A Tribute to Dr R.M.Pal

The Humanist who fought for the human rights of most marginalized

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

It was Prof Y.P.Chibbar, the PUCL General Secretary for years, who introduced me to Dr R.M.Pal when I visited him at ARSD College where he was teaching.  ‘Dr Pal is the right person for you. He is the editor of PUCL Bulletin and lives in Greater Kailash. You must meet him,’ suggested Prof Chibbar. And after that it was a relationship that grew up every passing day. As a young aspiring boy from a nondescript town of Uttarakhand, I had come to Delhi ‘incidentally’, during the tumultuous years of anti Mandal agitation where most of our ‘intellectuals’ had been exposed. Staying with Dr Mulk Raj Anand, pioneer of English writing in India, there was a period of great personal churning for me and Dr Pal made it clear to me to earn to learn. ‘What are you doing there’, he asked. Jee, I am looking after his work, typing his scripts and accompany him to various places where he moves, I said. My aim is to do social work and it is a great honor to be with a man who calls himself a ‘Gandhian’. For a young person like me who had so many fantasies about Gandhism as perhaps we did not have the opportunity to know and understand ‘others’ and it seemed the only way to fight against oppression particularly untouchability which Gandhi had claimed to be the biggest ‘sin’ of Hinduism. So for me any one who had seen Gandhi or worked with him became a hero and ‘Lokayat’ where Dr Mulk Raj Anand stayed became my ‘sabarmati’. Dr Pal was a no nonsense person who could speak fearlessly without being hypocritical in front of you and he remained unimpressed. ‘Well, I can tell you Mulk Raj Anand will not help you’, he said. ‘ Don’t live under the romance of ‘Gandhian’ fame as it is good to do ‘social work’ but you need to be independent and earn to do things, he suggested. I know you came from Dehradun and may face prejudices here because of your village background. Better you do some evening courses as you plan and earn for your living and hopefully you will be able to contribute to society as you wish. And I can say with firm conviction that after coming to Delhi and staying here as meek and submissive person for over two and half years, Dr Pal gave me the confidence in myself and helped me become independent and rebuild my self respect and confidence.

Over the years our interaction grew and he became fond of me. He would guide me and ask me write in particular way. He suggested diverse topics to me and so much was the trust that many time he would send me to go on fact finding on particular issues and get direct information for him.  It was not just he would ask to write but he would call me and discuss with me the issue in detail and point out those particular references which he would wish me to focus. I was fortunate to have met and acquaint with a number of eminent, Human Rights activists, Ambedkarite scholars and writers at young age and all of them respected me and appreciated my courage and enthusiasm but Dr Pal remain the one who mentored me and guided me. He would appreciate a number of my elderly friends but unlike them he would guide me and even point to me the grammatical mistakes in my writings. I knew them very well and the fact was that being a teacher, it was like a student sitting in his class as if he is dictating and then checking our assignment. Many times, he warned me of being neutral in my criticism and asked me to be as ruthless to Muslim fanatics too who try to defame the community but one thing was clear that he made a distinction between minority communalism and majoritarian communalism and cautioned India of the dangers of the Hindu communalism. He was afraid of the fact that India might become victim of the majoritarian communalism and for that all the like-minded parties and people have to join hand. He would often quote that no movement will succeed unless it is preceded by a political philosophy.

I still remember how he guided me to write a paper for a seminar being organized by Indian Social Institute, Delhi,  in collaboration with UGC, on Ambedkar and M N Roy’s relationship and Roy’s thought on rationalism and Buddhism. He was determined despite my own feeling that it was a misfit for a seminar on Human Rights education issue yet he felt only I could have done justice to this and he guided me. Yes, that paper took me to various files including that information where Dr Ambedkar had, as a minister in Viceroy’s Council, sanctioned an amount of Rs 13,000 for anti war efforts of M N Roy and on the basis of this information ‘inspired’ Arun Shourie to write  ‘Worshipping the False God’, a book based on hard prejudices and lies. I met Justice Tarkunde several time and got those letters where he mentioned that it was he who took the money many time on behalf of the Party and that Roy never took the money himself. Ambedkar was in deep appreciation of MN Roy and his intellectual honesty and that is why there are lots of similarities on their thoughts and philosophy, which need further elaborations. I can say with conviction that if Dr Pal had not guided me in this regard, I would have missed the great opportunity and work of M N Roy related to caste, religion and fascism.

