Report of Social Boycott of Dalit Women Sarpanch.pd

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A Dalit Mukti Morcha Investigation Report

"Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is a battle forfreedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality."

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

1

Dalit Mukti Morcha, Chhattisgarh

Fact-FindingInvestigation

Report social

boycott and

discrimination

against Dalit

Woman

Sarpanch in

Karauvadih

Panchayat

July 2011

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Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

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Social Boycott - A Crude form of Caste Discrimination

Fact-Finding Investigation Report social boycott and discrimination

against Dalit Woman Sarpanch in Karauvadih Panchayat

1. The Prologue1.1 Based on the information from members of Dalit Mukti Morcha as well as the

news appeared in some newspapers on 28th

June, regarding the social boycott of a

woman village, Dalit Mukti Morcha constituted a fact finding team to investigateinto the entire matter. The team constituted of

Mr. Vibhishan Patre General Secretary DMM

Ms. Sandhya Bodhlekar Executive Convenor DMM

Ms. Bundkunwar Banjare Convener, DWRU, DMMMr. Pitambar Nirala Member, EC, DMM

Mr. Dhananjay Jangde Organiser, DMMMr. Santosh Ghitore Organiser, DMM

Mr. Goldy M. George Founder, DMM

1.2 The 7-member investigation team visited the village on 2nd July to investigate thewhole incident. While the facts unfolded one after another, it unveiled some

shocking information. Here is a concise of the different dimensions of the

findings.

2. Overview of Karauvadih2.1 Karauvadih village comes under Jaijaipur administrative block of Janjgir-Champa

district.

2.2 Karauvadih village is at adistance of 10 kmapproximately from the

block headquarter at

Jaijaipur while Jaijaipuritself is at a distance of 75

km approximately from

district headquarter atJanjgir. The nearest police

station is at Jaijaipur.

2.3 Total population of thevillage is nearly 1300. Out

of these nearly 336 are

Dalits, 322 are Adivasis,642 are OBCs. Among the

Photo 1: DMM team in a discussion with the victims


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OBCs the village consists of Chandra1, Yadav

2and Painka

3.

2.4 The major Dalit community within this village is Satnami4. Other than this thereis a small section of Gandas

5in the village. However Satnamis are the worst hit of

untouchability, social exclusion and boycott in Karauvadih. Since they do not

consider themselves as Hindus, their habitation (colony) in the village is

commonly known as Satnami para

6

.2.5 In Karauvadih as per last voters list there are nearly 180 Dalit voters, while thenon-Dalit voters are nearly 600 including Adivasis.

2.6 Here most of the Dalits are landless or with small landholding. Some of themeven do not have independent homestead land in the village main basti. Hence

they had constructed houses on their own farm land.

2.7 During the last Panchayat elections the post of Sarpanch was reserved for Dalitwoman by the Ms. Kavita Manhar got elected. Since then she has been obstructed

from functioning properly and in all forms.

2.8 The present Upa-Sarpanch who hails from the same Dalit community is the mainorgan through which the upper caste operates all their agendas in the village.

3. Facts of the incident3.1 Apart from the legally elected Panchayat, the village has its own Gudi 7. The Gudi

meeting under the covert and overt leadership of the Gautia8 decides most of

aspects in Karauvadih village.

1 One of the OBC groups as per the caste listing, however it is also one of the landed classes who owe large chunk of

land in rural areas of the state.2 Yadav has been the cattle rearing caste in classical caste system. In many states they have largely become landed

too however in Chhattisgarh they still follow the old traditional of cattle rearing at large.3 Painka or Manikpuri has been one of the communities listed within the OBC category; however they had been

subject to severe caste oppression. They are still the traditional village watchmen as well as weavers in many of thevillages along with other Dalit groups. Even today no upper caste groups have any level of social interaction with

them. Most of them follow the path of Kabir and hence they are popularly known as Kabhira too.4 Satnami is one of the Scheduled Caste (Dalit communities) within Chhattisgarh. They are widely spread across the

state. Though Satnami constitute the largest social group among Dalits approximately 1800000 in the state, they are

still discriminated within the State. Socially they still reel under the sinews of caste system. In economic terms they

are marginalised at large, with very small land holding or landless. Politically they are exploited and used as vote

banks. Religiously and culturally they do not follow Hindu religion they follow the Satnam panth after the great

social revolutionary Guru Guru Ghasidas in the 18 th century.5 Ganda is the second largest Dalit group in the entire state. They mostly inhabit the Mahanadi valley at large and

the largest group of Gandas live in Odisha, followed by Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and

