BAMCEF

Kutch: Murdered BAMCEF Lawyer Had a Long History of Anti-Caste Struggle

While the police claim Devjibhai Maheshwari’s murder was motivated by ‘anti-Brahmin posts’ on Facebook, those close to him say the killing was planned and emerged out of anger against his work to provide land rights to Bahujans.

Mumbai: On September 25, Devjibhai Maheshwari, a senior leader of the All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) and a senior lawyer in Kutch, was brutally stabbed and killed by a 22-year-old Brahmin man Bharat Raval. The initial reports and the police hinted that it was a “hate crime” committed by Raval following Maheshwari’s “anti-Brahmin posts” on Facebook. Raval was arrested a day later in North Mumbai.

But Maheshwari’s wife Minaxiben and his colleagues in the legal field insist that it was a well-planned murder, involving a whole network of people, emerging out of anger against his work to provide land rights to Bahujans in the district. In a complaint filed by Minaxiben, she mentions that just days before the murder of her husband, Maheshwari was handling a land-related case of the Luhar community (an OBC caste in Gujarat), and every lawyer in Kutch had already been warned against taking the case up. Apart from Raval, she named eight other people in her complaint.

Minaxiben, a teacher in a government school in Rapar city in Kutch, refused to accept her husband’s body until the police looked into her complaint seriously. The body was finally cremated four days after his death, on September 28.

Thousands of people attended Devjibhai Maheshwari’s funeral. Photo: By arrangement

The Special Investigating Team (SIT) set up in the case following outrage from anti-caste groups and lawyers has arrested Raval and been questioning 10 more persons in the case. A senior official said that one accused, Mahesh Patel, who was also Raval’s employer in Mumbai, will be arrested today. Patel is accused of giving Raval shelter after the crime. Since Maheshwari belonged to a Dalit community, the police have invoked sections under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, along with murder and criminal conspiracy sections from the Indian Penal Code.

The Wire tried contacting Kutch (West) superintendent of police Mayur Patil several times but he couldn’t be reached. The article will be updated as and when the police officials respond.

Just a week before Maheshwari’s death, he had agreed to work on a case, a decision which made the savarna castes of his village feel challenged, his relatives and friends say. Members of the Sodha Rajput caste had tried to forcibly take over a community hall belonging to the Luhar (blacksmith) community in Rapar city.

“The community members were under tremendous pressure. They were beaten up by the Sodha Rajput men and were warned of dire consequence if they did not let go of the land. When the police refused to intervene and several local lawyers turned down the case, Maheshwari entered the scene,” says one of his associates and BAMCEF member Ashok Rathod. Sodha Rajput is one of the dominant upper castes in the Kutch region and Rathod says several cases of land grab and atrocities are registered against the community on a regular basis.

For more than two decades, Maheshwari was a part of BAMCEF, which is one of the leading anti-caste movements in India founded by Kanshiram in the late 1970s. The organisation, with a cadre-based approach, has played an important role in bringing the several small and big Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes under the umbrella “Bahujan” (or majority) identity. To take forward Kanshiram’s legacy, the organisation has continued to fight back against the atrocities and discrimination faced by Bahujans across the country.

Gujarat has a long history of oppression of the Bahujan castes, especially the Dalits. Upper caste members usurping land that belongs to the Dalit community is a common phenomenon and there have been several uprisings in the past few decades. Maheshwari’s work involved socially and legally fighting for the Bahujans’ land rights, says Hirji bhai, leader of the Bahujan Kranti Morcha. “Land disputes are commonly looked at as a civil matter, but Devjibhai believed that once the upper castes get involved, the matter no longer remains just civil; it changes into a criminal case soon.”

Also Read: While Celebrating Ambedkar as a ‘National Hero’, We Must Not Forget His Central Thesis

Police overlook the complex nature of Maheshwari’s work

But the police in its initial response to Maheshwari’s killing completely overlooked the complex nature of his work. The police announced that the deceased had been posting “anti-Brahmin posts” on Facebook. This, BAMCEF leaders say, is a skewed understanding of the anti-caste movement. “What Maheshwari would write was a critical take on the Brahminical order. He did not write angry posts attacking individual Brahmins, but criticised how this caste-ridden society functions,” explains advocate Rahul Makhare, a senior functionary of BAMCEF in Maharashtra. And this, Makhare says, was used both by the police and later lapped up by the media just to dislodge the case from the original line of investigation.

Makhare’s criticism is not unfounded. Minaxiben’s police complaint mentioned the land dispute angle on the day of the death. The police had mentioned nine names too. But it was not acted upon, says Keshavlal Machhoya, a lawyer who has been associated with Maheshwari for several years and is now representing his family. Among the names in the FIR are Raval, Jaysukh Luhar, Khimji Luhar, Dhaval Luhar, Devubha Sodha, Vijaysinh Sodha, Mayursinh Sodha, Pravinsinh Sodha and Arjansinh Sodha. Two more persons, accused of harbouring and aiding Raval in travelling from Mumbai (where he worked) to Rapar and then back and have also been rounded up.

Machhoya also shares that soon after Maheshwari was attacked, two onlookers had jumped in to help him. “They carried him to two private hospitals, but they were turned away. He was still alive and profusely bleeding. The hospitals said they couldn’t admit him until a police case was registered since it was a medico-legal case. Finally, when Devjibhai was taken to the government hospital, it was too late.”

Devjibhai Maheshwari. Photo: By arrangement

Assert and reclaim

Maheshwari had an interesting approach toward asserting land rights. He believed in asserting and reclaiming. Across the country, many streets and lanes are named after politically influential people – most of whom are invariably upper caste. Maheshwari decided to name a small lane where his office was situated after Mahatma Jotiba Phule, both as a matter of political and social assertion, Rathod says. “A little over a decade ago, Devjibhai set up this office. I don’t know what this lane was called then. But he began calling it Mahatma Jotiba Phule road. In his visiting cards, while giving directions to people, he would call it as Phule road. In no time, the lane came to be known as Mahatma Jotiba Phule,” Rathod tells The Wire.

