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जल-संकट (लातूर-शहर) -1 : यह हमारी सभ्यता के अंत की शुरुआत है

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Image: Devesh Tripathi and Anupam Sinha
 
याद कीजिये 2016 के बीत गए महीनों को. हैदराबाद केन्द्रीय विश्वविद्यालय के छात्र रोहित वेमुला की सांस्थानिक हत्या से शुरू हुआ साल बढ़ता हुआ पहुंचा जेएनयू और फिर देशद्रोह से लेकर राष्ट्रवाद की बहसों ने देश के दिलों-दिमाग पर कब्ज़ा जमा लिया. इस बीच इसी देश का एक हिस्सा सूखते-सूखते इतना सूख गया कि देश की नज़र में ही नहीं आया. यह कहना मुश्किल है कि उसे बारिश की कमी ने इतना सुखाया या हमारी उपेक्षा ने. इस उपेक्षा को मैं हमारी उपेक्षा ही कहूँगा, बाक़ी सरकारों की बात क्या ही करना. सरकारों की नीयत पर भरोसा हो,हमें इतना सीधा नहीं होना चाहिए.

आप शीर्षक देखकर सोच रहे होंगे कि मैंने शुरुआत ही अंत के साथ कर दी है पर यकीन मानिए मैं मजबूर हूँ यह लिखने के लिए. मैं यह मानकर चल रहा हूँ कि आपको मालूम होगा मराठवाड़ा क्षेत्र के सूखे के बारे में. आपको यह भी मालूम होगा कि लातूर में पूरे अप्रैल महीने में जल-स्रोतों के आस-पास धारा 144 लागू थी और यह भी कि लगभग 24 लाख की आबादी वाले लातूर से 1.5 लाख लोग अब तक जल-संकट की वजह से विस्थापित हो चुके हैं. लातूर ‘शहर’ में जब जल-संकट के कारण कर्फ्यू की स्थिति पैदा हुई तो राष्ट्रीय मीडिया ने लातूर पर खूब बहसें चलाई, अच्छा लगा. असर भी हुआ इसका और सरकार ने लातूर को बाहर से पानी उपलब्ध कराना शुरू किया. पानी से लदी ट्रेनें भेजी गईं और लातूर शहर नगर-निगम के कर्मचारियों के अनुसार अब तक 4 करोड़ लीटर पानी ट्रेनों के माध्यम से लातूर शहर के लिए भेजा जा चुका है. फिर एक दिन बारिश की ख़बर चली और सबने ख़ुशी मनाई लातूर के लिए, मनानी भी चाहिए थी. पर ज़मीनी हक़ीक़त हमेशा की तरह कुछ और ही है जिसे जानने के प्रति हमारी रुचि शायद होती नहीं है.
 
लातूर शहर का जो पहला व्यक्ति टकराया(गजानन निलामे, गायत्री नगर निवासी), उसने बताया कि जो पानी ट्रेनों के माध्यम लातूर के लिए भेजा जा रहा है वह केवल लातूर शहर के लिए है, ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों के लिए नहीं. शहर की स्थिति के बारे में पूछने पर गजानन बताते हैं कि शहर में नगर निगम के टैंकर हर वार्ड में पानी पहुंचाते हैं. औसतन 8-9 दिनों के अंतराल पर आने वाले इन टैंकरों के माध्यम से एक परिवार को 200 लीटर पानी की आपूर्ति की जाती है. अब सोचिये कि 200 लीटर पानी में एक परिवार कैसे 8-9 दिन काटता होगा? पीने के अलावा बाकी काम के लिए भी इसी पानी का इस्तेमाल करना होता है. पानी की  क्वालिटी के बारे में जानना चाहते हैं तो इतने से काम चलाइए कि 6 मई को एक राष्ट्रीय चैनल ने ख़बर चलाई थी जिसके अनुसार लातूर शहर के शिवाजी चौक के पास स्थित ‘आइकॉन अस्पताल’ में 5-6 मरीज भर्ती किये गए हैं जिनकी किडनी पर ख़राब पानी की वजह से असर पड़ा है. गजानन ने ही बताया कि क्षेत्र में पानी के दलाल पैर जमाये हुए हैं. इलाके में ‘सनराइज’ बोतल-बंद पानी की सबसे बड़ी कंपनी है जो पानी की दलाली भी करती है. इसके अलावा कई छोटी-बड़ी कंपनियाँ हैं जो बोतल-बंद पानी तो बेंचती ही हैं, अलग से भी पानी बेंच रही हैं. पूरे लातूर में औसतन 350-400 रूपये में 1000 लीटर और 1100-1200 रूपये में 5000-6000 लीटर का रेट चल रहा है.


Image: Devesh Tripathi and Anupam Sinha

गायत्री नगर में ही रहने वाले,पेशे से मजदूर रामभाऊ ने बताया कि लातूर में पिछले तीन महीने से किसी भी तरह का निर्माण-कार्य बंद है जिसकी वजह से मजदूरों के लिए कोई काम नहीं रह गया है. रामभाऊ बताते हैं कि दिक्कत तो सालों से है लातूर में पर पिछले 5 सालों से खेती बिलकुल ख़त्म हो गई और जब यहां सबकुछ ख़त्म होने के कगार पर है तब जाकर हमारी बात हो रही है. मैट्रिक तक पढ़े और साहित्य के गंभीर पाठक रामभाऊ कहते हैं कि ‘मैं आज तक अपना घर नहीं खड़ा कर पाया, अब शायद कर भी नहीं पाउँगा.अगले दो-तीन सालों में सबकुछ ख़त्म हो जायेगा. लातूर में एक आदमी भी नहीं दिखेगा.’ रामभाऊ लातूर के गांवों के लिए चिंता जताते हुए कहते हैं कि ‘शहर में तो फिर भी किसी तरह इतना पानी अभी आ रहा है जिससे जी ले रहे हैं लोग पर ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों के लिए तो कुछ भी नहीं है. यहां तक कि लातूर शहर के मुख्यालय से बमुश्किल 4-5 किमी दूर के क्षेत्रों से ही हाहाकार की स्थिति शुरू हो जाती है. प्रकृति से मात खाए इन लोगों के लिए न तो सरकार है, नगर निगम भी नहीं है. इनके लिए ट्रेन से पहुँच रहा पानी भी नहीं है.’रामभाऊ की बातों को सुनकर लगा कि जुमलेबाजों और उनके जुमलों के बीच रहते-रहते हमारी आदत हो गई है खरी आवाज़ों को अनसुना कर देने की. कलपुर्जों-सा जीवन जीते-जीते आज हम मनुष्यता से कितनी दूर जा खड़े हुए हैं, हम ख़ुद भी नहीं जानते. ज़मीन से 700-800 फीट नीचे भी अगर पानी नहीं मिल पा रहा तो इसका साफ़ मतलब है कि भयंकर उपेक्षा हुई है इस क्षेत्र की. पानी किसी ज़माने में 100-150 फीट पर ही मिल जाता था तो जलस्तर गिरने पर एक ही बार में इतना नीचे जा ही नहीं सकता कि पानी के ठिकानों की बाकायदा खोज शुरू करनी पड़ जाए. खैर आगे बढ़ते हैं….

लातूर शहर में 4 ‘वाटर फिलिंग पॉइंट’( बड़ी टंकियाँ) हैं जहाँ से सारे सरकारी टैंकर भरे जाते हैं. इनकी जगहें हैं ‘सरस्वती कॉलोनी’, ‘गाँधी चौक’, ‘नांदेड़ नाका’, नया रेणापुर नाका’.जब हम सरस्वती कॉलोनी फिलिंग पॉइंट पर पहुंचे तो पानी भरने वालों की लम्बी-लम्बी कतारें दिखाई दी.बहुत से लोग ऑटो में, सायकिल पर ढेर सारे घड़ों में पानी भर कर ले जाते हुए दिखे. इनसे बात करने पर पता चला कि लोग 2-3-4-5 किमी दूर से पानी भरने आये थे. लातूर के कलेक्टर ने लोगों को फिलिंग पॉइंट्स से पानी ले जाने की अनुमति दे दी है.जानकारी के लिए, ट्रेनों से आ रहा पानी इन फिलिंग पॉइंट्स में भर दिया जाता है. पानी भर रहे लोगों ने बताया कि यहां से पानी भरने में पूरा दिन निकल जाता है.लम्बी कतारें होती हैं, नंबर लगे होते हैं. ज़रा-सा ढीले पड़े कि नंबर गया. सुबह जल्दी पहुँच जाने पर नंबर 2-3 घंटे में आ जाता है पर लेट हो जाने पर और भीड़ बढ़ते ही नंबर 8/10/12 घंटे पर ही आ पाता है.अनुमति मिलती है 15-18 घड़ों में पानी भरने की और लोगों को पानी भरने के लिए हर तीसरे दिन फिलिंग पॉइंट्स पर आना पड़ता है.चूँकि इस पूरी प्रक्रिया में पूरा दिन निकल जाता है, इसलिए मौके पर पूरा परिवार मौजूद होता है. पानी भरने वाले दिन आदमी काम पर नहीं जाता, बच्चे स्कूल नहीं जाते और घर की औरतों के साथ मिलकर पानी भरते हैं. काम से बंक मारने की भरपाई काम मिलने वाले दिनों में 17-18 घंटे काम करके पूरी की जाती है.हर तरह का निर्माण कार्य बंद होने के कारण काम मिलने की दशा में मजदूरों की मजबूरी का फायदा उठाया जाता है और 200-250 रूपये की दिहाड़ी पर ही काम करा लिया जाता है. जबकि न्यूनतम दिहाड़ी 450 रूपये है. फिलिंग पॉइंट्स पर आपको उन इलाकों के लोग ज्यादा मिलते हैं जो शहर में आते हैं फिर भी वहां अभी तक कोई टैंकर नहीं पहुंचा है.