Andhra Pradesh. They are much dependent on traditional occupation of being village watchmen, rural musicians and

weavers in some areas. Their economic condition is much lower than that of other Dalit communities in the village.

Their social space is much negligible. Politically they have been traditionally used only as vote banks with almost

zero space in political circuits.6 Para is a word commonly used to denote a particular locality.7 It is a form of village council which is not legally recognized. It is also part of the traditional panchayat which is

complete domain of the upper caste and rich class within the village. In Karauvadih village there existed a system of

traditional landholding as part of the Zamindari system which was dominated by a Chandra gautia.8 Gautia is one of the positions in the ladder of the Zamindari system. According to it, the Gautia has been allocated

a cluster of villages who was supposed to collect revenue from the ryots and give to his higher authority who is

essentially the Malgujar. In lieu of this service the Gautia was granted a huge area of land for cultivation purpose.


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3.2 In a similar way the after the Panchayat elections too there were similar meetingsto decide the functioning of the newly elected panchayat.

3.3 In many of these meetings majority of Satnamis are not invited. Only a handfulbunch whom the upper caste section feels to be comfortable and succumbs to the

whims and fancies are welcomed into it.

ALWAYS THEY SABOTAGED THE PANCHAYAT ACTIVITIES KAVITA MAHOHAR

The current phase of problems began when last year in April 2010 the CC road work was being

constructed and the son of the Upsarpanch demanded 50000/- as token bride for no reason. TheUpsarpanch listens to the Gautia and follows his instructions. It was also perhaps under hisinstruction that the Upsarpanchs son Vikram demanded for money. Followed by this a Gudi meeting

was called during which it was decided that

anyone who dares to go for the work under the

MNREGA scheme would have to pay a penaltyof Rs. 5000/- and he or she would also be

excommunicated. Feared by this the peoplestopped coming for work which also meant

that the government work was being

obstructed as per the plans. All these weredone at the whims of the Gautia without

informing the Sarpanch. People from

Moolidih village which also comes within the

same Panchayat supported and worked for the

completion of the tank deepening as part of theMNREGA work. Then they raised the question

of quality of the construction and beat my

brother-in-law. They lodged a complained with

the higher officials on the quality and we fileda complained against the beating of my brother-in-law. Later in the police station the officials calledboth the parties and made a compromise. The Engineer checked the road and cleared all obstructions.

On 9th

June 2011 another Gudi meeting was called. This was part of establishing their authority in the

village. Since I was neither invited nor informed, I didnt attend the meeting. On basis that I didnt

attend the meeting, they decided to excommunicate me and my family as well as instructed othervillagers not to attend or go for any of the Panchayat work like the work under MNREGA.

Actually the root cause is something different. There was a self-help group viz. Laxmi Mahila

Swasahayata Samuh run by the wife of the Gautia Niladhar Singh Chandra. She was the President

and her son Bhim used to managed it. This SHG was given the responsibility to run PDS in the village.There was huge irregularity in the distribution of the food grain and kerosene through the PDS as it

was only distributed during two days in a month as well as in lesser quantity. The villagers complained

against it with the SDM on which there was an enquiry on PDS in the village. The SHG was found at

fault and all rights under PDS scheme was ripped off. This was in July 2010. Since then it has been

managed by the Gram Panchayat directly. Gaudia and his wife were raged with it and since then theyhad been looking out for opportunities to set their scores against us.

Photo 2 Kavita Manhar speaking to the DMM-FFT


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3.4 On June 6, 2011 the Sarpanch Kavita Manhar complained in the Jaijaipur policestation that she was boycotted by the village and therefore the villagers wontcooperate with her in the Panchayat activities in the village.

