Ajinkya Sanjay Khandizod
Introduction
Dalits comprise 16.6% of India’s population, with 1000 males to 945 females (Census, 2011). The alarming situation is that every day, ten Dalit women are raped (Maniyar, 2024). The historical marginalization of Dalits is reflected in various forms. According to Shastras, Dalits were prohibited from owning wealth or land (Anowar & Islam, 2018). However, there was a change after Independence; with political rights and legal protection coming up for Dalits, a different form of tussle emerged between upper and lower castes. When no education was allowed for Dalits, as per the Hindu texts Manu smriti, the Dalits got reservations along with tribals under the constitutional framework under Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), respectively. As per the Registrar General, India (2016), the literacy rate in 1961 was 10.27% for SCs and then 57.49% in 2001, indicating a positive trend over 50 years after Independence. Another factor contributing to the betterment of Dalits is conversion to Buddhism (Moudgil, 2017).The Vidarbha region of Maharashtra remained the centre for this anti-caste movement, taking a drastic shift after 1956 when Dr Ambedkar, along with his lakhs of followers, mostly Dalits, converted to Buddhism in Nagpur and then 2-days later in Chandrapur.
The incident occurred in a small village in the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, in the Bhandara district. The Bhotmange family consisting of Bhaiyyalal, his wife Surekha (45) and two sons, Sudhir (21) and Roshan (19) and daughter Priyanka (17), comes from a Scheduled caste population in the same region. This is a stimulating tale of how the Bhotmange family, had outspoken women – Surekha and Priyanka, Siddharth, a family friend with awareness of the law, a piece of land in the village of upper castes Hindus, led them to meet a tragic, gruesome attack from the villagers of upper caste villagers.
Still, political freedom has its limits; the society is still ruled by the social traditions and psychology of caste in mind, and change is still not acceptable among caste-Hindus. Therefore, there are cases of caste conflict at various levels and institutions; this is one such tale of caste and gender-based violence.
Khairlanji massacre
The dispute arose when the Bhotmange family resisted the passage of caste Hindus of Kunbi[1] castes through his fields, leading to conflict and filing a complaint with the police. In 2002, Bhaiyalal’s wife, Surekha, complained against a neighbouring farmer for trespassing on her farmland and using casteist language. Two years later, despite a revenue court confirming Bhotmange’s case, he conceded a small passage through the farm to buy peace. However, tensions continued, and Surekha’s daughter, Priyanka, was subjected to verbal harassment while cycling to school (Ananth, n.d.).
Geetha Sunil Pillai (2023) cumulated the sequence of events at Khairlanji, where in one such instance, Surekha was attacked with a sickle by some caste Hindu women, with the police having a record of the incident. In September 2006, some farm labourers caught and beat Siddharth Gajbhiye, who had mediated the land dispute, and his brother was turned away when he went to the police station to report the incident. The police registered the complaint only after Siddharth was admitted to the hospital.
Patil (2016) delivers the story of September 29th, 2006, when 12 people were arrested for beating Siddharth but were soon released on bail. The same evening, a mob of caste-Hindus, around 40 people, attacked the Bhotmange family’s hut; the four victims, including Sudhir, were stripped, and subjected to brutal beatings. Sudhir was pressured to have sexual intercourse with his sister Priyanka in public, but he refused, resulting in the perpetrators beating him and Roshan and mutilating their genitalia. Surekha Bhotmange and Priyanka Bhotmange were gang-raped, and objects were inserted into their vaginas, ultimately leading to their deaths. Even after the victims had died, the perpetrators continued to assault their bodies, including kicking, and tossing Sudhir and Roshan’s corpses. The entire village witnessed the incident, including both men and women. Bhaiyalal, Surekha’s husband, saw the entire event from a distance, hiding behind a tree. He later managed to escape from the village and alert the police.
Finally, all four bodies were found in the neighbouring area of the village near the canal. Although the court did not charge the accused with rape, the Khairlanji massacre remains a stark reminder of India’s ongoing struggle against caste-based violence and discrimination.