Image: Devesh Tripathi and Anupam Sinha

सरस्वती कॉलोनी में मौके पर नगर निगम के दो कर्मचारी मिल गए जिन्होंने नाम न बताने की शर्त पर कुछ बातें हमसे शाया कीं. मसलन, पहली बात तो यह कि जल-संकट को लेकर किसी से भी बात नहीं करनी है. उन्होंने बताया कि लोगों को देने के लिए महीने-डेढ़ महीने भर का पानी ही उपलब्ध है. उसके बाद कैसे काम चलेगा पूछने पर वे हंसने लगे और बोले कि इसके लिए तो कोई योजना या कोई मॉडल तो अभी तक नहीं तैयार है, सब भगवान के ऊपर है अब.कर्मचारियों के अनुसार ट्रेनों से पहुंच रहे पानी(25 लाख लीटर प्रति ट्रेन)  में से 12% पानी कहाँ गायब हो जाता है कोई नहीं जानता. पानी के दलाल पूरे इलाके में फैले हुए हैं जिन्हें राजनीतिक पार्टियों/संगठनों का सहयोग प्राप्त है. जिन्हें सरकारों से उम्मीद रहती है उनके लिए बताता चलूँ कि सूखे से निपटने के लिए जनवरी माह में एक मीटिंग जिला मुख्यालय में की गई थी. यह बात अलग है कि प्रस्तावित एजेंडों पर आज तक कुछ किया नहीं गया. हाँ, मई के पहले हफ़्ते में पानी को लेकर हेल्पलाइन नंबर जारी किया गया है. यह हेल्पलाइन नंबर काम कितना कर रहा है इसकी कोई जानकारी अभी तक नहीं है. नाना पाटेकर की‘नाम फाउंडेशन’ पूरे इलाके में काम कर रही अकेली संस्था मिलेगी आपको. इन इलाकों में सक्रीय राजनीतिक पार्टियाँ/संगठन किसी गैर सरकारी संगठन/संस्था को भी काम नहीं करने देती. ‘नाम फाउंडेशन’ यहां तक कर रही है कि जो लोग विस्थापित होने के इच्छुक हैं उन्हें पुणे के खुले मैदानों में बसाने का प्रस्ताव रख रही है.      


Image: Devesh Tripathi and Anupam Sinha
                                                                                
पानी की कमी से त्रस्त इन इलाकों में आपको सबकुछ सूखा, गर्म, खौलता-सा ही मिलेगा. पर सबसे भयावह होता है लोगों का मुस्कुराते हुए स्थितियाँ बयान करना और हँसते हुए कहना कि 2-3 साल बाद यहां कोई नहीं दिखेगा. लगातार पियराते चेहरों में धंसी आँखें जो दुनिया दिखाती हैं वहाँ भविष्य के उजले सपने नहीं होते, अँधेरी गलियाँ होती हैं बस, अंधे कुंए में उतरती सीढियां होती हैं केवल. आप इस दुनिया को देखते हैं और अपनी आँखें भी बंद नहीं कर पाते. धरती पर आज तक पता नहीं कितनी सभ्यताएँ पैदा हुईं फिर नष्ट हो गईं. शायद अब हमारी बारी है.


Image: Devesh Tripathi and Anupam Sinha

The author is a Hindi poet and freelance writer

When Love is Brutal: Personal Narrative of a Survivor of Domestic Abuse

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llustration by Abro / Dawn.com

My reason for writing this narrative is that I want to face the demons. I want to make sense of the things that happened to me. But not just for me. I want people to know, especially the young girls and women who are conditioned to endure violence and who are silently fighting abuse.

After being treated unjustly for five years and after contemplating about it for over a year and a half, it’s only now that I could gather courage to tell my story to the world. I realise that by being silent I am not only accepting the injustice that happened to me but I am also supporting injustice happening to others.

Let me come straight to the point. I am a survivor of domestic abuse, both physical and mental, for over five years, until I ended the abusive relationship. It has been a longstanding struggle within me and with myself; whether or not to give voice to my lived experiences. Writing this narrative takes me back to horror chambers. I still tremble with the thought of the brutalities I endured. However arduous, I want to step up and speak out.

To the society that pretends it is a private matter, I want to say loud and clear that domestic abuse is real. It happens more frequently than we would like to believe. It happens across caste, class, religion and race. Education level of the abuser or  the abused doesn’t have  much impact on how badly you may be beaten up or for how long.

My reason for writing this narrative is that I want to face the demons. I want to make sense of the things that happened to me. But not just for me. I want people to know, especially the young girls and women who are conditioned to endure violence and who are silently fighting abuse. I want them to know that they are not alone in this fight.

To the society that pretends it is a private matter, I want to say loud and clear that domestic abuse is real. It happens more frequently than we would like to believe. It happens across caste, class, religion and race. Education level of the abuser or  the abused doesn’t have  much impact on how badly you may be beaten up or how long you will stay in that relationship before you get out, if you are able to get out at all. The physical and mental trauma undoubtedly has a long-lasting impact. As survivors, we may feel weak and feeble. But we shouldn’t blame ourselves and should courageously voice out the injustice.

I want to also establish that as much impact the ever pervasive violence has on my life, it does not define me. The person who abused me is just one of the many faceless aggressors around the world who has the same violent, manipulative and guilt-tripping traits.

Many educated young girls and women in our community fear and feel ashamed to come out as battered women. I want to plead to all those courageous women out there: don’t let your personal narratives be unheard, don’t be invisible, trapped in the statistics of domestic violence. Let the staggering figures have faces, speak out. Come forward with your stories in solidarity for those beautiful souls who are still struggling to make decisions. Don’t fight in silence.

Coming to my narrative, I have been in a relationship with a man I had known for many years. I respected him and placed my trust in him as a friend and a confidante. I was open to him about my life, my feelings, worries and doubts. However over the years, I started to realise that he used those pieces of my life to coerce me, humiliate me and to isolate me. I had always painted an image of him to be a socially conscientious and sensitive person believing in human rights and values. Every time he hit me, I would look at that instance of abuse as an exception, trying to uphold the image I had of him, until the exception became the norm.

I have been in a relationship with a man I had known for many years. I respected him and placed my trust in him as a friend and a confidante. I was open to him about my life, my feelings, worries and doubts. However over the years, I started to realise that he used those pieces of my life to coerce me, humiliate me and to isolate me. I had always painted an image of him to be a socially conscientious and sensitive person believing in human rights and values.

One criticism or question to him, and I was sure to get hit. At times I struggled to ensure not to disappoint him. I began a race with myself to prove to him that I was becoming what he wanted me to be. Although the irrationality of beatings and justifications over the years became more and more clear, I simply kept feeding into his expectations to maintain the peace.

Indeed there were times in those five years that I questioned him, but not truly. I agreed to his arguments. I believed that it was my fault to get beatings. I apologised to him for committing ‘mistakes’. Once, he hit me in broad daylight on a street full of people for boarding the general compartment of a train and not the ‘ladies compartment’. He said hitting me was a punishment, to ensure I would remember the next time. I was beaten black and blue with a belt for going on a school reunion picnic because boys also participated in this picnic. He said he didn’t trust any man other than my father and brothers for my safety. He said I was ignorant, that I didn’t know how the world works and therefore I needed his protection.

Growing up as a teenager at home, I didn’t follow a certain hour curfew. But in my mid-twenties, in that relationship, I felt enchained. I would cut short on family events and cancel going out. One angry phone call from him and I frantically left the turmeric ceremony of a friend. I swore to him that I didn’t dance in that ceremony. He said if I properly explained the reasons for attending these events, he would allow me to go. But to him, my explanations were never sufficient.

He would say I didn’t have awareness of my body. He would hit me as a punishment so as to remind me to always wear a dupatta (scarf worn over clothes as additional covering for upper front body). At one time, I was hit for bringing ‘burnt’ chapati and ‘leftover gravy’ for him. He said, “This shows how much importance I have in your life. You are careless because you don’t value me.” I was hit again because I became upset and wouldn’t eat.

I was hit in so many instances. Inside the house but also in public places; in Mumbai and during our stay in Europe; on a subway full of people; on bus stops, and while walking through busy streets. I wouldn’t understand why people didn’t question him or stop him.

