From: Vidya Bhushan Rawat <vbrawat@gmail.com>
Sent: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:03:16
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Justice for Bathani Tola victims ?
Is Bihar waiting for another round of caste violence?
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
The ghastly carnage took place on July 11th, 1996 when the Goondas of Ranvir Sena led by its chieftain Brahmeshwar Singh entered the village of Bathani Tola from the village of Badki Kharanv village which is about two kilometer away, a village about 40 kilometer away from the district headquarter of Bhojpur. It was at 2 pm during the noon as the crowd of 50-60 goons of Brahmeswhar Singh shouted slogans of 'Brhmeshwar Singh Jindabad'. It was known to villagers that Ranveer Sena was being active in the region and has openly threaten to kill people of the low castes and Muslims if they raise voice against feudal oppression particularly minimum wages or land reform. The local villagers from Badki Kharanv had already informed the poor people to be careful as there could be violence against them. A majority of the families in the area were living in thatched huts hence on hearing that there could be violence against them by Ranvir Sena, they had taken shelter in the house of a local person from Mallah community. The goondas of Ranvir Sena came to village at around 2 pm with every weapon, kerosene, and diesel and put on fire the house. All the children and women came out in open to save themselves. The butchers opened fire on innocent women and children in which 21 people were killed. It was unprecedented that a police check post in the nearby area could not stop it. People ran away to save themselves. Whoever was there was fired upon.
Riazuddin was just 12 year's old hiding at that time when this incident happened. He witnessed the killings of his brothers, sisters, sister in law and others. Fortunately, his mother was not there and hence she survived. His younger sister was just three month old that time. They tossed her in the air and chopped her off. Riazuddin ran away fearing death. He could run as fast as possible and hid himself outside the village. His younger brother Saddam Hussein too was brutally stabbed. He struggled for life but ultimately died in the hospital one and a half month later. One can imagine the mental agony of a boy who lost six of his family members in such brutal display of feudal power by the gangs of Ranvir Sena.
Today, Riaz has four children. He is still looking for the support from the government which was promised. That time, he was just 12 and was told that once he gets the minimum age he would get the job but today he is work-less. There are fears in his mind of the revival of the Sena and same hatred particularly after they have been 'exonerated' from the court. It clearly means you can do anything and get away with it. He has written to numerous leaders and commissions but nothing has happened so far.
Riazuddin's father Naimuddin is leading from the front. He believes that the communities will win the battle in the highest court of the land. Now the people are getting organized and will fight it democratically. 'We do not believe in violence and hope that the Supreme Court will give us justice'. Naimuddeen is now fighting the battle politically and say that it is a battle between the rich and poor. He refuses to divulge his caste identity and just want to be looked as a person working for the poor. He is ideologically very clear now that the battle is between the landless peasantry and feudal mind. He is optimist that the poor will ultimately win the battle. He also feel that except for the CPI (ML) no other party has worked for the poor It is the struggle of dignity that the party is engaged in and it has successful mobilized the poor peasantry and Dalits and Bihar will definitely witness a positive political change with each of these oppressed would become participant in power.
Srikrishna Chowdhury is another victim who saw his two little children aged 5 years and 7 years being killed brutally along with his wife. 'I lost everything. The government gave me a job to compensate but we cannot keep quiet just because a job is given to me'. Srikrishna belong to Mallah community and want justice at the moment. He still fears that if these people do not get punishment they might retaliate. The incident of that horrific day in July was 'slaughter',' says Srikrishna. The administration, the government has not worked for us which could bring confidence in the community while the murders are roaming free with great political linkages.
It was therefore shocking to see that Patna High Court verdict in the case which admits that there was carnage but refused to accept the incident as it felt that they have not been recorded truthfully. It is also shocking that Radhika Devi, who was about 14 years of age, was hiding beneath the bed but was later found with bullet in the chest. She is a witness to this case who has seen the entire event her own self but very disturbingly the High court refused to believe in her even acknowledging her as an important eye witness terming her as totally unreliable witness.
