“Haiwaaniyat”(Brutality)

With great difficulty, the couple managed to save a few of their possessions in the riot.
Their adolescent daughter was missing.
Another girl, the younger one, clasped closely to her mother’s chest.
Rioters had seized one buffalo.
The cow was spared but her calf had disappeared.
The couple hid with their little girl and the cow.
It was a dreadfully dark night.
As the girl began to wail out of fear, her cries pierced the silence of the night like beating drums.
Scared, the mother put one hand over the girl’s mouth lest the enemy hears her.
Her voice muffled.
For caution, the father covered the girl with a thick sheet.
As they moved, the sound of a calf was heard in the distance.
Alerted, the cow sprang to its hooves and began running frantically towards the sound, groaning.
Efforts to calm the animal went all in vain.
Hearing the commotion, the enemy began closing in.
As the light from the torches was visible now,
The wife turned angrily to her husband and said,
“Why did you bring the brute along?”

–  Saadat Hasan Manto

On July 22, a communal clash broke out between Shiv Sena workers and a group of Muslims, who were protesting against slogans put up on their shops in Phagwara, Punjab, during an Amarnath Yatra protest march. Members of both the communities resorted to stone-pelting.

Subsequently, members of the Dalit and Sikh community joined the clash in support of Muslims and chased the Shiv Sainiks away. The Kapurthala district and Phagwara tehsil, in Doaba region of Punjab, often witness clashes between Hindu groups and the Dalit community, where the latter put up a strong fight. The recent incident is one pertinent example of it.

The same day, in a general meeting, the panchayat of Fateh Jalal village in Jalandhar resolved to allot plots to around 250 landless labourers and Dalits for residential purposes after several protests by Pendu Mazdoor Union. This is the second example of the powerful struggle Dalits have put up in the region despite facing strong opposition.

In another incident, a protest has been going on since April 3 in front of Mansa Deputy Commissioner (DC) office seeking allotment of plots on panchayati land in the Malwa belt. The matter has been hanging in the balance since 1970-71 when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi raised the ‘Garibi Hatao’ slogan.

On July 20, members of Dalit community gheraoed the Bhatinda DC office demanding a share in the panchayat agricultural land. Around 6,000-7,000 Dalits participated in the protest. Though the struggle has continued for a long time, a massive Dalit protest took place on May 25, in Balad Kalan village of Sangroor district.

What is common among such protests is how the Dalits raise their voice demanding their rightful share in panchayat, how they are faced with an opposition and even a social boycott, how the police charges at them and how they land in jails. All the cases are also centred on Punjab Village Common Land (Regulation) Act of 1961 under which one-third of panchayat land is reserved for Dalits.

The panchayats in Punjab own 1.57 lakh acres land of which 56,000 acres of land is reserved for Dalits according to the Act. But the ground reality is that this Act has not been followed in spirit in Punjab and none of the land acquisitions for Dalits have been smooth.

Cow politics

As incidents of violence in the name of cow protection grow across the country, some brotherhoods have been specifically targeted and Punjab has not been spared. Gau Bhakts have targeted farmers, dairy farmers, transporters, tallow traders and traders in the leather industry. They are harassed and blackmailed in the name of cow protection only to push forward the agenda of saffronisation.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government of Punjab has formed Gau Raksha Commission and plans to build ‘gaushalas’ (cowsheds) in 22 districts for which Rs 1 crore has been assigned. There are 472 gaushalas functioning across districts in Punjab, which are chiefly run by non-government organisations and trusts. According to the chairperson of the commission, Kimti Lal Bhagat, gaushalas in Punjab have around 2,69,000 cattle while another 1,06,000 remain abandoned as stray cattle. Bhagat claims that during the past four years, 600 cases of cattle smuggling, cow slaughter and beef consumption have been registered. Some offenders have received punishment.

The fact, however, remains that the Gau Raksha Commission backs the hooliganism of cow vigilante groups. Their members beat up Dalits if they are caught skinning cows. Cases are filed later. They stop any truck transporting cattle and beat up the driver. Tallow traders, who supply fat used in soap-making, are harassed too. The cow-mafia has become a headache for the Dalits of Punjab and uses cow as an excuse for the exploitation of the community. Such incidents are on the rise.

The Dalit struggle for panchayat land

 Land ownerships and rising feudalistic tendencies have aggravated caste discrimination in the villages of Punjab. Owing to this, the question of caste is directly linked to the land struggle of Dalits in the region. The community even faces social boycott. And as the people of Doaba are not economically dependent on anyone, they take up the fight.

As against Dalits of Doaba, the Dalits in Malwa region are weaker farm labourers and dependent on Jats. After the green revolution, the Dalits in Punjab have been pushed to the margins and face individual and collective discrimination. The mechanisation of farming has left many farm labourers without work.

The land struggle started from Banra village of Barnala district, when in 2008, around 250 Dalit families came together under the banner of Pendu Mazdoor Union to demand their share in the panchayat land.

Nearly 9 acres of land in the Banra village is reserved for Dalits, who won the fight and took ownership of the land. They used the land to grow fodder for their cattle and Dalit women no longer had to walk long distances to bring fodder from the farms of Jats. It was the first step towards breaking the shackles of social and feudalistic captivity.

The struggle that had so far been largely peaceful took an aggressive turn after the formation of the Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee. It was joined by Mazdoor Mukti Morcha, Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union and Pendu Mazdoor Union. The Committee called for a Dalit mahapanchayat in Bhawanigarh village in April 2015 in which Dalits from 150 villages of Malwa region assembled. The meeting addressed issues regarding Dalit participation in collective farming and how to boost it. Dalits were also warned against the Jat conspiracy of dividing them. Now, the Kirti Kisan Union, Punjab Kisan Union and BKU Ugraha Union have joined hands in the struggle too.

In Balada Kalan village of Sangroor district, Dalits are entitled to 125 out of 375 acres of panchayati land. Their rightful demand for possession of the land has met with severe opposition. The clashes led to arrest of Dalits but victory has come to them in Jhaneri, Matoi and Bahopur villages. The struggle has gathered momentum in Malwa region’s Sangroor, Barnala, Mansa and Bhatinda districts.

The Dalit struggle for residential plots

Although the ‘Garibi Hatao’ slogan raised by Indira Gandhi was to address inequalities faced by adivasis and Dalits, precious little has been achieved in terms of providing residential plots to homeless Dalits. This is the third aspect of their struggle. More than three decades later, the situation has hardly changed since Dalits are still demanding their share in residential plots. Land rates have gone up after green revolution and it has become even more difficult for the Dalits to procure land.

According to Pendu Mazdoor Union leader, Kashmir Singh Ghugshor, the struggle has spread across 150 villages in Jalandhar for 109 plots in Bilga and 39 plots in (Sahiwal). In another 40 villages, the panchayat was forced to allot plots to Dalits after their continued struggle. Thousands of Dalits have joined the protests across Punjab.

It is noteworthy how the increase in production after the green revolution has led to an increase in farm earnings. Those in possession of land are not willing to part with it. Both politically and in terms of land, Jats are in powerful positions. Combined with caste prejudice, it leaves Dalits with no space at all.

At present, the Dalits have put up a strong fight, but will the pace of resistance remain?

(The piece was translated from Hindi. You can read the original article here.)