Author: Tanzil Asif

Man Lynched in Bihar’s Araria, Family Disputes Accuseds’ Allegations of Theft

The police said the victim’s family claims that there was some old dispute which led to the violence, but other villagers say Ismail was a thief.

Araria (Bihar): A 30-year-old Muslim man was allegedly lynched by a mob in Bihar’s Araria district on Sunday morning on suspicion of theft. A resident of Kursail village in Jokihat, Ismail was severely beaten by some villagers in the neighbouring Chakai village early in the morning. Later, the accused took him to a nearby hospital, where he died during treatment.

The police registered a first information report (FIR) against 15 people involved in the incident, and nabbed two prime accused Rupesh Yadav and Nitesh Yadav. Araria sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Pushpar Kumar said, “We received information that he [Ismail] went to Rupesh and Nitesh’s house for committing theft, and he was caught there and beaten by them and other villagers. He was taken to the hospital where he died during treatment. Now, the victim’s family claims that there was some old dispute, but villagers say he was a thief. We are investigating both angles.”

Ismail is survived by two wives, three children and an old father. The family has a hut with walls made of mud, bamboo and tin sheets and a white plastic sheet working as a roof. A pair of slippers, a mosquito net, a blanket, a jute sack bag and few vessels lay in the house besides a hearth and some half burned logs.

Ismail’s two widows and three kids standing outside their house. Photo: Tanzil Asif

Surrounded by villagers, Ismail’s widow Musarrat sat outside the house holding hands of her three kids aged two, three and five, along with his second wife Husnera. Husnera is silent in shock, Musarrat too fell unconscious. Villagers sprinkled her face with water, and she came back to her senses and started narrating the story in local Kulhaiya dialect: “He used to work as an electrician, few people called him for work. When he didn’t return, I thought he must have gone outside with his friends. But, I heard in the morning that he had been killed. What more can I say brother? Whom will my kids call father now? Who will do justice to us?”

His family claims that Ismail used to work as a migrant labourer in Delhi and Punjab. He returned home when the lockdown had started. Then he started working as a labourer and electrician in the village.

Also read: The Trail of Violence in India

Ismail’s 61-year-old father Shoaib, who was at his daughter’s house, heard about the incident only on Monday morning. He rushed to the hospital only to find his son dead. He quoted other eyewitnesses as saying, “He [Ismail] went to Chakai to buy milk. He returned home, but was called again.”

There was an uncanny silence at Rupesh and Nitesh’s house in Chakai where the lynching incident happened. There was no one at home, and doors were left open. A neighbour and eyewitness to the incident Geeta Devi said, “There was noise of ‘thief, thief’ and he [Ismail] was chased. He ran to the terrace and fell from there. Villagers gathered and beat him. He felt unconscious and died on the way to the hospital.”

The spot where lynching happened, the main accused Rupesh and Nitesh’s house. Photo: Tanzil Asif

Geet added, “He was involved in a theft six months or a year ago as well. He took Rs 34,000, some jewellery and vessels. We didn’t complain to the police back then.”

But, Shoaib refutes such claims, “It’s not true. If he was a thief, is there a complaint against him in any police station?”

Asked about the reason behind the incident, Shoaib said, “I had an argument with them over a road last year. That’s why they have killed my son.”

Shahnawaz Alam, Jokihat MLA from Asaduddin Owaisi’s party AIMIM ( All India Majli-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen), on Monday met the victim’s family and sat among them for nearly four hours. Shahnawaz said, “This is condemnable. I am constantly in touch with the victim’s family. The two accused have been arrested, and we have demanded quick arrest of the other accused from the administration. Whatever may be the reason, the way Ismail has been killed is shameful. Different weapons were used to kill him. It seems those involved are unsocial elements. We believe in harmony. We have demanded strict action, so that such an incident doesn’t repeat.”

Tanzil Asif is a Bihar-based journalist. He runs a hyperlocal news platform Main Media in the Seemanchal region and tweets at @tnzl_

Bihar: What Worked in AIMIM’s Favour in Five Assembly Seats of Seemanchal?

The party forayed into Seemanchal politics in 2015 and could not open its account. It now has a respectable tally and the victories were secured with comfortable margins.

A week before assembly elections were announced in Bihar, I asked an elderly man in Kishanganj’s Bahadurganj who he thought was deserving of an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) ticket there, given that there were many contenders. The man replied, “Why would I care, I only know Asaduddin Owaisi and Akhtarul Iman. I will vote for AIMIM, no matter who is the candidate.”

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and the party’s state president Akhtarul Iman had become personality cults in most areas under the Kishanganj Lok Sabha constituency well before the Bihar elections. There are six assembly constituencies under the Kishanganj parliamentary constituency, and the AIMIM won four of them – Amour, Baisi, Bahadurganj and Kochadhaman. The party lost the Kishanganj assembly segment, which it had won in the 2019 by-polls but it gained the Jokihat seat under the Araria Lok Sabha constituency, taking the party’s tally to five.