As the editor of PUCL Bulletin he was able to focus a lot on atrocities against Dalits and issue of communalism in India. Both the issue of caste violence against Dalits and communalism were matter of great concern for him and he remained uncompromising in his condemnation of them. At the various national and international forums he always focused on the issue that Human Rights are not just state laws and their steady implementation which of course are important, but what he spoke and emphasized was ‘societal violation of human rights’ which he always felt, got out of the scrutiny of the human rights defenders and the organsations working for the human rights. It was his conviction that Dalits, Muslims and other marginalized people should join Radical Humanist and Human Rights Movement to raise their issues. As he became president of Delhi PUCL, he ensured that these segments are fairly represented and we know personally many of the radical humanists and PUCL ‘leaders’ were not very happy with his ‘casteist’ approach.

For long he listened to many youngsters claiming that ‘human rights’ organisations in India have no space for the Dalits. He always mentioned to me this point that PUCL is a membership based organisations and if the Dalits, Muslims wanted to lead it, they need to become member and increase their numbers. He introduced many eminent persons in the human rights and said that there is no point complaining if you are unable to be member of it. People’s organisations are led by people and need further understanding and working of the organisations and its structures. Merely blaming the organisations for being representative of ‘upper castes’ was not correct according to him though we knew that many activists became members but frankly speaking the functioning of the organisations like PUCL did not change. The dark fact is that he was not liked inside the PUCL as well as in the Radical Humanists circle for his ‘overemphasis on caste and communalism. His unambiguity and openness made many people his enemy who would be jealous of his forthrightness. The man always enjoyed being with young activists, guiding them and providing ideas to write on particular issues. I can vouch with my own experience having met numerous people of eminence how they just use you. The dirty secret of the ‘intellectual’ world is that it does not want to engage in dialogue with people but work on ‘networking’.

We had lots of disagreement particularly on the issue of Gandhi and Ambedkar. He knew it well that I have no liking for Gandhian philosophy, which I called humbug and absolutely patronizing as far as Dalits are concern. He would always say that though Gandhi made eradication of untouchability and fight against communalism pivot of his philosophy, he failed in both count yet he felt that Gandhi’s intention were not wrong but lots of discussions and debate on the issue actually saw his opinion changing. He said any one who read ‘annihilation of caste’, will only find Gandhi on the wrong side and Ambedkar fighting for the rights of the people. He felt Ambedkar was wronged.

His personal association with M N Roy and later working on the human rights issues had broadened his horizon much bigger than many of his contemporaries who remained very narrow in their personal lives. There are very few who would spare time for you and guide you whatever possible ways and feel good at your achievements. He loved speaking Bangla and always followed the incidents happening in East Bengal or what we call today Bangladesh. The pain of division and migration was always with him and that is why he was always warm to people like me who left home in search of a new identity and to fulfill their commitments. He would always warn me like a teacher of what to do and what not to do. There are so many things to remember where he asked me to write on and suggested me to attend particular programmes.

The last togetherness of mine with him was at a seminar that he has been trying to organize for years in Mumbai on Dr Ram Manohar Lohia but always felt lacking supporting hands there as he would have them in Delhi as it was the city he always missed and left after he had paralytic stroke that confined him on wheelchair and external help. Many of my friends actually spoke to me after visiting him and felt pained to see a vibrant man depended on people for help, a man who was always active doing things at his own. But it was his strong willpower that despite being confined to bed he could do a lot of work, which is highly impossible for many of us to do. I never saw him complaining about himself whenever I spoke to him on phone as it was work work and work. He would ask for certain book or speak to certain person or provide the phone numbers of some friends. He complained that being in Mumbai has curtailed his freedom as he always enjoyed his friendship circle in Delhi and felt that he has got isolated in Mumbai.

The seminar on Ram Manohar Lohia in Mumbai reflected how he wanted to do things so fast. Academics saw him speaking passionately on Lohia-Ambedkar relationship where he quoted Lohia saying that he wanted Dr Ambedkar to lead the entire Indians and not confined to the leadership of the Dalits even when people like me questioned Lohia suggesting his vision ended at Gandhsim, Dr Pal remain open to new ideas which supported freethinking and secular democratic traditions in India.

There are so many memories. I can only say that he was the one on whom I could count for guidance and support. He never failed and once promised would go to any extent to finish the task. I grew up admiring him for his courage and forthrightness as whenever he spoke he was to the point and blunt. At a seminar, a leading human right academic, who happened to be a Muslim, actually supported practice of Sati as cultural practice and therefore outside the purview of human rights laws in the name of ‘personal laws’ of Hindus. I got up and objected saying whether he feel that veil and Burqa should be put beyond the limit of human rights laws. It became heated and Dr Pal came for my rescue saying that he always wanted human rights defenders and organisations to speak against societal violation of human rights as human rights in South Asia are not just violated by the state but majority of violation happen because of cultural practices and we need to come out in open against such rigid and inhuman practices such as caste system and untouchability.