I was hit in so many instances. Inside the house but also in public places; in Mumbai and during our stay in Europe; on a subway full of people; on bus stops, and while walking through busy streets. I wouldn’t understand why people didn’t question him or stop him.

During my gender studies course in a prestigious European university, I was hit to the point where I had to go to the hospital. The side of my eye where he had punched was bleeding. My eye was blue and swollen for days and so was my body. I resumed classes after a week and made my presentation wearing sunglasses. I told my classmates I had fallen off an escalator.

Last year when I told one of those classmates what the truth was, she said she wasn’t surprised. She didn’t want to confront me at that time and probe with too many questions, but she knew something wasn’t right. She said many other women in the class actually gossiped about it. It really surprised me that there was such a silence around domestic violence, even among these ‘feminists-to-be’. At that time I didn’t reach out for help. I feared several bad consequences, especially for him in a foreign land if I did so.

He would hit me more aggressively every time I cried for help. When I said I would tell our parents about how he treats me, he would say: “We hadn’t involved our parents when we took the decision to be together. We will solve our matters ourselves now too.”

Every time I said I wanted to end this relationship, he would reply: “You can’t take this decision on your own, alone”. When I said I would lodge a complaint against him he would say: “But you have hit me too, we are equals”, referring to the very few times I had hit him in defense.

Or even: “In a patriarchal society like ours, my pride is wounded much more by getting hit by a woman.” When I spoke of rights and equality, he would say: “Don’t get influenced by ‘personal is political’ of feminists. Don’t try to be a feminist because it will ruin you.” He said: “Look around. Which feminist do you see with proper families? They have destroyed everything.”

He choked me, and pushed me against the wall. Punching me in the head, he had said it was my stubbornness that brought evil out of him. I would freeze, black out… My brain would literally stop working. I wouldn’t speak a thing and this made him angrier. He said “he beat me up but just enough to make me speak out.” It sounded like a police interrogation tactic. He said to me once: “Now I understand why men kill their women in frustration.”

I have read about how cycles of abuse function. How there are patterns that every abuser follows. Yet I had to take my own time. The moment I finally broke the silence, over a year ago, talking to friends and family, it felt like a flood of words gushed out my mouth. I didn’t want to remain in silence anymore. The more I spoke, the more I understood how systematically the violence I endured was normalised. Until then I was ashamed, confused, in disbelief and denial that I was a victim of domestic violence.

How could I believe I was that victim? Coming from a humble background, a Dalit girl growing up in a slum of Mumbai. I had achieved things I hadn’t imagined for myself. My family and community respected me. My opinions mattered. People saw me as a confident, independent young woman. But precisely these facts became detrimental to my coming out. I feared all that I had achieved would be shattered if I came out as a victim of domestic violence. As though it was my failure. I thought of the disgrace it would bring upon my family. I feared he would come after me and he would create a big havoc in front of my family. After all he had said he would do so at many occasions.

There are endless stories of brutalities but the trend would always be the same. To have control over me and to discourage me from taking decisions of my own. Coming to Geneva on my own for PhD in September 2014, finally gave me mental space to understand and process things. For example, I would walk on the streets of Geneva and still feel his surveiling eyes watching me. This made me realize the omnipresent terror I was living with.
For five years I thought it was going to be impossible to end this relationship. Even in Geneva where I was on my own, it took time for me to believe that I could actually end it. I finally gathered courage and did it. It wasn’t easy; I was guilt-tripped at every step. Even then he didn’t let me go and continued to manipulate me.

He spoke of the morality and values I would be digressing from if I left him. He spoke of betrayal. He said I was betraying him without any other explanation and therefore was resorting to a narrative of abuse. He claimed he could explain every instance of abuse towards me, saying he did all of it out of utmost love and compassion for me.

He spoke of the morality and values I would be digressing from if I left him. He spoke of betrayal. He said I was betraying him without any other explanation and therefore was resorting to a narrative of abuse. He claimed he could explain every instance of abuse towards me, saying he did all of it out of utmost love and compassion for me. He insisted that I was focusing too much on the bad things and was conveniently forgetting all the good he did for me. He said by running away from him I am taking an easy way out, that if I truly loved him, I would stay on to bring positive change in the relationship.

When his manipulations to bring me back into his life didn’t show any results, he started asking for my forgiveness. He promised that he would change, like he had promised previously after every beating. I was asked why suddenly I took such a step. Had I met someone? Later he started with negotiations. He said if he were to accept my decision, I should accept the conditions that he made, by which I was to stay single all my life and not fall in love with anyone. I also was to see him change and he expected that we wouldn’t give up on the activities of the Dalit women’s rights organisation we had started together.

It was plain mockery that during our relationship, in social forums we went together to speak as colleagues for Dalit women’s rights and in the private domain my rights were getting violated every day. We both led very contrasting lives. To the outer world I was a confident, outspoken young woman and he an introvert but equally diligent promoter of Dalit women’s rights. In my personal life I was oppressed and he was oppressing me. Who could have ever believed?

For example, people were shocked to know he could do something like this to anyone. At the very same instance some told me to forget about it. Most of the people I spoke with gave well-meaning advice. They said you are out of it and that’s what matters. You have a better life ahead and he doesn’t deserve your attention. I saw that as much as people felt sad, shocked about partner abuse, they thought it to be normal. Something to forget and move on.

A few common friends didn’t break their silence about this. They thought they couldn’t take sides and told me so. Some took upon themselves the task of moral policing. Many couldn’t understand why I didn’t leave earlier. Few asked me why now, after five years? What triggered this sudden decision?

As if, by having stayed on for five years in that relationship, I had lost the legitimacy to question it and to finally come out of it. Some thought mine was a hasty decision, and I should think over it. Others made it an issue of pride that I didn’t reach out to them first. Some said he is their friend and they are concerned about the consequences the end of our relationship would have on him.

After the end of this abusive relationship, my life took a dramatic turn. A magical one even; if I may say so. I found an amazing connection with an old friend from Belgium with whom I could share my every thought with. A year later we decided to get married. As the news of my marriage with a ‘white man’ broke in December 2015, there were further waves of shock.

Word went around that I betrayed a “good man from our community” for a “white man from foreign land”. I was said to have gone for “a better option”. However, many people did reach out and congratulate me. I thank them for their support. I am now in an equal and respectful relationship full of love and trust. My partner, our friends and families in both the parts of the world (India and Belgium) have supported us wholeheartedly. Their support has been crucial for me to stand strong.

Towards the end of my narrative I want to address the people who want to know why I didn’t leave in those five years. Although I don’t owe any explanation, I am stating the reasons that are commonly recognised in partner abuse. I would like this to help women in abusive relationships to understand the patterns of abuse they are facing.

I didn’t leave because firstly I couldn’t believe I was being abused. I have been an educated and empowered woman, vocal about marginalised women’s rights. How could this have happened to me?

I didn’t leave because firstly I couldn’t believe I was being abused. I have been an educated and empowered woman, vocal about marginalised women’s rights. How could this have happened to me? Moreover, the common belief is that domestic abuse would happen to illiterate and disempowered women, perpetrated by alcoholic men. Him being a human rights activist, he didn’t fit the profile of a domestic abuser. We both didn’t fit the profiles of the abused and the abuser. I say people, it’s a myth! Domestic abusers do not have a specific profile. I plead to women: do not feel ashamed because you have been abused. Domestic violence does not define who you are as a person.

I didn’t leave because I tried to find rationality in his reasoning. I started to think that since he couldn’t get angry at me for no reason, maybe I was doing something wrong that made him angry. Gradually I was conditioned to blame myself in this relationship. I thought I could make things better and that time would strengthen trust in the relationship. Research shows that most domestic abusers face aggressive disorder and their anger doesn’t always have rational reasoning. Domestic abusers use systematic strategies for coercion and manipulation. Believing that it’s your fault will further drag you into a cycle of abuse.

I didn’t leave because I believed I could help him. Many a times, he said he needed me to make him a better person. That only I could help him. I started reading articles on living with a temperamental person. My plea to women is not to try to save somebody by endangering your own life. Don’t wait for him to change. Because while there are chances he may change, he probably needs an external expert to help. You as a victim of abuse should first seek distance from the abusive relationship for your own safety.

I didn’t leave because I kept raising the threshold to be reached before leaving. First, I told him I would leave him if he abused and humiliated me publically. But when that happened, I started saying I will leave you if you hit me in front of our family members. And when that happened too, I again created a much higher threshold. I said to him, “in the future, if we get married and start a family, I will leave you the day you abuse me in front our kids.”

Once he told me after hitting me in front his sister: “Now that you brought out an evil side of me in front my sister, I will no longer have any inhibitions to hit you in front of anybody anymore.” He said, “you have just created the worst outcome for yourself.” I beg all women to have zero tolerance for any form of abuse. Do not let your respect and dignity be compromised at any cost.

I didn’t leave because I didn’t know how to. Without realising it, I was imposing rules on myself to keep the peace, to make him happy. This also led to my withdrawal from friends and family. Isolation made it more difficult for me to get an objective explanation of the situation.

