[sacw] SACW #2 | 4 Oct. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire #1 | 4 October 2002

__________________________

#1. Over The Borders of Sense=A0 (Ashok Mitra)
#2. Gujarat: Report of Work Done in Kasai Ki Chali and Gasiram Ki=20
Chali (Ajay Raina / Leya Mathew)
#3. Dalits under siege (Praful Bidwai)

__________________________

#1.

The Telegraph (India)
Friday, October 04, 2002

OVER THE BORDERS OF SENSE
- The attack on Akshardham will result in a plunge into deeper folly
ASHOK MITRA

In American soccer parlance, =B3Monday-morning-quarterbacking=B2 is a=20
well-known expression. During week-end games, many chances are=20
missed, many passes are misdirected, many tackles misfire. Honest=20
citizens spend a considerable part of the Monday forenoon in their=20
offices describing in minute detail how, if only they were playing,=20
they would have made the correct mo- ves. India=B9s security and=20
intelligence apparatus is obviously going through this=20
Monday-morning-quarterbacking phase. Three brats, armed to the hilt,=20
infiltrated the Akshardham temple of the Swaminarayan complex in=20
Gandhinagar and, for close to sixteen hours, carried out a ghastly=20
carnage, which cost thirty innocent lives and injured over a hundred.=20
Our security network could not do a thing about it.

They are however wonderfully smart after the event. Within twelve=20
hours of the surcease of the outrage, the killers were officially=20
declared to be Pakistanis. Even their names were given out, along=20
with their addresses in Pakistan. Questions nonetheless will persist.=20
In case our security and intelligence people are so clever, why were=20
they not able to prevent the attack? How come these young Pakistanis=20
could penetrate our frontier vigil and travel all the way to=20
Gandhinagar? Are our borders so porous, or are our intelligence=20
apparatchik so comprehensively incompetent?

Now that disaster has already struck, vigilance at religious places=20
is being tightened, and ordinary citizens are going through=20
indescribable harassment in the name of security checks. Whatever the=20
post-event deepening of watchfulness, it cannot really proceed beyond=20
a point though. Even if, given the colour of the Central=20
administration, the decision is taken to beef up the security of only=20
Hindu shrines, temples and other holy places, since there are=20
literally more than a million such spots strewn across the country,=20
the cost will be enormous and call for a hefty increase in our=20
defence and security outlays.

Such outlays, currently amounting to around one hundred thousand=20
crore of rupees, including hidden items, will perhaps have to go up=20
to double that figure. Since the World Bank and the International=20
Monetary Fund do not approve of rising budget deficits, and it is=20
unthinkable to impose heavier doses of taxation on the country=B9s=20
affluent set, the extra money for security will necessarily be at the=20
expense of spending on development and social services. The overall=20
consequence will be a further lowering of national income growth as=20
well as growth of social welfare. Those below the poverty level will=20
swell in number, unemployment will be aggravated, education and=20
health facilities will shrink further. It will be, all told, a=20
formidably difficult arithmetic.

Even as it is, divisiveness in society has reached alarming=20
proportions. Much of it is on account of the setback in the domestic=20
economy compounded by the liberalization reforms. The obsession over=20
security and the greater importance assigned to defence and=20
intelligence expenditure will lead to a deepening of economic=20
distress, which in turn will be the harbinger of the further=20
fracturing of society. The divisiveness, as is its wont, will take=20
diverse forms: agrarian tension apart, communal passion, either=20
induced or autonomous, will intensify, industrial relations will=20
worsen, caste battles will proliferate, and linguistic chauvinism=20
will rear its head in all parts of the country.

Alien forces will of course not be forgiven if they try to avail of=20
such opportunities and begin to fish in troubled waters. But their=20
endeavours will be a natural offshoot of the developing confusion. To=20
forestall their malevolent manoeuvres, an additional draft on public=20
expenditure will be called for. The consequence will be a further=20
diminution of development and welfare outlays.