Maheshwari’s actions, Hirji Bhai says, made Phule’s name familiar to the people of the Kutch region. “Several mahamanav (great people) have remained restricted to their immediate geographic locations. Devjibhai knew the importance of invoking all anti-caste leaders in the daily discourse. And naming a street was part of that larger vision,” he adds. Maheshwari was also one of the senior lawyers at the Indian Lawyers Association, which was formed to consolidate and train anti-caste lawyers from Bahujan communities.

Devjibhai Maheshwari laid to rest. Photo: By arrangement

Maheshwari was unabashed in his criticism of the Hindu caste system. A staunch Ambedkarite, his public speeches and social media posts were focussed on the annihilation of caste. But that did not mean he did not have friends and supporters beyond his immediate social and political network. Maheshwari would travel across Gujarat, trying to build a social movement. In the process, he made several friends. On the day of his funeral, over 5,000 people gathered to say goodbye. “These were people from different walks of life. Bahujans, Muslims, savarnas everyone gathered and mourned his demise,” Rathod says.

Amid chants of ‘Jai Bhim’ and ‘Devjibhai Amar Raho’, his body was taken in a procession across Rapar city. He was cremated close to the tomb of Saint Matiya Dev, who the Matang community of Kutch follow. A blue flag with a dhamma chakra and ‘Jai Bhim’ printed over it was placed on his body.

Advocate Machhoya said that several bar associations in Gujarat have passed resolutions seeking swift action against the accused. “In Rapar court’s bar association, the lawyers boycotted work until arrests were made. It is overwhelming to see this kind of support. It also gives us the courage and hope to fight. After all, that is what Devji would have done, fight back,” Machhoya said.

Future of Dalit Politics Swings Between Decline and Regeneration

Many Dalits feel that the BJP made promises that won it their support, but its actions once in power seem clearly anti-Dalit.

Espousing Kanshi Ram’s principle of ‘Bahujan hitaya, bahujan sukhaya’, the formation of the Azad Samaj Party (ASP) by Chandra Shekhar Aazad on March 15, 2020 marks a new phase in Dalit politics.

Transformation of the movement to a political party

Formed initially as the Bhim Army in Gharkoli village in western Uttar Pradesh in 2015 to fight against rising caste atrocities in the country, the organisation became popular particularly among the younger generation of Dalits. With the transformation of the movement to a political party, Aazad hopes to reach out to all oppressed castes and build a political alliance.

Whether the party can deal with the crisis in Dalit politics in the country today, remains to be seen. Analysis of the movement points to a paradox.

On the one hand, Dalit parties are in deep electoral decline as large sections of the Dalits have moved away to non-Dalit parties, impacting the unity and strength of the movement. The Bahujan Samaj Party, which gained a majority in the 2007 assembly elections, failed to win a single seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections; 19 seats in the 2017 assembly elections; and 10 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Although Mayawati is still a tall Dalit leader, the party is facing an existential crisis.

On the other hand, Dalit assertion on the ground remains strong. With the emergence of organisations/movements led by new Dalit leaders – ASP by Azad, the Una Aytachar Ladat Samiti by Jignesh Mevani in Gujarat, and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi by Prakash Ambedkar in Maharashtra – the earlier ideology and forms of mobilisation used by older Dalit leaders no longer seems to appeal. Young, educated and popular among the new generation, they represent a new, aggressive Dalit politics. It reflects in their immediate response to atrocities on Dalits, as well as the tremendous support they receive.

Having achieved a modicum of political empowerment, identity and self-respect in the 1990s, Dalits are in search of an evolved political party.

Also read: Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad Launches ‘Azad Samaj Party’

The dilemma of decline and regeneration

The Dalit movement is, currently facing the twin dilemma of decline and regeneration. Two significant developments have been responsible for this situation:

1. Identity politics and a shift from the desire for social justice to aspiration impacted by globalisation and cultural modernisation, creating a divide between the better-off middle class and the marginalised section of Dalits.

2. The revival of the BSP under new leadership, its promise of economic development and cultural inclusion. It has attracted the lower castes and created an ideological divide between the Ambedkarite or pro-BSP and Hindutvawadi or pro-BJP Dalits.

These rapid and significant shifts in the 2000s have caused internal fragmentation within the Dalit community, which is the major challenge for Aazad and his newly formed party.

Internal fragmentation and decline

A significant development during the 1990s was the gradual emergence of a small, but influential, young, educated and politically aware Dalit middle class. This new class reached a ‘critical mass’ when the Indian polity experienced globalisation. With this move towards a market-oriented economy, the Dalit movement has also evolved over the last two decades.

While the movements and parties such as BSP mobilised on issues of socio-political empowerment such as identity, dignity and self-respect, the rising middle-class Dalit intellectuals focus on different issues. They emphasise on the need for economic empowerment through a variety of new means, which represents the rise of middle-class activism among Dalits.

The term 'Dalit', which indicated the natural social status of those oppressed by caste, gained huge attention after the Ambedkar centenary in the 1990s. Credit: PTI

The term ‘Dalit’ represented a robust coalition and unity of the oppressed masses. Credit: PTI

Their ideas are best reflected in the Dalit Agenda formulated at the Bhopal Conference in January 2002.

The authors of the Dalit Agenda argued that under the traditional policies of protective discrimination and state welfare, Dalits have remained mere recipients of welfare, landless/asset-less, below the line of poverty, without a share in the capital in the economy and unable to improve their socio-economic status.

Only a tiny elite or ‘creamy layer’ has been able to improve their educational attainments and enter into high paid jobs in the government, the professions, media, arts and increasingly the private sector. However, such movements have little in common or appeal to the rural groups that need protection against atrocities and help in improving their material condition.

At the same time, the poorer Dalit groups, also aspiring for upward mobility, have moved away from traditional parties. There is considerable disillusionment over the failure of the BSP to put forward a socio–economic vision to address the specific problems of deprivation faced by Dalits.

With the capture of power by the BSP with a majority in the 2007 assembly election, Dalits had expected not only self-respect but also improvement in their material situation. Mayawati is no longer respected as before, her shift from a Dalit-oriented to a Sarvajan policy was viewed as having helped mainly the Jatavs and the upper castes that had helped her gain power in 2007.