3.5 The detailed complaint dated June 11, 2011 says that one Pardeshi Satnamiinformed the Sarpanch that he heard the Kotwar

9

announcing in the village thatthe Sarpanch is boycotted from the village and none should dare to support her or

the work of the Panchayat. In case anyone is found indulging with the Sarpanch,

they would be penalised by Rs. 5000/- the complaint quoted.3.6 The police went to the village on the complaint of the Sarpanch and found that

there was tension between the two sides. They called both the sides to the police

station and advised them. The police claim that both the sides had come to anagreement not to create any further problem. After that the police went to the

village on June 16, 2011 to review the situation.

3.7 The situation didnt change even after the efforts by the police personnel andfinally on 27

thJune the Sarpanch and her husband reached the Collectorate

seeking redressal to the continuation of excommunication and dysfunction of thePanchayat activity.

4. History of Social Boycott and Caste Discrimination4.1 Social boycott and excommunication has become the fashion and role model in

the village for some years and hence it is not the first incident in the village.

4.2 People in the village informed the fact finding team that traditionally this villagehad the Gautia rule which means that the land was also predominantly underZamindari system. Even today the present Gautia holds nearly 100 acres of land.

This also indicates the fact that Satnamis in this village had been the landless

labourer.4.3 It is perhaps the continuation of the caste system that overrules the village that the

Dalits are neither supposed to hold land or have proper houses of their own.

4.4 Last year Shivprasad Shive and Panuram Satmani were the first ones to be facesocially boycott. While Shivprasad Shive was the Panchayat Karmi, Panuram wasthe MNREGA assistant in the village. Both of them were threatened to be thrown

out of their position.

4.5 Under severe pressure each one of them paid Rs. 25000/- each. At that time noneof the other villagers came forward in support of either of them. First under severe

pressure Shivprasad Shive paid the demanded amount of Rs. 25000/- to get out of

the trouble of not loosing his job as well as to protect his house. HoweverPanuram Satnami was kept under two different level of bargaining. First they

asked him to pay a penalty of Rs. 10000/- to prevent his house from being broken

which he paid. Later he was told that he needs to pay another Rs. 15000/- to savehis position and job in the panchayat and once again he paid the same.

9 Kotwar is generally the village messenger. Traditionally this work is being done by people from the untouchable

groups. Here in this village the Kotwar hails from Painka community.


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I WAS THREATENED TO BE THROWN OFF MY JOB PANURAM SATNAMI

In this series of boycotts, I was the first one in the village to be socially boycott along with Shivkumar

Shive. There was no reason for this. The only reason was that we build houses and they called it to be

encroached land. Since he was the Panchayat

Karmi10 and I was the MNREGA assistant, we

were threatened that we would be ripped off

our jobs. They demanded Rs. 25000/- from

each one of us otherwise they would break the

houses as well as excommunicate. Since there

was so much pressure to save our little jobs we

had to succumb. Under the same pretext a few

more people were notified whose houses were

to be broken saying that they built it on

encroached land. They are Parasram Manhar,

Ghurva Tandon, Devlal Manhar and Dhwaja Kumar Siddar. All these were done at the

behest of Leeladhar Chandra and Rajkumar

Sahu propelled through the Gudi meeting.

4.6 Panuram told the team that he is yet to pay back the money that he arranged oninterest from a local moneylender.

4.7 Another person who was victimized by the Gudi meeting was Ghuruva Tandan.Last year he was also restricted from all sorts of social and economic interactions

at the village level and was asked to deposit 5000/- as bond to start a village level

hearing on his matter.4.8 After being in the same hose for nearly 20 years, he was told that it was standing

on encroached land. Ghuruva told the team that it is the same house in which his

father lived and died.4.9 His wife said that in the village Satnamis are the least respected by other caste

groups. Even the boycott of people in the village is very selective. Some

individuals from Satnami community are also party to such processes of boycott.They go as per the dictums of the caste lords. Hence it is also a matter of not

allowing people who do not succumb to the pressure tactics of the dominant ones

in the village.4.10 Ghurva said that since he wasnt able to arrange the amount of Rs. 5000/-, he is

still not involved in the village in several aspects. However he also feels that itwont be easy for him to take loan from a middleman and get bonded for his

entire life as he himself is a landless labourer.