The authorities in New Delhi are extraordinarily keen to link up the=20
Gandhinagar episode with the happenings in Kashmir: it is because the=20
Pakistan-bred terrorists have not quite succeeded in disrupting the=20
polls in the valley, they have been compelled, so the argument=20
proceeds, to give vent to their frustration by organizing the=20
Akshardham incident. The argument may be just inane, or it may have=20
some basis. It is however not necessary to get embroiled in that=20
dialectics. What is a more crucial issue is the inevitability of a=20
progressive immiserization of both countries should the=20
India-Pakistan confrontation, now in its sixth decade, be elongated=20
further. The ruling hegemony in either country will not bat any eye;=20
whatever the dire circumstances the general population of the two=20
countries are reduced to, the powerful ones will always continue to=20
have it good. They will be only too glad to embrace the=20
conditionalities of compradordom, and will remain convinced that=20
their specific interests=8Bclass interest =8B will be duly taken care of=20
by the master power, ten thousand miles away but still ubiquitously=20
present. The master power can also be relied upon to supply both=20
parties with weaponry and other logistical support, to continue their=20
phoney, and occasionally hot, war against each other. Such special=20
=B3defence=B2 assistance will be arranged against long or medium term=20
loans involving high rates of interest. The inability to meet the=20
terms of the loans will gradually sink both countries into the mire=20
of total compradordom.

It is an extraordinary situation. Sensible people in both India and=20
Pakistan realize the futility of the current proceedings. But they=20
are immobilized. Pakistan in any case is a military regime where=20
civil liberties are heavily constricted. India, while a democracy, is=20
a competitive democracy. The latter incorporates the concept of=20
competitive patriotism. The jingo spirit, once unsheathed, cannot=20
therefore be easily sheathed back. Few people possess the courage to=20
stand up and take a position which could be interpreted by motivated=20
ones as gross treason. There is, besides, that other danger: sooner=20
or later patriotic jingoism may be reinforced by an overlay of=20
religious jingoism. The Swaminarayan complex affair will offer an=20
extra chance to those who would love to tread such a path.

To repeat, this an extraordinary, almost hopeless, situation. It has=20
thus been left to a group of university dons from Bangladesh to=20
address a fervent appeal to their counterparts in India and Pakistan.=20
The six decades-old confrontation has not done either the Indian or=20
the Pakistani people any good. It is in its nature that it is unable=20
to render any good to any other entity in the region either.=20
Militarization can be stretched to the infinite extent and yet=20
neither the Indian nor the Pakistani establishment will be in a=20
position to overpower their adversary.

This is a truth which is mathematically provable; the exception of=20
the Bangladesh war was on account of the revolutionary ground=20
realities within. Since militarization alienates the authorities in=20
both countries from the people, any potential revolutionary situation=20
will actually operate against those entrenched in power. The=20
Bangladeshi friends have drawn attention to some of these humdrum=20
facts of life. They have appealed to their peers to gather courage=20
and join their hands across the border to uphold the cause of peace,=20
tranquillity, development and welfare.

All this is folly =8B or worse, terrorism =8B to the decisionmakers in=20
New Delhi, Islamabad and Washington.

_____

#2

Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 22:34:53 +0530

REPORT OF WORK DONE IN KASAI KI CHALI AND GASIRAM KI CHALI

Dear Friends,

This is another report from Kasai Ki Chali in the series of e-mails=20
we have been sending out to all our friends on the net.

Kasai Ki Chali is a basti of 60 households near the Behrampura Police=20
Chowki. Jain and Hindu societies surround the 60 houses on two sides.=20
Adjoining on of the boundary walls is Gasiram ki Chali, a predominant=20
Hindu basti that includes about 46 Muslim households.

In the Gujarat carnage of 2002, on February 28, the 20 odd houses of=20
46 Muslim families in Gasiram ki Chali were totally razed to the=20
ground. The Muslim residents escaped with no loss of life.