The demise of Dr R M Pal at this crucial moment is a great blow to all the right thinking secular forces as we would often go to him and seek his advice on many issues confronting us. He was the man who always believed in the idea of a secular inclusive India and spoke regularly against the Hindutva’s communalism. Though he is no longer with us, his writings will always inspire us to work for a secular democratic India. We promise to carry on his legacy for our better future.

Her revolting words were music to my ears.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

‘Even if you hang me on a lamp-post for not cleaning your ‘shit’, I am ready for it but I will never do this. Never do this, never do this’, said Champa Devi when I interviewed her first in the late 1990s when I started going to Mohammdabad, a small town of district Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh where the families of those engaged in manual scavenging work became my extended family. I always wanted to hear the words from those who are victims of our racist caste system that assigned the work of cleaning human excreta to a particular community of untouchables, known in this region of eastern Uttar Pradesh, as Rawat. Champa Devi always believed in ‘sukhi roti khayenge lekin jhadu nahi lagayenge, malmutra nahi dhoyenge’ (We would rather eat simple dry bread yet won’t touch broom to clean human excreta of others). These words were music to my ears as I felt that the biggest roadblock in our war against manual scavenging is the mental slavery, which has been imposed on the community for centuries. There is no denial of factor that the brahmanical system enslaved people mentally and compelled them to do the work but ultimately the liberation need our own convictions to fight it back. It is therefore important to acknowledge many of those who may not have been celebrity but lived life on their own conditions despite prevailing socio-cultural environment of gender and caste prejudices.

Champa Devi was working in the Mohammdabad Municipality as Safai Karmchari i.e. sanitation worker, when I met her for the first time around 1997. I was visiting Mohammdabad and trying to understand various issues that Rawat community was facing here in their engagement with the sanitation work, which is a sophisticated acronym for manual scavenging. Many of the young girls were interested in studying further but most of them had left their school due to financial constraints as their parents were unable to support their education.  As I roamed around, spoke to many who were engaged in the manual scavenging work, the quick-fix reply was, ‘What do we do? Where is the alternative? Who will feed us?’.  And if you compel them to speak they would say,’ If you want us to leave then we will leave it.” It was a way to suggest that we need economic alternative to do that. I would often question them as what do they get out of it and the answer would be ‘economic security’ but the fact is that it is not economic security but ‘security of life’. What is the ‘economics’ when somebody clean the human excreta of the other human being without getting anything in return? The only thing the ‘bade-log’ i.e. dominant caste people whose toilets are cleaned would provide ‘leftover food’ in the afternoon. Is not that a humiliation of the people who strive hard to live their life? And in the year end, during some festivities, they get 20 kilogram of rice or wheat and some left over cloths. Champa Devi had always despised this in her typical style,’ What do you get after working day in and out. The filthy leftover food and you don’t feel humiliated in begging for it. What cant you do other work which other community people do. None of the other community people do this work if they don’t get the work”, she would retort.

Mohammdabad is dominated by the Muslim Ansaris and rural areas by Bhumihar Hindus, who are powerful landlords and both have deep faith in the caste hierarchy. In the city area, it is the Ansaris that calls the shot politically but in the villages both the Muslims and Hindu upper castes run the show. For the Rawat community here untouchability exists both the side however its forms may be different in the town and the village. Just last year when some of our friends started a sewing centre for young girls in a village called Ranipur the upper caste Muslims refused to come to the house of the Rawat community people, as they remain untouchables.

Champadevi lived life according to her own convictions. She was married in childhood but never really able to live with her so-called in laws and revolted. She could not confine herself to domesticated village life engaged in manual scavenging hence left the village to life her life independently. She moved out and found the job of a Safai Karmchari in Mohammadabad. It was her conviction that she decided not to marry again and live the life the way she wanted. Her job with the Nagarpalika made her independent and she started supporting the families of brothers and sisters apart from encouraging young girls to study and men to leave manual scavenging.

Every time, I met her, she would appreciate the work that we have been doing in the community. ‘These young girls must grow. They must study and become independent. It is important for girls to learn sewing, computer and other related things’, she would say. It was always good to hear her putting her viewpoint strongly. She was ready to fight and die for the cause of society.