10 Panchayat Karmi is the Secretary of the Panchayat who assists the Sarpanch and other elected officials in terms of

managing the panchayat affairs. He is also the official person who maintains all records of the Panchayat.

Photo 3 Panuram Satnami speaking to the DMM-FFT


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AFTER 20 YEARS THEY TELL US THAT OUR HOUSE IS ON

ENCROACHED LAND GHURVA TANDON

I was also boycotted last year. When enquired for the reason there

wasnt any specific response, but told me that I should pay a bond of Rs.5000/- as bond for a discussion on the same. We have been living in the

same house for nearly 15-20 years which was constructed by my father

and now they want to crush the house and we should evacuate the place

as they say that its on encroached land. In the village we are not

respected much. Even the case of boycott is also very selective. Some

individuals from our own caste are also party to this sort of

excommunication. Even they are engaged as dalal11

in making people

sell off their land to industrial houses. I didnt pay it and I am still not

involved in any of the activities of the village.

4.11 Parasram Manhar was another of the victims who had to face a similar situation inthe village last year. He was boycotted by the village along with Panuram

Satnami, Shivprasad Shive and Ghurva Tandon.

4.12 His wife told the team that it was done all due to caste feeling. They feel this sinceall victims of excommunication had been mostly Satnamis or people who are

relatively subdued and poor.

4.13 Both Parasram and his wife work more than half the time in a year as migrantlabourer in far away places like Delhi, Jammu Kashmir and other parts of North

India. While they go to these places it also affects the education of their children.

Both the children do not go to school.4.14 Whatever little money they saved was used for the making a small house. The

house is only half build and it needs further monetary investment to complete it.They told the team that only if they go for another decade as migrant workers,

they could complete the construction of the house.4.15 The house was being constructed just next to the 50 cent of cultivable land of

Parasram. Out of the 3 cents what they claim to have been encroached, half

belong to him, which means hat its hardly 1.5 cent of encroached land.4.16 While he was informed of his excommunication, there were different talks in the

village; that his house will be broken, that he hasnt followed any of the Gudi

instructions, that he needs to be penalised heavily.4.17 He tried to find out the ways to get back only to be told that any discussion on this

matter could happen only he is willing to deposit a bond of Rs. 50000/- in

advance. It was a difficult phase and a difficult decision on the part of the village.

11 Dalal is the middleman who negotiates with the farmers and peasants for their land to be sold off for industries.

There are several villages in the nearby vicinity where various corporate houses are coming up with factories and

plants.

Photo 4 Ghurva Tandon


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4.18 Unable to arrange for the money Parasram and his family still remain out of thevillage common mode of interaction. Hardly anyone in the village speaks to him,

no shops provide any grocery or other things, no villager provides him any workin his field during crop season. He has to go off for every little thing.

I WAS TOLD TO PAY A BOND OF RS. 50000/- FOR ANY DISCUSSION PARASRAM

MANHAR

Along with Panuram, Shivprasad Shive and Ghurva Tandon, I was socially boycotted last year. Thiswas actually done with the caste feeling. When enquired what should I do to be included back, I was

told to deposit a bond of Rs. 50000/- first for any sort of discussion on my inclusion or even to know the

reason for the same.

The reason that they told me was that I began theconstruction of a house on encroached land. Out of the

three cent land on which my house stands, half is myown. This is adjacent my own cultivable land of 50 cents.

The construction of my house is still incomplete. I and

my wife work as migrant labourers for nearly sevenmonths a year. We had saved some money from this,

which was utilised for constructing it. Now they say that

it should be broken. Even outside industrialist get land

very easily in all the villages around without any , but the

ones who had been living in the same village have beendenied of the right to hold a homestead land. They couldnt see a poor Satnami constructing his own

house and perhaps this was the reason for throwing me out of the village too. It was Rajkumar who

told me that I need to pay this penalty. The amount was too much for me. Due to my poverty state, I

couldnt pay it and I am still not involved in any of the activities of the village.