Dear courageous women, do not close yourself down. Reach out to family and friends. Consider their opinions. Importantly, take your own decisions. We have to live life and learn through it. We all may feel vulnerable. I feel so vulnerable at times and it surprises me even now to think how much of an impact violence has on me. I considered myself a strong person, and now my vulnerability too has become part of my strength.

Before I conclude, I want to address the people who know the person who abused me. After reading this, some of you might get angry and maybe even distance yourself from him. I feel it may not serve as a solution. There are too many cases of domestic abuse to only blame and punish one person. We have to reflect as a society on how we are dealing with issues of violence. There is naming and shaming of the victims/survivors of domestic abuse.
 
Every time a woman decides to walk out of a bad relationship, her chastity is questioned. Speak out against domestic violence. Support those who speak out against domestic violence happening to them.

Every time a woman decides to walk out of a bad relationship, her chastity is questioned. Speak out against domestic violence. Support those who speak out against domestic violence happening to them. There should also be awareness and openness in society to recognise anger and aggression as a psychological disorder. People with anger and aggressive disorder should seek help. Along with children, women are the primary victims of the aggressive disorder of their partners.

I have come to the end of my narrative here. You might wonder why I am writing about something so personal to me. I have stated the reasons in the beginning of this text. In conclusion, I want to reinforce them.
I want to build solidarity with the survivors of domestic violence and to get the discussion going. As we teach our young girls and women lessons of empowerment, we must also equip our whole society, especially men, to be emancipated and to embrace gender equality in its truest sense. Equality, not as a value ‘out there’, but as a habit integrated in our day to day life.

Society should nurture its young girls and women to think independently. Rather than emphasising the virtue of sacrifice, they should be empowered to put themselves first. They should be taught that assertion for their rights is important and normal. Society should at the same time understand that it is normal for women in an abusive relationship, to be vulnerable and feel at their weakest. Young girls and women should in fact know that it is only when we are able to care for ourselves and value ourselves that we find our true selves and the strength within, to accept who we are. Jai Bhim!

Swati Kamble is a Dalit women’s rights activist, presently doing a PhD in Socio-economics at the University of Geneva on caste and gender inequalities in policy processes in India. 
 
Courtesy: Savari, a platform where adivasi, dalit and bahujan women “share our thoughts about our lives and the society we live in, including conflicts with the self, family and community”.
 

Behind heroic tales of people digging wells for water, the story of government failure

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Tracking heat and water stress across India this summer.


Image:  Supriya Sharma

In Mastapur village in Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh, a group of workers laboured under the hot sun in the last week of April, digging a well under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act.

Using MNREGA funds to dig wells and ponds in drought-hit areas is a good idea. It helps generate income for people at a time when work is hard to find. Last year, for instance, the rainfall in Tikamgarh was so low that the government put a ban on drawing water from public sources for irrigation and most farmers were not able to sow the winter crop. A large number of families migrated to the cities, looking for work. MNREGA can help stop the migration, while also preparing the ground for water conservation in the monsoon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself said so. On April 21, addressing a gathering of district collectors, he said, "If I know there is a drought situation, water is scarce, but also that the monsoon is expected to be good, then I have April, May, June, can't I use MNREGA funds to run a special campaign for water conservation?"

But the well being dug in Mastapur village showed the gulf between the government's declared intent and actions.

Workers said they had not been paid for six months. Hari Ram Kalar, a frail man in his fifties, said he had worked previously on two wells. This was the third well he was digging under MNREGA. "But I haven't even got a single paisa," he said.


Video: Scroll.in

None of the workers had their job cards. "The pradhan keeps them with him," said Kalar. When they asked the pradhan why their wages had not been paid, he said it was yet to come into their accounts.

A district official, who requested anonymity, said the wage payments had been delayed because the funds had not released by the Centre. In April, after the Supreme Court had pulled up the Centre, it had released Rs 12,230 crore. But two weeks after the funds had been released, workers in Tikamgarh were yet to get them. In Lalitpur district, in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, officials said payment for work done by MNREGA workers in January were made in the third week of April.

Nationwide water shortage

More than 300 districts in 13 states across India are facing acute shortages of drinking water. Ram Kripal Yadav, minister of state for drinking water and sanitation, told the Rajya Sabha on Monday that 50 districts in Uttar Pradesh, 46 in Madhya Pradesh, 33 in Maharashtra and 27 in Karnataka have been affected by these shortages. Other badly affected states include Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The drought this year that has caused enormous hardship to at least 25% of India population has not been caused by just a failure of the rains, experts say, but also by failures of water and crop management and by corruption.

Water and sanitation minister Yadav, in his answers to the Rajya Sabha, listed out a number of projects that state governments had undertaken under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme. In the past year, the minster said, almost 10,000 water sustainability structures like pits, trenches, check dams, percolation tanks and ponds have been built.

Yet, severe water shortages have forced extreme measure like water trains and have left trails of migrants from rural to urban areas. The failure of the government to provide water to rural areas has also driven people to take matters into their own hands. Driven by desperation, many people have dug their own wells, sometimes single handedly and in record time. Here are some of the stories reported by newspapers over the past week.

Dashrath Manhjis of the drought

Bhagwan Singh, a 38-year-old farmer in Nevari village in the Agar district of Madhya Pradesh is being called the Dashrath Manhji of his area. The much-celebrated Manjhi took 22 years to single-handedly chisel a road through a mountain so that his village near Gaya in Bihar had better access to a hospital. Singh dug a 90-foot deep well on his land in just 20 days. The farmer had suffered crop losses for two years because of two consecutive failures of the monsoons.

Nevari village is not supplied by irrigation and has only a couple of handpumps that fell far short of the needs of 650 residents, Singh told the Hindustan Times. Despite scepticism from his neighbours, Singh reached water in at 90 feet in just three weeks. Now others are also digging wells on their farmland. Despite bans on new borewell construction in Indore and other big cities, the Agar district administration has allowed people to dig wells on their farms. Other residents of Nevari are now following Singh’s lead.

In Maharashtra, drought and discrimination forced Bapurao Tajne to dig his own well. Tajne is a Dalit abourer in Kalambeshwar village in Washim district and had never dug a well before. But after his wife was denied access to a well in the village, Tajne spent six hours every day for 40 days till he struck water at 15 feet, according to a Times of India report. Tajne told journalists that after his family was turned away from an upper caste well he resolved to never have to beg for water again and to provide water to all Dalits in his locality. Even though he had no hydrological data and picked a spot for the well by instinct, his bet paid off.

In Karnataka’s Shivamogga district, a 17-year-old boy dug a 55-foot well own his own so that his mother would not have to make repeated trips to the public well to get water. With scarce water supply this summer, Kumar’s mother would have to make multiple trips to the public well each evening after returning from work at a printing. Kumar decided to find a more permanent solution to the family’s water problems by digging a well in his backyard. It took him nearly 45 days to dig thrguh rocky ground, Kumar told The Hindu, but he felt a sense of fulfillment when he found water at 53 feet.Singh, Tajne and Kumar have all been compared to the mountain-man Manhji as people who have accomplished the seemingly impossible to provide for their families. But behind their heroic stories is the fact that they were driven by frustration over systemic failures that led to this drought.

Article first publshed on: Scroll.in

Bangla Activist: “1971 has taught us that killing cannot stop freedom”

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The message that there is only one form, a form alien to this land, of belief and practice, that of the Wahabi/Salafis who are not part of the four Mazhabs of the Islamic Sunni belief is now being pushed with full force as the current agenda. Many killed in brutal manner have been believers, Pirs, Shias, Ahmedias, followers of the Sufi tradition, priests from other religions, writers who were not necessarily atheists


Image: AFP

Very soon after Professor Rezaul Karim Siddque of Rajshahi Univeristy was hacked to death in the morning of April 23, 2016, I wrote my feelings, my frustrations, my concerns and my fears. From all the information we received, Professor Karim appeared to be a quiet man, a man who was of a peaceful nature, a lover of music and a committed teacher. As is the case with most Bangalis, he loved music. Cultural activities were in his bloodstream. He tried to, or did set up a cultural hub in his home, where he lived, not too far from the University where he taught.

He was not a declared atheist, nor a blogger, not even an armchair or facebook activist. Not one of the usual argumentative Bangalis, the usual picture of the intellectual. Not one of those who were in the frontlines of activism, not a talk show star, not one who wrote long opinions and editorials about the state of affairs of the country.  Why would he be killed?

We read from the reports that we get from all the different forms of media that exists, that he was what I often describe as the typical example of a citizen of this land, the kind of people I grew up with, secular in his thinking by encouraging culture, music, playing his favourite sitar, reading books, yet sensitive and responsive to the practice of religion of the people he lived amongst, his family perhaps, certainly his neighbours. We heard of his large donations to the building of the local mosque as a proof of this perception. His daughter has been very vehement in stating that he was a believer. 

I find it very telling on our current state of affairs that we have to insist that we are all believers. Why should it matter? A murder is a murder and a gruesome murder has to be taken in all seriousness no matter what one’s beliefs are or where one stands.

