Fwd: Moving Beyond Dalit

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: M C Raj <mcraj.reds@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 5, 2010 at 8:10 PM
Subject: Moving Beyond Dalit

"We are very sorry. This is your land. We made a serious mistake". Can you imagine such apologies coming from bureaucrats to Dalits? Even we thought that it was possible only in Tumkur District. But now this is becoming more and more common even in other Districts where our Booshakthi Vedike is active.

 

"Stop marking the building. Please delay it for some time. We are getting a stay order from the court". This was Gurrappa in Pavagada. Do you remember we had told you that marking of the building would be completed on 05 October?

 

Yes both these things were taking place simultaneously in two different places. And a big 'Wow! for our Dalit people in both the places. Now one by one in short.

 

Gurrappa went to court as expected to get a stay order for the marking of the building. Today a lot more people had gathered. They want to burst firecrackers and take both of us in procession after the marking was over. We said 'no' till things are achieved in finality. We had placed our lawyer in the court and pressured the officers to mark the rest of the buildings. Police had got scent of our plans and mobilized themselves in large number. The other side of Gurrappa also had come in good number. We had our strategy clearly cut that there should be no trouble on the spot as they will make use of it to delay the entire process. But our leaders were constantly egging on the surveyors to go ahead and mark the building. They bureaucrats also knew that stay order might come any time. But they did not want to take the risk and went ahead fast with marking the building for demolition. That was very efficient by many Indian standards. Once this was completed we did not bother about any stay order.

 

Now it will be interesting to watch the day of demolition of illegal buildings in order to gain our site as well as some semblance of justice and non-corrupt administration. That is something 'beyond' Dalit. It is a value for the nation.

 

 

The Minor Irrigation Department in Santhedibba village of Tarikere Taluk in Chakkamagaluru District thought that they could bulldoze their way anywhere. Little did they realize that Dalit hearts have withstood the onslaught of Brahminism for more than three millennia and bulldozer is a small fry in this game of resilience. They brought their heavy machines and started occupying land that belonged to the Dalits. Phone Calls! As usual!

 

'Stop them. Do not allow them. Just lie down in front of the vehicles!' orders flew from the mobile of Vasantha and Chandrappa, a couple working with us in that District. Who ever thought that this mobile revolution in India will be so handy for the Dalits. The Dalit people just did that. Machines screeched to a halt. Immobilized by human determination! Wow. Phone calls flew also to the Assistant Commissioner and Tahsildar that Dalits were preventing government work. "Government Work is God's Work" All of us remember reading this in the Legislative building of the Government of Karnataka. But God worked the other way round today. The Assistant Commissioner knows our Movement well. He did not turn up.

 

But the Minor Irrigation Department turned up in a major show. They came with full force to remove all their machines apologizing to the Dalits for having troubled them. Totally 72.6 acres of land saved for 33 Dalit families.

 

Naturally our head are reeling in excitement.

 

Jyothi and Raj

--
M C Raj
REDS, REDS Road
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Tumkur 572102
Karnataka, India

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Palash Biswas
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