http://nvonews.com/2011/09/26/mirchpur-incident-has-india-failed-as-a-nation-to-provide-justice-to-all/Mirchpur incident: Has India failed as a nation to provide justice to all?
September 26, 2011 | Filed under: Latest,opinion | Posted by: admin
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
A Delhi court yesterday declared that there was no criminal conspiracy
in Mirchpur and therefore it honorably acquitted 82 accused while
framing charges against the other 15 accused who were found guilty of
not committing murder. Mirchpur incident came into focus when on April
21st, 2010, a father and his disabled girl were brutally burnt by some
of the Jat villagers as they refused to toe the line of the powerful
Jats and were living a relatively better life much to the envy of the
powerful Jats. When the Balmikis became enraged and protested the
state government ordered an inquiry to the incident and tried to cover
up the case. It was only after the intervention by the Supreme Court
that the case was transferred to a Delhi court in Rohini yet the end
result remain the same. It would have been the same case had the case
been filed in Haryana.
Mirchpur incident reflect many thing. That the Balmikis and other
Dalits often becomes victim of caste violence in Haryana where caste
identities are sharpened and mingling is not allowed, when they assert
and have a 'feel good' factor for themselves. It means that the upper
caste will be angry when a Dalit family is happy despite all their
troubles as the Hindus most of the time wants them to stick to their
traditional occupation and beg them for honor. Now after much harder
work, the Dalits in Haryana and Punjab are not moving to cities and
charting a different path for their livelihood much to the discomfort
of the powerful caste forces. It is also a fact that Mirchpur violence
was not first instance of caste violence in Haryana. Prior to that we
had seen many places the violence against Dalit including infamous
Jhajjhar where a Dalit was murdered for tanning the skin of a cow.
Haryana may be boasting too much for its farmers but it has not been
able to develop a modern democratic culture. It may have elected
governments like any other state but it is more feudalistic in nature
than any other state.
The Khap rules Haryana. The Khap is the Panchayat as well as the
farmers who have developed their own sense of superiority complex. It
is not strange therefore that when I attended a farmer's protest in
Haryana against land acquisition, most of the farmers still wanted to
be called as 'Zamindar'. They felt proud of being so. Haryana has the
dominance of Jaats and Gujjars since independence. The change of
democratic system which allowed these communities to grow has not
percolated further. Any effort to change is resisted violently.
Unfortunately, the farmers movement in Haryana has just been reduced
to bargain better land price for them and not related to anything with
farming. It is most to convert farmers to real estate agents like what
has happened in Western Uttar-Pradesh. Haryana never had land reform
hence despite so called prosperity; it is a few communities who
enjoyed the fruits of suppression of Dalits. Most of the Dalits are in
to agrarian work making their livelihood through agricultural labors.
Now, the Chamars and Balmikis have delinked themselves from the
traditional occupation as they want to get educated and do the work
which gives them respect. It is not easy for the upper caste to
tolerate the new assertion of a Balmiki in Haryana. As a manual
scavenger they were prohibited entering the house but that was not the
problem. The Jaat or Gujjar pride is hurt when they see the young boys
from Dalit communities doing different work than 'meant' for them.
Secondly, if a Balmiki has relatively a better house in the village or
they are enjoying their life, that too becomes a matter of great
'concern' of them. And this anger is reflected somewhere else and on
some day when the community is targeted.
With political power and sheer number games on their side, Jats know
that any action against them would cost the political parties their
votes in Western Uttar-Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. That is why the
political parties do not speak. Other than that, there are so-called
farmer's support groups, who would talk about them as if ' Zamaindari'
is their fundamental right. Such person glorifies the so called
farming even at the cost of human lives and the oppression and
ostracisation of Dalits in these villages. Not a single person writing
about agricultural labour or agrarian question ever mention the
condition of agricultural labour in Haryana who are mostly Dalits.
Their marginalization and exploitation is complete yet have not
attracted the attention of our friends who are worried about
'kheti-kisani'.
Nothing happened to Mirchpur exploiters. They knew it well that such
incidents will never get a witness. When an entire village turns
against a community or an individual who will lodge a complaint to the
police or authorities? Who will dare to become a witness when faced
with deep pressure to save the people who saved their 'pride'? The
'pride' of Jats at that moment was to teach a lesson to asserting
Balmikis and hence most of the villagers felt they had not done
anything wrong. The best way to tell the authorities is that they saw
nobody. When the entire village has turned racist and casteist then
talk of sanity is not possible. There the rule of law has to be
enforced. No decentralization work here. These are the dangers of
decentralization. If the central law is not there then the local
feudal lords will not allow the Dalits to flourish. So, despite
so-called 'decentralised democracy', we are still bound by
International and national human rights laws. Unfortunately, those who
talk of the so-called decentralization process are glamorizing those
Khaps which must be destroyed. There is nothing glamorous in these
Khaps which are casteist and are a blot to any civilized society.