Consequently, large sections today view it as a purely Jatav party. Equally important, in the 2000s, the marginalised groups undergoing a process of cultural modernisation and influenced by the Hindutva ideology are keen to be part of the larger identity of ‘Hindu’. BJP-RSS leaders have worked quietly overtime at the grassroots among these groups who are entering mainstream politics, finding ways of linking them in various ways to Hindutva. Hence, what we are witnessing in UP is as Paul Brass pointed out – in a different context – ‘politically induced cultural change’, the process by which political elites select some aspects of a group’s culture, attach new value and meaning to them, and use them as symbols to mobilise the group.

Also read: ‘Ambedkarite Parties Must Oppose CAA’: Thol Thirumavalavan Speaks to The Wire

New Dalit force: The Azad Samaj Party

Rising atrocities against Dalits since the BJP came to power in 2014 and the lack of remedial steps by the government underlie the formation of the ASP and similar organisations elsewhere in the country. Attempts by the BJP government to show respect to Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar by building memorials, installing a Dalit leader as president and celebrating Ambedkar’s 150th birthday have not helped.

Many Dalits feel that the BJP made promises that gained it their support, but its actions once in power, seem clearly anti-Dalit. Aazad has successfully harnessed the increasing disillusionment with both the BSP and the BJP to form first the Bhim Army and then the ASP.

The Bhim Army named after Ambedkar, formed by Aazad, the son of a primary school teacher in western UP and Vinay Ratan Singh has over 20,000 followers in the Saharanpur region. Its declared aim is “direct action based on confrontation to preserve or restore the dignity of Dalit”. The Bhim Army since its formation has received tremendous support from Dalits in UP. This is because while the BSP devoted its efforts to electoral politics, the Bhim Army has tried to address the community’s feelings of fear and vulnerability, providing them a sense of security against atrocities.

One of the most important action was the rally against violent atrocities on Dalits by Thakurs at Saharanpur, in April 2017. At least 50 thousand Dalits gathered to show their solidarity at Jantar Mantar on May 21 in New Delhi. Other incidents are clashes over a signboard “The Great Chamar” put up in his village by Azad; action against removal of a Dalit groom from his horse by Thakurs; agitation in February 2020 against the demolition of a temple dedicated to Sant Ravidas in Tughlaqabad Delhi, all of which received huge support.

Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad. Photo: PTI

The UP government, afraid of Azad’s growing support, attempted to rein him in by arresting him on June 17, 2017. Despite being granted bail in November 2017, he was detained under the National Security Act till September 2018, which increased his popular support.

Other incidents that the Bhim Army took up were the suicide of Rohith Vemula, the Una incident in Gujarat where seven Dalits were attacked by cow vigilantes in July 2016 and the violent attacks on Dalits at Bhima-Koregaon in Maharashtra on January 1st, 2018. The Elgaar Parishad rally at Bhima Koregaon was attended by Aazad, Jignesh Mevani, Vinay Ratan Singh, Prakash Ambedkar and other activists. But the most important protest was in March 2018 against the apparent reluctance and delay by the government in filing a review petition in the Supreme Court against its March 20 order that called for changes in the SC/ST Act 1989.

While India has witnessed agitations by Dalits in the past, the scale of this protest – spread across several states, eleven persons killed, many injured, public property damaged, use of social media and anger visible on the street – was perhaps unprecedented and pointed to disillusionment, and rising anger against the BJP. These assaults fuelled a new, all-India Dalit consciousness and movements in support of leaders such as Aazad.

He has kept both the Bhim Army and ASP independent of both Dalit and non-Dalit parties.

While he had initially tried to move close to the BSP, criticism by Mayawati who viewed him as a rival, led him to move away. He also pointed out that the BSP had voted for the EWS reservation, Article 370 and the CAA in parliament, thereby “murdering” the constitution and weakening the Bahujan movement. He had also announced that his organisation would not join hands with or support the Congress party in the 2019 national elections, as latter had opposed Ambedkar and done nothing for Dalits during its 60-year rule.

Azad’s announcement in December 2029 that he would soon form a new political party providing a political alternative to the Bahujan community was received with great anticipation and interest.

Also read: Ambedkar’s Warnings About Three Types of Dictatorships

These new organisations are also quasi-political forces that go beyond traditional Dalit parties in their attempt to address Dalit needs. While the BAMCEF (The All India Backward (SC, ST, and OBC) and Minority Communities Employees Federation) lost importance once the BSP was formed, Azad has decided to retain the Bhim Army as an organisational arm. The Bhim Army runs over 350 free schools for Bahujan children in Saharanpur, Meerut, Shamli, and Muzaffarnagar, as Aazad believes that universalisation of education together with healthcare can take Dalits forward. He has announced that the ASP will undertake a parivartan yatra with the agenda of unifying all the Dalit Bahujan agitations across the country.

The most important feature, of Aazad’s leadership, not evident in the narrower canvas of traditional Dalit parties, is that while focussing on Dalit needs and desires, it has linked them to larger issues of national significance.

He has provided support to widespread protests by citizens of all communities, against the CAA and NRC, and in upholding the secular fabric of the state. This is seen in Aazad’s reading of the preamble of the constitution at the Jama Masjid in Delhi, and support to the protests at Shaheen Bagh and elsewhere. He has declared that his party will adhere to “constitutional morality”, the values of liberty, equality, and fraternity and participate in the process of nation-building. Azad has taken an inclusive stand on the citizenship issue and endorsed the idea of a plural society, in contrast to the attempt by the BJP to polarise Dalits and Muslims.

