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This reporter's first destination was Jawahar Bhawan in Lucknow. A large group of women in bright parrot  green Saris called out to me in the midst of their sloganeering. They had seen my camera. Clearly and as stated by them later no reporter, channel or camera unit had spoken to them till then.
 

Green sari is the uniform of anganwaadi workers. They had come from all across the state of Uttar Pradesh. There are four and a half lakh anganwaadi workers and two and a half lakh  assistants in the anganwaadi of Uttar Pradesh. Their slogans of "Azadi" , an age old slogan by women's movement was echoing in the entire premise of Jawahar Bhawan. The other slogan could have pierced your heart – Roti Do Ya Maut Do. Give us bread or Give us death.

Their demands are- The Anganwadi workers must be paid 10,000 Rs and their Assistants 5000 Rs. They should be observed as state government employees.Anganwadi centers should be closed for summer holidays. Both Anganwadi workers and their assistants should be entitled to post retirement Pension. There are many vacancies for angwanwadi workers. The people in service should be immediately promoted to these posts. Cooking Gas connection in every anganwaadi center. An insurance policy of 5 lakh for all anganwadi workers and their assistants. 25% yearly increment for both Anganwadi workers and their assistants.

Some of the Angan waadi workers and their assistants screamed at this reporter- "3,000 Rs mey tumhara ghar chal sakta hai?". Can I run my house in Rs 3000?
 

– Some of their demands are- Land rights and worker rights of Famers and workers respectively must be protected.
-Land Rights of the poor should be the focus of government and not land acquisition.
– Social Security of all workers, weavers, craftsmen must be ensured.
– The constitutional Right of workers to express their views, form unions and protest against Government anti-people policies must be restored and not played around with.
-All power plants, dams and highways like  Kachri Power Plant or Kanhar Dam must be made in consultation with the local people of the state. All illegal land acquisition must stop.
– Dalits, Adivasis/tribals and other minorities must not be branded Maoists and Terrorists the moment they protest or don’t want to comply with the powerful people. False cases and false encounters to silence the underprivileged must stop.
–  A safe environment must be created for women.
– All the rights given to communities under Forest Act must be ensured strongly.
– Forest Officers and Forest offices when working against the Forest Act must be investigated. Tendu Leaves, Honey and small fish cultivation under Forest Act are with some Forest communities. Their rights must be protected.
– The violence against the poor in the name of Gau Raksha across the country must be immediately stopped and the perpetrators must be severely punished.
– Communal Violence Bill must be passed immediately.
– The State must encourage hospitals like AIIMS to be established in the country. Privatisation of education must be stopped and public education system must be strengthened.

 Just as I stopped listening and listing the demands of this group I heard a huge uproar by a crowd that was rushing towards the same venue where the workers unions were protesting.  Some of these people with garlands on their neck and Tika  ( A colourful mark Hindus put on their forehead after their prayers) on were  neatly dressed and clearly more privileged than the working class people who were protesting so far. This group had the confidence and assertion to take over the street. Not just the park assigned to protest. The waiting Police rushed towards them. The workers in the park got up and came closer to each other. They were watchful and concerned. Someone in the crowd said  “opposition waaley aagaye” suggesting BJP workers may have come on the streets to silence the workers protest.

This reporter moved closer to the other group now. Some people were fainting in the summer heat. Some were shouting at the Police Force that was refusing to let them go further. The loud but unclear slogans gradually became audible. These people were sloganeering against the Police, then the Chief Minister, then the Prime Minister. They were also on the strike!

On asking who were they I was told they were from the Teachers’ Union and like the Anganwadi workers, craftsmen, nurses, weavers and all other workers they had come out to protest. Some of them were parched and dehydrated but all of them looked determined, feisty and fearless.

The Strike in Lucknow, this 2^nd of September 2016, moved from parks and government offices to the streets! Healthcare, Pension, Holidays, permanent posts and Salary increment talks are clearly back in vogue!

The legitimacy of basic demands sounded irrefutable with the slogans of "Hamari Maangey Poori Karo" rising high!

