Andhra Pradesh: No escape for Dalits from caste discrimination

A gritty fighter, Dalit cloth vendor, Ammulu and her two teenaged daughters managed to escape from the ferocity of the tsunami that swept away her humble dwelling and a wayside shop in Andamans.

When they reached Sarpavaram in Kakinada after a long arduous journey from the islands they heaved a sigh of relief having survived nature's fury, though it meant picking up a shattered thread of life. The relief proved to be short-lived as they soon found themselves caught in tsunami of the caste kind.

“After six years of hard work, when we started building a house in 2010 on a six-cent site, we faced the wrath of the Kapus,” she narrated at a public hearing organised by Dalit Shree Sakthi here on Thursday. They started harassing her, denied her access to a common pathway, saying it belonged to Kapus. After holding out threats they demanded Rs. 30,000. She managed Rs. 10,000 but the harassment and hurling of abuses naming her by caste continued leading to assault on June 2. A case of atrocity was registered but there was no further progress.

SUICIDE

Another Dalit, Hanumanthu of Miyapur, Ranga Reddy district, recounted how his long cherished dream of seeing his 14-year-old daughter, Renuka becoming an IAS officer was shattered when two upper caste teachers humiliated her so much that she set herself ablaze. Miyapur police registered it as a case of suicide and not under Prevention of Atrocities Act. G. Jhansi of DSS recalled that police in RR district showed no interest in investigating cases of atrocities on Dalits as the perpetrators often brought pressure invoking name of the Home Minister.

RAPED BY RELATIVE

A modest crowd of families of victims, activists and the jury members was stunned when Chellapu Sesha Rao of Devavaram in Visakhapantam district narrated how his mentally challenged daughter was raped by a relative. When the case came to light, the 18-year-old was three months pregnant. She delivered a baby boy but does not know how to take care of him now.

The jury members included former Supreme Court Judge K. Ramaswamy, former IAS officers -- K. R. Venugopal and K. Madhava Rao -- and president of RPI Bojja Tharakam.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/andhra-pradesh/article2953263.ece

Four Dalits were killed and 25 injured in an attack, allegedly by members of a Backward Class community, at Lakshmipeta of Vangara mandal, 55 km from here, on Tuesday morning. The condition of four, admitted in the Rajam area hospital was stated to be critical.

As a majority of police personnel had been drafted for the by-election duty in Narasannapeta, the attackers backed by ‘village elders' took advantage of the situation to indulge in bloodbath. Police reached the spot two-and-a-half hours after the attack that took place at 8 a.m.

The victims have been identified as Burada Sundara Rao (45), Chitri Appadu (35), Nivarti Venkati (65) and Nivarti Sangameshu (40).

Rapprochement fails

According to the police and locals, differences arose between the two communities over use of leftover land alienated for the Madduvalasa reservoir. The government acquired lands for the reservoir but a portion of it remained vacant. With both sections claiming ownership, the district administration's efforts to bring about a rapprochement did not bear fruit.

A police picket had been posted in the village to avert clashes. But after several police personnel left for poll duty at Narsannapeta, the dominant section went on the rampage attacking the dalits with crude bombs, sickles, hatchets, axes and other weapons.

The shocked Dalits could neither retaliate nor run for safety.

“My father Venkati begged with folded hands to spare him saying the entire family depended on him. But the attackers did not heed his appeal and killed him on the spot,” said a shocked Anuradha who had become unconscious after witnessing the attack.

The State government decided to inquire into the Lakshmipeta incident under Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The government will pay compensation of Rs.2 lakh to each bereaved family member.

According to district Collector G. Venkatram Reddy, Minister for Medical Education Kondru Muralimohan will distribute Rs.1.5 lakh to each of four families on Wednesday and the remaining Rs.50, 000 will be distributed after the thorough inquiry and court verdict.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/andhra-pradesh/article3520527.ece

Rashmun,

Do you mind listing the states where atrocities against dalits are are non-existent?