Shaheen Bagh protest, Shaheen Bagh, anti CAA protest, Chandrashekhar Aazad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, National Register of Citizens, Constitution of India, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Umar Khalid, Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani, Aligarh Muslim University, Rohith Vemula, Radhika Vemula,

Women at the Shaheen Bagh protest against the CAA hold up pictures of Chandra Shekhar Aazad. Photo: @ShaheenBaghOff/Twitter

New Dalit movement: Possibilities and limitations

For many Dalits and activists, the ASP under the leadership of Azad holds the promise of a new Dalit movement in north India. He has been compared to Kanshi Ram whose mission it is held remains unfulfilled. The ASP holds out possibilities as it has a strong leader with an Ambedkarite ideology and tremendous support in western UP. Moreover, Azad is a product of the new Dalit politics of the 2000s and his ASP different from earlier Dalit parties/organisations. The larger social, political and economic arena, within which Dalit politics operated earlier, has significantly altered. Consequently, the Dalit community, with emergent differences along with class and cultural lines, is seeking a re-orientation of its future by building a new vision of ideas and activities to suit its new-founded hopes and desires.

Dalits, particularly the younger generation, see in leaders such as Azad, a new force to spearhead the Dalit movement and fill the space left vacant by Mayawati’s diminishing popularity.

However, while Azad may seem to have the ambition, potential, and support to take the Dalit movement forward, is this possible in the current political environment? All disadvantaged groups, including Dalits, are facing the onslaught of a right-wing, Hindu majoritarian party supported by a conservative, upper-caste society, and a centralised, authoritarian government. Any social movement for greater equality and diversity against the existing political order faces swift retribution.

In this situation, can the ASP protect Dalits, fulfil their desires and tackle larger issues, such as inclusive citizenship, facing the nation? Thus, the new Dalit movement faces a herculean task, much hard work and struggle will be required. It remains to be seen if Azad and his ASP will be able to unite all sections of Dalits and achieve these goals.

Sudha Pai, a former Professor of JNU, was the Rector (Pro-Vice-Chancellor) from 2011 to 2015.

Independent Inquiry Slams Pune Police for ‘Inaction’ During Bhima Koregaon Violence

The inquiry has concluded that the violence could have been controlled had the police and state administration reacted promptly to the “premeditated” violence, and has demanded an inquiry against “erring officers”.

Mumbai: A non-official inquiry conducted by a retired high court judge and two district judges has come down heavily on the police and particularly the then superintendent of Pune police (rural) Mohd. Suvez Haq for its “inaction and inability to control the mob” that had unleashed violence on the huge gathering of Bahujans at Bhima Koregaon outside Pune on January 1.

As part of an independent inquiry initiated by anti-caste activists and social groups, Justice (retired) B. Chandra Kumar of the Hyderabad high court, along with two district judges of Maharashtra, J.H. Dongre and Manik Mhakre, had travelled to Bhima Koregaon and the nearby villages, and recorded exhaustive testimonies of the victims, bystanders and the police on duty.

The inquiry has concluded that the violence could have been controlled had the police and state administration reacted promptly to the “premeditated” violence.

The inquiry report that has been accessed by The Wire has already been submitted to the state set two- member judicial inquiry commission headed by the former chief justice of Calcutta high court J.N. Patel and Sumit Mullick, former chief secretary of the Maharashtra government.

The inquiry committee has observed that, “On January 1, a huge mob of nearly 2,000 people carrying lathis and saffron flags from Vadhu Budruk area were allowed to head towards the Vijay Stambh (the memorial built to commemorate the defeat of the Brahmin Peshwa soldiers by a Mahar Battalion of British East India Company comprising Dalits in 1818).”

The observation, which is based on the testimonies of the victims and other eye witnesses has also concluded that: “Superintendent of Police Mohd. Suvez Haq and other police officers were also present and observed the procession… No steps were taken by the police to stop this procession. Not even a suggestion was given to them not to proceed towards the places where the vehicles were parked or to the main road through which people were proceeding towards Vijay Stambh.”

Haq, soon after the riots, was transferred to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad as the deputy inspector general and on August 8 was inducted into the CBI as a superintendent of police. Several attempts were made to reach Haq but his phone has been out of reach. The story will be updated once he responds to the report’s findings.

Justice (retired) B. Chandra Kumar. Credit: YouTube

Speaking to The Wire, Justice Chandra Kumar said that the incident could have been nipped in the bud had the police responded to the situation promptly. “The police were deployed at the spot. The SP was present there too. However, from the testimonies of the villagers and victims who were brutalised in the attack we have concluded that the police had intentionally not taken any action against the rioters. They allowed the riot to grow out of control,” Justice Chandra Kumar said.

The committee has also considered the events prior to Elgar Parishad meet at Shaniwarwada on December 31 as the reason behind the violence. The Pune police has so far arrested ten persons including lawyers, activists and academics for their alleged role in “naxal activities” and for instigating the mob and also funding the violence. However, the fact-finding committee has observed that the events that unfolded in and around Bhima Koregaon villages since December 27 and especially on December 29 at Vadhu Budruk village were behind the attack.

Contrary to some reports in the media, the committee has blamed the activities in Sanaswadi and Vadhu Budruk villages to be behind the violence. Vadhu Budruk village in Shirur Tehsil, which is less than four kilometres away from Bhima Koregaon is another significant place in the history, where the samadhi of King Sambhaji – son of King Shivaji – was built. Sanaswadi is around 7.5 km from Bhima Koregaon.

Justice Chandra Kumar, in the report, has observed that specific orders were issued at the village level three-four days prior to the January 1 celebration. Both at Vadhu Budruk and Sanaswadi, Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote has been actively working and has been allegedly instigating the Marathas against the Dalits. “Sanaswadi Gram Panchayat has passed a resolution on December 30, 2017, directing the people to observe ‘Total Bandh’ and to observe January 1, 2018, as a ‘Black Day’, the committee has observed.

Ekbote, who was arrested in March by the Pune police, was promptly released on bail. He and another Hindutva leader Manohar alias Sambhaji Bhide were named in the initial FIR for allegedly instigating the mob against the Dalits. No action has been initiated against Bhide so far and the police is yet to file a chargesheet in the case. The FIR was registered after Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh’s leader Prakash Ambedkar named the two as the masterminds behind the violence.