The socio-cultural context
What if Surekha and Priyanka have surrendered to the caste Hindus? What if they have not challenged the demands of these men? This point emphasizes that women marginalized in society due to their socioeconomic situation are viewed negatively when they assert or even resist. So, if a Dalit woman experiences sexual assault, it can be explained away because of crossing her gender and caste line; again, the notion of women being restricted to the houses, if violated those norms, will subject her to rape, and if the woman is from lower caste as Priyanka and Surekha was, they will suffer.
Manu Smriti, with many other ways to control women, has objectified their habits, behaviours, occupations, resource accessibility, marriage, physical characteristics, and sexual orientation, which are all influenced by the family and community’s social interactions (Anowar & Islam, 2018).These are intricately intertwined to create her identity as a woman and an all-encompassing, one-of-a-kind subject and person.
Ambedkar’s speech at Mahad Satyagraha addressing women explains the difference between a child born from the womb of a Brahmin woman and a Dalit woman (Deepa, 2017). Chakravarti (2006, as cited in Patil, 2016) came to the idea of “graded patriarchies” using Ambedkar’s “graded inequalities” as a starting point because patriarchies were tightly bound up in the more extensive caste system. The caste-patriarchies’ rules and functions were fundamentally distinct for women from higher and lower castes. According to E. V. Periyar (1992), the Aryans imposed the idea of caste as endogamy to uphold patriarchy and its dominance over other social groups. They forced women to adhere to the ideal of “chastity.” Aryans also imposed that a woman is chaste if she reveres her husband as a god, expects her to be obedient, and behaves like her husband’s slave. She would elevate their caste if she stayed virginal and upright. However, if her innocence and purity were compromised through rape, the caste’s status and influence would decline.
Dalit women are at the bottom of the social hierarchy, and it has been more accessible for the historically dominant caste and gender to violate their human rights (Priyadarsini & Panda, 2021). This notion allows them to validate the Shastras to determine the lines of purity and pollution. This, in contradiction, gives rights to upper caste men to sexualize the lower caste women, thinking they are available.Because of this, the dominant Brahmanical patriarchy has hegemonized the authority associated with women, reflecting unequal power relationships within gender and castes/sub-castes groups.
Dalit Women and Abusive Language
In India, it is common practice to make sexualized verbal insults to mothers, sisters, and daughters’ genitalia. However, there has not been much discussion about how verbal abuse is used to sexualize women from lower castes. It is impossible to reproduce sexual violence against Dalit women in texts without translations or sanitization because of how brutal it manifests in language. In rural areas, Dalit women are the targets of verbal abuse committed in plain view. This is the dominant caste man reiterating two facts: first, that Dalit women have “low” birth status, and second, that their sexuality is easily “bartered, appropriated, and constant references to the woman’s ‘availability’ end up rendering her a passive object that can be quickly acted upon.
In Maharashtra, verbal abuses such as “Mahar-Mang chya baya” mean women of Mahar and Mang communities, both Dalit castes. Also, the superstitious belief is that if “One wants to achieve success, then he must have sexual intercourse with Mang community women on new moon day.” This desire for power, validated by orthodox beliefs and practices, legitimizes rape culture and sex without consent. If resistance occurs during this event, it is subjected to violence and even brutal killings.Feminist interpretations of the cultural composition of all societies have relied heavily on language. One of the major concerns is how to address language violence that targets the bodies of women from communities and is linked to caste oppression.