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In his speech on August 6, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally expressed his views on cow miscreants. This after the Dalit community in Gujarat refused to pick up cow carcasses. Seven Dalit men were beaten by right wing miscreants ('gau rakshaks') in Una. The Dalit community protested against the violence by disposing off dead animals in front of government offices. They have refused to pick up dead animals. Something considered to be their job by the Indian (read Hindu) caste system.

This large scale Dalit protest lead to Anandiben Patel’s resignation. Chief minister of Gujarat is a close aide of Prime Minister and yet she resigned. In short BJP is alarmed and stunned by Dalit power. Real, visceral, in your face, on the street, political power. If cow is your mother, you perform her last rites, is the resounding new Dalit slogan on the roads of Gujarat. And on the virtual roads of social networking sites.

The young Dalit gives a damn for news channels where caste Hindu and corporate interests refuse to smell the coffee. Dalit protests are beyond all conventionalism. Nothing is conservative about Dalit protests. BJP and other political parties have been zapped out of their wits about what might come next!

Welcome change of heart!

In his speech on gau rakshaks on August 6, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi  tells the gau sevaks (cow servants) to be aware that cows mostly die eating plastic. That the sevaks should keep plastic away from cows. In  his best environmentalist avatar Narendra Modi talks about getting rid of plastic altogether for the cause of cow. The slaughter house rant is old and over!

Narendra Modi’s views on cow, beef and 'Gau Raksha' (Cow protection) have changed substantially from the time he was chief minister of Gujarat. Not long ago in one of his many speeches on cows, Modi observed that the then Congress-led Central government had acknowledged India’s number one position as beef exporter. In the video below he seems surprised that people don’t react angrily to such things.

In another speech in the not so distant past, Modi made fun of “pink revolution”. With his characteristic wit and humour Modi said most people talk about white and green revolution but the then Central government had been speaking of pink revolution. This without the caveat that Modi's government was not responsible for white or green revolution. By 'pink' Modi had meant the colour of meat. He seemed traumatised that the Central government believed in cutting animals and exporting meat. He called the meat mutton and beef.

Dalit Ki Baat

The Prime Minister regularly talks to Indian citizens through his show, 'Mann ki Baat' (broadly translated: Soul Chat). For months, however, the prime minister's mann was mum on cow vigilante groups. His citizens were getting killed, tortured, hung, humiliated in the name of the cow!

A man named Aqhlaq was killed in Dadri. A cow vigilante group spread beef rumour. They entered his house under the pretext of beef in his fridge. Aqhlaq was killed. His son suffered a head injury. His other family members were beaten and humiliated. Ironically, the meat in the fridge was sent by officials to the forensic department. To examine the nature of the meat. There were discussions on television channels on the issue as to whether the meat was beef or mutton. Modi and his government kept quiet about the absurdity of the situation.

On July 17, a gang of 30-40 Bajrang Dal members barged into the house of a Dalit family in Karnataka, beat them up with sticks and threatened them with machetes. The incident, however, came to light only on July 23. The attackers warned Dalits that if they didn't stop eating beef, they would be killed. Prime Minister Modi's government kept quiet.

Two Muslim women were beaten up by members of cow vigilante groups at Mandsaur railway station in Madhya Pradesh over suspicion that they were carrying beef. Not a word from  the prime minister who talks about women's empowerment. No reaction from his government to women being beaten up in a crowded railway station in broad day light by a bunch of goons.

However, when the highways (freeways) of Gujarat are full of dead animals – the Prime Minister must speak. These are not slogans on television. These are not distant, under privileged, men and women getting beaten up somewhere far away. These are streets of the prime minister's home state. Streets that must embody his idea of Swatch Bharat. What we see instead now are endless rotten, smelling, dead animals.

Uttar Pradesh Elections in 2017

Prime Minister, like the leaders of the Opposition, knows that assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh (largest province of India) is round the corner. Mayawati, former chief minister from this state, is a popular Dalit leader. She is liked by non-Dalits too. The change in Dalit mood has changed the moderate population's idea of the right-wing already.

In his town hall speech, Modi told state governments to create a dossier of cow miscreants. He added that those who were anti-social elements at night pretend to be cow protectors in the day.