“Three to four days prior to 1st January 2018, several messages were sent out on WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media on behalf of Manohar alias Samhaji Bhide and Samastha Hindu Agadhi (run by Ekbote) instigating the people to observe ‘Bandh’ on 1st January 2018, in the Village Perne Phata, Bhima Koregaon, Shikrapur, Vagholi, Sanaswadi, Lonikand and nearby 10-15 villages,” the report observed. The report claims all hotels around the vicinity were specifically instructed by the two to strictly observe a bandh so that the people coming to pay respect to Vijay Stambh would not get drinking water, breakfast, lunch, etc. “A threat was also given that those who do not observe ‘Bandh’ or provide water, etc. to the people coming for paying respect to Vijay Stambh would have to face dire consequences,” the inquiry report further observed.

Justice Chandra Kumar said the incident in Sanaswadi in particular was of a peculiar nature. “The gram panchayat had passed a resolution to socially boycott thousands of Dalits travelling to Bhima Koregoan. This boycott is a clear case of caste violence. It was brought to the police’s notice. Yet, the police decided to not respond to it,” he said. The committee has also observed that there was a total failure of intelligence in securing information and in taking preventive action.

Besides the three judges, the team also comprised of lawyers and social activists from Pune. Justice Chandra Kumar said the exercise was intentionally carried out with judges and lawyers to ensure proper legal processes were followed and that the documentation was conducted without any distortion of facts.

The All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF), an organisation set up by the late Kanshi Ram provided the logistic support to the inquiry committee. BAMCEF along with Samata Sainik Dal founded by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar has been working actively in organising the processions and visits to Bhima Koregaon for several decades.

This is the first part of the report, the second part focusses on the protests that were organised across the state that led to indiscriminate police action against over 27000 Bahujan youths including teenage boys across Maharashtra. “That report will be finalised in a week’s time and will be submitted to the two- member judicial commission,” confirmed senior lawyer Rahul Makhre, who was also a part of the fact-finding team.

Every year over three-four lakh Dalit Bahujan and anti-caste activists travel to Bhima Koregaon on January 1 and observe ‘Vijay Diwas’ to commemorate the defeat of the Brahmin Peshwa soldiers by a Mahar Battalion of British East India Company comprising Dalits in 1818. This year, since it was the 200th year, the number of visitors had doubled and over six lakh people from across Maharashtra and neighbouring states had travelled to Bhima Koregaon. However, most had to turn back after the violence broke out.

Failure to intervene

Another revelation, the report makes, is of a phone call made by one Ramdas Lokhande to the minister of state for social justice Dilip Kamble. Lokhande, who also deposed before the committee, has apparently informed the minister over a phone call made at 9 am on January 1 that “the people (Dalits visiting Bhima Koregaon) were being obstructed outside the village and the situation was tense.”

Justice Chandra Kumar points out that this SOS call was made in desperation and with the hope of receiving help. “This was the beginning for the riot. In a few minutes, the gathered mob had attacked those heading to Bhima Koregaon, vehicles were burnt, stones were pelted and public and private property were damaged,” he said.

At 11 am, the minister reached the spot and instructed the police to act immediately. However, stones were pelted on his car too. Kamble had then reportedly made a call to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis between 1.30 and 2.00 pm and had sought for additional police force at Bhima Koregaon. “Even though, the Honourable Minister Dilip Kamble personally talked to the Maharashtra chief minister of at around 11 pm, the police did not deploy any additional force. Even after getting information that shops and houses were attacked and burned and even the victims were making phone calls to the police to save their shops and houses, the police have not taken any steps to save their shops and houses,” the report concluded.

In an hour, the report says, the mob had reached closer to the banks of Bhima river. By 10 am, stones – that were stored in advance at the river bank – were pelted at the visitors. According to some testimonies, rumours of pieces of meat and beer bottles being thrown at one Bhairoba temple at Sanaswadi temple were rife for nearly three-four days. “Even when these rumours were brought to the police’s notice, the police had failed to intervene,” said Justice Chandra Kumar.

Justice Chandra Kumar has called this act “a systematically planned caste violence”. “In our several rounds of meetings with the villagers, and the police and ongoing through the video recordings of the wide- spread violence, we could not find any convincing reason as to why the police could not stop the mob at its origin (near Vadhu Budruk village) itself. The police had already received complaints on December 29 about the alleged planning of riots that were underway in the neighbouring village, these complaints were also overlooked,” Chandra Kumar said.

Meet Sanjay Nishad, the Man Who Upset Adityanath’s Apple Cart in Gorakhpur

From running an electro-homeopathy clinic to BAMCEF to writing the history of the Nishad community, meet the man who engineered the defeat of an ‘invincible’ Adityanath.

The man who engineered the Samajwadi Party’s (SP) recent by-poll victory in chief minister Adityanath’s bastion – Gorakhpur – in Uttar Pradesh is Dr Sanjay Kumar Nishad, national president of the Nishad Party.

Four years ago, Sanjay Nishad was a name known to few. Those who knew him were mostly members of the Nishad community. Today, he is being described as the man who scripted the story of defeat of Adityanath, who till recently was considered invincible in his own constituency.

Who is Sanjay Nishad? What does he do? When did he float the Nishad Party and why? What is the nature of his politics?

Before establishing the Nishad Party in 2013, Sanjay used to run an electro-homeopathy clinic on the Geeta Vatika Road at Rapti Nagar in Gorakhpur. This particular medical methodology believes that diseases are caused by impurities in the lymph and blood systems, and can be cured by micro or mineral salts extracted from plants. He approached the Supreme Court to get electro-homeopathy recognised as a medical system. In 2002, he formed the Purvanchal Medical Electro-Homeopathy Association and became its president.

Politically active for the last two decades, Sanjay was initially associated with BAMCEF (Backward and Minority Communities’ Employees Federation). He also unsuccessfully once contested assembly polls from Campierganj.

Later, Sanjay got involved with caste politics. In 2008, he formed two organisations called All India Backward and Minority Welfare Mission and Shakti Mukti Mahasangram. Prior to launching the Nishad Party, he formed National Nishad Integration Council, trying to unite different sub-castes of the Nishad community. He also launched a campaign to bring 553 castes of fishermen community on one platform. He informed his community members how incorporating all the synonymous castes of the Nishad community into one Scheduled caste would benefit the society.

