11 Major Incidents Of Violence Against Dalits Which Show How Badly We Treat Them

With a total of 33,655 cases in 2012, 39,408 cases in 2013 and 47,064 cases in 2014-the rising cases of atrocities on Dalits show that India doesn't treat more than the substantial chunk of its population well.

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Be it the recent incident in Gujarat where a Dalit family of seven was mercilessly beaten for skinning a dead cow or fifty Dalit families in Sehore in Madhya Pradesh seeking permission for euthanasia from CM, Shivraj Singh Chauhan after their land allegedly occupied by musclemen-being born as a Dalit in India is nothing less than a sin.

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If estimates are to be believed a crime is committed against a Dalit person every 18 minutes. The problem not the law but the lack of political will, at local and national levels, to apply these laws. In 2006, the official conviction rate for Dalit atrocity cases was just 5.3%.

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Here are major incidents where Dalits have either been killed or have been humiliated to such levels that death looked like a better option.

1. Mirchpur, Hissar

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On 21 April 2010, 18 Dalit homes were torched and two Dalits¡ª17-year old Suman and her 60-year old father Tara Chand¡ªwere burnt alive. The incident happened after a dog barked at Rajinder Pali, son of a Jat while he passing buy Balmiki colony at night on his bike. Rajinder hurled a brick at the dog, only to be objected by Yogesh, a young Dalit. Soon the agrument turned violent and two exchanged salvos. Pali threatened all Balmikis with dire consequences. Although Balmiki elders went to Jats of the village to douse the issue but they too were beaten badly.

2. Gohana, Sonepat

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On 27 August 2005 one Dalit named Shivpal, a resident of Balmiki Basti had a fight with Baljit, a Jat. The scuffle soon turned into a brawl and since Shivpal was joined by some other Dalits from his colony, Baljit died due to head injuries. Soon the tension engulfed the whole town and Dalits fearing a massive backlash by Jats started to flee their homes. Although Police arrested four Dalits resposnible for the killing of Baljit, but Jat Mahapanchayat wasn't satisfied with action of police. In 31 August, a strong mob of around 1000 men armed with lathees, axes, kerosene etc barged into Balmiki colony and torched more than 60 households.

3. Bathani Tola Massacre, Bihar

On 11 July, 1996, 21 Dalits were slaughtered by Ranvir Sena militiamen in Bathani Tola, Bhojpur, Bihar. Among the dead were 1 man, 11 women, six children and three infants, who were deliberately singled out by the attackers. More than 60 members of Ranvir Sena, a private militia of Bhumihars in Bihar descended on the village and set 12 houses on fire. The attack was reportedly in retaliation for the earlier killing of nine Bhumihars in Nandhi village, by the CPI(M-L). The conflict began when CPI(ML) began organizing the agricultural laborers and demand increase in daily wages.

4. Laxmanpur Bathe Carnage, Bihar

On 1 December 1997, Ranvir Sena gunned down 58 Dalits at Laxmanpur Bathe in retaliation for the Bara massacre in Gaya where 37 upper castes Bhumihars were killed.

5. Bant Singh, Punjab

On January 5, 2006, Bant Singh, Mazhabi, Dalit Sikh, was attacked by unknown assailants ad beaten so severely that his injuries necessitated medical amputation. Later Bant alleged that this was in retaliation for actively working to secure justice for his daughter, who was gang raped by upper caste members of his village in Punjab five years earlier.

6. Khairlanji massacre Maharashtra

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On September 29, 2006, four members of the Bhotmange family belonging to the Mahar community were killed by a mob of 40 people belonging to the Maratha Kunbi caste in Kherlanji, a small village in Bhandara district of Maharashtra.

7. Dangawas, Rajasthan

On May 16, 2015 in Nagaur district in Rajasthan, three dalits were crushed under tractor by Jats over a decade old land dispute.

8. Tsundur massacre, Andhra Pradesh

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In 1991, a young dalit graduate was beaten up after his feet unintentionally touched a Reddy man in a Cinema hall. The dalits of Chundur village in Guntur district supported their youth. Irked by this, the dominant Reddys of the village massacred 13 dalits.

9. Kilvenmani massacre, Tamil Nadu

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On 25 December 1968, the powerful landlords of village Kilvenmani killed 44 people including five men, 16 women and 23 children. The victims were dalits working on the fields of these landlords. In 1968, influence by CPI (M), these workers demanded for higher wages and therefore formed a union seeking better working conditions and higher wages. To mark their union the workers hoisted red flags in their villages, irking their landlords. Soon things turned violent and on 25th December 1968, at around 10 pm, the landlords and their henchmen came surrounded the hutments, cutting off all routes of escape. According to eye-witnessing, some were shot dead whereas many were burnt alive.

10. Sunped, Faridabad

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On 20 October 2015, two children Vaibhav 3 and Divya (nine month old) were charred to death when Rajput strongmen torched their household around 10 pm. The Rajputs were reportedly had a confrontation with Jitender, a dalit and father of the dead children in October 2014 in which one Rajput youth had died. In order to avenge the killing, a group of Rajputs set ablaze Jitender's house at night.

11. Family stripped naked, Dankaur

On October 9, A dalit family was stripped naked on road including a woman by none other than police in Greater Noida near the Capital. Gautam and his brothers were robbed on gun point on Tuesday evening while they were watering their farmland. Their motorbike besides some cash, was also taken by the robber about which Gautam went to police to get a FIR registered on Wednesday morning. Gautam demand speedy action against the robbers and his demands irked police official at Dankaur police station who allegedly stripped member of family and threw them out on road.