The AIMIM won all five seats comfortably. Akhtarul Iman won Amour by a margin of 52,515 votes, the second-highest margin of any candidate in this election. Similarly, Anzar Nayeemi won Bahadurganj by a margin of 45,215 votes, Izhar Asfi won Kochadhaman by 36,143 votes, Syed Ruknuddin Ahmed won Baisi by 16,373 votes and Shanawaz won Jokihat by 7,383 votes.

Also read: Ahead of Bihar Assembly Elections, Owaisi and Bhim Army Forge Dalit-Muslim Unity

A meteoric rise

When the AIMIM made its entry in Seemanchal during the 2015 Bihar elections, the party contested six seats. It could not win a single seat and stood second only in one. Four years later, when Iman contested from the Kishanganj Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general elections, the party took the lead in two assembly constituencies – Kochadhaman and Bahadurganj. It stood second in another two – Amour and Kishanganj. Later that year in October, the party won the Kishanganj assembly segment by-poll.

Kochadhaman is the only seat where AIMIM had unofficially announced its candidate a year in advance. Mohammad Izhar Asfi ventured into politics as panchayat mukhiya in 2002; he unsuccessfully contested assembly elections from Kochadhaman in February 2005 and October 2005 against the then RJD candidate Akhtarul Iman. Later, when Iman’s confidant Mujahid Alam joined the JD(U) to contest against him, Asfi supported Iman. Izhar Asfi joined the AIMIM during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and it is said that Iman had promised him the ticket from Kochadhaman, which Iman represented as an RJD MLA between 2005 and 2014.

What made the election easy for Asfi was that his main contender was the sitting JD(U) MLA Mujahid Alam and not a Mahagathbandhan candidate. Kochadhaman has a record of not electing an NDA candidate. When Mujahid Alam won in the 2014 by-polls, the JD(U) was not with the BJP. When he won in 2015, the JD(U) was part of the Mahagathbandhan. That Mujahid Alam would lose the election was a foregone conclusion the day that the JD(U) went back to the NDA and he did oppose the move.

The AIMIM was able to project the contest as a direct contest with the BJP. Asfi supporters would call Mujahid a “Bhajpa ka ummeedwaar (BJP candidate)”. The JD(U) failed to counter this narraitve and the best they could come up with was “sarkar tou NDA ki hi banegi, phir sarkar mein aapka kaun hoga (It’s going to be an NDA government again, who will represent you in government then)”.

Also read: Why AIMIM Is Unlikely to Emerge as a Major Force in the Bihar Elections

The RJD lacks leadership in Kochadhaman. When Akhtarul Iman left in 2014, Intekhab Bablu led the party as the district president. He met an unfortunate death in a road accident in 2018. It fell upon his wife Seema Intekhab to make the party prominent in the area. Later, the RJD gave the command to a young face, Sarwar Alam, whose wife is Kishanganj’s Zila Parishad chairman. When it came to ticket distribution, the party tried to lure the sitting JD(U) MLA Mujahid Alam. He told me in an interview that the RJD promised him “money, ministry and even a Lok Sabha ticket”. When Mujahid did not join the RJD, the ticket was given to Sarwar Alam’s father, Shahid Alam, who stood third with just 16.18% of the votes.

Amour, where Iman won, is constantly devastated by flood and migration and keeps looking for a ray of hope. In 2010, Saba Zafar became the BJP’s first-ever Muslim MLA in Bihar.

Congress stalwart Abdul Jalil Mastan, a six-time MLA known for his humble lifestyle, was already facing anti-incumbency in Amour. Mastan put the last nail in his coffin when he addressed Owaisi as ‘maweshi (Cattle)’ and threatened him in Rahul Gandhi’s presence. Mastan had said, “I don’t call him Owaisi, I call him maweshi (Cattle) who has come to graze… We will break his teeth and waist and send him back to Hyderabad.”

The AIMIM also succeeded in uniting different Muslim sects in Seemanchal. The five seats where the party won are dominated by Surjapuri and Kulahiya Muslims. In Amour, AIMIM candidate Akhtarul Iman and Congress candidate Abdul Jalil Mastan are Surjapuri Muslims, while the JD(U)’s Saba Zafar is a Kulahiya.

The AIMIM feared that if Kulahiya Muslims vote for Zafar, he could easily win with help of well-guarded NDA voters. Luck favoured the AIMIM and the son of the tallest Kulahiya Muslim leader, late Taslimuddin’s son, Shahnawaz, joined the party at the very last moment. Shahnawaz, who contested from Jokihat, also campaigned in Amour and Baisi along with Owaisi.

Apart from Amour, the AIMIM also gained from Surjapuri-Kulahiya unity in Jokihat and Baisi.