4.19 Apart from the Dalits, one Sahu was also excommunicated from the village by thesame Gudi baithak. The reasons seem to be the same. He had been someone whostood by the excommunicated Dalits and he was also poor. His name also came

since he was one of the persons who raised the question of irregularity in the PDS.

4.20 This automatically meant that he was going against the normal rule of the villagewhich invited ire of the feudal section. He and his family were also sociallyboycotted by the village Gudi.

4.21 The team also came across various forms of social discrimination, untouchabilitypractices and exclusion in the existence in the village.

4.22 Separate ghat12, separate drinking water sources such as wells, hand pumps,disallowing Satnami participation in Hindu festivals, rituals, processions, such as

Durga pooja, Ganesh pooja, Rath yatra, Devgudi Pooja, etc.

12 Ghat is the bathing spots. Generally in the village people bath in the same tank (pond) where there are separate

allocated places for both the upper caste and ex-untouchable castes.

Photo 5 Parasram Manhar and famil


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Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

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4.23 Talking with Dalits of Karauvadih also realised that there has been the system ofimposition of poni-pasari

13in the village.

4.24 In mid-May the caste Hindus under the leadership of Leeladhar Chandraconvened a meeting in which the whole village except the (majority of) Dalits

attended.

4.25

Dalits are not able to do any work in the village. Even when the Panchayat andSarpanch wants to help them with some work in schemes like MNREGA, the

Dalits are not in a position to work as they are gripped with fear and terror of

social excommunication.

5. Grooming Undercurrents5.1 Caste discrimination, untouchability and narrow mindedness gave birth to

revenge, resentment and antagonism against Dalits in Karauvadih village. The

landed feudal class who dictated the social, political and cultural terms were not

able to accept and acknowledge the growth, development and generation of power

among Dalits.5.2 As a part of it several anti-Dalit activities and deeds were galvanised. Howbeitthis generated a new level of awakening among the Dalits regarding their rights ashuman beings. This included their social, political, economic and religious rights.

This awareness in fact fumed the non-Dalits to the maximum extremes. Hence

they had been looking for an opportunity to nullify this awakening.5.3 In recent years the best example is the last panchayat elections when Kavita

Manhar defeated the candidate of the feudal caste lords. According to the Dalits

during the last panchayat elections clear caste line politics took vital shape behindthe screen. Since it was reserved for Dalit woman, it was impossible for the

Gautia crew to execute their rule. However they funded and supported a dummy

candidate on their behalf against Kavita Manhar which was also another reasonthat annoyed the Gautia clique. Nurturing such politics had always been part of

political process throughout the country and therefore the situation was not

different in this village too. This in fact also intensified the undercurrents between

the two sides.5.4 The panchayat elections were over; however the conflict that surrounded the

elections remained alive within the village.

5.5 Even the police and administration do not dare to go against the Gautia lords.They still have an upper hand on all social, political decision making process. It is

not that this is the only village with Gautia shasan14

in this area. There are many

villages with similar social systems. In all these villages and in the entire Janjgir-Champa district there is an unholy alliance amidst the Gautia, Daus, Malguzars

and Zamindars in existence.

13 Poni-pasari is a term usually used to indicate any sort of relationship that is entirely based on caste hierarchy. It

also means if needed the traditional caste profession of the Dalits could be forcefully imposed. Anyone who dares to

break this social barrier will not be spared or considered as a part of the mainline dominant caste Hindus. They

would be decasted to the range of the Dalit communities.14 Shasan means rule


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Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

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5.6 All these contribute to the blowing up of the tensions of which the reactions hadbeen seen in the village.

6. Situation after the incident

6.1

After the initial incident of June 6, 2011 and the police complaint dated June 11,2011 by the Sarpanch there hasnt been much of difference in the village.