Upper Caste Women and Dalit Women
In the Khairlanji incident, Women from the dominant Kunbi community cheered on their men as they dragged Surekha Bhotmange and her daughter Priyanka Bhotmange from their homes. They were then paraded naked, brutally raped, and killed, in the Khairlanji massacre(Bavadam, 2006). However, none of the female offenders were detained or accused of aiding and abetting the rape and murder of the Bhotmange family. This is due to their higher social status in the caste system; upper-caste women have had access to the labour of lower-caste and Dalit women. Dalit women have historically been employed as nannies, midwives, maids, and manual scavengers by upper-caste/dominant-caste women in their homes, placing them in subordinate roles in social relations (Kumar, 2009). The upper caste/dominant caste women are elevated above the lower caste and Dalit women in caste hierarchies, giving them privilege and control over them. The common practice of sexually assaulting Dalit women has been to undermine the caste’s sense of masculinity (Guru, 1995).
Teltumbde (2008), extends, that deceased Surekha and her daughter Priyanka were outspoken Dalit women who had previously assisted a relative in escaping being murdered by a dominant caste mob in the village. Additionally, Priyanka’s academic success in the 10th grade at school enraged the dominant castes and, most importantly, the Bhotmange family-owned land despite being Dalits. The first group – upper caste Hindu women consists of upright women who keep to themselves within the home and submit to patriarchal norms to preserve their honour. The second is a woman with a shady reputation who defies all social conventions and escapes from this prison. Therefore, these women risk being raped. (Geetha, 2016). Surekha and Priyanka were in the section where they had outdated the norms by their actions and thus remained firm with their decision.
Dalits Women issues in Media
The media houses’ leadership positions comprise 90% of Upper caste members (Oxfam, 2018). This is reflected in the reporting, as media coverage of this “normalization of violence” against Dalit women is infrequent. For instance, the media and the judiciary emphasized the Nirbhaya[2] case as an attack on ‘Bharat Mata’ while downplaying the Khairlanji case.
The present statement highlights the limitations of the representation of Dalits in media and the dominant voices of upper-caste men, which suppress Dalit voices. The media portray the resistance and protest aftermath against the atrocity as violent groups or anti-nationals aimed at suppressing Dalit voices. The media’s agenda is set locally by social capital and at a broader level through narrative setting, focusing on resistances as “reactionary groups”. The media narrative explicitly targets the community that challenges the Brahminical structure, an oppressive social hierarchy.
When examining comparative justice delivery, Shakil and Guru’s (2023) work, “The Fight for Equal Claims,” emphasizes the importance of equitable access to rights and justice for all. Ambedkar’s famous Mahad Satyagraha highlights the comparative approach to rights and justice, wherein animals and birds can drink water. However, Dalits, who are humans, are not allowed to do so. Access to justice and rights varies for each person based on their social location and quest to seek it.
Khairlanji and Kopardi : Bias State Machinery
Teltumbde (2008) emphasizes the local police’s indifference and involvement in the Khairlanji massacre. A relative of the victims was required to pay a bribe of Rs 500 to the local jamadar to obtain information about the victims, according to Teltumbde (2008), who also claims that the local police displayed negligence even though they were aware of the carnage. Even though Surekha and Priyanka Bhotmange’s bodies were discovered entirely naked, the charges of stripping, naked parading, and rape found in fact-finding reports were not proven in court due to a post-mortem investigation flaw (Teltumbde, 2010). Additionally, none of the witnesses attested to any sexual assault occurring during the incident (Baxi, 2014).
The Marathas (including sub-castes Maratha – Kunbis) are the dominant community, accounting for 30% of Maharashtra state’s population (Gaikwad Commission, 2018).[3] Till 2014, there are 18 Chief Ministers and 1,200 members of the legislative assembly, with many educational, sugar industries and co-operatives run by the Maratha community (Deshpande, 2014).
In the Kopardi case[4], where the victim’s social location was Maratha, and the convicts were from the Dalit community, the justice delivery system was swift, and the media portrayed the victim as “Shivkanya,” or the daughter of Shivaji. However, the victims, Priyanka and Surekha, did not receive dignity even after their deaths, highlighting the plight of Dalit women in the subcontinent. The advocate representing the Kopardi girl, Ujjwal Nikam, secured the death sentences for the convicts in just one year. Conversely, in the case of Khairlanji, justice has not been delivered, and the last surviving member of the family, BhaiyyalalBhotmange, has also passed away. However, they had the same government Advocate, Mr. Nikam.