IMIM Bihar president Akhtarul Iman after winning from Amour. Photo: By arrangement

In Baisi, the AIMIM fielded Syed Ruknuddin, a former independent MLA who had later joined the JD(U). Ruknuddin is neither a Surjapuri nor a Kulahiya Muslim and was contesting against a six-time RJD MLA Abdus Subhan, a Surjapuri. Abdus Subhan no doubt was also facing huge anti-incumbency. Like Amour, Baisi’s Muslims were also looking to vote for change.

The AIMIM’s lead in Bahadurganj during the 2019 Lok Sabha election drew many contenders for a ticket here. Former JD(U) candidate Musawwir Alam, former RJD candidate Anzar Nayeemi, former NCP candidate Mansoor Alam, everyone who wanted to unseat the four-time Congress MLA Tausif Alam joined the AIMIM. Interestingly, Tausif Alam is the son-in-law of AIMIM’s Kochadhaman candidate Izhar Asfi.

The Congress tried to counter the AIMIM by attacking Owaisi. The party’s leader and Urdu poet Imran Pratapgarhi held many rallies for Tausif in Bahadurganj to counter Owaisi. Pratapgrahi would ask Owaisi to show a photograph of him from Shaheen Bagh protest and question him about his ‘friend’ Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s alleged proximity to the BJP. But, none of it worked.

What I have gathered is that even anti-AIMIM Muslim voters in Seemanchal accept Owaisi as someone who always stands up for the community. Attacking Owaisi only backfired for the Congress in Bahadurganj and Amour.

Asaduddin Owaisi, Bihar

AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi at a rally in Bihar’s Kishanganj. Photo: Asaduddinowaisi/Facebook

A different scenario

But the scenario in Jokihat in Araria district was different and its win came under unlikely circumstances. One would have to go back to 2017 to trace the origin a series of events that saw the AIMIM win.

Late RJD MP and former Union minister Taslimuddin died in 2017, leading to a by-election in the Araria Lok Sabha seat. His second son Sarfraz Alam, who was an MLA, won the poll. Consequetly, a bypoll was held in the Jokihat assembly seat. Taslimuddin’s youngest son Shahnawaz won the seat as an RJD candidate in 2018.

But, Sarfraz lost the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 and now wanted the Jokihat seat back from his brother. Shahnawaz claims that Tejashwi Yadav had assured him of the ticket but gave it to his brother instead.

On the other hand, the AIMIM had already announced former JD(U) candidate Murshid Alam as its candidate for Jokihat. Just a day before the last day of the nomination, Shahnawaz joined the AIMIM and the party changed its candidate.

The AIMIM had already developed a following in Jokihat under the leadership of Maulana Abdullah Saleem Chaturvedi. Shahawaz got a team of workers ready for elections; he cried injustice at the hands of the RJD and Owaisi’s two rallies did the rest.

AIMIM MLA from Jokihat Shahnawaz receiving his certificate after counting. Photo: By arrangement

A setback in Kishanganj

Despite, the AIMIM’s five successes, its defeat in the Kishanganj assembly is a setback. AIMIM’s Qamrul Hoda had won this Congress bastion in October last year, making the grand old party lose its deposit. A year later, the Congress took the seat back, pushing the AIMIM to third position.

A week before polling, I saw an old-time party worker from Kishanganj assembly in Owaisi’s Kochadhaman rally. He told, “We will be with the AIMIM till Akhtarul Iman is in the party. But, this time, we can’t work for Qamrul Hoda.”

Not just workers, even leaders seemed unhappy with Hoda’s performance in just a year. Senior party leaders wanted Hoda to meet the people every day for two hours at the party office in Kishanganj. He didn’t oblige.

A day before voting, I asked a poultry seller in the Kishanganj town market which way he saw the constituency go this time. He showed his palm (Congress symbol) and explained, “The MLA didn’t do anything during the lockdown.” I asked, “Did Congress MP Jawaid help?” He nodded his head.

The Congress was helped by the fact that its rebel leaders came back to help its candidate Izharul Hussain, an old-time party worker.

On the other hand, there were rebels in the AIMIM and BJP camps. AIMIM’s 2015 candidate Tasiruddin contested as an independent, although he did not impact the result. Outraged by the BJP’s decision to not field a Rajbansi candidate, the community rebelled against the party. Their candidate Manoj Singh took away 1,419 votes from the BJP. That the Congress’s margin of victory in Kishanganj was just 1,381 shows that the saffron party could have won if it had the support of the Rajbansi community.

Tanzil Asif is an independent journalist based in Seemanchal, Bihar. He runs a hyper-local news platform Main Media in the region, and tweets at @tnzl. 

Bihar: Villagers Invite JD(U) MLA to Inaugurate Their Makeshift Bamboo Bridge

Two years ago, the state government had announced that no more makeshift bridges existed in the state.