Kasai ki Chali was attacked much later, after police discovered some=20
bombs and acid bottles in a public toilet here (We came to know about=20
this much later, though our knowledge of this fact should not make=20
any difference to us in our intent). A few of the houses were burnt,=20
some were destroyed partially. Whatever property was found was either=20
burnt or looted, though most people had already emptied out their=20
houses.

The residents of both the chali=B9s stayed in the Behrampura Relief=20
Camp or in rented house in safer areas. (Bombay Hotel, Shah Alam,=20
Allah Nagar etc).

The reconstruction of the damaged houses in both the Chali=B9s was=20
undertaken by a local NGO the =8CIslami Relief Committee=B9. The=20
reconstruction work in Kasai ki Chali is mostly over. The work in=20
Gasiram ki Chali was first held up due to a Pan ka dukkan, which was=20
constructed illegally on the way to the chali. This was demolished=20
recently but the work is still held up due to a court stay order and=20
other complications. The result is that the Muslims residents of this=20
Chali are still not home.

All the money collected has been in the name of Gujarat Education=20
Society/ PRASHANT. Father Cedric Prakash was supportive enough of us=20
to let two total strangers collect money in the name of his=20
organization for working in a small chali in Ahmedabad.

All the work we have done in the chali would not have been possible=20
without the help of friends in Delhi and Bombay.

Besides monetary contribution and spreading our e-mails further, the=20
collection, sorting and transportation of Relief / Rehabilitation=20
material from Delhi was organized by Reena Mohan, Anshu Gupta,=20
Loveleen, Afzal Mirza and others.

Jabeen Merchant, Swati, Punam, Gazala and others organized similar=20
efforts in Bombay.

Manjushree in Ahmedabad collected money for kerosene stoves and also=20
gave us about 15,000 in cash. She also helps the girls with the=20
design of the hand made paper greeting cards.

RELIEF MATERIAL DISTRIBUTED

Note: This list does not include the relief material distributed by=20
NGOs and other Organisations. (RED CROSS, UNICEF, SAATH, ACTION AID=20
etc). When we started our work in the two chali=B9s we were told that=20
they had received no relief till then.

1. Stove
2. Pressure Cooker, Tawa, Bucket, Mug
3. Thali=B9s and Bohugna=B9s
4. Bed Sheets and Towels
5. Footwear (Hand me downs)
6. Warm Clothes (Hand me downs)
7. Utensils (Hand me downs)
8. Sewing Thread
9. Sanitary Cloth

10. 4 sets of cloth to each family member - more to different age=20
groups according to availability - (Hand me downs)

11. Stationary for school going children

=B7 10 notebooks
=B7 =A05 pens
=B7 =A0Pencils
=B7 =A0Pencil box/ Tiffin box/ Water Bottle/ School Bag

12. Toys (Hand me downs)

13. Material for infants

=B7 Set of Nappies
=B7 Bichana
=B7 Clothes

The kitchen materials were not distributed in Gasiram ki Chali as=20
they had already received a comprehensive set of kitchen utensils.

We distributed 48 table fans made available by Sonia Rashid of Bhopal=20
to the residents of Gasiram ki Chali only.

HELP RENDERED TO INDIVIDUALS:

1. Raiz Babu Bhai is a 12-year-old boy with a medical condition=20
involving his nervous system and heart. This is a terminal genetic=20
disorder. His condition was not diagnosed though he had been=20
undergoing treatment for more than 4 years. Though this has nothing=20
to do with the riots, we gave financial assistance for a complete=20
diagnosis and a long-term treatment plan. The tests cost Rs 1900=20
only. The treatment will increase his life span to his 20s. Though=20
with motor disabilities, he is a very intelligent, cheerful and=20
naughty child

2.=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 Chand Bibi: Chand Bibi is a childless widow who lives a=
lone=20
in a one-room house in Kasai ki Chali. Her house was totally burnt=20
and looted. She lives on the goodwill of her nephew who has spent a=20
considerable sum of money to help her rebuild her home. (Door,=20
flooring, plastering the walls, whitewashing, curtains, clothes, etc)