I find it very telling on our current state of affairs that we have to insist that we are all believers. Why should it matter? A murder is a murder and a gruesome murder has to be taken in all seriousness no matter what one’s beliefs are or where one stands. We all grew up learning to sing, dance, play an instrument, and write poetry, recite etc. Where else do we find that recitation is considered a part of cultural practice, a part of the performing arts? Was his fault that he embodied this very nature of the Bangali? Was he murdered so brutally simply to be used as an example of what not to be? Was he simply targeted because he embodied the very spirit of 1952, of 1971 in the quiet nature of his being?

The message that appears to come out is that it is perfectly alright to machete and hack to death an atheist, because she/he questions the very basis and beliefs of a believer. That a believer only implies not just one religion Islam, but also does not allow all the different schools/mazhabs, sects, trends within Islam to continue to exist.

No sooner than this murder shocked us, we heard of the brutal killing on the evening of April 25, of Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy at Xulhaz’s house at Kalabagan, a crowded locality in central Dhaka. Xulhaz was very well known in the activists’ community. He co-founded the LGBT magazine, Roopban which tried to bring forth many issues and concerns along with talking about the rights of Bangladesh’s Gay community. People were in tears when I called to find out and be sure. I had not seen such a reaction before amongst a varied and large range of people from so many ages and walks of life, people who normally do not associate with each other. These were people he interacted with or touched, through his gentle nature in wanting a multicultural and diverse Bangladesh. A Bangladesh that would allow all people, of all faiths, beliefs, orientation, identities and occupations to live and flourish without fear.

He was truly fearless, he never felt threatened nor did he feel the need to leave his country, not continue to do what he believed. He had the option, which he never thought of using. He took responsibility to care for his frail and ailing mother, in front of whom he was brutally killed. How would he give others the strength, if he was not with them, if he left?  At least that is what I have been told by all who knew him well, that is what I felt in the little interactions I have had with him.

I last spoke to him on Pohela Boishakh when I heard four gay people had been held at the Shahbagh Thana. I had asked if he needed me. He was quite clear he could handle it and said that they would be released soon. That was the last I spoke to him. His friend Tonoy was a theatre activist.  Both could instill in people confidence and courage, what many people who are marginalised always experience as insecurities, but through their talk, instead they succeeded in giving them a feeling of strength and a sense of faith in themselves as they are, as they wish to be. Many spoke to me yesterday and today, how these two young men managed to dispel the idea of living in constant fear after they spoke to each person who felt threatened.  So why should they get killed?  They were not hurting anyone, they were not using any kind of coercion or violence to force their position on others?  On the contrary they tried to let everyone have the chance to express their views.   

Xulhaz’s house was a haven for people who felt the need to be comforted, to feel strong, to feel wanted.   Neither of the two very recent incidents where such gentle people were killed showed that those killed ever thought that one has to use machetes, knives, daggers, guns to spread an ideology or a belief or a life style, to express one’s rights as a citizen, to instill fear through force and venom, to take away lives to perpetuate a belief?  Surely no rational or intelligent person can ever believe that it is only through fear and force that ideology could be established and followed.  That analysis is so flawed it is beyond comprehension.  But, unfortunately in the name of ideology, in the name of religion, this is sanctioned. How contradictory can one get?  Either passively or tacitly by not acting or by deliberately pandering to this kind of action, by giving into the fear factor or by being brain washed, this kind of violence and intolerance is exactly what is being propagated.

Those feeling outraged at this barbarism are asked that one should be careful not to hurt the sentiment of the believers? Whose sentiment are we talking about? Which believers? The misogynists,  communalists who preach and breed obscurantism, a group financially strong, having the backing of the powers that be, misrepresenting and misquoting for their own vested interests.

The list of people killed during this last almost seventeen months is long. We have no idea of how long or how fast will this situation spread all over the country, before it can be stopped? Of course the question asked time and again, can we see signs that there are serious intentions to stop this?  The confusing and sometimes contradictory statements given by those in the Government certainly do not give any sense that the Government has any intention to act to suppress this.  In fact their statements are often to the contrary and seem to be given to appease the killers.  It is randomly and broadly stated that it is the bloggers who are attacked, and that all bloggers are atheists. I think it is time to stop this over simplification.  Why do people think that being an atheist is dangerous, not to be tolerated?  Just as having a religion, whatever the religion may be, either Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jew, Jains, etc. is very normal and acceptable, similarly not having a religion or a religious belief is not an agenda either.  It is an individual’s decision.

This is not the Bangladesh we know. We are not mentioning any general murders, rapes, sexual harassment of women in public celebrations, extra judicial killings etc.  The purpose of this piece is to mention killings in the name of ‘Religion’. What is interesting to note that in most cases the modus operandi is uncannily similar.  What is also similar is the non action in bringing to book or even finding out the perpetrators. Our government says these are isolated incidents; next day we get the report that all those who have been involved in killings have been caught. 

We know that one of the killers of Oyasequr Rahman Babu was caught but later released and we see the CCTV camera video footage of police catching and yet unable to hold on to another killer in the recent incident.  Apparently the killers were armed!  Of course they were, remember they killed two people and injured two others?  On the other hand our law enforcers are happily killing people in encounters ever so often.  The contradictions in each statement given are so weak.  They really need a better script writer.

As a woman, a feminist, as a rationalist, who believes in democracy, freedom of speech and thought, in equality in all fields specially one’s mind and thinking, freedom and security of one’s movement and the right to our basic needs including that of sharpening our intellect through knowledge and culture, I will speak out.

I would like to mention here some facts.  First, not all those killed were bloggers, and those being killed now are neither necessarily bloggers nor atheists.  Secondly, not all bloggers are atheists, nor all those active in social media are bloggers or atheists. They may or may not be, that is irrelevant. Thirdly, I had no idea, and please those who know do know, inform me under which article of the Constitution is it stated that no one can be an atheist in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.  

The message that appears to come out is that it is perfectly alright to machete and hack to death an atheist, because she/he questions the very basis and beliefs of a believer. That one need not go through the legally accepted and established legal forum, the laws of the land or the Judiciary, nor does one need to be taken to Court. That a believer only implies not just one religion Islam, but also does not allow all the different schools/mazhabs, sects, trends within Islam to continue to exist. Islam has been practiced in what is now Bangladesh as the religion of a majority which came through the preaching of very religious and spiritual leaders, hence the influence of the Sufi Culture.  Not through the sword, definitely not through imparting fear and/or force.

The message that there is only one form, a form alien to this land, of belief and practice, that of the Wahabi/Salafis who are not part of the 4 Mazhabs of the Islamic Sunni belief is now being pushed with full force as the current agenda.  This is a global phenomenon, not just here.  It is not relevant as to whether our Government accepts that Islamic State exists in name here in Bangladesh.  They may be called Mujahideens, Talibans, Al-Qaeda, Hefazat e Islam, Harkat ul Jihad, JMB, or whatever name they wish to call themselves.  The process of force, violence, falsehoods, and murders to create fear in order to establish their State is essentially the same.  What is crucial in all this is that women will never be full citizens with equal rights.  We cannot allow ourselves to go backwards from what we have so valiantly fought for, for what we have achieved.

I write this since many people killed in this brutal manner have been believers, Pirs,  Shias, Ahmedias, followers of the Sufi tradition, priests from other religions, writers who were not necessarily atheists, or at least have never openly stated their position as being such, even expatriate residents who came to work and live in Bangladesh. People who love music, people who are young, middle aged, old, anything or anyone without any apparent basis or rationale may be killed. Believers, non believers all have been targeted in order to gain control to establish that there is only one acceptable form of Islam.

Those feeling outraged at this barbarism are asked that one should be careful not to hurt the sentiment of the believers? Whose sentiment are we talking about? Which believers? The misogynists,  communalists who preach and breed obscurantism, a group financially strong, having the backing of the powers that be, misrepresenting and misquoting for their own vested interests, building upon the lack of knowledge of the vast majority of people, in the name of religion, a completely false base? Why are these groups allowed to operate? In whose interests are they doing so? It is time to link up this obscurantist, misogynist ideologies, whether in our country or using the name of another religion in another land, and to analyse whose interests do they really serve? There does not seem to be any contradiction between great profit making interests such as the drug, arms, smuggling, trafficking and sex industry and these bigots.

Islam, and I mention Islam here since that is the religion of at present over 90% of the people of this land, existed in this country for centuries, without the current trend of extreme violence and fear (if I were in India or in Europe or North America, I would mention the majority religion, used as a political tool in those countries too) We do not need a new and alien form of Islam in this country, or any form of religious indoctrination for that matter. As a secular state we are supposed to believe in the separation of Religion and State. 

Are we, those that are either at the helm of affairs or claim to have some influence over policy and thinking, at all concerned that the numbers of people who have a different faith or viewpoint are decreasing? That non-Muslims are currently around only 9% of the population?  Whereas, in 1951 non-Muslims were 23%, which then came down to 14.6% in 1974.  Just as a country needs Democracy, a country needs Diversity in all its various forms. Killing of protestors fighting for their right to their land and home against coal fired power plants, the Tazreen, Rana Plaza and other industrial tragedies, attacks on non Muslims, Indigenous peoples, Women, are all part of the same trend; a trend towards the establishment of a controlled mono-culture, whether of production systems, market controls, or a mono-culture of the mind, through ideology and culture.

