Milind Thokal

29 Sept 2006. 15 years of the most cruel, heinous and barbarian act that took place in Khairlanji village of Mohadi taluka of Bhandara district in Maharashtra where a Dalit family was raped, murdered and killed at the village square and disposed of in a canal.

These incidents are a new normal in India, as caste based violence is rooted at the gangrenous heart of the Indian society and in its social institutions.

A Khairlanji and a new Bhotmange happen everyday. The state and its machinery don't care, neither do they have any sympathy for the Dalits and Adivasis, as their own data provides prima facie evidence that it has never served justice. The famous Nirbhaya case, in which the accused were hanged to death recently, took 8 years for justice to take its course. But when will justice be done in Khairlanji, which took place almost 15 years ago, or will caste take precedence over the life of a human being? 

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A Sneak peek into a Dalit Family's Legal Struggle

A.B. Karl Marx Siddharthar

On 29th, June, 2021 I, being the victim/petitioner in an atrocity case, visited the Collector's Office, Chennai to attend the DVMC (District Vigilance Monitoring Committee) meeting. Based on the Hon'ble Madras High Court's Order, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Chennai CBCID is the appointed Investigating Officer of my Complaint and recently he had filed a closure report of my complaint as 'Mistake of Fact' following which I have filed a Protest Petition in the Sessions Court challenging the CBCID's report.

At this juncture, I was served with a notice to participate in the meeting of DVMC. The DVMC is chaired by the District Collector, with elected members of parliament and state legislature and other significant members. It means an opportunity given to me to highlight and report before DVMC the willful negligence and dereliction of duty by the CBCID authorities. As me and other petitioners were told to wait at the reception, at the end of two hours we were told that the DVMC has conducted its meeting along with the Investigation Officers and our presence is no longer necessary. To not hear the submissions of the Victims and a report based on the Investigation Officers' statement and other enforcing authorities is nothing short of an eye-wash done by the District Collector and this best explains the defect inherent in the SC/ST Act itself. Can such a report reflect the true state of affairs? The Act explicitly should have ensured the representation of victims/petitioners.

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Adv Soniya Gajbhiye

Legal Aid is one of the most desirable services desperately needed by those who are unable to afford legal representation, engaging lawyers and to access the court system. It is necessary to provide access to justice by ensuring equality before the law. The right to have a counsel/lawyer and the right to a fair trial is an unavoidable requirement to do real justice. Free legal aid is the provision of free legal sevices in civil and criminal matters for those poor and marginalized people who can not afford the services of a lawyer for the conduct of a case or a legal proceeding in any Court.

Free Legal Services also includes Provision of aid and advice to access benefits under the welfare statutes and schemes framed by the Central Government or the State Government and to ensure access to justice in any other manner.

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On the day of Dussehra, Ramojipeta, a village in Illanthakunta Mandal of Sircilla district from where the Chief Minister's son, Mr. K Tarakarama Rao (KTR), was elected, witnessed a tragic Tsundur-like (in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, 1991) and Laximpeta-like (Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, 2012) Dalit atrocity. In the ghastly attack, nine Madiga Dalits were injured, 14 houses were damaged ,eight motor bikes were destroyed, and other properties were destroyed beyond repair. Buffaloes belonging to the Dalit community were also attacked. All youth of the Madiga community ran into the paddy fields in surrounding areas and hid themselves to protect their lives. Fearing an attack, a pregnant woman ran into a paddy field and hid there from 11 PM to 4 AM to protect her baby-within, and herself. What led to this ghastly incident? What are the reasons for this atrocious incident? In order to know this, we have to go into the background of this atrocity and subsequent developments.

Background of the incident

In the year 2013, the gram panchayat of Ramojipeta village decided to install the statue of Baba Sahib Ambedkar in the center of the village. But it had not been accomplished for some reason.Then the Dalits belonging to Madiga community started laying the foundation stone to construct the base for this statue in the month of August ,2020.

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Nikhil SanjayRekha Adsule

“I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive.” - Harriet Tubman

In this post-truth era, where democratic and participatory ethos is being subordinated and where the delicate distribution of powers as envisaged by the Constitution are being eroded, one can witness a trajectory towards authoritarianism with the recent amendments made in a dictatorial fashion to the UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) and NIA (National Investigation Agency) Act. Hon. Home Minister offered a false and an absurd explanation to these amendments by saying that these were in alignment with international laws -- a claim that was refuted immediately by the Amnesty International. The law has had a prolonged history of targeting minorities and the oppressed communities. The judiciary has been vested with the responsibility of containing the trespassing done by the legislators and to re-align them by appropriately interpreting and safeguarding the principles stated in the Constitution of India. A holistic view of the UAPA and its working is discussed here via a transformational Judgement given by Hon.Justice Abhay Thipsay in Jyoti Chorge vs State of Maharashtra is discussed with its finer nuances below..

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Mayur Helia

The Meghwal community has no written history as such. Everything is in the oral form. Through this research, I have understood that a major portion of their history is lost in this process of oral history. Also, there are multiple stories which have come up over a period of time. About the origin of the community itself, there are more than five theories. The history of castes and untouchability is linked with that of occupation and food habits of the community. The factor of "purity" and "pollution" had played an important role in creating the social order. That is the reason why "Chamar" and "Bhangi" are considered to be lower in the social hierarchy than Meghwal.

Even the names which the community had at different points in time are linked with their occupation and names of patron saints; for example "Vankar" stands for weaving, "Dhedh" is related to dragging dead animals and "Meghwal" comes from the Megh Rishi. All the saints of the community had a humanitarian approach and had worked for the emancipation of the community. One of the saints, Veer Meghmaya, had sacrificed his life to get basic human dignity for the community. The concept of god in the community began from nature worshipping and has reached polytheism due to various religious influences. The cultural and traditional practices are shaped by various religious influences. And even till date, Meghwal community is marginalized due to caste.

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