Along with the general list above, we have given her in addition:

a. Gas stove
b. Ceiling fan
c. Comprehensive utensil set
d. Matka
e. One suitcase
f. One steel Trunk

3. Munna Bhai: Munna Bhai is the resident =8Cshayar=B9 of Kasai ki=20
Chali. He was married twice but both his wives left him. In his old=20
age he lives alone in Kasai ki Chali. He works as a manual laborer=20
whenever he can find work. His house is among the row of houses=20
adjoining the boundary wall with Gasiram ki Chali. His house was=20
totally burnt, but he received a compensation cheque for Rs 1000=20
only. In his case we have given him double sets of every material=20
according to the availability. He has been living on the kindness of=20
Farooq Kale Khan. Farooq=B9s wife Raisa cooks a little extra each time=20
for Munna Bhai. Munna Bhai has promised to pay back whatever that=20
must have cost once he starts working. We gave him Rs 100 only on one=20
occasion when he had no money to buy essentials.=A0

4. Hasan Ali was given Rs 1250 only in cash to buy implements to=20
restart his door-to-door plumbing business.

5. Zakir was given Rs 1270 only in cash to buy implements to re=20
start his roadside puncture repairing shop.

6. Shakeel Bhai was given Rs 800 only to buy a bicycle. His=20
cycle was burnt during the riots. He works at Naroda, which is=20
approximately 20 Kms from Kasai ki Chali. He used to walk to work.=A0

7. Batul Bibi was give Rs 400 only in cash to buy utensils to=20
start selling fried items again.

8. Raisa appa was given 1600 in cash to buy a wheel chair for=20
her handicapped child. The earlier wheelchair was burnt during the=20
recent riots.

9. Dilip, a Hindu boy in Gasiram ki Chali was helped in his=20
educational needs. His house is one among the few houses that form=20
the cluster of Hindu houses within the stretch of 46 Muslim houses=20
that were destroyed. (This is one small stretch within the much=20
larger mostly Hindu Gasiram ki Chali). These few Hindu houses were=20
also looted but not burned. Dilip=B9s family had run away to their=20
native village in Uttar Pradesh and his father was out of work till=20
the local businesses started working. (4 months after the riots.)=A0

10. Kanti Bhai is the Hindu who owns a Provision Store in the=20
Chali. He saved some of the women of the Chali and his shop was fully=20
destroyed in the backlash. All the relief / rehabilitation material=20
distributed was distributed to him also. Other than the second hand=20
items, which were distributed, he acknowledged and received all the=20
other items. He has asked for nothing.

REHABILITATION MATERIAL DISTRIBUTED=A0

1. Hand operated sewing machines.

Khalid Ibraim
Mobin Walli Mohammad
Toto Bhai
Shaira Bibi
Sharifabibi Yakub Bhai
Ali Hussain Fazal

2. Motor Sewing Machines

2 Machines to Showkat Ali Imtiaz Ali (We were told later by Chand=20
Bibi that he never had motor sewing machines. He is only a dealer; he=20
does not stitch the clothes himself.)

2 Machines to Khwaja Mian, which he returned. (We had pledged him=20
four machines if he was agreeable to the idea of starting sewing=20
classes for the women of the chali in his spare time. He refused the=20
proposal; he wanted to get his younger brother started in independent=20
business. We eventually gave him 2 new motor machines and asked him=20
to exchange his old motor machines with us. He refused and instead=20
returned the new machines to us.

One Machine to Karim Khan of Gasiram Ki Chali

One Machine to Salim Khan of Gasiram ki Chali

3. Hand Lorries

A local NGO, SPRAT, Society for Protection of Rational Thinking, had=20
a re- employment scheme running. SPRAT gave handcarts to the=20
following residents of Kasai ki chali and Gasiram Ki chali.