6.2 Sarpanch and her family along with others who were excommunicated earlier stillremain out of the social life in the village. Certainly a sense of fear and terror hadgripped the Dalits of Karauvadih Panchayat. The tension seemed to have engulfed

more and more and people in the Dalit lane fear to go out once it is dark.

6.3 Although none has been fined with the Rs. 5000/- mark as announced by the Gudifor working on the Panchayat schemes, it is also a fact that the people of

Karauvadih village havent come forward to do any of these work. All support

was from the residents of Moolidih village which is also a village within

Karauvadih Panchayat. It was only due to this support that the Sarpanch could

carry forward the Panchyat activities.6.4 The police went to the village on the complaint of the Sarpanch and sniffed thetension between the two groups in the village. Yet they havent yet registered aFIR against the perpetrators. Though they called both the sides for a compromise

but what this compromise meant to the Dalits hasnt been mentioned at all. The

question is who gains out of such compromises. Since the police officials were re-informed that the tension hasnt subsided, the police went to the village on June

16, 2011 to review the situation.

6.5 When the situation didnt change on 27th June the Sarpanch and her husbandreached the Collectorate seeking solution to the continuation of excommunication

and dysfunction of the Panchayat activity.

6.6 The police tried to make a compromise between the two sides, which hasntyielded the expected result. Needless to mention that there wasnt any effort from

the police to resolve the problem of Karauvadih.

6.7 While enquiring with the Sarpanch about the work environment, she clearlymentioned that she is fearful of life as the environment in the village is not peaceful. She also mentioned that it was just another farce if her case is

thoroughly studied of what the government keeps on harping on womens

political empowerment through Panchayat Raj Institutions.

7. Polices Role under scepticism7.1 The first and foremost question is that why did the police fail to take essential

action to redress the grievance of the Dalits in Karauvadih despite several

complaints.7.2 Dalits being the victims with provisions of special protections in the constitution

as well as other legal premises, what was the reason for not acting accordingly?


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Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

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7.3 What action did police took to reduce the tension is not clear. Just by calling thetwo sides and counselling them is in no way the ideal solution. It is observed that

after this the tension hasnt reduced but increased.7.4 Not a single FIR has been filed in any of the cases despite half a dozen cases of

social boycott. It is highly ridiculous on part of the police that they havent taken

it seriously any of these cases despite being heinous crime as per the law of theland. Several sections of Indian Penal Code and SC/ST (PoA) 1989 are all

applicable in this case as in any other case.

8. The Drame of Compromise8.1 While the investigation team enquired about the compromise between the two

sides, the Dalits stated that there was no settlement, but only an illusionary show

of it.

8.2 Still going into deeper analysis the team could not access any document of mutualunderstanding based on which one could say that there has been some sort of

understanding from both the sides.8.3 The team also figured out that the police official remain with a prejudice thatthere is a problem between the Sarpanch and others in the village. This is notcorrect by any means. The team also understands that its this very prejudged

disposition that has limited the police from taking any proper action. All they

were inclined to do was to weaken the case of atrocity and draw an unacceptabledrama of compromise.

8.4 Despite the so-called attempt of counselling and compromise the ground realityremained the same nothing changed for either the Sarpanch and her family orthe ones who had been excommunicated earlier. Both the victims and the upper

castes operators continue it as it was. None from the village dare to come forward

and work in the work being provided by the panchayat under MNREGA and otherschemes. Hence the standpoint is that the compromise was simply an eye washer

to subsume the dissent of the Dalit community and groups.

8.5 In fact a series of similar boycotts occurred and even continue today. Why is thatonly in the case of Sarpanch the police took the initiative of intervention? Werethey not aware of the previous occurrences? This also raises an array of questions

on the validity of the such compromise of dispute which doesnt have any legal

validity.8.6 People also feel that it was a drama by design by the upper caste section in the

police in nexus with the upper caste who are rich, landed and moneyed. This

certainly weakens the Dalits position and prevents the culprits.

9. Violation of Constitutions Rights, Legal Rights and Rights under InternationalDeclarations, Conventions, Covenants & Laws9.1 Constitutional Rights are the first to be violated in a series of other violation.