The Nishad community has been granted Scheduled caste status in 14 states. In UP, seven synonymous Nishad castes – Manjhwar, Gaur, Turha, Kharot, Kharvar, Beldar, Koli – are recognised as Scheduled castes while the other sub-castes are given OBC (Other Backward Caste) status.

According to Sanjay, all castes of the Nishad community are Scheduled castes under the Constitution. What is needed is a strong definition of these castes. He enlightened the community about its political power and urged them to get organised as a party instead of oscillating between different parties.

The Nishad community, according to Sanjay, constitutes 17% population in Uttar Pradesh with influence in 152 assembly seats. Once united, the community can no longer be ignored, he believes.

Sanjay Nishad grabbed the headlines for the first time when he blocked the railway tracks at Kasrawal village, in Gorakhpur’s neighbouring Sahjanwa region, demanding Scheduled caste status for Nishads on June 7, 2015.

Hundreds of Nishad community members joined him, mostly youth from Western Uttar Pradesh and Purvanchal region. A violent clash between the protesters and the police left one protester, Akhilesh Nishad, dead. The protesters torched vehicles on the highway. The Samajwadi Party government, which was in power then, took stern action and registered cases against three dozen people, including Sanjay Nishad.

Sanjay went underground but the rest of the accused were arrested. Later, he surrendered and was let out on bail.

This incident brought him into the spotlight and he used this opportunity to bolster the Nishad Party by forming village-level organisations, engaging women and youth. Maroon caps and flag symbolised the party, and workers were given regular training and enlightened about Nishad history, culture and civilisation.

Sanjay Nishad is the author of two books – Nishadon ka itihas (The History of Nishads) and Bharat ka Asli Maalik Kaun hai (Who is the Real Owner of India?)

In Nishadon ka Itihas he writes, “The history of Nishads is very old. Nishad finds mention in the world’s oldest Rigveda. Nishads are mentioned several times in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The first shloka of Maharishi Valmiki uses the term Nishad. Even Ved Vyas, the author of Mahabharata, was a great Nishad Maha Rishi. In the Mahabharata, many epics have been written on Nal, the son of Nishad King Raja Vir Sen.”

He further writes that he is presenting Nishad history in order to organise the community into one strong group by invoking the past and bringing about a change in the current politics as well as the system.

He writes, “The history of Nishads is the essence of the entire world history. It is not the history of one caste but that of all humans. It is the history of the culture when man learned to live in permanent settlements. It is the early history of civilization.” He also claims that ‘Aadya Nishad’ was the architect of the Indus civilisation.

In his book, Bharat ka Asli Malik Kaun Hai, Sanjay writes, “There were many rulers in the Nishad dynasty. We have a royal lineage. The magnificent fort of our Maharaj Guhraj Nishad stands at Shringverpur in Allahabad. The Kohli-Nishad capital during the Buddha period, Ramgram (the present Ramgarh) and the Gorakhnath temple of Machhendranath (Matsyendranath) are both located in Gorakhpur.”

He writes, “Nishads invented the jhum cultivation method using spade and stick.”

“The Nishads have never been enslaved, nor have they accepted the principles of Manusmriti. They gave up their lives fighting the British. Notable freedom fighters include names of Tilka Manjhi, Siddhon Manjhi, Jhuri Bind, Mauku and Bhima Kevat. Lakshmi Bai’s artilleryman Shankar, Bhavani, Jubba Sahni, Mati Kashyam. Avanti Bai Lodha, Samadhan Nishad, Lochan Nishad, Mahadev Kevat, Nevas Kumar Manjhi and others.”

According to him, the Nishads were brought under the ambit of the Criminal Tribes Act 1871. They were tortured because they confronted the British. As a result, the Nishads dispersed in different parts of the country, grouping themselves under different sub-castes.

While Sanjay wanted the party to be named as Nishad, the Election Commission refused to endorse a party with a caste-based name. Hence the birth of the acronym Nishad which stands for Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal. Bearing caste identity in mind, Sanjay made astute use of the acronym which has gained popularity among the public.

In July 2016, the Nishad Party carried out its first public show of strength in Gorakhpur. The BJP has been trying to exercise its influence over the Nishad community for some time. In fact, the party had appointed Mukesh Sahni as the star campaigner during the Bihar assembly polls hoping to gain Nishad votes. Sahni hails from Darbhanga in Bihar, and runs a film set designing business in Mumbai. He is the president of Nishad Development Sangh. Proud of his fishermen identity, he uses the title ‘Son of Mallah’ with his name.

File photo of a Hindu Yuva Vahini rally. Credit: PTI

At a press conference in 2017, Sanjay Nishad called HYV an ‘organised gang’ that carries out riots and persecutes Muslims, Dalits, backwards and Nishads. Credit: PTI Files

Sahni announced his support for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar polls and the BJP used his name widely in campaign ads. Before joining the BJP, Sahni had a tie-up with (Janata Dal (United) leader) Nitish Kumar. Though the BJP suffered heavy losses in the polls then, Sahni claimed that the party won 7% votes of Bihar’s Nishad community. He also said that it was due to his efforts that the Yadav, Muslim, Koeri and Kurmi castes (with 41% votes) helped the Lalu-Nitish combine win the election.

Ahead of 2017 assembly polls, Sahni visited Uttar Pradesh and organised rath yatras demanding Scheduled caste status for Manjhi, Mallah and other equivalent castes and also the formation of a National Fishermen Commission.

To expand his popularity among members of Nishad community, he camped in Gorakhpur. On July 10, 2016, Sahni organised a conference on World Fishermen Day and announced his decision to install a statue of former MP Phoolan Devi in Gorakhpur’s Nishad temple.

This initiative by Sahni miffed several local Nishad leaders. It was speculated that he was attempting to polarise Nishad voters in favour of the BJP. Taking him into confidence, the Nishad Party offered to jointly install the statue of Phoolan Devi. It was decided that a 30-feet statue would be installed in Baghagada on her death anniversary on July 25. The giant statue was brought from Mumbai at Sahni’s behest. A huge rally was also planned in Champa Devi Park the same day.