Current scenario
In today’s sociopolitical and economic environment, violence against women is still a significant problem, especially for Dalit women who experience a variety of forms of discrimination due to their gender and caste identity. According to a report by Oxfam India, the pandemic has increased instances of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking, especially among women from lower castes and tribal communities who have little access to legal systems and other forms of support. (Oxfam India, 2020). The Indian government’s neoliberal economic policies have also contributed to this. Precarious and informal employment has increased because of the focus on economic growth and market-oriented reforms, especially for women from marginalized communities. As a result, they are now more open to exploitation and abuse, such as sexual assault and human trafficking.
As noted by Dalit feminist scholar Ruth Manorama, “economic policies that prioritize profits over people, making Dalit women even more vulnerable to exploitation and violence” exacerbate the already-existing social and economic inequalities. (Manorama, 2013, p. 105).
Conclusion
The above instance demonstrates how religious texts justify touching a lower-caste woman’s body, supporting the “right to rape.” The offenders are either landlords or come from a more affluent background. As Dalit women were the first to enter occupation way before the upper caste women did, they were the victims of sexual assaults at the workplaces by the upper caste men. It was not in the law but the Shastra of the Hindu belief that generated these actions, which are performed by these men regarding resources, employment, and the needs of women from lower castes; the dominant caste employs a variety of channels. Additionally, sex has been laboured, and their labour has been sexualized. Although the caste of the offender does not always need to be the same, they are dominant in their region. The Kunbi caste, here, is the one who, with land and other resources, has a history of dominating and raping Dalit women. Violence against Dalit women is a form of retribution (teaching them a lesson) for disobeying commands. The interrelationships of class, caste, and gender, particularly as they relate to the perpetrator in this case, show that the patriarchal culture, dominant social class position, and hierarchical status of caste all legitimize violence against Dalit women.
As a form of retaliation against Dalit women and the community to which they belong, rape is frequently used. Landlords use rape as a weapon of violence when Dalit women demand their wages, reclaim their land and sharecrop, refuse to perform any sexual favours for the upper-caste landlords, or engage in conflict with the upper caste in the village with their male counterparts.
In conclusion, this remains a pressing issue in today’s socio-political and economic context, particularly for Dalit women who face multiple forms of discrimination based on their gender and caste identity. Addressing this issue requires a comprehensive and intersectional approach that addresses the root causes of violence and promotes gender and caste equality.
~
References
Ambedkar, B. R. (1979). Writings and speeches (Vol. 1). Education Department, Government of Maharashtra.
Bavadam, L. (2006, December 1). Dalit blood on village square. Frontline. http://www.frontline.in/social-issues/dalit-blood-on-village-square/article6808442.ece
Baxi, P. (2014). Public secrets of law: Rape trials in India. Oxford University Press.
Chakravarti, U. (2009). Gendering caste through a feminist lens. Stree.
Deshpande, S. (2014, September 18). 18 CMs and over 1K MLAs from Maratha community. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/18-cms-and-over-1k-mlas-from-maratha-community/articleshow/42850012.cms
Diwakar, J. (2022). The Court of Bigotry: Contested Sexuality of Dalit and Non-Dalit Women. Contemporary Voice of Dalit. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2455328X221106537
48–2550. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4403327
Khan, A. F. (2014, June 5). India’s feudal rapists. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/05/opinion/indias-feudal-rapists.html?_r=0
Kumar, V. (2009). Locating Dalit women in the Indian caste system, media and women’s movement. Social Change, 39(1), 64-84.
Manorama, R. (2013). Dalit women speak out: Caste, class and gender violence in India. In S. S. Dey & S. K. Das (Eds.), Women’s Empowerment and Globalization: A Modern Agenda (pp. 101-116). Routledge.
