Huge surge in crimes against Dalits since Modi became PM: Mevani

The emergence of Bhim Army in the Dalit political landscape is being seen as an encouraging sign for the welfare of the community in Uttar Pradesh as well as across the country. Only time will tell whether the Bhim Army will live up to its hype and be a real alternative to mainstream Dalit politics of the likes of Mayawati and Ram Vilas Paswan, but the recent rally at Jantar Mantar on Sunday has been received well among the broader Dalit movement. National Herald spoke to Jignesh Mevani, the face of the mass movement triggered by Gujarat’s Una incident, in which members of the Dalit community were beaten up by upper caste Hindus. Edited excerpts.

You are just back from Saharanpur, what did you see there?

There is out-and-out fear and a sense of loss. Dalits are so scared that they are not even willing to talk about the incident. They still fear for their life. The danger of backlash haunts them. Sixty houses were set on fire during the violence. A pregnant woman was attacked with a sword. A Dalit boy was thrown into the fire alive.

All this happened only because Dalits wanted to install a statue of Baba Saheb Ambedkar in their mohallah. The Thakurs opposed it. If anybody installs a statue of their ideal, would Dalits have opposed it? No. But in Saharanpur, Dalits were forbidden to install a statue of Baba Saheb, who is the maker of our Constitution. When Dalits insisted, they were attacked.

What’s more alarming is that the police worked in tandem with the Thakurs. Uttar Pradesh Police provided tacit support to the attackers. There is a law called Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. It directs police to take preemptive measures to avoid such atrocities against Dalits, but on the day when Thakurs attacked Dalits with swords and set ablaze their homes, the cops remained mute spectators. The UP Police was present, but chose to look the other way. Instead, the police filed a case against Bhim Army founder Chandresekhar Azad and other activists. The message was very clear – Dalits will not get justice and they will be punished if they ask for it.

So, the culmination of their anger, frustration and hopelessness came out as an outburst against the system at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.

What, according to you, is the reason behind increased violence, atrocities against Dalits in western UP and Saharanpur, in particular?

I think increasing caste violence in UP in general and Saharanpur, in particular, is an outcome of the desperation of Hindutva forces. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are desperate to make India a Hindu nation. Their desperation has created many faultlines. The more the RSS-BJP combine tries to impose their idea of a Hindu nation on unwilling communities, incidents like Saharanpur one will continue to happen.

The idea of a Hindu nation is nothing but manipulation of our history. The idea is the product of upper caste, male dominated system and, the violent mix of religion and politics that the RSS-BJP apparently back.

After the Una uprising, Dalits became very sensitive and proactive, but the system failed to recognise it. Despite massive protests, cow vigilantes still remain active. They should have been put behind bars but they continue to go on killing people. They are supported with ideological justifications from various Hindu groups, religious scholars and leaders of the ruling party. It has worsened the law and order situation. While upper caste backers of the ruling parties feel empowered, lower castes are increasingly vulnerable.

In western UP, you can find it happen everywhere. From Sambhal and Meerut to Saharanpur, upper caste backers of the Yogi government have started to think that the BJP victory marks the return of their own distorted version of Ram Rajya. According to data released by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Gujarat recorded five-fold jump in crimes against Dalits since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. In UP, since Yogi Adityanath took charge as chief minister, many caste-based atrocities have been reported in the media.

BJP-RSS say Dalits are also a part of greater Hindu family. What would you say about that?

Dalits are already used to the BJP-RSS combine pushing their agenda of making India a Hindu nation, that is it. When they pursue their communal agenda, they give a medal of Hindu identity to Dalits. When they seek votes, they call them Hindus, but when Dalits ask equal rights, they are attacked and killed. This is the reality.

Actually, if you see the hierarchy, Dalits are not part of the Hindu caste system. They are out of the ‘Varnv-vyavastha’ (caste system). They have their own belief system, own gods. Dalits’ have traditionally been quite different from mainstream Hindus. They are Ati-Shudras, but that debate is not the issue of the day. The issue is—why has no action been taken against perpetrators of caste violence against Dalits since Modi came to power. The conviction rate has almost been zero.

All this is being done to divert attention. It is a sort of a confession of broken promises—₹15 lakh has not been credited to the account of every citizen, there haven’t been 2 crore jobs created every year, one-third of the population still lives below the poverty line. Corruption and inflation is still not controlled. So, to fool the people, they have started love-jihad, ghar-wapsi, cow-protectionism and, all. Their (RSS-BJP) idea of Hinduism is based upon caste system. How can they include Dalits in their exclusive Brahmanical order?

Is Bhim Army a response to them?