How about the cow-belt - how are dalits treated there compared to in AP, Karnataka and Maharashtra?

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:Rashmun,

Do you mind listing the states where atrocities against dalits are are non-existent?

How about the cow-belt - how are dalits treated there compared to in AP, Karnataka and Maharashtra?

i posted not one but two threads on atrocities against dalits in UP*
we need to come up with some solutions to this problem. Brilliant minds like yours should come up with some suggestions on how to tackle this issue.

* https://such.forumotion.com/t9165-uttar-pradesh-dalit-houses-torched

https://such.forumotion.com/t9166-uttar-pradesh-dalit-vs-dalit

Rashmun wrote:

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:Rashmun,

Do you mind listing the states where atrocities against dalits are are non-existent?

How about the cow-belt - how are dalits treated there compared to in AP, Karnataka and Maharashtra?

i posted not one but two threads on atrocities against dalits in UP*
we need to come up with some solutions to this problem. Brilliant minds like yours should come up with some suggestions on how to tackle this issue.

* https://such.forumotion.com/t9165-uttar-pradesh-dalit-houses-torched

https://such.forumotion.com/t9166-uttar-pradesh-dalit-vs-dalit

the dalit vs dalit thread (link given earlier) talks about a somewhat overlooked problem: the presence of a caste based hierarchy within the dalits. In Uttar Pradesh, it means Jatavas at the top and bhangis, chamars, mochis, etc. at the bottom. The high caste dalits sometimes oppress low caste dalits.

Chundur Massacre is an event in the history of Andhra Pradesh, India. It happened in 1991, in Chundur village in Tenali district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

What happened on the morning of 6 August 1991 has to be seen against the accumulated frustration of the local Reddy peasantry. What initiated events was a trivial incident that occurred in a cinema hall. It may be noted that access to public places of entertainment and refreshment in Chundur, unlike in a large number of villages in other parts of the State, was less restricted, a fact symptomatic of Dalit awareness in Chundur.
'A Dalit youth, Ravi, studying in a postgraduate college in Nagpur, who went to a cinema theatre in Chundur ‘rested his foot on a seat in front which was occupied by an upper caste boy Kurri Srinivas Reddy. A minor altercation ensued between Ravi and Srinivas Reddy when the latter abused the Dalit youth in the name of his caste’. (Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, 1991).

This happened on 7 July 1991. In the following days, both the Dalit boy and his father, who was a schoolteacher in a neighbouring village, were subjected to harassment by the Reddys as a measure of retaliation. ‘Fearing further reprisals from the upper castes, neither Ravi nor his father lodged any complaint with the police. This was resented by the Dalits who imposed a fine of Rs. 25 for submitting to the upper castes.’ This is illustrative of the fairly high level of awareness and assertion among the Dalits of Chundur, who were markedly different from those of other areas in terms of education and employment. This obviously attracted a severe response from the Reddys and their supporters in the village and even from those of neighboring villages.

The following extracts from a fact-finding report give a graphic description of ensuing developments.
‘On July 9, Reddys and Telagas formed into a committee and decided to enforce a social boycott of the Dalits (Malas). The committee was again headed by the village Sarpanch. Since then, the Dalits were not allowed to work in the fields of upper castes nor were they permitted to enter the upper caste locality. Land tenancies of the Dalits were canceled. The social boycott of the dalits led to tension and at this stage section 144 was promulgated in the village. While the upper castes engaged outside labour to work in their fields, the Dalits left to places like Tenali and Ponnur in search of work. A 50 strong police picket headed by Tenali Rural Circle Inspector was posted in the village since then.’ (Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, 1991, pp.8-9)

The report narrates a sequence of events that clearly show that, while the Reddys of Chundur and their fellow castemen in the neighboring villages were determined to show their might, the Dalits also showed a will to retaliate. The presence of the police deterred them from a head-on collision. The prohibitory orders were lifted on 29 July, and in two incidents that occurred on 4 and 5 August, two Dalits were attacked and injured and ‘the same night additional forces were rushed to Chundur even as prohibitory orders were reimposed in village.