1. Jaffar Bhai Sugrati
2. Gulam Mohammad Ramzani Bhai
3. Sukha Bhai Mewati
4. Gisa Bhai
5. Nooru Bhai
6. Liaqat Ali Imtiaz Ali
7. Sheikh Allauddin
8. Riyasat
9. Allahrakkha Jamal Bhai
10. Sakira Bibi
11. Imamudin
12. Bodhubahi

Some claimed that their handcarts were also destroyed, but they had=20
no FIRs as proof. In these cases we provided them with handcarts.

1. Jaffar Bhai
2. Mohammad Rafiq
3. Sharifa Bibi
4. Barkat Bano
5. Ali hussain Fazal Hussain
6. Sahira Bano
7. Batul Bibi
8. Mohammad Atiq Nannubhai
9. Shariffuddin Rasulmiya

RE-EPLOYMENT MEASURES

Kite Making

As part of the re-employment project we made 2 rounds of 10,000 and=20
20,000 kites respectively. The women and children of the chali work=20
in the unorganized sector of the kite making business in Ahmedabad.=20
The first round of 10,000 kites was made for the occasion of AZADI=20
DIVAS. The cost price of the kites was Re 1 per kite. The cost price=20
was Rs 5 per kite. Transportation charges came up to another Re 1 per=20
kite. The kites were sold out (to schools in Bombay, Delhi and to=20
organizations and individuals in Bombay, Delhi, Bhopal and=20
Bangalore). We actually ran short of kites. The profit of Rs 3 per=20
kite (Rs 30,000 only) was put back into our efforts in the chali. The=20
kites to Delhi and Bombay were hand delivered by people from the=20
chali. This gave rise to some politics within the chali. The persons=20
who delivered the kites tried to voice personal un-employment=20
grievances. The other chali people were resentful of any help/=20
opportunity that went to only some of the chali residents.

The success of the first round of kites prompted us to make a second=20
round of 20,000 kites for the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. However,=20
this time orders were not forthcoming. We have managed to sell 3300=20
kites only.

The distribution of the motor sewing machines and handcarts caused a=20
lot of bad temper and tension in the chali. The machines cost around=20
Rs 3400 each. The hand carts Rs 1150. Suddenly most houses claimed=20
that they also had sewing machines (of various kinds, the pedal=20
operated one being the most popular.) and handcarts. Fights broke out=20
within the people of the chali. Many came to fight with us.

This is one of the reasons why we eventually discontinued=20
distributing anything to individuals. We decided that anything that=20
was distributed had to be distributed to the entire chali. That=20
effectively ruled out the re- employment scheme.

NON FORMAL SCHOOL

The distribution of material was becoming more and more complicated.=20
It was also increasing their dependency on us. However, we felt our=20
work was still incomplete. The hatred and resentment needed some=20
counter measures. We thought the best thing we could do for them=20
would be to create a positive and creative space for the children of=20
the chali. With this in mind we explored the possibility of a=20
non-formal school in the chali. We have one paid teacher Sulekha on=20
our rolls.

Since this was new territory for us we took all the help available.=20
Everyone has been most supportive of the idea and has helped us in=20
whatever way possible.

The Bombay based NGO SAATHI visited the school twice, in last two=20
months. They give Sulekha whatever guidance possible. Raja and Bindu=20
(Bindu is from Bangalore) are favorites with the children. So are=20
Namita and Shah Rukh from Meljol, Bangalore who also visit the school=20
and the children. This gives Sulekha much needed ground support.

Jenny Pinto from Bangalore did a hand made paper work shop with the=20
children. The workshop was quite therapeutic. The children enjoyed=20
the whole process immensely. Tearing paper into bits, making pulp out=20
of it, making paper out of the pulp, creating designs on the wet=20
paper, and finally painting on the dried hand made paper=8A

Jenny suggested that we could try this project as an=20
employment-generating scheme for some women in the chali. She=20
agreed to sell the greeting cards made till December/ January in=20
Bangalore as part of one of her own projects for=20
creating awareness of communalism among the school children of=20
Bangalore.

This project is currently being stream lined. The raw material supply=20
is being made regular. We have approached SEWA and MANAV SADANA who=20
run similar projects to help us with marketing once the Dec/ Jan=20
project is over.