Mirchpur also reflect the poor state of our governance. The issue of
Dalits will only get prominence if they are suitable to the ruling
elites. Whenever and wherever the issue of Dalits becomes an obstacle
to get sympathy or political benefits the issue will be side tracked.
Hence, the Haryana police predominantly a Jat-Gujjar enterprise did
not do anything to nab the culprits. It just did everything formally.
Their counterparts in Delhi have the same mind. I know once I met a
senior officer of Delhi police related to a case against Valmiki
family in Narela where the police was openly supporting the Jaats who
had joined hand to throw a Valmiki family out of that place yet the
officer was showing his helplessness. ' You see, I come from JNU and
have progressive thoughts but our Jawans and our junior officers hail
from Haryana and Western Uttar-Pradesh, who still have the same social
and cultural prejudices which existed in the village. So, it is not
just a legal problem but greater issue of social change, the officer
said. My point was that ofcourse, we have to fight for this and social
organizations must do it but then how many of the social organizations
will get any support if they start working on Caste and
untouchability? Secondly, we know all these realities but the state
should also show some spine in this case. Even when Mirchpur case was
transferred to Delhi for the reason that the powerful people would not
be able to influence the witness, the fact remain the same. Delhi is
not different than Haryana.
We know it well that such things happen. While our media and 'social
activists' went in the town and at the India gate with candles in
their hand to force the court give a favorable verdict in the case of
'Jessica Lal' but the same media do not have time to even give some
space to this.
Mirchpur is a common failure of Indian democracy. It is failure of our
civil society which has no time for it. It is failure of the forces of
social justice who are unable to join hand and take it to logical
conclusion. Our political parties have always been casteist in nature
hence if this matter does not suit them they will avoid it. The
administration has no will as it remain an administration to save the
powerful. Haryana will continue to have more Mirchpurs and bigger Khap
challenging the very democratic set up the country when it does not
suit them. Mirchpur's judgment has shown how helpless the case of
justice in India is. The forces of caste are so powerful that they
have law, political system and media with their side. It is tragic but
truth. How can a country living in so much divisions and prejudices be
called a society or a nation.
When Jessica Lal's verdict was delivered by the local court acquitting
all the accused the Times of India wrote prominently ' No one killed
Jessica' and media went overboard to get 'Jesica' justice. Her sister
became a 'social activist' and many more friends also became 'social
activists'. The upper courts were forced to take a matter seriously.
Media pressure, in the name of public pressure, finally brought
justice to Jessica. But it is tragic that a case of racial violence,
caste prejudice, does not get a single column report in front page in
the media. The worst are the TV channels who seem to have become the
guardians of our morality. But there was no news. It is a shame that
these 'moral guardians' sitting in the TV studios have no time to
discuss Mirchpur which is not even two hours drive from Delhi. Why are
they silent?
Indian state is nothing but is controlled by the brahmanical
manipulators. Unless, we understand it, nothing will move. These
manipulators work in media and in our state apparatus. Through media
they change the debate, take you somewhere else. There are those who
have taken it to them to be our moral guardians. They want to be
looked as 'conscious keeper' of the country yet such blatant
violations of human rights of people are ignored by them. All the
people become one for them. It is easier to abuse politicians and
government from the loudspeakers of TV studios but please go beyond
it. If your caste prejudices are out, then you will see, the people of
India, we appreciate too much, are suffering from a big disease of
caste prejudices and hidden apartheid. Unless India addresses this, it
will never be a nation. It will be a country of a few power elite
while others will suffer without our mind and action going to them.
Therefore, Mirchpur case is an example where Indian state should show
some spine. Our media should stand with the victims and our social
movements must understand that just large number of people for a cause
may not necessarily be on the right side. It is time to call these
majoritarian forces a bluff. India need protection of the individuals'
right and such tendencies of majoritarianism will demolish a great
constitution and our society as a whole. The issue of violence
against Dalits is a serious matter and if India fail to provide
justice, then it has to be prepared for its repercussion and social
unrest. The case is a challenge and test of our democratic set up. The
higher courts must take note of it. It should not be left to an
unwilling government. Time has come when people must file case on
their own so that the complicity of state apparatus is exposed in it
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