However, the district administration refused to allow installation of the statue. Though the statue was not set up, the Nishad Party, National Nishad Integration Council and National Nishad Development Organisation held a mega rally on the banks of Ramgarh Tal in Champa Devi Park. More than 25,000 people gathered on the occasion

Though Phoolan Devi’s statue was not installed and is still lying in front of a house in Baghagada, the Nishad Party has come a long way.

Sanjay Nishad (centre) has an aggressive stand against RSS, BJP and Hindu Yuva Vahini. He terms the RSS and HYV as anti-social organisations. Credit: Facebook

In 2017 assembly polls, the Nishad Party formed a coalition with Peace Party and contested 72 seats. It managed to win only one, Gyanpur. But the winning candidate Vijay Mishra is now close to the BJP.

The Nishad Party got a total of 5,40,539 votes in the assembly polls. On several seats including Paniara, Campierganj, Sahjanwa, Khajani, Tamkuhiraj, Bhadohi and Chandoli, it received more than 10,000 votes.

Sanjay Nishad contested from Gorakhpur rural seat but lost by 34,869 votes in 2017. Though he may have lost the election then, he managed to get his son Praveen Nishad elected on an SP ticket in the recent UP bypolls. Praveen Nishad is now an MP.

Sanjay who used to criticise the BJP, Bahujan Samaj Party and SP till 2017, now claims that he has handed his son over to the SP; let the party do what it wants with him.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav, on the other side, is now calling Nishad Party a younger sibling of Samajwadi Party. Clearly, Nishad Party would like to maintain its independent status while in coalition with the SP until the next election.

Sanjay has an aggressive stand against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP and the Hindu Yuva Vahini. He calls the RSS and HYV anti-social organisations and the BJP is ‘Bharat Jalao Party’ (Burn India Party).

He is one of the few people in Gorakhpur who have dared to brazenly criticise the HYV. At a press conference in 2017, he called HYV an ‘organised gang’ that carries out riots and persecutes Muslims, Dalits, backwards and Nishads.

He has always maintained that the Gorakshpeeth of Gorakhpur belongs to the Nishad community. According to him, “Gorakshpeeth was founded by Matsyendranath who was born in the Ghivar family of Nishad lineage. But it was later annexed by Manuwadis.”

Describing Nishads, Dalits and backwards as native inhabitants of India, Sanjay defines Manuwad as a conspiracy with the mentality of enslaving the natives for generations.

Sanjay is always dressed in a suit while attending rallies and meetings. Waving at the crowd in his own characteristic style, he presents himself as a Messiah of the Nishad community. His supporters address him as ‘Mahamana’, the great.

Nishad party workers and supporters run dozens of WhatsApp groups. The party also runs a news portal called Eklavya Manav Sandesh News and a YouTube channel covering news of the community and Sanjay Nishad’s messages.

Inside Sanjay’s office, among the portraits of ancestors of the Nishad community adorning the walls are pictures of Vasco Da Gama and Columbus. Pointing out that they both were sailors, Sanjay says they shared common ancestry with the Nishad community claiming that the community is international. Those who depend for their livelihood on oceans, rivers and ponds are all Nishads by descent, according to him.

For now, the Nishad party has successfully established ‘Jai Nishad Raj’ as the new slogan in Gorakhpur replacing the old ‘Gorakhpur mein rehna hai to Yogi-Yogi kehna hai‘ If you want to stay in Gorakhpur, keep chanting the Yogi’s name).

Manoj Singh is a senior journalist based in Gorakhpur.

Translated from Hindi by Naushin Rehman.

Will Mayawati Succeed in Uniting Dalits and Muslims Ahead of the UP Elections?

Despite the many hurdles in uniting the two communities, if the BSP gains a large section of the Dalit and Muslim vote, it will likely form the next UP government.

Mayawati has been quick to take advantage of cow vigilantism incidents and has flagged-off an early and aggressive electoral campaign.

Mayawati has flagged-off an early and aggressive electoral campaign. Credit: PTI

Until recently, the BSP, following its poor performance in the 2012 assembly elections and 2014 general elections, was not viewed as a noteworthy player in the upcoming UP assembly elections in 2017. The BJP, with its massive victory under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, was regarded as a frontrunner. However, a series of atrocities against Dalits and Muslims in quick succession at the hands of gau rakshaks at Una in Gujarat, Bisada in UP and elsewhere, have brought in a significant change.

Also, Modi taking a long time to reach out to those who had suffered in these incidents, led to a perception that his statements were too late, were largely symbolic and political in nature, and would result in little action. The BJP’s anti-Dalit image was highlighted when senior party member Dayashankar Singh abused BSP chief Mayawati in vile language, prompting her supporters to hit the streets in protest.

Mayawati has been quick to take advantage of these recent incidents and has flagged-off an early and aggressive electoral campaign. Along with dividing UP into four zones under trusted lieutenants, she has planned big rallies in Agra, Allahabad, Azamgarh and Saharanpur – all districts with a large Dalit and Muslim population.

At a well-attended rally in Agra on August 21, she attacked the BJP by calling it an anti-Dalit party and one that treated Muslims badly. Hence, the question arises whether Mayawati can bring together the two communities that have been threatened by the fringe elements of the Hindu right and lead the BSP to power in 2017?

A shared history

It is noteworthy that these two disadvantaged communities have a shared history in UP. In the immediate post-independence period, both the communities supported the Congress.

In the mid-1960s, disillusioned with the Congress, the Republican Party of India – the first schedule caste Ambedkarite party in UP – formed an electoral alliance with the Muslim organisations in four districts in the state, which gave the party seats in this region and in two eastern districts.

A second coming together was in the BAMCEF (All India Backward (SC, ST, OBC) And Minority Communities Employees Federation), formed by Kanshi Ram, who conceptualised the ‘Bahujans’ as consisting of all the oppressed sections, including Muslims.

The BSP and the Samajwadi Party (SP) also joined hands prior to the 1993 assembly elections to successfully combine Dalits, OBCs and Muslims, capture power and contain the Hindutva-based mobilisation of the BJP.