Junuka, Manjushree from National Institute of Design and Prayas, a=20
visual artist, are helping the women with design support.

Another project for employment generation for women is the sewing=20
classes, which Sulekha has started. 18 girls attend the lasses. We=20
have recently bought 3 pedal operated sewing machines for the class.=A0

Simantini Dhuru of AVEHI ABASCUS, Mumbai has sent us one of their=20
comprehensive kits. This will help Sulekha to organize the everyday=20
activities of the school.

Sulekha visited the Surjen School in Juhapura (Run by Ahmedabad Study=20
Action Group). Sulkha has also visited the Manav Sadhana School in=20
Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram premises. We are exploring the possibilities=20
of child-to-child contact programmes with Surjan and Manav Sadhna=20
schools.

We were in the process of arranging an outing to a magic show to be=20
held in Darpana Dance Academy, when the Ashardan temple incident=20
happened. This has, for the time being, frozen our child-to-child=20
exchange activities with respect to our school.

In fact, when the people of the chali started shifting to safer=20
places, we were quite apprehensive about the future of he school. If=20
this insecurity and circle of violence persists it will not be long=20
before the people of Kasai ki Chali fully shift out and sell out. The=20
ghettoisation, which has accelerated will further gather momentum.=20
The activities of the non-formal school in Kasai ki chali and our own=20
work in Kasai ki Chali will depend on these developments over which=20
we have no control.

To end this mail, we would like to quote from one of our=20
contributors, A Kashmiri Pandit living in USA who sent us the=20
following mail along with a cheque for Rupees 10,000.

Dear Ajay,

Thanks for the mail. I was wondering how you are doing so I am glad=20
to hear from you.

Gujarat and Kashmir represent two faces of the same coin. When=20
Pandits were killed and thrown out of Kashmir, no one in India gave a=20
damn. Now Muslims were butchered in Gujarat, and no one in India gave=20
a damn. By and large the rest of the country with its Hindus and=20
Muslims remained unaffected. And yet there are differences between=20
the situation with Pandits and hapless Muslim victims in Gujarat -=20
not in what happened, but in the manner how the social conscience in=20
India=A0reacted. Very few humanists in India came to the aid of KP's,=20
no one linked militant Islam to growing fundamentalism in the=20
National Conference, and almost no one blamed the State government=20
for its ineptitude or demanded the CM should be declared a criminal.=20
Gujarat, on the other hand, has become the hollowed ground for Indian=20
humanists, who are eager to link berserk Hindus to the Party in=20
power, want CM's head on a platter and see the "dubious hand" of the=20
Center in the tragedy. In the end, however, Indian traditions of=20
fate, indifference, passivity and burdens of day-to-day living have=20
again triumphed in keeping the silent majority silent, whereas Hindu=20
and Muslim criminals and humanists keep busy dispensing justice by=20
tools of their trades.

Having said all that, I do feel that as a true brave fool you are=20
setting a disturbing example for your fellow travelers in the journey=20
to Gujarat - because while you are eager to help those who are in the=20
same situation as KP's were a decade back, none of your compatriots=20
showed the same courage then. I hope that bothers their conscience.

I think you are doing a great job. In fact, to show my support=A0of=20
your efforts, I want to send some financial contribution towards the=20
two precincts that you have adopted. It will not be a lot (Rs.=20
10,000), but that is all that I can afford at this time. I will send=20
it to your Mumbai address as stealing of mailed envelopes is becoming=20
a big problem for overseas people. I will make the check to Gujarat=20
Education Society. It will be mailed in the first week of September.

Regards, Vijay

AJAY RAINA / LEYA MATHEW
<mailto:ajayraina@v...>ajayraina@v...
<mailto:rainaajay@h...>rainaajay@h...

_____

#3.

