MIRCHPUR : - SHAME ON INDIAN DEMOCRACY
“ Cut these Valmikis into pieces, kill them so that they would not dare to speak again” – Slogan shouted by upper-caste women on 21st April, 2010 in Mirchpur .( from fact-finding of NDMJ, NCDHR, ANHAD )
This is how Indian countryside greets and expresses its most feudal assertiveness. Wonders the so called ‘civil society’ of our nation who fancies and watches India from prism of false development and builds the imaginary fairy tales of greatness of their ‘culture’. On the other hand, so common is the most cruel and inhuman oppression of majority of the people in countryside, that it has become the part of the daily life of ‘low-caste’ people, since it is their ‘karma’ ! Their women being raped by upper-caste/class landlords (which are taken as matter of right and pride), social boycotts, lynching etc. Mirchpur is just another incident. As it happened that upper-Caste jats got infuriated that a bitch of a ‘valmiki’ (lower caste ) is barking at them, that lead to argument and further to physical clash on 19th of april,2010. On April 21, 2010 Valmikis were called upon at Two persons, an old man of approximately of 60 years named Tara Chand and his daughter Suman were burnt alive to death. Suman was a physically challenged, hence could not escape. In the attempt of rescuing her, father Tara Chand also succumbed to fire injuries that subsequently led to his death.
Jat Chaupal by SHO Vinod Kumar Kajal who incidentally also happened to be son-in-law of one of the Jat landlord named Tara Singh, essentially for talks at around 9:00 to 9:30 AM. In the guise of talks, Jats had gathered in number of hundreds including women and men to orchestrate attack on Valmiki Basti. SHO clearly gave them directions that they have one hour to accomplish their task and they could do whatever they want to do. Valmikis pleaded before the SHO to forgive them and to save them but the Police did not pay any heed to their plea. The mob marched ahead with petrol canny and used them as petrol bombs to blast the houses. 18 houses were set on fire. Mob went with tractor trawler filled with bricks and stones for pelting on low caste people. Jat women were encouraging their men by shouting the slogan,” Cut these Valmikis into pieces, kill them so that they would not dare to speak again” etc. Men were also proceeding with their looting and firing of the houses. People literally fled away from houses along with their children and especially daughters out of fear.
Now when the case has been transformed to Delhi, the politically superior jat community sat on dharna from 15th of Jan till 26th of Jan blocking railways and highways and demanded the immediate release of the people belonging to their community. Interesting is to be noted that all the witnesses has turned hostile except two. And Jat mahasabha has announced that no member of their community shall be touched by the police unless CBI does not finish its report.
CASTE – A THORNY QUESTION :-
This is just one of the innumerable incidents of oppression on the dalits in India. Where from thousands of years the institution of caste has crushed and had so systematically made sure that maximum number of population shall be kept away from the right to possess property and easy, cheap surplus of labour is made available for the landlords through institution of caste. Justifying its existence, the upper caste/class in India has used every possible source at their disposal, be it religion, traditions, custom, fear, karma theory, violence etc. and they have been so successful too. The gift of pre-medieval Hindu kingdoms was later on efficiently used by Turks and Mughals and British, they all find it so convenient a system of exploitation on which whole agrarian revenue is extracted, upper caste landlords used USURY and MONEY- LENDING to enhance their share of profit on poor peasants, handicraft castes and all sorts of ‘low caste’ people. The caste question in India has been one trick question to solve, yet now after centuries of its existence it seriously questions the sincerity of ruling classes and governments.
Today, in so called ‘ free’ India, in a Secular, Socialist, Democratic, Republic it is but quiet disturbing to witness such incidents very casually. And to understand that what is the material base of the existence of Caste we may have to come out of the bounds of mere ‘ human-rights’ and social awareness campaigns. The answer surely lies in the cause of this phenomenon. That in our understanding is the highly unequal ‘property relations’ in agrarian countryside. This has been the politico-Economic relation of institution of caste with Institution of State from centuries. Caste is enduring itself in order only to maintain that same generations old unequal property rights and inhuman relations of master and servant in the process of production in an agrarian economy/society. The ideology of caste just like the ideology of church in Europe has been a classic instrument to prevent any questioning on the systematic exploitation of majority of people from centuries, only that caste is much stronger an ideology of ruling classes and it has proved that nothing compares to it in history of humanity.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS: -
1. For putting an end to the terrifying character of the Caste it is necessary that the communities who are ensuring its survival must be seriously challenged and radical land reforms must be made according to the law in order to evaporate the material base of the institution of caste.
2. Uncompromising ideological and cultural struggle has to be waged against the most inhuman, unscientific traditions and customs which ensure the survival of caste. Besides moral and physical support must be given to those communities and classes who are suffering the atrocities for being of ‘low’ caste.
Our demands:-
Enquiry should be neutral
Culprits of heinous act of MIRCHPUR must be hanged.
Provide Security to dalits. If not possible, let them secure themselves as dalits demanded.
We as SFS appeal to all progressive sections of society to show solidarity with DALITS and fight for justice..
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