Is it not now the time to speak out? To fill in the blanks, make the links?

As a woman, a feminist, as a rationalist, who believes in democracy, freedom of speech and thought, in equality in all fields specially one’s mind and thinking, freedom and security of one’s movement and the right to our basic needs including that of sharpening our intellect through knowledge and culture, I will speak out. My mind is my own, it belongs only to me, free to move where it wishes to go and free to dream its own dreams and free to express myself. I do not hurt others ideology or beliefs, just as I do not allow others to hurt mine. I am strong in my belief, because it is mine as I have come to understand it.

My belief, my ideology, is not so feeble that just because someone does not share my ideology, my ideology becomes insecure and shaky.  1971 has taught us that killing cannot stop freedom. It did not then, it will not now.

This article was first published on Kafila.org.
 

The March to Delhi that Shook the British Empire, 159 Years Ago

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One hundred and Fifty Nine Years ago, the 62 kilometre aerial distance from Meerut to Delhi (that can be covered in 2 hours and 61 minutes by road) recorded a historic journey. Of revolt and resistance. The 1857 Revolt.
 
From May 10 to May 11, the Uprising Spread from Meerut to Delhi. The map says it all. And this video produced to bring home the various elements of the May 1857 uprising says it all.
 
The Uprising at Meerut
 
On the late evening of May 9, 1857 at Meerut the bell of the church never rang out. But the Sounds of Bullets Firing rang  out. From right next to the Church, from the Parade Maidan, first one then two then un-ending  slogans rose from one corner of the Maidan and were echoed in another. The fervour reached a crescendo and the air was suffused with the noise.
 
There was complete chaos, people running around, screams and shouts could be heard. Indian (Hindustani) Sipahis could be seen spread all over the areas in the city. Every corner was teeming with them. Whoever came in their way was killed. The uprising was so sudden that the British were taken back.
 

Unknown place in India in year 1858, where rebellions were hanged in public.

The Sipahis had revolted
 
The first shot of the revolt hit Colonel John Finish. He died on the spot. Some Europeans horse riders moved forward; told the Sipahis “Hosh mein aao” (come to your senses) What is this insolence?
 
The Sipashis ignored the warnings. At that point smoke arose from one corner. Thick black swirls of smoke rose to the sky. The homes of the British were being burned down. People ran out to save their lives.
 
They ran towards the stables,  hid in the farms; some climbed up and clung to the trees for protection in the hope that the night would protect them and they would be saved. But the light thrown out by the burning flames fooled many. The Sipahis would raise their voices in slogans and they would cringe in fear.  The ‘valour of the british stood exposed that day.
 
Night fell. But neither did the shouts nor the killings stop. “Maro Maro” slogans and with that “Dilli Chalo…’
 
 

The Great Uprising of 1857
Outbreak of the Uprising
 
The following excerpt is from the communication sent by Major-General W.H. Hewitt, Commanding the Meerut Division, to Colonel C. Chester, Adjutant-General of the Army, Simla, on May 11, 1857.
 
I regret to have to report that the native troops at Meerut broke out yesterday evening in open mutiny. About 6-30 P.M. the 20th Regiment, Native Infantry, turned out with arms. They were reasoned with by their officers, when they reluctantly returned to their Lines, but immediately after they rushed out again and began to fire. The 11th Regiment, Native Infantry, had turned out with their officers, who had perfect control over them, inasmuch as they persuaded them not to touch their arms till Colonel Finnis had reasoned with the mutineers, in doing which he was, I regret to say, shot dead. After which act, the 20th Regiment, Native Infantry, fired into the 11th Regiment, Native Infantry, who then desired their officers to leave them, and apparently joined the mutineers. The 3rd Regiment, Light Cavalry, at the commencement mounted a party and galloped down to the jail to rescue the 85 men of the corps who were sentenced by the native General Court-martial, in which they succeeded, and at the same time liberated all the other prisoners, about 1200 in number. The mutineers then fired nearly all the bungalows in rear of the centre lines south of the nullah…
 
In this they were assisted by the population of the bazaar, the city, and the neighbouring villages…
 
3rd – Nearly the whole of the cantonment and Zillah Police have deserted.
 
4th – The electric [telegraph] wire having been destroyed, it was impossible to communicate the state of things except by express, which was done, to Delhi and Umballa [Ambala].
 
 
Events at Delhi on May 11, 1857
 
During the trial of Emperor Bahadur Shah II by the British in 1858, Gulab, a messenger, described the events of 11 May 1857.
 
On the morning of the 16th of Ramzan, alias the 11th of May, at about 7 am, a Hindu sepoy of the 38th Regiment of Native Infantry came up to the door of the Hall of Special Audience in the palace, and said to some of the door-keepers… that the native army at Meerut had mutinied against the State, and were now on the point of entering Delhi; that he and the rest of them would no longer serve the Company, but would fight for their faith… I had hardly received this information, when the King of Delhi sent for me. I attended on him immediately, and His Majesty said, “Look! the Cavalry are coming by the road of the Zer Jharokha. [Zer Jharokha is literally “under the lattice,” but appears to be a name given generally to the ground immediately under the lattices of the palace.] I looked and saw about 15 men of the Company’s regular Cavalry, then about 150 yards distant. They were dressed, some of them in uniform, but a few had Hindustani clothes on. I immediately suggested… [MS. Torn] to have the gate fastened by which entrance to the palace from the ‘Zer Jharokha’s is obtained, and this had scarcely been done when five or six of the sowars [cavalry men] came up to the closed gate…. The sowars, commenced calling out “Dohai Badshah”, or “Help O King”, “we pray for assistance in our fight for the faith.” The King hearing this, made no response…
           
The King… gave orders, for all the gates of the palace to be closed; but answer was given that the Infantry, viz. some of 38th Native Infantry, who were on guard at the palace, would not allow of such being done. After a lapse of some time the Cavalry, to the number of about 50, rode up to the Hall of Special Audience, dismounted, and picketed their horses in the adjoining garden. The Infantry…. of all the three Delhi regiments, also came into the palace enclosures, and laid down their beddings in any of the palace buildings that they could make available. The Infantry from Meerut… joined the Infantry of the Delhi regiments in spreading their bedding over all parts of the palace enclosures…
 
The greatest and the most widespread armed uprising which shook the foundations of British rule in India took place in 1857. The accumulating hatred against British rule which had resulted in numerous though localized, outbreaks burst forth in a mighty rebellion in 1857. The dispossessed rulers of Indian states, the nobles and the zamindars who had been deprived of their lands, the Indian soldiers of Britain’s army in India, and the vast masses of peasants, artisans and others who had been ruined by British economic pockets, powers and had been rising up in revolt in their isolated pockets, were now united by the common aim of overthrowing British rule. The introduction of greased cartridges which showed the British rulers’ complete disregard of the religious beliefs of the Indian people provided the immediate cause of the revolt. In March 1857, Mangal Pandey was executed in Barrackpore for rebelling against their introduction. The uprising began in Meerut on 10 May 1857 when the Indian soldiers killed their British officers and marched to Delhi. They were joined by the soldiers stationed in Delhi and proclaimed the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of India. The rebellion spread like wild fire and the British rule ceased to exist over a vast part of northern and central India for many months. The major centres of the revolt, besides Delhi, where some of the most fierce battles were fought were Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Bundelkhand and Arrah. Local revolts took place in many other parts of the country. Among the prominent leaders of the uprising were Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, Bakht Khan, Azimullah Khan, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Kunwar Singh, Maulvi Ahmadullah, Bahadur Khan and Rao Tula Ram.
 
A song composed, 25 years ago for Bharat ki Chhap to mark the anniversary of the 1857 uprising by the soldiers of the East India Company.
 

Maulvi Liaqat Ali : An Icon of the 1857 Uprising at Allahabad

"Maulvi Liaqat Ali : An Icon of 1857 Uprising at Allahabad, a historic account of the Mughal Governor of Allahabad who fought against the British in 1857.

“It was past the dinnertime of night  June 6, 1857. The place was mess of 6 Native Infantry Cantonment of Allahabad. The guest English officers were dining and wining amidst the tinkering of glasses and loud merry making noises, and at the same time sharing pleasantries with the soldiers. The occasion of celebration was the Commendation message for the Regiment sent by the Governor General. Dinner was all over. The officers were preparing to leave. The silence of night was broken by boom-boom gunfire that took the English officers to surprise. Somebody shouted that the Pandes from Banaras had come. They had no time to dress themselves fully but got hold of their arms and rushed out. There was only one thing waiting for them, their death, as the native infantry soldiers started shooting their own officers from close range. That was the announcement of the Uprising of 1857 and more was to follow. Allahabad city and district was thrown at the mercy of Hooligans. Widespread destruction, looting and bona-fire followed. Precious human lives were lost. 