HindustanTimes.com
Friday, October 4, 2002 =A0

Dalits under siege
Praful Bidwai

It is a sour irony of this society that Dalit leader and UP Chief=20
Minister Mayawati should move towards consolidating her spectacularly=20
opportunist alliance with the BJP, the quintessential party of her=20
bete noire, Manuvad, just as pro-Hindutva scales are falling off the=20
eyes of a small but significant section of Dalits right next door, in=20
Rajasthan.

The site is Chakwara village, in Jaipur=B9s Phagi tehsil, which has=20
witnessed unrelieved tension between the Bairwa Dalits and savarna=20
Hindus for years. This culminated in a violent confrontation between=20
the savarnas and the police on September 21, in which more than 50=20
people, including 44 policemen, were injured. If you saw that episode=20
on television, you couldn=B9t have missed the near-fascist inspiration=20
of the rioting caste-Hindus, driven by base passion, visceral=20
prejudice and a consuming lust for power and (now-threatened)=20
privilege.

What TV didn=B9t show is the severe, painful disillusionment of people=20
like Hari Shankar Bairwa, a politics-savvy village elder, president=20
of the local Ambedkar Janakalyan Parishad, and once-proud member of=20
the VHP, who even went to Ayodhya as a kar sevak with two other=20
Dalits from Chakwara. (Bairwa has preserved the receipt for a recent=20
Rs 20 donation to an Ashok Singhal felicitation fund.)

He now accuses the VHP-BJP of having cynically =8Cused=B9 the Dalits with=20
the high-sounding slogan of =8CHindu unity=B9 only to betray that idea=20
and contemptuously tell them they should observe maryada (prescribed=20
quasi-sacred norms) and parampara (tradition), that is, defer to rank=20
casteism. So much for =8Cunity=B9!

The immediate divisive issue in Chakwara goes beyond politics and=20
local power equations. It involves access to the common village pond,=20
where stepped ghats have been built and maintained over the years=20
with state funds and contributions raised by the entire village,=20
including the Dalits. But the Dalits have been barred from using the=20
common ghats for decades. Caste-based =B3purity=B2 demands they be=20
treated lower than the buffaloes, cows and pigs which have virtually=20
unrestrained access to the pond. The only exception are women who=20
too, irrespective of caste, have always been excluded.

On December 14 last, Babulal and Radheshyam Bairwa decided to defy=20
the hallowed parampara and take a dip in the pond. All hell broke=20
loose.

The savarnas, led by the Jats =8B who form about two-fifths of=20
Chakwara=B9s 500-household population =8B held a menacing public meeting=20
that evening. There were blood-curdling speeches. A severe social=20
boycott followed.

The Dalits could no longer buy tea or vegetables in Chakwara or hire=20
farm implements. The local doctor wouldn=B9t treat them. The fair price=20
shop ostracised them. The local mechanic wouldn=B9t repair their=20
bicycles. Filthy abuse greeted them everywhere. Their men were=20
stalked, women abused, their main busti besieged.

The upper castes publicly threatened a =B3bloodbath=B2 unless the Bairwas=20
paid a fine of Rs 51,000 and, worse, signed a =B3compromise=B2 document=20
promising =B3willingly=B2 to maintain caste apartheid in the use of the=20
pond. Intimidation, fear and lynch-law ruled Chakwara. This was=20
=8Cterrorism in slow motion=B9 for the Dalits.

That=B9s when the State law and order machinery finally came in =8B at=20
the Bairwas=B9 repeated pleading. Its first response was to tell the=20
Dalits to obey parampara and maintain village =8Cunity=B9. (Dr Ambedkar=20
would have squirmed, as he did in the village =8Ccommunity=B9-panchayat=20
raj debate in the Constituent Assembly). They mustn=B9t rock the boat.

The police were amazingly perseverant with their =B3mature=B2 advice and=20
with rebukes and insults to the Dalits for breaking =B3tradition=B2.=20
Despite this, Babulal and Radheshyam lodged their first information=20
report at Phagi police station on December 22. The police took no=20
action =8B a clear case of dereliction of duty in a cognisable offence=20
under the SC&ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989 (POA), and the=20
Indian Penal Code.