More specifically the fundamental rights mentioned under Part III are time andagain denied to the Dalits across the country, exceptionally in this case.


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Fundamental rights under Articles 1415

, 15(1)16

, 1717

, 1918

and 2119

are clearly

violated.

9.2 Many other articles such as Article 38(1)20, 38(2)21, 39(b)22, 39(A)23, 4024, 4625under the Directive Principles of State Policy are also violated.

9.3 Another major violation is of the sections of the Protection of Civil Rights Act,1955. Punishment containing for offences arising out of untouchability ismentioned in section 7(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) and also in 7(2)(i), (ii)

26.

15Equality before the law The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of

the laws within the territory of India.16Prohibition of Discrimination on Grounds of Religion, Race, Caste, Sex or Place of Birth The State shall notdiscriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.17Abolition of Untouchability Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The

enforcement of any disability ar i s ing out of Untouchabi l i ty shal l be an of f enc e punishable in accordance

with law.18Right to Freedom:Freedom of Speech and Expression All citizens shall have the right

(a) to freedom of speech and expression;

(b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;(c) to form associations or unions;19Protection of Life and Personal Liberty: This Articles states: No person shall be deprived of his life or

personal liberty, except according to procedure established by law. This Article restraints the executive from

proceeding against the life of personal liberty of the individual except under the authority of law made by the state.20State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people: The State shall strive to promote the

welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social,

economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life.21 The State shall, in particular, strive to minimize the inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities

in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in

different areas or engaged in different vocations.22 It upholds that the State shall in particular direct its policy towards securing that the ownership and control of

the material resource of the community are so distributed as best to sub-serve the common good; that the operation

of the economic system does not result in the concentration of the wealth and means of production to the commondetriment.23 The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and

shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that

opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.24 The State shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may

be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.25 The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the

people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social

injustice and all forms of exploitation.26Punishment for other offences arising out of untouchability

(1) Whoever-

(a) prevents any person from exercising any right accruing to him by reason of the abolition of untouchability

under Article 17 of the Constitution; or

(b) molests, injuries, annoys, obstructs or causes or attempts to cause obstruction to any person in the exercise of anysuch right or molest, injuries, annoys or boycotts any person by reason of his having exercised any such right; or

(c) by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise incites or encourages

any person or class of persons or the public generally to practise untouchability in any form whatsoever; [or]

[(d) insults or attempts to insult on the ground of untouchability a member of the Scheduled Caste]

(2) Whoever-

(i) denies to any person belonging to his community or any section thereof any right or privilege to which such

person would be entitled as a member of such community or section; or


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9.4 This whole act of the caste Hindus vehemently violates section 2 (d) 27 of TheProtection of Human Rights Act, 1993

28.

9.5 Apart from this, it also goes against various international covenants and charterson human rights to which India is also a signatory. Being a signatory it is fully

obliged to stand with these international legal frameworks of law and order

cutting across the boundaries of nation state. For instance it apparently violatesthe various Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR

remains as a common standard of achievement of Human Rights for all people

and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society.Keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, the state is bound to strive by

teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms by

progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal andeffective recognition and observance, both among the people of Member States

themselves and among the people of territories under their jurisdiction.

9.6 Articles 129, 330, 531, 632, 733, 834, 1835, 1936, 27(1)37, 2838 of The UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights are undoubtedly violated. Dalits are counted as an

unnecessary burden in the series of incidences indicted in Karauvadih village.9.7 All people in any nation have the right to self-determination and self-respect.Scores of articles, sections sub-sections, and clauses of international conventions,covenants, laws, etc. are vehemently violated due to the frivolous attitude towards

(ii) takes any part in the ex-communication of such person, on the ground that such person has refused to practise

untouchability that such person has done any act in furtherance of the objects of this Act,27 Section 2(d) of the Human Rights Act defines human rights means the rights relating to life, liberty, equality

and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and

enforceable by Courts in India. Article 19 of the Constitution of India deals with protection of certain rights of the

people regarding freedom of speech, etc.28 This act is primarily to provide the Constitution of the National Human Rights Commission, State Human Rights