Maulvi Liaqat Ali of Mahgoan then arrived on the scene and took control of the situation. He enforced the law and order in the city. He introduced discipline amongst his followers. He enthused the people to join the Freedom Struggle against the British.
From his military operational headquarters at Khusro Bagh, he conducted the war against the so-called "Infidels". He attempted to take the Allahabad Fort then under English occupation but failed. He had severe resource constraints but had the masses behind him.

The English constantly chased him but he eluded them for the rest of the six months of 1857 by remaining in North India. With the top Uprising leaders mostly defeated and driven in the Nepal Tharai, Maulvi Liaqat Ali travelled to Bhopal and settled in Surat district of Gujarat.

In 1872, he was apprehended at Bombay V.T. Railway Station due to the treachery of his friends. He was tried in the Court of Law and sentenced to Penal Settlement in Andamans (Kaala Paani) where he died in the year 1892. This is saga of a man who stood but never bent before the tyranny of a Foreign Rule."

11th May 1857, song, Bharat ki Chhap Episode 10: Colonialism & the Industrial Revolution 1800 to 1900

The Times of India reported last year 1857 revolt news clippings: Reports went from fair to pro-British that Amit Pathak, a city-based historian, has in his possession a rare set of original newspapers that chronicled what was later referred to as the 'Indian Mutiny of 1857.' "The Illustrated London News and Illustrated Times, which I acquired in an online auction, covered in great detail the events of 1857, and are perhaps the only exhaustive documents existing presently which chronicle how the British press viewed the Revolt, " says Pathak.
 
These newspapers, adds Pathak, are unique since they contain original lithographs (old prints) of action scenes of 1857 and also pictures of freedom fighters like Tantya Tope and Begum Hazrat Mahal which are not available anywhere else. "When one goes through the reporting in these papers, it is quite evident that during the first few months, the reportage was balanced and unbiased, but later the event coverage seemed to be tilted in favour of the British," says the historian, who has also authored a book titled '1857: Living History.'
 
Particularly interesting is the news report which first chronicled that the revolt had taken place. "In this day and age when news of any event is almost instantaneous, it would be difficult to imagine that the first report of the uprising was published on June 13, almost a month after the event in The Illustrated London News," says Pathak. The report stated, "A telegraphic despatch received at Bombay from Meerut states that the 3rd Bengal Cavalry were in open mutiny, and that several officers and men had been killed and wounded."

The first few days of reporting, he says, gave a largely unbiased view of the incident. "When one goes through the contents of these papers, one can sense the great amount of uncertainty that prevailed in Britain at that time. No one at that time knew what would be the outcome of the uprising, whether India will attain its independence and what repercussions will it have on the other colonies of the Great Britain. There were also apprehensions about the well-being of the British citizens who were 'trapped' in India at that point of time. These newspapers carry the emotions, the excitement and feelings of individuals who are experiencing the events in real time."

Sources:

Justice for Jisha: Why it’s important to Speak Up and be Counted

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“Silence is a Crime when Justice is denied”

The headlines and scrolls of the media have shaken the country with Jisha, a 30 year old law student, being the victim of a brutal rape and murder. How different is the incident from that of Jyoti Singh, ‘Nirbhaya’? The chilling similarities evoke the country’s memories of helplessness and shame. This dalit woman, named Jisha, has been brutally raped and then murdered in Kerala’s Permubavoor.

This young law student was left with several stab wounds all over her body with the intestines being pulled out with a sharp-edged weapon. These are the facts that we read in the newspapers. The question is how many Nirbhayas and Jishas will the country witness?

Are we going to create histories of helplessness and torture for the better halves of the Indian society? Headlines with cases of sexual assault, harassment, molestation and violence against women have become so usual. Definitely this indicates something.

It speaks volumes about the increasing trend of sexual overdrives. Jisha’s incident triggers the very fact that the life of women have remained as savage as ever.

With the Indian law strictly prohibiting discrimination and violence against the Dalits, we still find incidents of atrocities and torture as daily occurrences. The International Dalit Solidarity Network states, “Violence, including sexual assault, is used by dominant castes as a social mechanism for humiliating entire Dalit communities”. It has been estimated that every week, 21 Dalit women are victims of rape and assault. They are considered ‘untouchable’ where the women face triple discrimation on account of caste, economic status and gender. Such statistics may rock the world, but are they enough to trigger strength and outrage to protect the rights of women? Permubavoor, a small industrial town in Ernakulam, has a large section of migrant labourers.

Although the police have hinted at the locals, yet, the country has not witnessed any significant breakthrough till now. Protest from all quarters is the only weapon at the moment to fight the battle. #JusticeForJisha is the lonely cry for justice aiming to stand strong beside every woman in this country. The time has come to look at the factors responsible for such heinous crimes choking the throat of women’s liberty. Is it a lapse in the legal system or is it a dirty blame game that politicians keep playing? If not the system, then who is going to protect the dignity of women and help her live the life of a human being?

Our memories haven’t yet recovered from the 2012 Delhi incident of the brutal rape and fatal assault of Jyoti Singh, our Nirbhaya, on  December 16, 2012 in South Delhi. Since then, the numbers have only increased. Post the Rohtakgangrape case where 7 persons raped and killed a 28 year old mentally challenged Nepalese woman, the judge relevantly questioned, “how many times Nirbhaya would die?”

September, 2015 gave the country yet another chilling experience with a woman being gangraped in a moving bus in Bhopal.

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of India has reported the increase of crime against women as 6.4% since 2012. In 2013, Delhi reported the highest number of rape cases at 1636. This number is simply double the number reported in 2012, which was 706. Mumbai was right behind and reported around 391 cases with Jaipur and Pune reporting 192 and 171 cases respectively in 2013. NCRB has released numbers which have shaken the country’s confidence in law and order.

The total number of cases reported in India in 2013 was 33,707 as against 24,923 in 2012. The discussion is not intended to lay down bold statistics. Instead the figures send shivers down the spine when we contemplate the status of justice for the Indian woman. It is clearly evident that a woman’s honour has been thwarted time and again leaving her in the midst of atrocities without being meted out with justice. Laws have to be stricter with faster implementation to protect the women of the country against atrocious crimes committed by the opposite gender. After the entire country embroiled in waves of protests following the Delhi gang-rape, certain laws have been amended to fight the case of women victims:

i. The 2013 Criminal Law Amendment Act, popularly known as the Nirbhaya Law, was there to address the earlier loopholes in the Indian Penal Code.

ii. Introduction of a minimum 20 year sentence for gang rape offenders.

iii. Those guilty of recurrent harassment or gang rape, were also liable to death penalty.

These facts prompt us to reiterate the spine chilling incidents of injustice over the past few years. We all perhaps remember the name of Govindachami, hailing from Virudhalam in Tamil Nadu, the sole criminal in the rape and murder case of the 23 year old woman named Soumya from Manjakkad near Shornpur. It was February 2011 1. Govindachami tried to rob Soumya in an empty ladies’ compartment of the train. Once she resisted, he smashed her head against the wall with finally throwing her out of the train. Later he found her in the nearby woods and brutally raped her.

The victim finally succumbed to injuries and died at the hospital. The only consolation was that the Trissur Fast Track Court accused Govindachami and has announced capital punishment. The unsolved case of Aruna Shanbaug is another shame in the pages of history. This nurse, in 1973, while working as a junior nurse, was raped and assaulted badly by one ward boy, Sohanlal BhartaWalmiki. Consequence: Aruna continued with her vegetative existence for a period of nearly 42 years after which the Supreme Court granted passive euthanasia.

On May 18, 2015, Aruna succumbed to her condition and passed away. Incidents are many. There are people to term them as ‘unfortunate’. Some would call them ‘mishaps’. The concern delves deeper. There might be agitations and protests. There are still hundreds of times when we should speak up. The issue of safety has taken the forefront since 2012. We wonder who is actually responsible to ensure safety of the women. Primarily, we should be in a position to understand the implication of the word ‘safety’. Precisely, it means, freedom from any kind of violence. And a lack of this has restricted an Indian woman’s mobility over the past few years. There are numerous protests, demonstrations and movements raising this issue of violence against women. It has reached the status of a national agenda.

However, in reality, such campaigns fall short of deterring such violence and ensuring a safe environment for a woman in India. The root cause is sheer inequality. The birth of such inequality is primarily a gender bias and this is coupled with structural inequalities of caste and economic condition. These further clarify the cause of the fatal attack on Jisha. However, such clarification does not open a room for justification. It rather triggers the need of an immediate judicial law to punish the merciless act at Permubavoor. The one thing that the government needs to realize is that women safety is an inherent part of public safety. It is absolutely important to recognize violence. It starts from home.

A parent discriminating between the son and the daughter, the birthday gift for a boy being a toy gun and for a girl being a lifeless doll, the wife compromising with ‘yesterday’s roti’ offering the husband a fresh one, lead to a society where women play the role of the ever-compromising living being! The same little boy, once becomes the ‘man’, forgets to pay the slightest respect to the woman next door. The predominance of male preference creates an atmosphere where groping becomes the usual hazard when a woman gets on a crowded bus! Hundreds of women passengers are heckled and this goes on without being noticed or confronted.