In less than two weeks, the case was declared closed: another=20
=8Ccompromise=B9 had been thrust down the terrorised Bairwas=B9 throats by=
=20
an administration that refused to physically protect them or invoke=20
the POA to deter/punish the savarnas.

The police and the district authorities =8B at least until two months=20
ago =8B have been studiedly callous towards the Dalits=B9 plight in the=20
face of savarna oppression. Admittedly, they defended the Dalits=B9=20
right to take out a procession on September 20/21 with the declared=20
objective of bathing in the pond. But they didn=B9t defuse a violent,=20
unlawful 10-15,000-strong savarna assembly at Phagi, which wanted to=20
attack the Dalits and =B3teach them a lesson=B2.

By and large, the authorities have seen themselves not as enforcers=20
of the law, but as upholders of the conventional, hierarchical,=20
caste-ridden social order.

The State Human Rights Commission, a statutory body, has in some ways=20
been an even greater disappointment. It received a complaint from=20
Babulal and Radheshyam on December 28. It could have initiated an=20
independent inquiry, but it ordered the superintendent of police to=20
investigate. Once the police reported that a =8Ccompromise=B9 agreement=20
had been reached, HRC too closed the file after issuing some proforma=20
notices to the complainants, presumably through the police (which=20
Babulal says he never received).

In each instance, an undisputed fact was brushed under the carpet =8B=20
namely, the law had been wilfully breached by the savarnas.

The administration should have known better. It was only a decade ago=20
that Rajasthan witnessed the Kumher carnage, in which 17 Jatavs were=20
bunt alive and quartered by a lynch-mob, including public servants.=20
(The six-year-old inquiry commission report is still secret.)

In the past three years alone, Rajasthan has recorded 15,072 cases of=20
crimes against the SCs/STs, including an annual average of 46=20
killings, 134 rapes and 93 cases of grievous injury. And yet the=20
POA=B9s strict provisions are applied so mindlessly =8B or with such=20
deliberate sloppiness =8B that 60 per cent of the cases result in=20
acquittal/closure/failure. Remarkably, Rajasthan has never prosecuted=20
any public servant under Section 4 of the act for dereliction of=20
duty. Nor has it invoked the cognisable sections of the law the way=20
it should.

The issue in Chakwara is not merely access to a pond. It is systemic,=20
systematic, entrenched discrimination against the Dalits. From land=20
maldistribution and denial of basic services =8B the village barber=20
won=B9t ever shave a Dalit =8B this extends to inequality in access to=20
water, common pastures and wasteland, employment and drought-relief=20
schemes, and unequal wages.

A Dalit woman may not wear sandals in the main village. Dalit=20
children may only sit at the back of the classroom and drink water=20
from a separate pot. The bridegroom riding a horse at a wedding=20
baraat risks being roasted alive. Droit de seigneur (the upper-caste=20
landlord=B9s right to =8Cdeflower=B9 a Dalit bride-to-be) is prevalent.

This violence has a well-defined purpose: to keep the lowly in their=20
place, the Hindu hierarchy secure, and conditions for rapacious=20
economic and social exploitation intact. Crucial to legitimising the=20
violence is casteist Hinduism and obscurantist myth-making.

The force of Hindutva tends to overpower even the Congress, certainly=20
the party=B9s local MLA, himself a Dalit. It is impossible even to=20
imagine liberty, human agency, development or social progress until=20
Dalit oppression is combated.

Chakwara was mentioned by Ambedkar way back in the Thirties. The=20
Bairwas then defied the savarnas by making desi ghee =8B a =8Cprivilege=B9=
=20
denied to them. Caste-Hindus retaliated by pouring dirt into the ghee.

The Bairwas have asserted themselves again, after decades, with=20
greater resources: most men are literate and no longer submissive.=20
They have the law explicitly on their side. But so long as the law=B9s=20
guardians, driven by parampara-based obscurantism, continue to make a=20
travesty of it, the Dalits=B9 struggle for elementary human dignity=20
will face heavy odds.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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