Caste-related violence in India

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Caste-related violence and hate crimes in India have occurred despite the gradual reduction of casteism in the country.In the Indian province of Rajasthan alone for instance, between the years 1999 and 2002, crimes against Dalits average at about 5024 a year, with 46 killings and 138 cases of rape. [1] [2]

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[edit] Phoolan Devi

Main article: Phoolan Devi

Phoolan Devi (1963 – 2001) was an Indian dacoit (bandit), who later turned politician. Born in a lower-caste Mallah family, she was mistreated and abandoned by her husband. She was later kidnapped by a gang of dacoits. The upper-caste Thakur leader of the gang tried to rape her, but she was protected by the deputy leader Vikram, who belonged to her caste. Later, an upper-caste Thakur friend of Vikram killed him, abducted Phoolan, and locked her up in the Behmai village. Phoolan was raped in the village by Thakur men, until she managed to escape after three weeks.

Phoolan Devi then formed a gang of Mallahs, which carried out a series of violent robberies in north and central India, mainly targeting upper-caste people. Some say that Phoolan Devi targeted only the upper-caste people and shared the loot with the lower-caste people, but the Indian authorities insist this is a myth[3]. Seventeen months after her escape from Behmai, Phoolan returned to the village, to take her revenge. On February 14, 1981, her gang massacred twenty-two Thakur men in the village, only two of which were involved in her kidnapping or rape. Phoolan Devi later surrender and became a politician after serving eleven years in the prison. During her election campaign, she was criticized by the women widowed in the Behmai massacre. Kshatriya Swabhimaan Andolan Samanvay Committee (KSASC), a Kshatriya organization, held a statewide campaign to protest against her. She was elected a Member of Parliament twice.

On July 25, 2001, Phoolan Devi was shot dead by unknown assassins. Later, a man called Sher Singh Rana confessed to the murder, saying he was avenging the deaths of 22 Kshatriyas at Behmai. Although the police was skeptical of his claims, he was arrested. Rana escaped from Tihar Jail in 2004. In 2006, KSASC decided to honor Rana for "upholding the dignity of the Kshatriya community" and "drying the tears of the widows of Behmai"[4].

[edit] Ranvir Sena

Main article: Ranvir Sena

Ranvir Sena is an caste-supremacist fringe paramilitary group based in Bihar. The group is based amongst the Bhumihar landlord caste, and carries out actions against the outlawed naxals in rural areas. It has committed violent acts against Dalits and other members of the scheduled caste community in an effort to scuttle reform movements aimed at their emancipation.

[edit] Tamil Nadu

The state of Tamil Nadu has witnessed several caste-based incidents both against Dalits and Brahmins.

In 2000, three young men belonging to the Dalit undercaste were killed in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. This fuelled some localized violence in the caste-sensitive region, which has seen numerous caste-related incidents in which the majority of the victims have been Dalits. Six of the killings have been registered as murders under the Indian Penal Code and others as "Deaths under suspicious circumstances". No arrests have been made in these cases. However, several Dalits have been arrested as goondas (hoodlums). The Chief minister of Tamil-Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, has been accused of having an "anti-Dalit" bias by the radical organization "Dalit Panthers of India". Theories concerning these crimes against Dalits range from "alcohol bootleggers opposing prohibition movements among Dalits" to "inter-caste relations between an upper-caste Vanniya boy and a Dalit girl". Political parties sympathetic to the Dalits have protested against these incidents[5] and have alleged systemic biases against Dalits in several parts of the country.

When Periyar Ramasami started his Self-respect movement, violence against Brahmins was systematically encouraged[6]. When the Anti Hindu[7] DMK party rose to power, under the canard of "Brahmin oppression", resulting in discrimination against upper caste Brahmins in the state of Tamil Nadu. Many Brahmins allege that Tamil and Brahmins Brahmins have left the state, due to a "hostile atmosphere" prevalent against upper castes in the region.[8][9]. The leaders of Tamil Nadu's major political parties such as DMK and the AIADMK have periodically make comments inciting violence against Brahmins[10]. Some people have stated that the Dalit movement is disruptive and that their aggressiveness is responsible for the caste-related violence[11].