Once, I asked her opinion on what many people think about the issue of manual scavenging will become irrelevant if we increase the money given for the work and pat came her answer,’ You pay me Rs 10 or 20 for cleaning your shit, I am ready to give you triple the amount please do come to my home and clean my latrine’, she would challenge those who place such arguments.  I am ready to be hanged she often said to me than cleaning the human excreta of anyone else. It is inhuman and against our self-respect. I want to ask my community people to come out of this mindset, educate your daughter, chose respectful occupations and live a dignified life.’

Champa Devi was not a theoretician or a politician but a simple woman who faced untouchability and left the life of indignity and disrespect so her feelings and expressions are focused more on the community and not on the government. The fact is while we all ask the government to invest more money and give more resources; it is also important that we listen to the voices of the likes of Champa Devi and introspect. We do not absolve government from its duties towards elimination of manual scavenging but a change is also needed from within and a bigger social awareness campaign inside the communities as the government and its upper caste officials may wait for next hundred years to ‘eradicate’ untouchability and manual scavenging but the community should not even wait for a day to leave this inhuman and undignified work.

Those of us who devote our time with the community it is essential to acknowledge the spirit of the community elders like Champa Devi which may not look very ‘glamorous’ and ‘mentionable’ to the feudal elitist mindset which define people in the name of ‘this or that’ ideology and not what they fight daily because of birth based discrimination due their caste identities. Champa Devi lived a full life and remains independent till end.  Whatever she may be, but Champa Devi’s words rejecting the culture of manual scavenging on her own and choosing a life of self respect and dignity would always sound like rhythmic music in my ears forever.

Imposing vegetarianism on Aadivasis in Jharkhand

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

As I boarded the Rajdhani express from New Delhi for Parasnath for my intended visit to Jharkhand the co-passenger in the side seat was a young boy from IIT Delhi who happened to belong to Jain community and was visiting to Parasnath for religious rituals that his parents were performing. During the conversation he said that he is a vegetarian but definitely respect people’s right to eat non-veg food. He opined that the world was changing and that a business community cannot be confined to narrow partisan and outdated thoughts that look down upon others who have different take on the issue. World is too diverse and as a global citizen you will have to respect people’s personal choices to food and drink he said during the conversation. The boy laughed when I said don’t he think that Jains are hypocrite as the biggest meat-beef exporters in India are Jains and Marwadis. His position was that we are in business and need to whatever is good but at the same point of time narrow attitude may be damaging for future of their business. It was a happier togetherness in the train for nearly 12 hours where I found how the Jain youngsters are changing and feel that their community needs to move beyond if it has to remain in business

Parasnath railway station looked much cleaner and better than any of its counterparts in other parts of the state. It clearly indicates that the authorities have done this to ‘honor’ the ‘feelings’ of Jains who come in large number to worship at the Parasnath hills. Outside the station hundreds of taxis, autos, offer you to take you to Parasnath for a ‘darshan’.

For long, I had desired to visit this place as I have visited historical places of Jains like Sravan Belgola in Karnataka and in many other places which is definitely a beautiful monument but coming to this place made really shocking revelations. The lush green region of the Santhal aadivasis is under the assault of money bags with huge concrete structures are being built around the area of Madhuban, the town where Parasnath hills are located. It is not just huge ashrams, temples, religious universities but townships are also being built around the area ignoring completely the environmental norms as well as the feelings of the local aadivasi communities. Their lands are being grabbed illegally violating all the rules and laws of the state. It need to be seen that Madhuban or what is being termed today as Parasnath is actually an aadivasi area and sale and purchase of aadivasi land is illegal then how come the vast tract of land are being provided to Jains. One can understand their religious feelings but why townships are being allowed to be building here. Now the government of Jharkhand is coming up with a plan to develop the city as a ‘religious’ place under the Parasnath Action Plan to attract ‘religious’ tourism in the state.

As I toured around the place there are big hoarding of ‘welcoming’ us to famous ‘Jain’ religious place. The state government has put its hoarding with warning of not to eat meat or drink or smoke in the region. The notice says, ‘ The state government of Jharkhand has declared this place as sacred religious place hence eating meat, drinking alcohol and smoking here is strictly prohibited and those violating the order will be penalized.

This is a dangerous order as Jharkhand is an aadivasi state and Jains don’t live here. They just come for worshipping while aadivasis have lived in this region for centuries and their food habits are in complete contrast with that of Jains so why should Jains be imposing their beliefs on others particularly in the lands of Aadivasis. Are Jains trying to colonize this area through their money and muscle power? Huge religious trusts have come up with sprawling ashrams, gaushalas are being formed and township inside the ashrams so that to avoid the Land Ceiling Act. It violate the sanctity of the place and need to be seriously looked into from legal and autonomy point of view of the tribal region. Whether the Jains are not using it a religious pretext to colonise the tribal regions of Jharkhand ?