Maniyar, Z., &Maniyar, Z. (2024, January 23). January 2024: Harrowing incidents of violence against Dalit women. CJP. https://cjp.org.in/january-2024-harrowing-women/#:~:text=Furthermore%2C%20data%20reveals%20an%20alarming,violence%20that%20surge%20the%20media
Moudgil, M. (2017, July). Conversion To Buddhism Has Brought Literacy, Gender Equality And Well-Being To Dalits. IndiaSpend. https://www.indiaspend.com/conversion-to-buddhism-has-brought-literacy-gender-equality-and-well-being-to-dalits-18224/
Oxfam India. (2018). Who tells our stories matters: Representation of marginalised caste groups in Indian media. https://www.oxfamindia.org/knowledgehub/workingpaper/who-tells-our-stories-matters-representation-marginalised-caste-groups-indian-media
Oxfam India. (2020). Gendered impact and implications of COVID-19 on the most marginalised women and girls in India. https://www.oxfamindia.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/Gendered_Impact_and_Implications_of_COVID-19_on_the_Most_Marginalised_Women_and_Girls_in_India.pdf
Patil, P. (2016, July 14). Understanding sexual violence as a form of caste violence. ResearchGate; School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith University. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334453789_Understanding_sexual_violence_as_a_form_of_caste_violence
Periyar, E. V. R. (1992). Women enslaved (G. Aloysius, Trans.). Critical Quest.
Priyadarsini, N., & Panda, S. S. (2021). Caste Patriarchy and the dehumanization of Dalit women in Indian Society: Phoole–Ambedkarite perspective. Contemporary Voice of Dalit, 15(1), 61–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328×211039324
Shakil, A., & Guru, G. (Eds.). (2023). Spheres of Injustice. Taylor & Francis.
Teltumbde, A. (2008). Khairlanji: A strange and bitter crop. Navayana Publication.
Teltumbde, A. (2010). High court’s verdict on Khairlanji: Justice diminished. Economic and Political Weekly, 45(32), 10-11.
Ananth, V. K. (n.d.). Uncovering caste-based violence: The Khairlanji massacre and the story of its coverup. The Polis Project. https://www.thepolisproject.com/read/uncovering-caste-based-violence-the-khairlanji-massacre-and-the-story-of-its-coverup/
Anowar, T., & Islam, N. (2018). Social status of Dalits and Women: In the light of Manusmriti. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), 6(4), 848–850. https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT1134141.pdf
Census of India & Office of Registrar General, India. (2016). Women & Men in India – 2016. https://mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/reports_and_publication/statistical_publication/social_statistics/WM16Chapter3.pdf
Deepa, B., & VEDA Publications. (2017). Mahad Satyagraha: Dr. Ambedkar’s speech to enlighten Dalit women on social and cultural rights. International Journal of Research in Education and Psychology (IJREP), 3(1). https://ijrep.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DR.-AMBEDKARS-SPEECH-TO-ENLIGHTEN-DALIT-WOMEN.pdf
Pillai, G. S. (2023, September 29). 17 years after Khairlanji Massacre: Reflecting on a dark chapter in Dalit history. The Mooknayak English – Voice of the Voiceless. https://en.themooknayak.com/dalit-news/17-years-after-khairlanji-massacre-reflecting-on-a-dark-chapter-in-dalit-history
~
[1]Kunbis is among the dominant sub-castes under Marathas. Most of the Kunbis comes under Other Backward Castes (OBC), a parliamentary recognition term.
[2]The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, also known as the Nirbhaya case, was a rape and fatal assault that occurred on December 16, 2012, in Munirka, a South Delhi neighbourhood.
[3] The Maharashtra State Backward Commission formed a Gaikwad Commission in 2018 to study the socio-economic and education status of Marathas in the state.
[4]Three men gangraped and murdered a 15-year-old girl from the Maratha community in the village of Kopardi in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district on July 2016.
~~~
Ajinkya Sanjay Khandizod is pursuing MA in Social Work at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
~~~