The final assault on the Dalits came on the morning of 6 August. The ghastly incident was preplanned and well-executed by the upper castes with the alleged connivance of the police officials present in the village.
‘One version is that a few Dalit youth attacked and inflicted minor injuries on some Reddys. However this was blown out of proportions by the Reddys who spread the falsity that three Reddy men were hacked to death by the Dalits. The Reddy men of nearby Valiveru, Manchala, Munangivaripalam and Vellaturu villages were also mobilised for an assault on Dalits. Around 11 a.m. Saibabu [the CI of police] and Vemuru Sub-Inspector Sheik Madarvali came to the Dalit quarters and asked them to flee as CRPF men from Mangalagiri might raid the village to pick them up following a complaint lodged by the Reddys. When the Dalits were hesitant to leave the village the police virtually chased them away. However all the Dalit women stayed back.’ (Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, 1991)

What followed was:
‘The marauders, who came in tractors and scooters and were well armed, first caught the fleeing Dalits, beat them with iron rods and killed them with daggers and axes. They then leisurely packed some of the bodies in gunny bags and dumped them in the Tungabhadra drain and irrigation canal. Though the final tally of deaths could not be clearly ascertained immediately as most of the bodies were thrown in the canal, but at least eight Dalits are murdered in the heinous manner and many more injured in what could be described as an unparalled case of brutality.’ (Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, 1991)

Justice

The police has charged 212 people in 12 different cases related to this incident. 33 of the defendants died during the course of the trial. 56 of the remaining defendants have been convicted while the rest 123 have been acquitted. Among the convicted 21 got life sentences and the remaining got 1 year imprisonment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chundur_Massacre

Rashmun wrote:

Rashmun wrote:

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:Rashmun,

Do you mind listing the states where atrocities against dalits are are non-existent?

How about the cow-belt - how are dalits treated there compared to in AP, Karnataka and Maharashtra?

i posted not one but two threads on atrocities against dalits in UP*
we need to come up with some solutions to this problem. Brilliant minds like yours should come up with some suggestions on how to tackle this issue.

* https://such.forumotion.com/t9165-uttar-pradesh-dalit-houses-torched

https://such.forumotion.com/t9166-uttar-pradesh-dalit-vs-dalit

the dalit vs dalit thread (link given earlier) talks about a somewhat overlooked problem: the presence of a caste based hierarchy within the dalits. In Uttar Pradesh, it means Jatavas at the top and bhangis, chamars, mochis, etc. at the bottom. The high caste dalits sometimes oppress low caste dalits.

by the way this issue is a pan Indian issue and paradoxically it, in some ways, defines India.

Social stratification is there in all communities. Among Muslims we have ashrafs, ajlafs, pasmanandas.

An ashraf will very rarely marry into Ajlaf / pasmanandas.

We then have a new phenomenon of sectarian differences.
Shia vs Sunni.
Barelvi vs deobandi vs Sufi vs bohras vs ahmediyaas

Most of ashrafs tend to be Wahhabi/deobandi and a few are barelvis
Most ajlafs/pasmanandas tend to be barelvi and call themselves Sufis

rawemotions wrote:Social stratification is there in all communities. Among Muslims we have ashrafs, ajlafs, pasmanandas.

An ashraf will very rarely marry into Ajlaf / pasmanandas.

We then have a new phenomenon of sectarian differences.
Shia vs Sunni.
Barelvi vs deobandi vs Sufi vs bohras vs ahmediyaas

Most of ashrafs tend to be Wahhabi/deobandi and a few are barelvis
Most ajlafs/pasmanandas tend to be barelvi and call themselves Sufis

people get emotional while discussing this issue. they then resort to abusive language. for a hassle-free discussion about this issue, please consider discussing it further on http://sulekha.forumotion.com