The Santhals and other aadivasis of district Giridih are now feeling deeply disturbed with the continuous assault on their culture from the Jain outsiders with active support from the state government which is facilitating this colonization process. It is not just the issue of dictating their food habits and imposing it on the aadivasis the Santhal claims that the entire area of so-called Parasnath hills is actually Marang Buru, the traditional deity of the aadivasis of the region.  The hills are actually called as Marang Buru hills and have clearly been mentioned in the Gazetteer of Bihar’s Hazaribagh district in 1932 much before it became part of separate Giridih district. The Marang Buru Samvata Susar Baisi has been actively fighting for their right to worship their traditional deity in the hills.  Their leader Arjun Hemram says,’ Like Jains famous pilgrimage at Parasnath, Santhals too have their ancient deity at the Marang Buru hills and government need to promote their culture too which is the original culture of the region.

In the Gazattear of Bihar’s district Hazaribagh it is mentioned, ‘ Parasnath is the ‘Marang Buru’ or hill deity of the Santals of Hazaribagh, Manbhum, Bankura and Santal Pargana and each year they assemble at the period of full moon in Baishakh from those districts and celebrate a religious hunt for three days, after which a great tribal session is held for the trial of charges against Manjhis and paraganails and of the other grave matters which affects the outcasting of the individuals. The entry of this custom in the record of rights which was prepared in 1911 and of the similar right of the Ghatwars was followed by the institution of a suit by the Swetamber Jains to have it declared that no such customs exists. That suit was dismissed by the judicial commissioner and an appeal, preferred against his order, has been rejected by the High Court. The case went up by the Privy Council and it was held that the Santals have the customary rights of hunting on the Parasnath Hills.’

(Ref : Page : 294-295, Bihar district Gazetteers : Hazaribagh by P.C.Roy Choudhury, Special Officer, Gazetteer Revision Section, Revenue Department, Bihar)

The aadivasis are not denying that the area is of great importance for Jains but the fact is it is not the Jains but the aadivasis who are living in the region and now facing Jain’s dictates about culture and changing their practices. Historical facts have already proved that aadivasis have customary rights over the hills but now most of them are just ferrying the ‘Jain devotees’ on their shoulders to the Parasnath hills. Obviously, money makes sense for them but this also reveals that none of these ‘devotees’ would be able to climb up if aadivasis don’t cooperate with them.

Will Jharkhand government listen to the voices of Aadivasis and stop imposing Jain values on them.  The government must allow huge mansions in the name of ashrams and temples which the Jains have been religious building here completely changing the demography and ecology of the region. One aadviasi of the area Shanishar Manjhi has written a letter to the authorities on August 26^th, 2015 in which he accuse one Kalyan Niketan run by some Jain to return  his 5.32 acres of land wrongfully grabbed and housed CRPF there. Son of Shanishar Manjhi says that they are still paying the ‘lagan’ on the same land. Jharkhand government need to answer as how has the aadivasi land gone to the non aadivasis and how are these huge religious structures and townships are being allowed at the Aadivasi zones?

Travelling to some of the most beautiful regions in Jharkhand, I found aadivasi life so simple and yet so beautiful in the lap of nature. For years, aadivasis revolted against any encroachment against their cultural autonomy and freedom. They lived life absolutely free and enjoyed their food culture. From Pakud to Dumka and Ranchi to Khoonti, one can see the beauty as well as struggle of aadivasis for centuries. The rice-beer, which they produce, can beat any market product and the forest produce, which they eat, is far better. Those beautiful houses, locations are under the threat both from the greedy corporate and the religious thugs. Will the aadivasis will revolt again this time when the state which they fought for is imposing dietary restrictions on them in the name of ‘cultural sensibilities’ of Jains but what about the cultural sensibilities of the ‘aadivasis’?  Will the Jains along with Jharkhand’s government and officials also respect Aadivasi’s right over ‘Marang Buru’ and their customary right of worshipping their deity over their own land? Jharkhand might boil again if the moneybags and distortions of legalities are played to deny the aadivasis their due rights to protect their land and their ancient community deity Marang Buru.

The Santhals and other aadivasis in Jharkhand want that answer from their ‘own’ government, which has imposed an alien culture on them in the name of religion, which never existed in the aadivasi zones. For years, the aadivasis have been betrayed just because they have lived their lives on their own without knowing much about the legalities of our system and therefore losing everything yet they fought physically against the British and threw them away from their region therefore if the state of Jharkhand does not act in good faith and give the aadivasis their due the situation might turn out of control.