Thakurganj (Bihar): An MLA from Bihar’s ruling party Janata Dal (United), Naushad Alam, inaugurated a chachri pul or makeshift bamboo bridge in his assembly constituency on Friday, making a mockery of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s tall claims of development. When scissors couldn’t be arranged to cut the ribbon, he used a sickle, much to the amusement of villagers.

No, this is not satire.

Road construction minister in the Bihar government Nand Kishore Yadav had announced the state free of makeshift bamboo bridges two years ago. “The era of makeshift bamboo bridges in Bihar is over now,” he had tweeted on June 12, 2018 with many newspapers clippings.

Shaky makeshift bamboo bridges and overloaded boats are a common phenomenon in eastern Bihar, devastated by annual floods and government negligence.

Naushad, an MLA from Kishanganj’s Thakurganj assembly segment since 2010, was invited by locals to grace the occasion so that he could take notice of their situation.

“We built the makeshift bamboo bridge together. When the MLA came here, we told him, ‘We are making this at our own expense; we can’t do this every year.’ It’s been ten years,” said Zahid, one of the villagers who built the bridge.

The bridge, referred to as ‘Hathiduba Pul’ locally, falls under the Bhogdabar panchayat of Thakurganj block and connects at least five villages to the nearest Noori Chowk market.

Hathiduba Pul inaugurated by JD(U) MLA Naushad Alam. Photo: Tanzil Asif

“The MLA has only been giving us assurances for many years now,” said a local young man, Prince Khan Surjapuri, who also grilled Alam on the occasion.

“Even a makeshift bamboo bridge will ensure easy movement. Though I shouldn’t have inaugurated it, I am happy that villagers made it; there is at least some connectivity now,” Alam responded when Surjapuri asked what circumstances forced him to be there.

He continued, “I will get the road constructed as soon possible. I will visit Patna to make sure of that.”

He gifted a sum of Rs 2,000 to the villagers for the makeshift bridge, which cost far more than that.

“It has cost us around Rs 38,000, including labour. A second layer of bamboo sheet is yet be laid,” confirmed Zahid.

Also read: This Pregnant Woman Was Denied Treatment at a Buxar Govt Hospital – and She’s Not Alone

Former Thakurganj MLA and Naushad’s arch rival, Gopal Agarwal, claimed, “He has done that before too, it has become his habit to inaugurate makeshift bamboo bridges.”

When contacted by The Wire, road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav’s office said he was listening to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat and would return the call. On two follow up calls, the office said he was in a meeting. We have sent him a query over WhatsApp regarding his claims, and the article will be updated if he responds.

Several calls to MLA Naushad Alam’s phone went unanswered. We have sent him a text message, and the story will be updated when he responds.

Tanzil Asif is a Bihar-based journalist-cum-entrepreneur and the founder of a hyper-local news organisation mainmedia.in. He tweets at @tnzl_.

11-Year-Old Gets Parents Home Amidst Lockdown by Pedalling Tricycle Cart for 600 kms

Tabaarak’s mother is blind and his father has a fractured leg. Like 15-year-old Jyoti Kumari who rode 1,200 km with her father, it was up to the child to take the parents from Varanasi to Araria.

Araria (Bihar): An 11-year-old boy, Tabaarak, pedalled a tricycle cart for nine consecutive days to transport his parents from Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi to their village in Bihar’s Araria, a distance of around 600 kilometres, amidst the lockdown.

A video of the same went viral on Twitter with users taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) catchphrase. 

Sharing the video, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Madhu Singh wrote “Congratulations, friends. I have found the country’s first and youngest self-reliant, 11-year-old child Tabaarak.”


Congress leader and Urdu poet Imran Pratapgarhi wrote, “11 year old child and parents on rickshaw, a heartfelt view of self-reliant India”.  

Tabaarak is the fifth of six children. 

His elder brother is stranded in Tamil Nadu. He has three sisters, one of whom is married.

The family is landless and lives in a hut on land owned by someone else in a village under Araria’s Jokihat block. His mother, Sogra, had been blinded in an injury while cutting paddy crop. 

His father Israfil, who used to work in a marble shop in Varanasi for 20 years, had met with an accident which left him with a fractured leg.  

“I had my parents with me, thousands of people were walking on the way,” he said, when asked how he mustered the courage to undertake such a journey. 

Also read: From Gurgaon to Bihar, 15-Year-Old Girl Cycles 1,200 km With Injured Father

The father and son used to stay together in Varanasi, far from their home in Araria. But in February, Israfil made the journey to Varanasi alone. Tabaarak and his mother left for Varanasi when they came to know he had fractured his leg. They reached there before the lockdown and have been stranded since then.

“A stone fell on my foot on the fourth day of work, and the owner of the shop got me medical treatment. My wife and son had visited me just before lockdown. We ran out of food. I have a tricycle cart, so we started the journey thinking that we are dying here (in Varanasi) anyway. But, god and the people we met on the way helped us reach home safely,” said 55-year-old Israfil.   

