Political Power As A Tool To Suppress The Marginalized
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
28 August, 2012
Countercurrents.org
18 Mushahar huts in the Mushahar basti of Lakshmipur in Kushinagar district were demolished by a rampaging crowd belonging to Yadav community of the same village on July 30th. The people are living in open and eating in community kitchen. A constant fear exist among them with uncertain future as they live in makes shift tents and face the fury of nature too. Caste violence against Dalits is on the rise in Uttar Pradesh and must be stopped.
The political system in Uttar-Pradesh is fast becoming hostage to different powerful identities and their agenda to usurp lands of the most marginalized communities among Dalits. Social scientists do not actually write details about how caste identities of the powerful are using their political affiliations to frighten the Dalits and make them virtually slave to these powerful social forces which are thoroughly casteist and communal in nature.
The historical district of Kushinagar, popularly known for Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana and his preaching in the region for over 20 years but in recent years, it is notoriously known for the hunger deaths widely prevalent among Mushahar community. In many cases submitted by us, some actions have been taken yet the situation remains grim with not just Mushahars but other communities too. Despite public outrage and hundreds of reports, nothing has changed equations for Mushahars in this region. Some of the initiatives for their rights have been taken by many organisations yet the work for real change is fraught with great danger of retaliation from the caste forces. Any effort to bring change or organize Mushahars is met with retaliation by the caste forces as Vibhuti Chauhan, a committed social activist for the past 40 years in the region says with his vast experience, a man who faced bullets of the feudal castes. ‘ Today, sadly, the most powerful backward community of the state has become worst offenders of the rights of Dalits and MBCs in the region, he lamented. They have become neo Brahmins with constant contempt towards Dalits and marginalized.
It was a normal day on July 30th and Mushahars had planned a meeting with the district magistrate in the Tumkuhiraj Subdivison. Vibhuti Chauhan had organized them and convinced the Kushinagar district magistrate to listen to their grievances. The district magistrate though not hailing from UP but a Buddhist from Arunachal Pradesh is considered to very progressive and taking new initiative here. The meeting was organized during the day around 11 am and hence most of the Mushahars had gone there. In the Mushahar Tola of Lakshmipur village, there were only old men, women, children and some youngsters at their huts. It is a remote village and any journey from Gorakhpur or district headquarter is quite bumpy. It is said that the notorious Jungle Party rules the jungle Raj as most of the area is no human presence as it was owned by Tumkuhi State. The area border with West Champaran district of Bihar and criminals frequently move around and play their caste cards too. The big rivers here merge in Narayani river in Nepal.
About 400 people from the village lead by former Sarpanch Asharfi Yadav came in about 6-7 tractor trollies. They had different weapons like Guns, Rods, Spear and daggers in their hands. It was 1130 during the day. They quickly got off the tractors and started demolishing the huts. Anyone who protested and spoke anything was brutally beaten up. They did not even spare old men and women with children. Some people fell unconscious but there was none to take them to hospital. After demolition, Ashfari Yadav’s Yadav party wiped the area and took all the belonging of the people and threw them into the nearby rivers. Mushahars and other marginalized Dalit communities live on the banks of the river most of the time. They are the first victims when the river overflows and face the fury of nature.
After the second act of throwing they beat up any one who was in the village and threatened with dire consequences if they try to rebuild their huts in the location. The tragedy is that the land is about 12 Katta which is not even half an acre in which 18 Mushahar families were living for years. Asharfi Yadav claim that this land belongs to him and that these Mushahars have no right to be there. It came to light that Asharfi Yadava fraudulently got that land registered in his name last year. The Mushahars came to know about this and were protesting against the same.
Asharfi Yadav is known for his ruthlessness towards Mushahars. The people do not get money for Indira Awas but some bricks supplied by Aharfi and his cohorts. None of the mushahars here were able to get NREGA card. Widow pension, old aged pension or pension for disabled are not meant for Mushahars. Though he is the former Pradhan yet most of the people feel he is the Pradhan ( head sarpanch) of the village. Actually, last time this seat got reserved for Scheduled Caste and that created problems for Asharfi. To retain their hold, Asharfi used his ‘halwaha’, Kedar, a Dalit from Chamar community for the purpose. He got Kedar contest the elections and got him elected through his community votes. Everyone knows how people vote to caste affiliations in the village elections. Today, Kedar is nothing as will all the decisions are taken by Asharfi and Kedar has to sign on the dotted line. Kedar is totally a landless person and his younger brother ply riskha in the nearby town.
Six people were brutally hurt in the Yadav Party attack and all of them are still recuperating in the district hospital of Padrauna which is about 30 kilometer from the area. It is a very difficult track to move in but definitely lush green paddy and sugarcane fields.
Bakau, 60 was beaten with butt of a gun. A man came to him with holding the gun and then started hitting from the shrapnel on his head. They were abusing in filthiest language. He fell unconscious. His hand too was fractured and is now plastered.
Phuleswari Devi, 40 was attacked with lathis and rods. Her back has severe pain and so was her inner thigh which has not recovered even after 25 days.
Raja Ram 60 was talking to other people when he was surrounded and beaten mercilessly with rods. He is also in the hospital and recuperating. He says if he had land, the situation would not have turned that bad.
Nirmala, a mother of 15 days daughter was beaten up and dragged from her hut when she was feeding her baby. Another newly married woman was beaten up and both these women are in the hospital at the moment.
Some people are arrested while 30 of who have been named in the FIR are absconding. The administration has not been able to fulfill confidence among the people. The initial help was given in the form of a plastic tent and common kitchen but a visit to the village show how difficult is the situation at the ground where water is on the ground and people cannot even sleep on the floor. The children and older people have difficult time. How long will community kitchen help them? No financial help has been provided to people. No efforts have been made so far to rehabilitate them at any place. People want to live there as they have been living there for centuries. Some of them informed me that they were there since 1923 during the period of Tumkuhi estate.
It is important that the people be immediately rehabilitated on the land and given legal entitlement. Mushahars are landless and this area has thousands of acres of vacant land, declared surplus under Ceiling laws. These lands are usurped by powerful people and the state has remained mute to them. The poor MBCs and MBD remained outside the domain of government policies. The biggest irony is that many people have their land entitlement yet they have not been able to establish their possession over their legal land. The administration has never been helpful to them and most of the time connives with powerful caste groups.
In democracy we do not talk about majority view point but minority view point too. How can there be a healthy democracy when we have no respect and representations for a minority caste group. It would be rare to find a Mushahar Sarpanch in the state. Even among the Dalits, they remained most marginalized and isolated as their numbers does not matter to alter powerful power equations. In the politics where ‘jiski jitni sankhya bhaari, uskee utnee sajhedari’, castes like Mushahrs, Bansfors, Nutts, Gaunds, Turahas, Doms, have no political representations and their voices are unheard in the Panchayat itself. Most of them do not get access to government policies and hence prone to violence if they do not perform their traditional duties
It is sad that the atmosphere in Uttar-Pradesh is being vitiated and Dalits are feeling insecure in it. Though law and order is state subject yet the Centre can not remain mute if there cases of caste violence against Dalits in the state. The UP government would do well to focus on its work and rein in the Goonda element of any variety and get out of the Mayawati syndrome all the time. The state administration should act immediately and book the culprit under the SC-ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and provide relief to Mushahars in the form of legal entitlement of the land they were living and help them access their agricultural land.
Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social and human rights activist. He blogs at www.manukhsi.blogspot.com twitter : freetohumanity skype : vbrawat Facebook : Vidya Bhushan Rawat [email protected]
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