Will Islam ‘liberate’ Dalits of Bhagana ?

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

It was around 11 am on August 8^th when the ‘Bhagana Kand Dalit Sangharsh Samiti’ had called a meeting at Jantar mantar, in Delhi where they have been camping in protest against their boycott by the Hindus led by the Jats in their village Bhagana of district Hisar, Haryana, about 150 kilometer from Delhi for the past two years.  The message that came to me was to come in solidarity with the Bhagana’s struggling Dalits and express your solidarity. Due to my prior engagements outside Delhi, I had to skip the programme and thought would speak to friends about the outcome of it. Little did I realize that 150 odd families at Jantar-Mantar would take a religious route to get their ‘problem’ ‘resolved’ during the ceremony? In the evening, I saw a Facebook post of a friend who mentioned it to me but I was not sure whether the incident was from Bhagana but next day when I scanned various newspapers, I came to know about the ‘conversion’ of our friends to Islam on August 8^th which sparked a furious reaction from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindutva organisations blaming the Muslims for instigating the Dalits and convert to Islam.

Since 1981 Meenakshipuram’s conversion where Dalits embraced Islam to save themselves from the clutches of untouchability and caste atrocities, Bhagana’s conversion at Jantar-Mantar is a slap on the face of those who wanted to suppress Dalits at ‘home’ by denying even right to convert to the faith of their ‘choice’. I had visited Meenakshipuram and met the families of former Dalits who are now enjoying their lives as equal citizen of society. I asked one such gentleman as what does he think when Hindu organizations blame you converting for ‘huge wealth’ coming from ‘middle east’. He responded, ‘Sir, I can’t live life of humiliation on daily basis. What can be a bigger thing than this that we rejected your reservation and all the ‘allurement’ that you give us to be in the caste Hindu fold and face discrimination and untouchability. Frankly speaking sir, what is our value for them? Can there be any bigger sacrifice than this fact that we are not interested in any material monitory thing as for us the biggest thing of life is to get respect and live life of equality’. I could find the difference that the people are mingling and have no complain from what they have done. I wish to add here that I visited Meenakshipuram nearly 4 years ago and by that time those who were kids during this conversion ceremony have now grown up and living a life of satisfaction.

It is not my point here to discuss whether they should have converted or not. Given the nature of violence against Dalits in Tamilnadu, the result from Meenakshipuram actually did shake the Hindu fundamentalists all over the country yet they refused to change and violence against Dalits remained as usual whenever the Dalits asserted for their rights apart from their attempt to enter in any temples were resisted by them. Those of us who have seen the Bhagana’s struggle from close quarters and were associated with it in some way or others understand well how at each level the Dalits were betrayed by the forces who could have provided justice to them. First, the entire village of Jats turned against them since May 2012 when they were being threatened to move out of the Shamlat land i.e. village communal land. Over the years, Harayana’s powerful Jats have benefitted highly from the soaring land prices as agricultural land fast turned into booming real estate land. Therefore, the landshark in the villages, with active support of the powerful politicians were grabbing ‘Shamlat lands’ meant to be distributed to Dalits and other landless people of the region. Bhagana had over 250 acres of Shamlat land which was promised to the Dalits once upon a time but the Jats felt that once the land is gone to the Dalits they would assert and will not work on their fields as landless laborers. What can one do when none of the state apparatus ever ready to support when justice is needed. There are many implications of this including anarchy, disturbance and absolute cultural slaughtering of the community. For over two years the community living in camps at Jantar Mantar lost everything yet no tears for them. Government of India offered Kashmiri Pandits land in Jammu and in Delhi but Haryana government as well as government of India failed to make a promise to the Dalits of Haryana.  Where do people go when all the roads are blocked for them? Let us see the turn of events in Bhagana for the past three years.

