Dalit stir called off but Maharashtra still tense
PROTESTS Issue rocks Parliament as sporadic violence reported through the day
MUMBAI: A bandh called by Dalit groups in Maharashtra on Wednesday brought the country’s financial capital to a halt, with commuters facing a harrowing time, local businesses taking a hit and students forced to stay indoors.
Protesters torched buses, stopped suburban trains, blocked roads and forced shops shut at various places in Mumbai and some other cities.
“Why am I being caught in this political logjam. I am just another Mumbaikar, who wants to get to work. I stand to lose my day’s salary today,’’ said Anita More, who was stuck at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus for four hours.
Except an incident of pellet firing in Aurangabad, the bandh passed off peacefully, minister of state for home Deepak Kesarkar said. A mob pelted stones at a state-run bus in the north Nagpur area. Similar incidents were reported in the neighbouring cities of Chandrapur, Amravati, Buldhana, Khamgaon and Akola.
Daily life also came to a standstill in the suburbs of Thane, Dombivali, Navi Mumbai and cities such as Nagpur, Pune and Aurangabad.
The state-wide bandh, called by Dalit icon BR Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar and supported by 250 groups, was against violence that broke out near Bhima Koregaon, 40km from Pune, during the bicentennial celebrations of a British-era war on January 1 that left a man dead and 40 vehicles damaged.
Ambedkar called off the bandh at around 4.30pm, saying the onus for peace was on chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The violence hit parliamentary proceedings, as the Congress blamed the BJP and RSS for the unrest, which in turn accused the Opposition party of trying to politicise the turmoil.
“We hope that Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote would be arrested soon, we announce to call the bandh off,” Ambedkar said, adding it was Fadnavis’s responsibility to ensure the two were arrested. “If the government fails to act, it will have to bear the consequences,” he said.
On Monday an FIR was registered against Bhide of the Shiv Pratisthan and former BJP corporator and hardline Hindutva activist Milind Ekbote for instigating violence.
In Mumbai and some other cities schools and colleges remained shut while office-goers struggled to get to work as rail services were disrupted. Mumbai Metro service was also hit.
Thirteen buses of the civic transporter BEST were damaged by protesters, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said. Fearing a similar fate, most autos and taxis, too, stayed off the roads. Fadnavis said in the evening those involved in Bhima Koregaon violence would face stern action. “We have requested the Bombay high court to appoint a sitting judge to conduct the inquiry of violence. Nobody will be spared as the police are closely monitoring the CCTV footage of the violence.” He also hinted at outsiders fomenting trouble.
The bandh evoked a mix response in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad where shops and other commercial establishments remained open but some schools were shut.
Violence broke out at Koregaon Bhima, 40km from Pune, where hundreds of thousands of people, most of them Dalits, had gathered to mark the anniversary of an 1818 war between the British and Peshwa Bajirao II.
Many Dalit leaders believe the war was won by the British with the help of Dalit soldiers who defeated a large army of the Peshwa, who allegedly instituted oppressive caste practices.
MUMBAI: Unlike the uni-directional, pro-development political wave that was seen in the run-up to the 2014 general elections in the country, the first signs of a tectonic shift in Maharashtra’s political terrain are now visible.
The widespread Dalit protests and sporadic violence in the state are an indication that the run-up to the 2019 general elections won’t be the same. These are very clear signs of a sharp fragmentation of the state’s Hindu voting population.
Inspired by then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s campaign promise of the Gujarat model of development, Maharashtra voted for the BJP, rejecting incumbents Congress-NCP. Even the Shiv Sena was forced to play second fiddle to the BJP. The Dalits were nowhere in the reckoning because they too were swept by the promise of development: “sabka saath, sabka vikas”. Gripped by panic that it would virtually lose its identity by being a model alliance partner to the BJP, the Shiv Sena preferred to taunt and criticise the PM at every opportunity.
While the Congress in Maharashtra remained rudderless, the biggest political leader of the state, Sharad Pawar, increasingly dabbled in Maratha caste politics. However, as was seen from the massive silent protests (Muk Morchas) of the Marathas in Mumbai, Pune and other prominent cities of Maharashtra, the Maratha Kranti Morcha organisers kept politicians at more than an arm’s length.
Centered around the slogan ‘Ek Maratha, Lakh Maratha’ (One Maratha is equivalent to one lakh Marathas), these morchas helped unite the community across the state.
The demands were straightforward: swift justice in the Kopardi rape-and-murder case of a Maratha minor girl by Dalit youths (in November 2017, three accused were convicted and sentenced to death), and reservations in jobs and educational institutions for Maratha youth.
While the Maratha community was satisfied that the Maharashtra police and government prosecutors did a fine job which led to the conviction, the demand for reservation remains to be fulfilled. Added to this was a deep sense of injustice among Dalits as alleged Maratha criminals went scot free in a heinous crime against Dalits unlike Kopardi.
The 200th anniversary of the British victory against the Peshwas in the Battle of Koregaon has special significance for Dalits because of the decisive role played by the untouchable Mahars in defeating the Peshwas. This year’s celebrations marked the bicentenary.
Given the backdrop of the Dalit-Maratha tension in the state, the administration should have been better prepared.
Violence erupted at the nearby village of Vadhu Budruk on December 29 where some dalits put up a board in front of a memorial to Govind Gopal Mahar, claiming that he had performed the last rites of Sambhaji Maharaj, son of Chhatrapati Shivaji, in defiance of an imperial order from the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb. This provoked the Marathas in the village who protested that this was not a fact. Soon clashes broke out, resulting in the death of one youth and sparking state-wide unrest.
The protests are an indication that the Dalits of Maharashtra have found vent to their suppressed emotions and are trying to become assertive. There is a cry for new leadership.
WHILE THE CONGRESS IN MAHARASHTRA REMAINED RUDDERLESS, THE BIGGEST POLITICAL LEADER OF THE STATE, SHARAD PAWAR, INCREASINGLY DABBLED IN MARATHA CASTE POLITICS.