Only sustained focus of politicians can improve situation of Dalits

Politicians should show solidarity with victims but also stay focused on caste-related violence.

Caste prejudice is such a ubiquitous but often unacknowledged part of life across India that it takes an act of gratuitous violence to remind us all about it. Caste violence draws attention to the unregulated fury that mobs express themselves through in the face of State incapacity and unwillingness to intervene on behalf of the weak.

Viilagers of Sunpedh village where two kids of a Dalit family were allegedly burnt alive by upper-caste Rajputs, blocked the Faridabad-Ballabhgarh highway. The area where the attack happened has a history of tensions between upper castes and Dalits. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

Caste conflict also highlights persisting power dynamics in India’s communities beyond the enclaves that are under modernity’s sway. Events also show that Dalits cannot control the narrative even when they are victims of violence.

These elements were on view in the burning of the Dalit family at Sunped village in Faridabad, which killed two children and caused grievous injuries to their mother. The area where the attack happened has a history of tensions between upper castes and Dalits.

Three Rajputs were allegedly killed by Dalits last year over a fight about a mobile phone that fell into the drain and this is said to be a case of revenge killing — although both sides have differing accounts with the Dalits stating that they were humiliated and abused. The police clearly did not intervene effectively in the simmering situation, which not only saw some Dalit families relocating elsewhere but ultimately saw a mob set the house of Jitender Kumar on fire while they were sleeping.

Earlier this month, police in Dankaur in UP beat up a Dalit family and stripped the women (who subsequently tore their own clothes in protest) for staging a dharna against the police for not registering an FIR against their upper-caste attackers. The UP police subsequently filed cases against the family including for rioting and attempt to murder.

Politicians can show empathy and solidarity towards Jitender, but they ought to stay committed to the issue of anti-Dalit violence, follow through on cases that come to their attention and consistently push for State accountability on the matter. Only a sustained, visible focus on this can improve the situation for Dalits and alter social attitudes towards them.