Dalits are facing tremendous pressure. With the project of making India a Hindu nation, saffron brigade is mounting repetitive attacks on them. They are being targeted for their inborn identity. Because of it, a deep anguish, anger is taking birth. Bhim Army is the manifestation of that aguish. There is brutality, suppression. What else can Dalits do in these circumstances. Naturally, organisations like Bhim Army will come up.

Do you think the rise of Bhim Army means the end of traditional Dalit politics? How will established Dalit leaders like Mayawati, Athawale and Paswan react to such outfits?

Yes, traditional Dalit politics has completely failed the community. A new articulated Dalit anger and aspiration is taking over. Dalit leaders have failed to understand it. With every passing day, they are getting more and more irrelevant. All of them neither speak on the issue of caste violence, nor on the issues related to economic exploitation of Dalits.

I am surprised as to why a single Dalit leader has failed to speak about contractual jobs. None of them have uttered a single word against the continuing practice of manual scavenging either. They do not fight for the sanitation workers. Mind my words, Paswan, Athawale and Uditraj are Hanumans of the Ram of the BJP. Their politics would be finished in coming time.

Why hasn’t Mayawati spoken up yet?

If Mayawati does not understand this soon, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will be wiped out. I do not understand the reason behind her silence. I fail to understand it. It is very painful, though not surprising. If she supports organisations like Bhim Army, it will have a very positive impact on the ground.

Many Dalit leaders, intellectuals are of the view that protest politics does not serve the purpose. Instead constructional measures are more effective, such as getting reservation etc. What do you think?

It must be changed. It is a very long battle. Dalits had no other option, except protesting on the streets against the repressive regime. In times such as these, when the Constitution is being replaced with Manu Smriti and, the Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA)-like draconian laws are being imposed, what else could one do? To establish the supremacy of the Constitution, to protect the sanity of the Republic—equality and brotherhood—we will have to change the method. Protest politics is the need of the hour. Rulers do not listen until you make them listen.

Do you think that the methods used by Bhim Army are good enough to tackle upper caste suppression?

It is a very long battle and we need to fight even harder. We need a solid ideological foundation. Even though the ideological foundation of the Bhim Army is not very clear to us, except they are ‘Ambedkarites’, the energy and organisational skill which they have displayed is praiseworthy nevertheless.

How do you evaluate the Dalit movement today? Should it be of the Dalits, for the Dalits, by the Dalits?

When I say the ideological foundation to counter RSS-BJP onslaught on Dalits, it means combination of all sorts of progressive forces. When Muslims protest, they brand them as terrorists. When Dalits protest, they dub them as Naxals. It is an old strategy adopted by the oppressors, but the time has come when it should be destroyed.

In my view, the Dalit movement has narrowed down its scale. The so-called Dalit intellectuals interpret Ambedakar very conveniently. There is an intellectual bankruptcy. How can we achieve the goal to annihilate the caste system altogether, if is there no debate to annihilate class. Those who consider themselves as custodians of Dalit issues have problem with others. Annihilation of caste can only be achieved through a two-dimensional struggle—the fight for economic rights and the fight for honor and the equality in the society.

All liberal democratic forces, including the Left should be participate in this fight against the RSS-BJP-led fascist forces. Dalits cannot do anything alone. Whosoever is pro-poor should be taken into the group, and then only can we create a broader front. There should not be any discrimination between those who fight for the cause. If you are a Savarna, it does not mean that you cannot fight for the Dalits. In fact, if a Savarna fights for Dalits, it would be more effective. We are human beings first, then Dalits or Savarnas. We have a collective responsibility to fight for humanity.

Many Dalit scholars and intellectual criticise the Left for not taking up their issues, for not giving required attention to caste-related issues? Do you think that’s true?

It is complete rubbish. The fact that the Left had never taken up the issues of caste violence isn’t true at all. There were some ideological differences, like whether caste should be treated as class in Indian context or not, but these days such questions have become irrelevant. There is a realisation in Left parties and organisations.

As a result, Left leaders, intellectuals, writers, journalists and activists are all raising issues of caste violence very prominently. The Left has developed the understanding of caste. They fight bravely against the RSS-BJP fascist Brahmanical forces, be it in West Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, or UP. And, the impact has been visible on the ground.

That the Left is indifferent to caste is an old argument. These arguments are being used to malign and demean the entire Left movement. In 1938, during the Manmad Movement, Baba Saheb Ambedkar said that Dalits, workers and other marginalised groups have two common enemies—Brahmanvad and Capitalism. The Left talks about the fight against class, but the so-called Dalit leaders do not like it. They vow to fight against Brahmanvad only. How will you fight for the honour of a Dalit, if you do not fight for his bread and butter, against his economic exploitation? The fight for aatmsamman aur roti kapda aur makan (dignity and livelihood) should go together.