[edit] Bant Singh case of Punjab

On the evening of January 5, 2006 Bant Singh, a poor Dalit, was attacked by unknown assailants. His injuries necessitated medical amputation. He alleges that this was in retaliation for actively working to secure justice for his daughter, who was gang raped by upper caste members of his village in Punjab five years ago.[12][13]

[edit] Kherlanji massacre

Main article: Kherlanji Massacre

On September 29, 2006, four members of the Bhotmange family belonging to the Dalit underclass were slaughtered in Kherlanji, a small village in Bhandara district of Maharashtra. The women of the family, Surekha and Priyanka, were paraded naked in public, then allegedly gang-raped before being murdered[1]. The criminal act was allegedly carried out by assailants from the Kunbi[14] caste (classified as Other Backward Castes[15] by Government of India) for "opposing" the requisition of their field to have a road built over it.

On November 23, 2006, several members of the Dalit community in the nearby district of Chandrapur staged a protest regarding this incident.The protesters allegedly turned violent and pelted stones. The police had to resort to baton charging to control the situation. Dalit leaders, however, denied that they had sparked the violence and that they were "protesting in peace".

[edit] 2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra

Main article: 2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra

In November-December 2006, the desecration of a Ambedkar statue in Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) triggered off violent protests by Dalits in Maharashtra. Several people remarked that the protests were fuleled by the Kherlanji Massacre[16]. During the violent protests, the Dalit protestors set three trains on fire, damaged over 100 buses and clashed with police[17]. At least four deaths and many more injuries were reported.

Later, the Kanpur Police arrested a Dalit youth Arun Kumar Balmiki for desecrating the Ambedkar statue. According to the police, the youth had "admitted to having damaged the statue in a drunken state along with two friends"[18]. Earlier in a similar case, a Dalit youth was held for desecrating an Ambedkar statue in Gulbarga, Karnataka[19].

In response to these protests, Raj Thackeray drew attention to another incident in Kherlanji, in which a Dalit was allegedly raped a girl and killed her. Thackeray demanded action on those responsible for the rape and the subsequent death of the girl, and also remarked that nobody helped the girl's family[20].

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.indiatogether.org/dalit/articles/bidwai1002.htm
  2. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6050408.stm
  3. ^ Phoolan Devi: Champion of the poor (2001-07-25). Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
  4. ^ Kshatriya Samaj to honour Phoolan’s killer. The Tribune, Chandigarh (2006-05-21). Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
  5. ^ Victims of bias,The Hindu
  6. ^ Outlook Magazine, April 11, 2005. Excerpt available here
  7. ^ We'll oppose DMK's anti-Hindu stance: Munnani
  8. ^ Are Brahmins the Dalits of today?
  9. ^ 'We Are Like The Jews: Politics apart, Brahmin-bashing is rampant in literary and cultural worlds too'
  10. ^ http://www.tfmpage.com/my/mani/dravida.html
  11. ^ http://www.flonnet.com/fl2223/stories/20051118000407000.htm
  12. ^ Paying a price for securing justice for his daughter, The Hindu
  13. ^ Bant Singh can still sing, Tehalka Magazine
  14. ^ Dalit blood on village square. Frontline. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
  15. ^ Age old rivalry behind Khairlanji violence. NDTV. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
  16. ^ Khairlanji to Kanpur. The Indian Express (2006-12-02). Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  17. ^ "Maharashtra: Dalit anger leaves 4 dead, 60 injured", Rediff.com, 2006-11-30. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  18. ^ "Dalits force police to let off suspect in Kanpur", Business Standard, 2006-12-01. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  19. ^ "Dalit youth held for desecrating Ambedkar statue", Deccan Herald, 2006-09-26. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  20. ^ "Situation in Mumbai, state back to normal", The Times of India, 2006-12-02. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
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