In May 2012 the whole 450 odd Dalit families of Bhagana were forced to leave their village by the land owning jats who never wanted them at the first place. Most of these families were living at the Hisar’s mini secretariat while nearly 150 of them walked bare chested in the extremely difficult circumstances when the temperature was rising to nearly 45 degree Celsius, to Jantar Mantar, Delhi. That time, they were demanding redistribution of land and action against those who wanted to evict them. At Delhi, we were together and saw them meeting various leaders, ministers, Members of Parliament but nothing happened. Most of them remained at their tents and some time would go back to their place and work. Nearly one year later on March 23, 2013 four minor girls of the communities were gang raped in the village. They were abducted in a Maruti car when they had gone out to defecate in the evening, and taken to Bhatinda, a city in Punjab nearly 100 kilometer away. They were drugged and raped. As the community people came to know about it they approached one panchayat leader who happened to know about it and accompanied the families to Bhatinda. While coming back he threatened them not to reveal about the incident to the family. There was outrage in the village and families protested in both Hisar and Delhi. They met officials, NHRC, Scheduled Castes Commission and National Commission for Women and yet nothing happened. We protested in front of the Parliament so many times, we had candle light marches and whatever was possible to claim as a ‘peaceful democratic protest’ yet the end result was nothing. It became a good photo-op for many but others only lost their energy in the sloganeering. I have mentioned many times that Jantar Mantar is an‘illusion’ of ‘democracy’ in this country. It only gives a false image that our government is ‘ready’ to face ‘criticism’, but that does not hurt the government or those in power.

Congress’s Jat chief minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the real villain in this case as refused to take any action. The Dalit leadership in the party was absolutely weak. The other political parties rarely visited them. For some time a few of the ‘emerging’ leaders visited but after winning the elections in May 2014 they too disappeared. People felt that a new government that has taken over in Delhi would do justice to them. Both in Delhi and Haryana also had new government and Congress had lost the elections. Bhagana’s Dalit felt that a non-Jat chief minister would listen to them more carefully but alas their hopes were dashed to ground. None heard them. In the aftermath of the elections, we had an opportunity to meet a senior member of a National Commission in Delhi who hailed from Punjab and promised that he would take stringent action against the culprits.  In fact, the Member called the crew of local Punjab TV channel and spoke in front of them but still nothing happened.

The desperation was clear.  The villagers did not want to go back to the village where they are unwanted and their life security was threatened hence they called a meeting on August 8^th in Delhi and very few of us knew that they are embracing Islam.  According to Jagdish Kajla, nearly 150 people embraced Islam here at Jantar Mantar while others have done in Hisar though there is no independent verification of it as that is not a question for us to discuss here.  We defend people’s right to embrace the faith of their choice or have no faith even when we may disagree with their action. It is a political battle and have to be fought politically. When I ask Virendra Bagoria, the leader of Bhagana Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, who led the conversion movement, he said, ‘ What was left for us in the varna-dharma as we tried every effort to get justice through peaceful democratic means for the past three years. What else do you want us to do? We approached ministers, members of different political parties, social activists, lawyers, courts, media and yet we did not get justice that is why we collectively decided to embrace Islam and we realize what difference it makes in our life. After the conversion leaders are coming to us and asking for ‘gharwapasi’ but I asked them whether they are ready to hand over two of their holiest ‘mutths’ to us.

'Why didn’t you convert to Buddhism, as guided by Baba Saheb Ambedkar', I ask to Bagoria and he said,’ Baba Saheb might have done right thing that time but today after so many years we feel that Buddhism has not been able to protect the Dalits. It has failed. Only Islam can give a befitting answer to these caste forces.’ 

Bagoria’s apprehensions may not substantiate but there is definitely an important message in it. Buddhism has attracted Ambedkarites all over the world and many of them question those who do not embrace Buddhism as not really the followers of Baba Saheb but it is also a fact that a number of Dalits who have been victim of the caste violence feel that only Islam can protect them. Perhaps, this is because of the failure to protect by the state and any support from the Ambedkarite Buddhists. May be it is time to really analyse as why people embrace other faiths and still follow Baba Saheb Ambedkar.

When I speak to Jagadish Kajla who has been camping at the Jantar Mantar for the past three years along with his family member he says, ‘all the Dalit groups came to us, expressed their solidarity and we followed everything that is given to us under the constitution and at the end of it we get nothing. What should we do now’, All of us felt that Islam is the only way out to protect ourselves and fight against the injustice of the brahmanical forces. We want to make it clear that Buddhists cannot save us from the oppression. Muslims are resisting and we will fight our battle.’

Speaking to all those people here at the Jantar Mantar and remembering the cries of women who were here including young girls who have been violated against their will, it is no doubt a fact that the battle of the Dalits is not just for their dignity and self respect but more than that. It need to be understood why the people of Bhagana or Meenakshipuram opted for Islam when they wanted to give a slap on the face of caste Hindus? As Jagdish Kajla said that Buddhists and Christians were unable to take head on the caste Hindus, perhaps the sacrificial spirit of Islam became the biggest influence on the psyche of the Dalits who have been 

oppressed, humiliated and violated by the dominant castes.

