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Statue defacement triggers riots in Maharashtra |
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The desecration of dalit icon Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s statue at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh sparked fury in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra on Thursday, Nov. 30 in some of the worst violence of its kind seen in the state in recent years. Dalits set three trains on fire including the Mumbai-bound Deccan Queen. Over half-a-dozen buses were torched and many more damaged in violence and arson in cities and towns with a sizeable dalit population. The violence which started on the night of Nov. 29 continued through the next day. Protesters resorted to road blockades, stone-pelting, burning and damaging of vehicles and public property. Four people were killed and 70 others injured in the violence and in the police action to control it.
The handling of the situation by the police came in for criticism even from quarters within the government. Director General of Police P.S. Pasricha said that the situation was brought under control by November 30 afternoon. He said as many as 1500 people were arrested across Maharashtra for indulging in arson and damaging public property. Observers said the police should have anticipated trouble given that the desecration of the Ambedkar statue took place the previous afternoon. An officer who did not want to be named, said the police should have stepped up the security and not waited for the situation to go out of hand. Senior officers admitted that they had not anticipated the scale of the protests in Mumbai. Once large mobs took to the streets, it was difficult for the police to control them.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh returned to Mumbai cutting short his three-day official visit to Singapore. The Congress high command took stock of the situation and decided that Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil keep a close watch on the developments. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is reported to have pulled up Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and got him to cancel his foreign trip.
Maharashtra Congress Party chief Prabha Rao met Sonia Gandhi on December 1 to brief her on the developments. She said later, “the Congress president is very concerned and is personally taking steps to ensure that the situation is brought back to normal. Issues involving dalits and weaker sections of society are very sensitive to our party.”
Coming soon after Muslim protests against police high-handedness in Maharashtra, the Congress leadership is reported to be worried over the political costs of the current dalit outrage in the state. Investigations into the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts and the Malegaon explosions have led to complaints that the Muslim community was being targeted.
Khairlanji incident real reason for widespread violence
Observers say that the Kanpur incident only provided the spark which led to violence in Maharashtra. An activist of the dalit movement, Rupa Kulkarni said, “the real reason for the extent of violence was the widespread resentment among the dalits about the way the Democratic Front Government in Maharashtra mishandled the Khairlanji incident in which a family of four dalits of Bhandara district including two women were murdered. The two women were also raped. This incident was not handled with the sensitivity and seriousness that it deserved. It is true that the murders took place as early as Sept. 29. The dalits took to the streets only after a month-long wait. They hoped that the DF government would bring the guilty to book quickly. After waiting patiently, they decided to give vent to their anger against the DF government’s inept handling of the situation.”
Republican Party of India (Gavai group) general secretary, Bhushan Gavai said the law and order machinery failed to rise to the occasion because under a coalition dispensation, it has become weak and unfocused. The Home Department is with RR Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party, and it is virtually out of bound for Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
The lone survivor of the Khairlanji incident, Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange, who met Congress leaders in New Delhi last week, said that the real culprits of the incidents are moving around freely in the state though he had given their names to Deputy Chief Minister R.R Patil.
Dalit youth are also smarting under dismal socio-economic conditions as they are not able to get jobs despite reservations.
Functioning of Parliament was disrupted for most part of December 1 consequent upon the desecration of the Ambedkar statue in Kanpur and the widespread dalit outrage and violence in Maharashtra. Bahujan Samaj Party members targeted the Samajwadi Party, which is ruling in Uttar Pradesh, in both Houses of Parliament. They demanded the dismissal of the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government in Uttar Pradesh for the Kanpur vandalism of the Ambedkar statue and pressed for a CBI inquiry into the entire episode.
In the Rajya Sabha, BSP chief Mayawati unleashed a scathing attack on the Mulayam Singh Government. She demanded dismissal of the state government and questioned the arrest of a drunken dalit man in connection with the Kanpur desecration. She said, “the UP Government cannot do justice to the dalits. There should be a CBI inquiry.”
Samajwadi Party members led by Amar Singh tried to shout down Mayawati and opposed the demand for a CBI probe. UPA partner and Cabinet Minister Ramvilas Paswan also favoured a CBI enquiry. In a statement he said the UP government had failed in all respects and dalits cannot, expect justice for the State government. Mayawati led her party members in walking out of the House.
There may be another flash point in Maharashtra on Dec. 4 as the state government has refused permission to the proposed dalit rally against atrocities on dalits in Nagpur, coinciding with the opening of the state Assembly’s winter session. Dalit leaders, have said that they are going ahead with the rally despite the ban. Leader of the Bhartiya Republican Party - Bahujan Mahasangh Prakash Ambedkar, who is to lead the rally, said it would not be called off despite the government’s denial of permission.
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