Commissions in States and Human Rights Courts for better protection of human rights. However this is the onlylarger legal framework giving a clear definition of human rights in India. Hence the definition of Human Rights is

taken from it.29 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and

should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.30 Everyone has a right to life, liberty and security of person.31 No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degraded treatment or punishment.32 Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before law.33 All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are

entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to

such discrimination.34 Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the

fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or law.35 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his

religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest hisreligion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.36 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without

interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.37 Everyone has the right freely to participate n the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in

scientific advancement and its benefits.38 Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in the

Declaration can be fully realized.


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15

of national laws and acts but also a gross violation of international human rights

structure.

10.7 The drama of compromise is an eye washer, to dilute criminal procedure, non-deliverance of justice and letting the criminal caste lords scot-free instead of

bringing them under the grip of law. This is an effortless means to protect the

culprits under the pretext of upholding peace. But there seem no talks, let alone peace, between the two sections in the village nor is justice done. What does

compromise mean under such circumstances?

10.8 Leaving the culprits scot-free without applying the legal discourse is by all meansarming them with more confidence and courage to carryon such activities in

future.

11.Recommendations11.1 Under the above mentioned circumstances we recommend for an impartial

investigation into the series of incidences of Karauvadih. All forces with the

intention of political gain and drawing political mileage should be kept away fromthe investigation process. However the Dalit organisations engaged in this process

should be involved and consulted in this case in view of holding a fair and justinvestigation.

11.2 We insist to instruct the police to take essential steps and register an FIR in thecase in a proper manner quoting all appropriate sections and clauses in this matterso that justice is done to the Dalits and no one dares to repeat the same in future.

11.3 We recommend the immediate arrest of all the culprits in this case who hadcontinued the heinous crime against an elected woman representative from one ofthe most marginalised communities in India.

11.4 We recommend that essential steps be taken in order to create a conduciveatmosphere whereby the Dalit woman Sarpanch could perform her duties in a freeand fair environment. Since she has to deliver her services to the larger public

such an intervention is abruptly needful.

11.5 We suggest that compensation, relief and justice be provided to the other victimsof social boycott and caste discrimination in Karauvahdih.

11.6 The State government should instruct and prevent the police and administrativeofficials from behaving/acting like the agents of upper caste section in rural areas.

This is essential to bring down the level of crime against Dalits in Chhattisgarh. Itshould also be noted that the law enforcement officials are not expected to dilute

the gravity of such crime acts against Dalits and forcing the victims for a

compromise.11.7 We recommend the state government to form of peoples vigilance committees

across the state to keep a vigil or caste based discrimination, untouchability,

violence and exclusion of Dalits, Adivasis and marginalized minorities.11.8 Proper direction should be given to the district administration to ensure the

freedom, safety and security of Dalits living under utter terror and fear. But this

should not be done at the cost of defending the culprits and weaking this crimeagainst humanity.


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11.9 We recommend that the government should provide essential guidelines anddirections to all its officials to take precautionary measure of preventing such

atrocious incidences on Dalits and Dalit women in particular in future.11.10 We recommend the imposition of a strict ban on all forms of social boycotts with

severe punitive action and consequences.

11.11

Using of derogatory language should be banned and considered to be a heinouscrime by all sections of law.

Vibhishan Patre Sandhya Bodhlekar Bundkunwar Banjare

Pitambar Nirala Dhanandjay Jangde Santosh Ghitore

Compiled and Edited by

Goldy M. George

(On behalf of the investigation team)

For further details contactDalit Mukti Morcha

Pamgarh,

Janjgir-Champa,

Chhattisgarh, India

Madhukar Gorakh

President

9300311123

Vibhishan Patre

General Secretary

7869836444

Sandhya Bodhlekar

Executive Convener

9685273816

Report of Social Boycott of Dalit Women Sarpanch.pd

Documents

Transcript of Report of Social Boycott of Dalit Women Sarpanch.pd