It is a well-known factor that the issues of the Dalits of Bhagana will not die down with this conversion. Bagoria and others might feel that after the conversion they have slapped in the face of caste Hindus but at the end of the day the question to be asked is what are the Dalits of Bhagana getting out of it.  Bagoria and his team says that they have tried everything and now their limitation has crossed the limit hence they converted to Islam but the fact remain whether the social and economic isolation of the Dalits in Haryana will end? By converting to Islam they have already lost their right to get other benefits, which they know the people of the village and the state were not interested in providing to them. The VHP and other Hindutva organisations have already threatened them not to enter the village unless come back to Hindu fold.

At their tiny spot of protest in Jantar Mantar one can find the number of Muslim growing as they come to show their solidarity. I see bearded leaders taking selfies with the newly convert. A group of Muslims sits with them and discuss their issues and promise them that, ‘whenever they are in trouble ‘we’ are a ‘phone call’ away.’  One is amazed at this unity but as a human rights defender it is disappointing too. How many of these people were there in the past three years when the Dalits were at the receiving end. Did they ever participate in the protests?  Why is that the solidarity only coming when they have converted to Islam? There is no denial of fact that Islam does not have caste system in theory but the fact is that Indian Muslims have castes and there are Dalit Muslims like Hellas and Halalkhors who are treated as untouchables. When I ask this question to Bagoria, he says that he is not bothered about that and would fight back and that Muslims are ‘good’ people.

One is not sure how things will change for the people who are displaced and aren’t welcome back their home as Muslims themselves are a persecuted minority here and all reports suggest that in many areas their conditions are worst than Dalits. My point here is to just find out whether this conversion is going to help any one including the Muslims whose conditions are difficult and need not be mentioned here.

Religion is a personal faith and we defend the right to have faith as we will stand with people and would like faithful to side with those who don’t believe in God or any ‘Almighty’ in their fight for human rights. It is important to maintain unity of the movement and our faiths and change of faiths should not be allowed to divide the movement on the ‘religious’ lines now which is very much possible. We should not forget how the Hindutva gangs divided Dalits and Aadivasis in Kandhamal on the basis of their religious identities. It is easier to say that nothing would happen and we are ‘united’ but the ground realities are difficult. We know that division start creeping in with the faith when some people change while a number of others don’t and therefore dividing line are created.

The dust of conversion was not even settled that District Session Judge of Hisar, Alka Malik acquitted all the accused of the Bhagana Rape case on August 12^th. It was shocking incident but given the nature of police and investigating agencies, we know that caste card work and police let the case loose with enough gaps giving opportunity to the lawyers to misuse those and end of the day provide way towards ‘honorable acquittal’.  

There is no doubt that Indian state has miserably failed in doing justice to Dalits and aadivasis despite stringent laws for their protection in the form of ‘ Prevention of Atrocities on SC-ST Act’ for the past three decades. There are numerous stories of violence against Dalits and Aadivasis in the country, which cannot be narrated here for the paucity of time and space but not a single case of conviction so far from Bathani Tola to Shankar Bigaha, Kumher to Tsunduru which suffered due to Let the government’s agencies give us details of a single case of atrocity on SC-ST where a complete rehabilitation has taken place and culprits have brought to justice. We are celebrating how Lok Sabha has passed amendment and officers are congratulating but in a few cases of individual violence, I can bet this law will not be able to bring any justice to people unless India bring Communal Violence Bill to Parliament, discuss the whole issues of administrative failures and punish the officials as well as the communities which are engaged in violence. We know in the cases of group violence, which is majoritarian oppression of the minorities in the villages, you don’t find any culprit in the ‘absence’ of witness. Whether Khap killings for honor or witch-hunting or caste killings or communal violence, we have reached nowhere in taking on the mobs and telling them to behave through severe punishments.

How will Dalits of Bhagana get justice by converting to Islam, when Muslims in Mujaffarnagar and Gujarat waiting for the same, is a million dollar question, however one fact is simple, that Bhagana’s Dalits who embraced Islam may not know many things but the only thing they know is that perhaps through Islam they can fight back both at the personal level as well as at the constitutional level where they are already challenging the Session Court’s judgment. At the academic level, we may have our own understanding including biases but perhaps the most striking element for the millions of people tortured with caste violence seems to be the Islamic spirit of fighting back with their head high.  Its not for us to decide what is the choice of people as a faith but for people like us the fight for justice of Bhagana Dalits has not ended with the conversion and the movement for it should be prepared to accept all those people along with it who might not have converted. Religion has always divided people let the Dalits not divided by religious identities and respect people right to choice of their faith and fight back the battle with bigger vitality through constitutional means even when we all know that they have been failed by the Indian state controlled by the brahmanical forces.