Israfil and Tabaarak at the quarantine centre and Sogra at home. Photos: Tanzil Asif

Tabaarak and Israfil are now at a quarantine facility in a government school near their village in Jokihat. Sogra is at home as there is no separate arrangement for women at the centre. 

She told The Wire that they were compelled to take this challenging journey. “My husband had pain in his leg, so my son pedalled the cart. We were helpless, we had no other option. We would have starved to death there. My two daughters were at home. Now we can die here at least among our children.” 

“Neighbours and the shop owner helped us with rations for the journey. We carried an LPG cylinder and other belongings with us. We would sleep on the roadside and cook food wherever we could get water,” she further added. 

Local RJD MLA Shahnawaz Alam has promised to help the family, “I will meet them once they are out of quarantine. I will ensure that they get work in Araria itself and don’t go back to Varanasi for livelihood and relive those days of hardship.”

Tabaarak’s story of personal courage and persistence is only one of the many such stories emerging during the nationwide lockdown, which has tested migrant labourers the most. 

Jyoti Kumari, a 15-year-old native of Bihar’s Darbhanga rode a bicycle, carrying her wounded father from Haryana’s Gurugram to her village, covering over 1200 km. A father-son duo also rode their tricycle cart from Haryana to Bihar’s Madhepura for 15 days.

In the initial days of the suddenly announced lockdown, with no option but to walk or cycle to their native places from the cities where they worked, several migrants battled extreme fatigue and hunger.  Several weeks later, when the government allowed trains to ferry them, lack of information on services led even more migrants to take to the roads in trucks and on foot. Several accidents took place, and more than 400 migrants died.

Tanzil Asif is a Bihar-based journalist-cum-entrepreneur and the founder of a hyper-local news organisation, Main Media. He tweets at @tnzl_.

Bihar Officials Booked for Humiliating Chowkidar Who Asked Them for Passes

The village chowkidar was forced to do squats, holding his ears and prostrate before the agriculture officer.

Araria: An FIR has been lodged here against two officials of the Bihar Agriculture Department for allegedly humiliating a village chowkidar who had stopped their vehicle and asked them to show their passes allowing them to travel amid the lockdown, police said on Thursday.

Araria sub divisional police officer (SDPO) Pushkar Kumar said district agriculture officer Manoj Kumar and agriculture coordinator Rajiv Kumar have been booked under the National Disaster Management Act, invoked for enforcing the nationwide lockdown. An FIR has also been registered against Kumar, who accused the chowkidar of taking a bribe.

He also confirmed to The Wire that ASI Govind Singh, who had joined the DAO and other men in humiliating Ganesh Lal Tamta, has been suspended.

They have also been booked for various penal offences relating to the use of force, preventing a government servant from discharging his duty and criminal intimidation.

The SDPO said the FIR was lodged on Wednesday night upon the statement of Bairgachhi police outpost in-charge Harendra Kumar that Tatma, a home guard jawan, was insulted by the two officials and the ASI.

Tamta was forced to hold his ears and do sit-ups on the road. He was forced to apologise with folded hands and fell on the officer’s feet. Visuals of the ‘punishment’ handed out to the chowkidar had soon gone viral on social media.

Another video of the incident had surfaced on Wednesday in which someone off the camera can be heard saying to the chowkidar, “If you start taking money from health workers and others, how will they serve?”

“Agriculture Coordinator Rajiv Kumar tried to mislead, saying Tamta had sought a bribe. Hence, an FIR has been registered against him as well”, said SDPO Pushkar Kumar.

According to a report published in Dainik Bhaskar on April 23, other men who accompanied the DAO were Araria block agriculture officer Amarnath Thakur, District Registration and Counselling Centre (DRCC) manager Ravi Shankar and a staff member of the Soil Testing Lab in Araria, Amit Kumar. While Amarnath and Ravi Shankar have acknowledged their presence at the spot, Amit has denied it.

The Bihar Human Rights Commission (BHRC) took suo moto cognizance of the matter on Wednesday and called for a detailed report separately from Araria DM and SP by May 6.

“It involves a gross violation of not only human rights of the victim home guard but also breaking down the laws and rules by the officers who are supposed to be the custodian of law and who stoop so low as to violate them. The incident demands quick and immediate action on the guilty officer and his associates for this incident (sic)”, said acting Chairperson of BHRC, Ujjwal Kumar Dubey in an order.

Bihar’s additional chief secretary (home) Amir Subhani has asked the agriculture department to initiate action against the DAO, according to a story published in Deccan Herald.

Earlier, state agriculture minister Prem Kumar had ordered a departmental enquiry in the matter.

According to news agency PTI, director general of police Gupteshwar Pandey took a strong note of the incident, which occurred on Monday. Visuals of the ‘punishment’ went viral on Tuesday.

