“Jai Bhim” a voice thundered from atop the stage at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. And the blistering midday sun could not dim the enthusiasm of the thousands of Dalits gathered as they rose in rapturous applause to cheer the arrival of Advocate Chandrashekhar Azad Raavan, the founder of the Bhim Army.
This was Azad’s first public appearance since going underground in the days following the violence in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh on 9 May – violence for which volunteers of his Bhim Army have been blamed.
As the sea of blue broke into intermittent chants of “Jai Bhim” and “Babasaheb amar rahe”, a young Dalit woman on the stage declared:
There should be a Bhim Army everywhere in the country.
The Bhim Army, an organisation of Dalit youngsters attempting to fight caste oppression, was formed as recently as July 2015. Its meteoric rise in support and strength in the two years since was on display on Sunday at Jantar Mantar. From giant posters of founder Chandrashekhar Azad twirling his moustache, to Bhim Army flags in the familiar Ambedkarite blue, there was no doubt as to who was leading the massive gathering of Dalits.
Protesters sported masks with Chandrashekhar’s image and caps declaring support for his army.
They had gathered to protest against the arson and violence in the village of Shabbirpur in Saharanpur on 5 May, where a clash between Thakurs and Dalits led to more than 50 homes being burned down and left at least 15 people injured, and a 27-year-old Thakur dead. But the Dalits say the probe by the police has been unfairly biased against their community. They further allege that no compensation has been promised, let alone given, to the Dalits who lost their homes to the arson.
Jignesh Mewani, the young Dalit leader who led the protests in Gujarat following the lynching of Dalits in Una, joined the protest at Jantar Mantar. With him was former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar.
There is a need for a judicial probe into the Saharanpur violence. The BJP’s promise of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ has yet again proved to be a hollow one. What they are really doing is ‘Daliton ka utpeeran, Daliton ka vinash’ (the oppression of Dalits, the destruction of Dalits).Jignesh Mewani
Yet, the strongest voices against the Saharanpur violence came from protesters who had travelled great distances to express their solidarity with the Dalit cause. Listen in to what they told The Quint when asked about the riots, the role of the Bhim Army and what they hoped to achieve through this protest.
Their demands are clear. An unbiased probe into the violence, compensation for the victims of the riots and those who lost their homes to arson, and action against the Thakurs who indulged in violence on 5 May in Shabbirpur.
And amidst those demands, the loaded allegation – that Yogi Adityanath is siding with the Thakurs, and oppressing the Dalits through the institutions of the state.
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