The Patna High Court has not accepted the police version which means that administration has not done it work carefully to bring the culprits to book. It is clear that the Court did not take into consideration the enormity of the situation and what could the honorable release of the culprit mean to the victims. This case was a clear misinterpretation of law where the judges gave the benefit of the doubt to perpetrators of this ghastly crime.
It is not just the courts who are responsible for lack of sensitivity in this matter. As caste matter the most and Bhoomihars constitutes a fairly large chunk of voters in Bihar, its political leaders dominate all the political parties.
The main culprit of the Ranvir Sena, Brahmeshwar Singh was murdered in his home town by an unidentified assailant on June 1st, 2012 when he was taking a morning walk in his village in district Ara. Brhamewshar Singh was 70 years old and formed Ranvir Sena in 1994 to counter the 'menace' of Naxalism in Bihar which was mainly targeting feudal landowning communities responsible for the exploitation of Dalits and other marginalized communities.
Prior to Judgment on the Bathani Tola case, the same Patna High Court had rejected all the criminal charges against Brahmeshwar Singh and released him unconditionally much to the discomfort of human rights organizations in the state who wanted strong conviction against Ranvir Sena and its chief for spreading hatred and indulging in mass killing. After the killing of Brahmeshwar Singh alias Mukhiyaji, there were wide spread violence in Ara, Patna and other places. Dalits and backward community people became victim of the violence spread by the gangs of Ranvir Sena who were openly displaying their fire arms and muscle power. Brahmeshwar Singh was cremated in Patna with complete administrative support. The Chief Minister was silently observing the violence against the marginalized sections of society while his Ministers openly participated in the processions which turned violent. Upper caste political leaders of all the political parties joined hand in the procession. Even those claiming to be the parties of social justice condemned the killing of Mukhiyaji and he was hailed as a great reformist. The limits of flattering did not end with the pivotal role of Mukhiyaji but hailing him as modern day Gandhi who worked for the farmers. There is no doubt that Bhoomihars are farmers but if farmers are feudal lords and exploit the cheap labours of Dalits then that need to be questioned.
The supreme irony is the sad end of Mukhiyaji is that he was not killed by the underground Maoists or militias. It is alleged that an upper caste Brahmin MLA was responsible for the murder as Brahmeshwar after the honorable release would contest election and influence politics and many of his caste men and other fellows would not take things that easily. Naimuddeen felt that it was a matter of money and control over organization. But the bankruptcy of the political class came in open when leaders claiming to support social justice movements and caste-ism openly hailed Brahmeshwar as a reformist.
Brahmeshwar got the natural justice. He became victim of what he planted but the victims of his massacre of Bathani Tola need answer from our courts as well as political class as well. When are we going to get justice as without justice there cannot be any peace. Brahmeshwar Singh is no more but that does not mean the upper caste contempt for dalits and backward communities have disappeared. At the moment, they are using the internal contradiction of democracy and society for their benefits but there is another growing reality of the marginalized joining hands together against oppression. Good that some political parties are doing this work with great convictions and their efforts must be lauded. The government of Bihar must make a foolproof case so that the victims of Bathani tola get justice. It has done nothing so far as it is using the caste card to promote its own vote bank among these castes. If people do not get justice, the poor will not be holding the holy book of constitution all in their hand they will retaliates and the whole responsibility of such ghastly crime would be purely of the government and political parties. With Brahmeshwar gone and most of the perpetrators of the ghasly carnage roaming free in the street, the passions are running high as the victims have no other option than to organize themselves. Will the notorious army of Brahmeswar keep quiet till the Supreme Court provide the final justice? Can the victims be kept quiet with judgment like what Patna High Court has given? How do the people have faith in judicial system and political establishment? It is moment for serious thought on such issues otherwise the cycle of violence once start will be difficult to stop in Bihar.
Vidya Bhushan Rawat
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