Besides ringing up Tatma to express his regret over the incident, the state police chief also suspended the ASI, noting that he was party to the treatment meted out to the chowkidar “that went against human dignity” and involved “making a man in uniform fall at other people’s feet”.

Tanzil Asif is a Bihar-based journalist-cum-entrepreneur and the founder of a hyper-local news organisation, Main Media. He tweets at @tnzl_

Bihar: For Doing His Job, Chowkidar Gets Humilated

When Ganesh Lal Tamta tried to stop a staffer of the agricultural department to check his curfew pass, he was forced to do sit ups and apologise.

Araria: On Monday, chowkidar (home guard) Ganesh Lal Tamta was on duty at a checkpoint in Bairgachhi of Araria district in Bihar. Since the nationwide lockdown has been imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Tamta and his colleagues have been tasked with ensuring that people who are travelling have curfew passes to do so.

On that day, he was on duty with some of his colleagues and ASI Govind Singh at a check post. Tamta tried to stop a staff member of the agriculture department who was on a bike at the check post. The man didn’t stop.

A few hours later, district agriculture officer (DAO) Manoj Kumar came at the check post, along with 3-4 men on a four-wheeler. They identified chowkidar Tamta, verbally abused him and threatened to put him behind bars.

A baffled Tamta asked what he had done wrong. The DAO and the other men (along with ASI Singh) forced Tamta to hold his ears and do sit-ups on the road. He was forced to apologise with folded hands and fell on the officer’s feet. Visuals of the ‘punishment’ handed out to the chowkidar soon went viral on social media.

Fifty-year-old Ganesh, or Gonu as he is known in his village, has been working as a chowkidar since 1998. Tamta says this is the first time in his 22 years of duty that he has faced such humiliation. A father of three sons and three daughters, Tamta broke into tears when The Wire spoke to him on Wednesday morning.

“This has never happened before. Nobody has ever spoken to me so disrespectfully in my whole life. I don’t feel well at all and I don’t know what to do,” said Tamta.

As the video went viral on Facebook and Twitter, Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey addressed the issue. “I feel sad that the (district agricultural) officer wanted to gain respect by humiliating a chowkidar. Human dignity is for all; whether it is a chowkidar or an IAS or IPS officer, everybody deserves the same amount of respect,” he said. Pandey also said that action will be taken the DAO and ASI Singh for humiliating Tamta.

Bihar’s leader of opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, tweeted, “The bureaucracy is unbridled in Bihar. How is the district agriculture officer forcing an old home guard to do sit ups because the dutiful man asked him to show the car pass?”

State agriculture minister Prem Kumar has ordered a departmental enquiry in the matter.

“What happened is objectionable. The chowkidar is risking his life to ensure that the rules of the lockdown are followed by everyone. It is very sad”, said the minister in a statement.

Tamta falls at DAO Manoj Kumar’s feet. Photo: Screengrab

Pradeep Singh, BJP MP from Araria, termed the DAO’s action ‘inhuman’ and said, “The dutiful chowkidar should be awarded. When the world sleeps, a chowkidar guards us. Everyone should be respected. Everyone has equal rights.”

Meanwhile, some Twitter users also pointed out the humiliation of ‘corona warriors‘ like Tamta. On April 14, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the 21-day lockdown, he had asked for ‘corona warriors’ (healthcare workers, police personnel and sanitation workers) to be respected.

The Wire attempted to call the DAO Manoj Kumar multiple times but he did not respond. The story will be updated if and when he responds.

Tanzil Asif is a Bihar-based journalist-cum-entrepreneur and the founder of a hyper-local news organisation, Main Media. He tweets at @tnzl_

Ahead of Bihar Assembly Elections, Owaisi and Bhim Army Forge Dalit-Muslim Unity

After some success with Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA in Maharashtra, the AIMIM is trying to create a similar alliance in Bihar,

Kishanganj (Bihar): The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen or AIMIM’s national expansion plan can be summarised in the party’s four-word slogan – ‘Jai Bhim, Jai Meem’ – in which Bhim stands for Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Meem is the Urdu alphabet ‘M’, for Muslim. The idea of Dalit-Muslim unity has been  around for a long time, the only difference now is the issue of leadership. Traditionally, Muslims have followed Dalit leaders, but AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi is trying hard to reverse the equation.

After a stint and some success with Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) in Maharashtra, Owaisi is trying to pull off a similar alliance in Bihar – the third state where the party has tasted victory – ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

He addressed a gathering of more than 50,000 people in Bihar’s Kishanganj on December 29. At the rally titled ‘Sanwidhan Bachao, Desh Bachao (Save the Constitution, Save the Nation)’, Owaisi spoke at length against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register. It was his first visit to Bihar since his party, the AIMIM, opened its account in the state in the October assembly by-elections, wresting the prestigious Kishanganj seat from the Congress.

