises to the people, but for the Adivasis, it’s still about Jal, Jungle, Jame
After passing through the hilly terrains of the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border, as one reaches Saikheda village in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh, a cluster of mud houses covered with dried leaves and ripped tarpaulins take you back in time. The Lok Sabha elections are round the corner, but there is hardly any buzz. For the 80 families belonging to the Gond Adivasi communities living in the cluster, elections or voting rights are nothing but ‘political rhetoric’. For them, it is just ‘another time’ they have to stand in a queue to cast their votes.
“Do we have to vote again? We did a few months back,” asks Rani Inwati, in her late 20s. Pointing at the torn roof from where water sometimes drips and keeps them awake at night, she says: “Nothing has changed and nothing will.”Rani is making rotis for her two sons—one is nine, and the other is five. A few lid-less water buckets are kept beside a rickety plastic chair on which a few ragged clothes are dumped. In that single-room kitchen setup, one could find only a bottle of mustard oil and a small plastic container of salt. While shooing away the cockroach that was approaching the plate full of rotis, Rani asks: “What should I serve him with roti? There is only salt.”
After passing through the hilly terrains of the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border, as one reaches Saikheda village in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh, a cluster of mud houses covered with dried leaves and ripped tarpaulins take you back in time. The Lok Sabha elections are round the corner, but there is hardly any buzz. For the 80 families belonging to the Gond Adivasi communities living in the cluster, elections or voting rights are nothing but ‘political rhetoric’. For them, it is just ‘another time’ they have to stand in a queue to cast their votes.
“Do we have to vote again? We did a few months back,” asks Rani Inwati, in her late 20s. Pointing at the torn roof from where water sometimes drips and keeps them awake at night, she says: “Nothing has changed and nothing will.”Rani is making rotis for her two sons—one is nine, and the other is five. A few lid-less water buckets are kept beside a rickety plastic chair on which a few ragged clothes are dumped. In that single-room kitchen setup, one could find only a bottle of mustard oil and a small plastic container of salt. While shooing away the cockroach that was approaching the plate full of rotis, Rani asks: “What should I serve him with roti? There is only salt.”
Rani’s husband is standing outside. A severely malnourished Tikuram resembles a skeletal structure. “We get the monthly ration but that is not sufficient,” he says. He is referring to the much-propagated Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana through which 81 crore poor people across the country receive five kgs of food grains every month. The government recently extended the scheme for another five years.
Rani’s husband is standing outside. A severely malnourished Tikuram resembles a skeletal structure. “We get the monthly ration but that is not sufficient,” he says. He is referring to the much-propagated Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana through which 81 crore poor people across the country receive five kgs of food grains every month. The government recently extended the scheme for another five years.
A few steps away from Rani’s house, Sukhu Maravi is pulling out a bucket of water from a deep well that serves as one of the major water sources in this village. As she continues with the strenuous job, Radi Kumre points to the yellow pipe that encircles the dry tap. “Every 8-10 days, water comes here from a nearby tank and we have to fill our buckets. This is our drinking water.” They are charged Rs 50 per month for this water by the village Panchayat. The water tank of 1 lakh litre capacity was made by Kamal Nath when he became the Chief Minister of the state for 15 months, another villager adds. However, no tap of Jal Jeevan Mission has yet been laid in the village, says Kumre. The data from the dashboard of Jal Jeevan Mission—PM Modi’s pet project that was started in August, 2019—shows that almost 62 per cent of Chhindwara district has already received water connection. “Actually, no central scheme works here as it is an opposition constituency,” says another villager. “This is not our fault
A few steps away from Rani’s house, Sukhu Maravi is pulling out a bucket of water from a deep well that serves as one of the major water sources in this village. As she continues with the strenuous job, Radi Kumre points to the yellow pipe that encircles the dry tap. “Every 8-10 days, water comes here from a nearby tank and we have to fill our buckets. This is our drinking water.” They are charged Rs 50 per month for this water by the village Panchayat. The water tank of 1 lakh litre capacity was made by Kamal Nath when he became the Chief Minister of the state for 15 months, another villager adds. However, no tap of Jal Jeevan Mission has yet been laid in the village, says Kumre. The data from the dashboard of Jal Jeevan Mission—PM Modi’s pet project that was started in August, 2019—shows that almost 62 per cent of Chhindwara district has already received water connection. “Actually, no central scheme works here as it is an opposition constituency,” says another villager. “This is not our fault
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