The question is why? Is the law of the country peacefully sleeping? In every house, gender violence must get the status of a conversation topic. Sufficient recognition of harassment followed by awareness of existing law will instigate the rise of thousand Malalas ensuring victory of the many Jishas, victimised daily without being noticed.

People play an important role in resisting acts of violence against women. Women are considered to be the weaker gender and helpless victims of domestic violence, abuse, trafficking, rape and murder.

The people or the ‘we’ form the community. And the community must resist any kind of battering to continue. There are laws to punish the offenders. But why is the time taken so long! Why not immediate? The common people’s protests, expression of agitation at the right time, pointing fingers at the law-breakers, will ensure protection of women’s freedom. Why today do we still have to wait for the justice for Jisha? Why is there such inaction in identifying and arresting the criminals? Are we waiting for another Jisha to get victimized?

The people’s court is there to punish the criminals committing such abhorrent crimes. If a woman is constantly surviving with the fear being molested or raped, if a woman finds it unusual to walk on the street at night, then the time has come to control that fear and terrorize those unknown evil men lurking behind to attack. It took us years to finally pass the Anti-rape Bill in 2012, where the criminal is liable to life imprisonment or capital punishment. Till then, rape was not considered a major crime!
Hence, the verdict of the Nirbhaya case took almost two and half years where out of six, four have been given the death penalty. Following the 2013 Shakti Mills gang rape in Mumbai, on April 4, 2014, death penalty was awarded to the three repeat offenders in the photojournalist rape case. Such dates lead us to one fact: the inordinate delay in declaring verdict. Perhaps, this delay is the most disturbing cause of not being able to provide justice to Jisha and her family.

With the emergence of the brutal rape and murder of Jisha, #justiceforjisha campaign echoes in every nook and corner of Kerala. The users, expressing agitation, include celebrity names like Mohanlal, Mammootty, Dulquer Salmaan, Prithviraj and Manju Warrier . The campaign has given vent to anger and protest in the state. It is such public outcry, harping on the government’s inaction to arrest the criminals, which acted as the catalyst to make the investigation gain momentum.

Let the #JusticeForJisha campaign unite the Indians to stand like a wall to protect our own women, break the silence and speak up!

See also
1. PM to Meet Jisha's Mother: Sorry there are no Elections in Rajasthan 
2. Dalit Woman Brutalised Before Being Killed
3. Do Not Rest in Peace, Jisha: Shehla Rashid
4. SFI Protests Poor Investigation in Jisha Murder Case
5. Jisha's Death Sparks Countrywide Protests

VC Jagadesh Kumar Circular Against “Outsiders”

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Stormy JNU Academic Council meet to Discuss Much Criticised HCLEC Report

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UPDATE 8 p.m.

Report on Proceedings of the Academic Council (AC) Meeting, JNU, May 10, 2016:

In view of the emergency situation on the campus, faculty members of the Academic Council of JNU demanded that the issue of the hunger strike in response to unjust punishment of students (contained in the High Level Committee Report) the first item on the agenda. The Vice Chancellor adamantly refused this. His refusal was met with prolonged opposition by the AC members which eventually compelled him to agree to let the AC discuss the matter.

The overwhelming sense of the house was that the punishments are unjustified and excessive, and must be reconsidered. However, the VC was not willing to concede anything despite the hunger strike of the students entering the 13th day and many students being in serious condition. Instead of trying to resolve the crisis, the VC insisted that the matter could be discussed later.

In view of the emergency situation, the members of the Academic Council expressed deep concern and argued that a resolution of the matter could not be postponed any further. However, the VC hastily adjourned the meeting and left.

Therefore, the first Academic Council meeting chaired by the new Vice Chancellor, Professor Jagadesh Kumar, could not conduct any business. The responsibility for this lies squarely on the shoulders of the Vice Chancellor.

Subsequently, after the VC had left, the AC members passed a resolution regretting the VC’s adjournment of the meeting and stating that “the whole range of punishments meted out to students is excessive and that the harsher punishments such as rustication, suspension, banishment from campus, and exorbitant fines should be immediately revoked”. The AC members further resolved that the VC immediately implement this resolution. The response of the teaching community of JNU and the statement of the president of the union, Kanhaiya Kumar can be read here.

UPDATE 5.15 p.m.

Justice Manmohan of the Delhi High Court has stayed the fine imposed on Umar Khalid of the JNU, issued notice on a writ petition and directed the administration to produce all files related to the actions taken against students by May 30. That is when the petitions filed by Umar and another one by Anirban Bhattacharya will be ehard. Meanwhile the AC meeting began with the Dean(s) of various faculties and student representatives demanding a discussion on the controversial HLEC report. This was first denied and then allowed, after many objections were raised by the JNU VC Jagadesh Kumar. Three persons spoke on the report. The VC is reported to have adjourned the meeting without complete discussions when there were unconfirmed reprots of a no-confidence motion being moved against him. The meeting is still on.

Kanhaiya Kumar Offered a Fig leaf by JNU Admin: Offer to Withdraw Fine

50 Student Protesters Welcome VC with Fruits

Moments before the scheduled start of the Academic Council (AC) meeting at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) at 2 p.m. on May 10, the Proctor of the university in a letter given to JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar has offered to ‘withdraw’ the Rs 10,000 fine imposed upon him by the ‘High Level Committee.” Student representatives and the JNUSU has been firm that not just the fine but the irrational punishment, including rustication imposed by the HLEC should also be withdrawn. Sabrangindia spoke to several student representatives and it is not yet clear  whether other students have also received similar ‘offers’ in writing.

As the Academic Council meeting is about to start, about 50 protesters, at both entrances of the venue of the AC meeting, are waiting for the VC with fruits!
An indefinite hunger fast was launched by student leaders of the JNU on April 27-28 after this report became public. Basic procedures were not followed in this enquiry it has been alleged.

The AC meeting will have representatives of the four elected student representatives (Kanhaiya Kumar, president, Sehla Rashid, vice president, Rama Naga and Saurabh Sharma, the seven Deans of the different faculties, chairpersons of centres and institutes. Two ‘observers’ will, in all probability, be chosen by this administration that has the backing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-backed Modi regime at the centre. This meeting is expected to be stormy as it will undoubtedly focus on the ‘High Level Committee (HLEC) report.

Meanwhile , the JNU Students’ indefinite hunger strike enters its twelfth day: Ketone counts have gone up, Weight goes down, Morale is however miles high. Media ‘fatigue’ or ‘apathy’ is evident because the crusading news anchors are no match to hunger striking students when it comes to stamina, and, may we say, courage. The JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) also began its relay hunger strike Saturday  and is fully backing the demands of the students for the complete withdrawal of the HLEC report with its punishments and fine.

The JNU VC, first issued a May 4 letter declaring the hunger fast to be unconstitutional.  Thereafter on May 6 he issued a controversial notice to both the JNUSU and JNUTA ‘not to allow outsiders on campus.’ Strangely however, the VC, proctor and registrar that have clear leanings with the RSS have had no problems allowing rough hands owing allegiance to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) who are not JNU students led by DUSU President Satender Awana coming inside JNU, to the Administrative Block and abusing not just the students on hunger fast but also women and girls with filthy sexual abuse. Satender Awana has reportedly threatened in a public gathering at Jantar Mantar that his followers will enter JNU and shoot student leaders (Will chop off legs of anti-nationals in JU, say ABVP activists:HT). JNUSU and other students have told Sabrangindia that these are not merely a threat, many student leaders have faced physical violence by right wing lumpen elements time and again. Yet Awana is allowed free access inside JNU.

Meanwhile, Anirban Bhattacharya and Umar Khalid, who have been rusticated by the university, have approached the Delhi High Court to challenge the move. The two pleas have been filed through advocates Jawahar Raja and Tridip Pais. They are likely to come up for hearing on May 10 itself.

Meanwhile a strange silence, almost a media black out continues, with the exception of Ravish Kumar’s NDTV India show. For the first nine days there was a strange apathy in the print media as well. This has somewhat changed over the past few days. Today The the Indian Express reports that the JNU administration may set up a four member committee “discuss issues related to students and teachers who have been on hunger strike”. “The JNU administration yet again appeals to the students to end their strike and come forward for a discussion of their demands. The Vice-Chancellor has decided to form a team consisting of Rector-1, Rector-II, Dean of Students and Registrar to discuss issues related to students and teachers who have been on hunger strike,” said a statement by the university.

“Students and teachers are urged to end the hunger strike immediately due to worsening weather conditions and deteriorating health of the students. Solutions can be found only through peaceful dialogue and discussion and not through measures that can also have a long-term impact on health and adversely affect academic life on campus,” it added.

The Hindustan Times has an editorial on the issue.

Images taken, with thanks, from the ‘We are JNU‘ Facebook Page, and the ‘Mothers Stand with JNU‘ Facebook Page

Some students continue the indefinite hunger fast while those whose health has deteriorated have withdrawn.

Meanwhile, Ten Emeritus Professors write to the JNU VC on May 9, 2016. Protests on the intransigience of the JNU administration have spread to Bengaluru and Bihar.

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