Subsequently, large sections of the Muslim community have preferred ‘Maulana Mulayam,’ but in the absence of the Congress, they have viewed the two lower caste parties as secular formations that would protect them against the anti-Muslim stance of the BJP.

Challenge of uniting the communities

Today, Mayawati will have to deal with significant challenges to create a Dalit-Muslim combine. UP is a volatile state, and the Dalit and the Muslim vote has oscillated in the elections in the 2000s. In the 2007 assembly elections, Dalits had solidly supported Mayawati and 29 Muslim candidates had won on the BSP ticket. But in the 2012 assembly elections, Mayawati’s defeat – despite gaining over 26% of the votes – was largely due to the Jatavs, her core supporters who were unhappy with her sarvajan policy, and the Muslims moving towards the SP. Again in the 2014 national elections, due to the Modi wave, the BSP gained almost 20% of the votes, but could not win a seat. A single Muslim candidate could not gain a seat either.

Her greatest challenge will arise in western UP, which has a large Dalit and Muslim population. During the Muzaffarnagar riots in September 2013, a Dalit-Muslim divide due to the changing social equations, became visible for the first time in the rural areas. Field studies reveal that Dalits did not try to protect or help Muslims, but rather in many cases actively participated in the riots. They started by attending the Jat mahapanchayats and even attacked Muslims in their villages.

FIRs filed by Muslims mention Dalits and many of those who are still in jail in connection with the riots, include Dalits. With the Muslim community having fled from their villages, Jats are facing an acute shortage of labour, which has raised the demand for Dalits.

The communal riots, thus, impacted the Dalit equation with Jats and Muslims very differently. Their equation with the former improved, but towards the latter, there was animosity. A popular sentiment shared by Jats, Dalits and the upper castes was one that the state government had disbursed compensation money among Muslims to obtain their support.

During the riots, the BSP found it difficult to handle relations between the Dalits and Muslims in many places, since its base and leadership straddles both communities. During communal incidents, BSP leaders like Kadir Rana often rushed to support the Muslim community that was involved, hence angering the Hindu and Dalit supporters who also expected their support.

Clashes between Dalits and Muslims also occurred in the aftermath of the riots. The Indian Express reported that out of the 605 communal incidents in UP in the 10 weeks beginning with the Lok Sabha election results of May 16, 2014, 68 – or every ninth incident – involved Muslims and Dalits. Over 70% of the incidents took place in and around 12 assembly constituencies where byelections were due.

An immediate response often given is the changing relationship between the younger members of the two communities. Couples from the communities enter into a relationship or elope, which is often described as ‘love jihad’ giving rise to tension and conflict. Education has brought about a change and the development of technology, such as the introduction of mobile phones and social media, has made it easier for the youth to communicate. Also, the BJP leaves no stone unturned when fomenting trouble and its cadres have quickly led to the party being labelled as the “protector” between the two communities.

Finally, in eastern UP, the local dynamics are different. The Muzaffarnagar riots had little impact, the Muslims are not unhappy with the SP and continue to support it as the party that will protect them against the communal mobilisation of Yogi Adityanath and his Hindu Vahini. Here, a triangular fight is expected between the BJP, SP and BSP over Dalit, OBC and Muslim votes.

Advantage BSP

The recent political developments have however introduced change and today the situation seems to favour the BSP. The Dalits are angry with the BJP, particularly those in UP and Gujarat. In contrast to earlier atrocities, whose impact was limited to a region, Dalits have been able to network and organise using social media. The Chamar-Jatavs – Mayawati’s core constituency – have been the most active. In UP, protests were organised in various towns and an almost complete boycott of the Dhamma Chetna Yatra by Buddhist monks was organised by the BJP.

Mayawati has given 100 seats to Muslims candidates and four prominent Muslim leaders have recently joined the BSP, which indicates the growing preference of the community. Her reputation of being a tough administrator capable of maintaining law and order could appeal to Muslims, who have found the SP government to not take action when atrocities occur against Muslims, particularly in western UP.

However, the Muslims will choose between the BSP and SP closer to the elections depending on which party they feel will perform better in relation to the BJP. If the BSP is able to gain a large section of the Dalits and Muslim votes, Mayawati could probably form a government, considering that both the BSP and SP were able to obtain majorities in 2007 and 2012 by obtaining 29% of the votes. Given that the Congress is attempting to put up a fight, the percentage of the BSP would require in a four-way contest would be even lower.

On the other hand, the BJP leadership is clearly worried that its efforts since 2014 of bringing the Dalits into the saffron fold – through attempts such as celebrating Ambedkar’s 125th birthday – have been gravely affected by cow vigilantism. While the Ram temple issue enabled the BJP in UP to create a single Hindu identity and vote bank across the state in 1991, the actions of the gau rakshaks have created a divide.

Despite Modi’s efforts to control the groups, Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia’s remarks indicate that the issue will be brought up in the UP elections. Earlier, BJP chief Amit Shah had claimed that the main fight would be between the SP and the BJP. The recent attempts to criticise Mayawati and the poaching of significant BSP leaders from the OBC community – such as Swami Prasad Maurya and R.K. Choudhary and more recently Brajesh Pathak, an important Brahmin leader responsible for the sarvajan strategy – reflect the BJP’s growing anxiety. It also underlies its recent claim that Rohit Vemula was not a Dalit and its strategy of using nationalism through the Tiranga Yatras to win over Dalits and the backward classes.

Thus, the main fight in the upcoming UP elections will be between the BJP and the BSP in most parts of UP, with the SP trying hard to improve its standing among its backward and Muslim base, and with the Congress still on the margins.

Clearly it will be a historic fight between a right-wing Hindu nationalist party, with its base among the upper castes, and a Dalit-based party that is attempting to stitch together a strong Dalit-Muslim alliance. It remains to be seen if the BSP succeeds during its aggressive electoral campaign to create a winning combination of Dalits and Muslims.

Sudha Pai is National Fellow, Indian Council of Social Sciences, former rector and professor, Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University