Supporters wearing headgear sit in a tricolour formation. Photo: Tanzil Asif

His growing influence in Seemanchal at the cost of the Congress was very much on display at the iconic Ruidhasa Ground. Just a day before, Congress leader and Urdu poet Imran Pratapgarhi addressed a gathering along with Congress MP Mohammad Jawaid Azad and MLA Tausif Alam at the same ground on the same topic – but the crowd was nowhere comparable.

Asaduddin Owaisi’s Kishanganj visit had garnered national headlines since the day former Bihar chief minister and veteran Dalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi had announced his decision to attend the rally, signalling the formation of a Dalit-Muslim alliance ahead of the 2020 assembly elections.

Not to forget, Manjhi had congratulated the AIMIM for emerging victorious in Kishanganj and had condemned those making adverse comments. A report in News18 quoted Manjhi as saying, “The results of the by-election will pave the way for nation-wide Dalit-Muslim unity.”

Also read: After Bihar Debut, Asaduddin Owaisi and AIMIM Eye Further Expansion

That Owaisi and Manjhi were sharing the stage was sure to grab eyeballs. But the plan couldn’t see the light of day. Manjhi announced his inability to attend the rally on December 28 and said, “Hemant Soren will not be sworn in again and again, only once, on the 29th. I would have definitely gone to Kishanganj until I got an invitation from Ranchi; Hemant Soren himself spoke to me on the phone, now it seems that I should definitely go to Ranchi.”

Even though Manjhi gave Kishanganj a miss, his pictures were visible on every poster at the event. AIMIM Bihar chief Akhtarul Iman said, “Manjhi ji informed us only at 3 pm on December 28 that he was invited to Ranchi, there may have been some pressure to attend the oath ceremony. He apologised and conveyed his support to us in the fight.”

Bhim Army’s Bihar chief Manoj Kumar Bharati speaking at Owaisi’s rally in Kishanganj. Photo: Tanzil Asif

More than Manjhi’s pictures, what took the audience by surprise was the presence of Chandra Shekhar Aazad’s Bhim Army – the new face of the Dalit movement in the Hindi heartland. Bhim Army’s Bihar chief Manoj Kumar Bharati addressed the crowd in a fierce tone. Amidst applause he said:

“Bhim Army warns Ranga-Billa (referring to Modi-Shah) to be aware. I warn Manuwaadi forces. Never challenge our mind; Baba Saheb and Kalam live in our mind. Never challenge our blood; Emperor Ashoka and Tipu Sultan live in our blood. Bhim Army and Owaisi are together. Kings don’t take birth from queen’s womb; there will be many kings till there is Baba Saheb’s constitution.

“Hence, I warn the country’s ruler and administration, today it is BJP’s government, tomorrow it will be ours. And when there will be our government, there will be a reaction with double strength. Or else administration should mend their ways and don’t follow the wrong orders of Ranga \-Billa, follow the constitution.”

When asked about the presence of Bhim Army in the rally, Akhtarul Iman said, “I keep attending the meetings of Bhim Army, Dalit Sena. I have attended meetings of BAMCEF in Gaya under its leader Waman Meshram. I have old relations with Dalit movement, hence I invited them and they accepted.”

Bhim Army supporters in the crowd. Photo: Tanzil Asif

“Our leader [Owaisi] had words with him [Chandra Shekhar Aazad], we had invited him to Kishanganj, and if he was free he would have attended the rally. Our leader is in contact with them, we will do whatever we can [to get him out of jail]. Chandra Shekhar ji’s role in the current political scenario is appreciable,” added Iman, applauding Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad’s huge protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Delhi’s Jama Masjid.

Also Read: Kishanganj Bypoll: How the Congress Lost Its Deposit in a Former Bihar Bastion

Bihar’s Muslim-majority Seemanchal region with four districts has 24 assembly constituencies. Araria and Purnia have around 14% and 12% Dalit population respectively while Katihar and Kishanganj have 9% and 7% respectively. A Dalit partner can propel AIMIM’s chances in many of these 24 seats in the 2020 Bihar elections.

“We are not a political party, we are with them ideologically. They have our support in the fight against CAA and NRC; their people too lend support in our fights. And about 2020 elections, we will see who can defeat BJP, if Owaisi ji is the one, we will stand with them,” Bhim Army’s Bharati told The Wire over the phone.

When asked about what chances there were for Owaisi and Aazad to share a dais, Bharati confirmed, “Doors are open, we can take any decision in future.”

Tanzil Asif is a Bihar-based journalist-cum-entrepreneur and the founder of a hyper-local news organisation, Main Media. He tweets at @tnzl_.

Kishanganj Bypoll: How the Congress Lost Its Deposit in a Former Bihar Bastion

Congress leaders from the Azad family have represented the area nine times since 1967.

Kishanganj (Bihar): Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar’s leader of opposition, was to address two consecutive rallies for Congress candidate Sayeeda Banu on October 17, just two days before the official end of campaigning for the Kishanganj assembly by-election. The former deputy chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s face was the last hope for the septuagenarian mother of UPA’s lone Lok Sabha MP from Bihar, Mohammad Jawaid Azad.

