What sparked the recent caste clashes in Saharanpur?
The western Uttar Pradesh district of Saharanpur has had a history of skirmishes between castes and communities over issues such as marriage and religious processions.
On B.R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, April 14, the Dalits of Shabbirpur village wanted to install the Dalit icon’s bust on the premises of the Ravidas temple run by the community. The Thakurs of the area, however, opposed it, and the local administration did not allow it. Subsequently, the Thakur community got permission to organise a function celebrating Maharana Pratap’s birth anniversary on May 5 in the neighbouring village of Shimlana. As they took out a procession with music and sloganeering and reached the Ravidas temple, the village headman of Shabbirpur, a Dalit, asked them to lower the volume. Simultaneously Dalits also informed the police, upon which they came and wound up the procession. This was allegedly marred by some stone-pelting between Dalit and Thakur boys, the news of which reached Shimlana, where over 3,000 Thakur community members were awaiting the procession’s arrival. They descended upon Shabbirpur and attacked Dalit settlements. One Thakur youth also died in the melee. There has never been violence with Dalits in Saharanpur to this extent in the recent past which is the main reason for their anger and grievance of being discriminated against.
Why did the May 5 incident trigger more violence?
Dalits allege that the police failed to control the rioting mob, and have been one-sided in their actions in the aftermath of the clash. There was also an impression that they were being soft on Thakurs because Yogi Adityanath, the State’s new Chief Minister, also belongs to the community. A group called the Bhim Army, that works for Dalit empowerment through education, and other Dalit groups called for a mahapanchayat on May 9. When denied permission by the administration, they attacked the police and burnt public property in several parts of Saharanpur. The group’s founder, Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, has been named in over 24 FIRs as instigating violence.
What does the Bhim Army’s emergence mean for Dalit politics?
Azad went underground to evade arrest and instead called for a protest against Dalit atrocities at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on May 21. The impressive turnout at the protest has catapulted the Bhim Army to the national stage. But its leaders are yet to formulate their next strategy and say justice to Dalits in Shabbirpur is their immediate priority.