The crowd waited for Tejashwi, but the helicopter never landed. And Tejaswi’s absence wasn’t the only thing that went wrong for the Congress at the rally. Party candidate Sayeeda Banu appeared on stage for the first time, 17 days after her nomination, and broke her silence.

Also read: BJP’s Biggest Challengers Right Now Are the Dominant Agrarian Castes

Addressing the audience in the Surjapuri dialect for around two minutes, she spoke with gratified motherly pride about her son being elected to Lok Sabha. Then, she went on to say, “Kishanganj has always supported Congress, Kishanganj will never forget Congress. After me, my son, grandson-granddaughter and other people will come, but Congress will never lose Kishanganj.”

These words were spoken – completely ignoring accusations of dynastic politics – out of an overconfidence developed over decades. Her late husband, Hussain Azad, was the elected MLA from Kishanganj five times between 1967 and 1995. Her son followed in his footsteps, and he was sent to the Bihar assembly for four times before becoming an MP in 2019.

AIMIM’s victory rally: candidate Qamrul Huda, Bihar unit president Akhtarul Iman atop a vehicle. Photo: Tanzil Asif

The Azad family’s village, Chhattargachh aka Azad Nagar, comes under Pothia block, which was part of the Thakurganj assembly segment before a new constituency, Kishanganj, was carved out ahead of 2010 Bihar elections. Hence, Jawaid shifted his political base from the Thakurganj to Kishanganj assembly segment. The Azad family has represented the area nine times since 1967; word is she knows the region like the back of her hand.

Neither Jawaid nor his party took the allegations of clichéd dynastic politics seriously, since he is also a product of the same. He would retort, “BJP candidate Sweety Singh is the wife of former MLA Sikander Singh, AIMIM is a party being run by the Owaisi brothers – how are we the only dynast here?” When his mother was called old, he refuted this by saying she is Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s contemporary and that Kishanganj’s two former MPs – Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi and Mohammad Taslimuddin – were septuagenarians as well.

Mother-son duo Sayeeda Banu and Kishanganj MP Jawaid Azad avoiding the media after her nomination. Photo: Tanzil Asif

But his party workers were not convinced. An old-time party worker, Imran, contested as an independent candidate; Jawaid’s mentor Jahangir stayed away from the campaign. “We are campaigning for the AIMIM candidate Qamrul Huda, discreetly we are telling people – Congress se ber nahin, budhiya teri khair nahi (Don’t oppose Congress, don’t spare the elderly),” two days before polling, a party worker told me on the condition of anonymity. He added, “She is entering politics when she should be praying and going on pilgrimage. When will we get a chance?”

Also read: In Bijepur By-Poll, a Whiff of Odisha’s (and Naveen Patnaik’s) Political Future

Sayeeda Banu was pitted against two outspoken candidates of the BJP and AIMIM, and remaining silent was not a wise choice for her. While her son addressed rallies on her behalf, she focused on meeting people. And when she started speaking, finally, it was too late. “That’s why we are here, ask us whatever you wish to,” said Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh when asked about the candidate’s silence.

It would be unjustified to give all the credit to Congress’s wrong decisions; Asaduddin Owaisi’s party didn’t leave any stone unturned to open its account in Bihar. AIMIM got 16,000 votes in its first election in 2015; four years later in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party’s candidate Akhtarul Iman got more than 40,000 votes in the Kishanganj assembly segment.

AIMIM candidate Qamrul Huda talking to the media after his nomination. Photo: Tanzil Asif

While AIMIM’s enthusiastic party workers were making every dent possible in Congress’s bastion, Jawaid kept repeating the mundane narrative of calling them a BJP agent, a spoiler. “The spoiler demolished Congress’s fortress,” smiled an AIMIM worker at the party’s victory rally. “Now that we have won by defeating the BJP, who is the spoiler and who the agent?”

AIMIM’s Qamrul Huda got 41.46% votes and defeated BJP by a margin of 10,204 votes in the Kishanganj assembly by-election. Congress lost its deposit, with just 14.88% votes, a record low. Owaisi’s party took the lead in two other assembly segments – Kochadhaman and Bahadurganj – in the Lok Sabha elections, and stood second in Amour.

The party has already announced its decision to contest all 243 seats in Bihar in the upcoming assembly elections. “We don’t want to be chief minister, deputy chief minister or prime minister, all we want is a budget of Rs 3,500 crore for minorities in Bihar, special status for the Seemanchal region and a full-fledged campus for Aligarh Muslim University’s Kishanganj centre,” said the party’s Bihar unit youth president, Aadil Hasan Azad.

Tanzil Asif is a Bihar-based journalist-cum-entrepreneur and the founder of a hyper-local news organisation, Main Media. He tweets at @tnzl_.