Modi's show of anger towards the gau rakshaks is definitely a resounding support for Dalit workers who clean carcass in Gujarat. Prime Minister Modi extended support to Gau Sevaks or Hindus who are cow worshippers from the same stage. I am wondering how to interpret Prime Minister's sentence that Rajas (Hindu kings) protected cows and Badshahs (Mughal/Muslim kings) used cows to win battles. And the timing of it!

The post Prime Minister Modi’s Cow Talk: Hypocrisy or a Change of Heart? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Government doesn’t give us house, allowance for our children’s education or any benefit Government has done nothing for us. Why should we stick our neck out to remove other people’s dead animals! We don’t want to be killed for the work which pays us bare minimum! I wont risk my life for money

 

“We will stop picking up dead animals if we are harassed and tortured like this“

“Why should we pay bribe every year for the contracts of removing dead animals? These contracts are reserved for us. The rate of bribe grows ten percent every year. We are threatened by government officials that they will open the contracts to general category if we don’t pay up. We should be given license for this work and not be expected to apply for contracts every year. “

“The Government doesn’t give us house, allowance for our children’s education or any benefit Government has done nothing for us. Why should we stick our neck out to remove other people’s dead animals! We don’t want to be killed for the work which pays us bare minimum! I won’t risk my life for money”

The Dalit- Muslim workers and contractors dealing with removal of dead animals are feeling terrorised, scared and angry after recent attacks by cow vigilante in Lucknow. They are also frustrated with both the police and bureaucracy’s lack of initiative in providing them protection. Their concern is supported by advocate Mohammed Shoeb of Rihai Manch – “There is a deliberate attempt to dilute the offences in the FIR in the recent case of Vidyasagar and Chhote. The local police has not applied sections of the atrocity act and also sections of IPC related to the spreading of enmity between communities”

The speculation is rife among the Dalit- Muslim contractors that that this could be a ploy to open up the reserved contracts to the general category. If the Dalits and Muslims stop applying for the contracts out of fear who will get the contracts?  Will the Caste Hindu really do this job? They almost zone out wondering why first rumours of beef and now cow carcass has been used to hit, hurt and kill Dalits and Muslims in last few years.  Is it simply love for Gau Mata? Or is there a business model there? After all the big beef export business is largely handled by caste Hindus. Could they now be eyeing these contracts? They can always employ Dalits to do the dirty work.

On July 28, 2016 , Vidyasagar and Chhotey’s vehicle was stopped by a cow vigilante group two kilometre away from Indiranagar Police Station. This is one of the posh localities of new Lucknow. The two Dalit men were transporting a dead cow on Lucknow Municipal Corporation’s usual orders.

Vidyasagar and Chhotu were abused, beaten up and threatened that they would be killed if seen again with a dead cow that wasn’t properly covered with a Kafan.

Where is the Kafan?  “Where is the Shroud?”
 

The vigilante men were livid that the dead cow had not been covered with a shroud. “Har mari gau mata par kafan hona chahiye nahee to tumhey khatam kar dengey”.  Vidyasagar and Chhotu explained to the miscreants that they didn’t have the money to buy Kafan for every cow. That it wasn’t their cow. They were asked to pick up the dead cow by LMC.
The vigilante group asked whether the Dalit men would eat the dead Cow.  Vidyasagar, a Dalit man of thirty something and Chhotey, in his forty are from Sitapur. They explained to the miscreants that they don’t eat dead cows.

What would they do with the dead Gau Mata, asked the vigilante men. The two Dalit men informed that the dead cow’s skin would be removed. Hearing this the vigilante group started hitting the two Dalit men and accused them of killing the cow, eating beef, being disrespectful towards “Gau Mata” or Cow mother.

On the August 3, when this reporter reached the Nagar Nigam office at Lalbagh Lucknow I couldn’t help notice how white the walls of the campus were. No usual betel leaf marks anywhere. Swopped and cleaned. Silent and calm. Well contained.  LMC veterinary officer Dr. Arvind Kumar Rao  mentioned that by the time contractor, Mohd Iliyas had reached the spot the vigilante group had left. The miscreants were in their early twenties. The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) lodged an FIR with the Indiranagar Police Station after the matter was brought to its notice by the contractor. Was everything back to normal? Were Vidyasagar and Chhotu back at work? this reporter asked.

“Sab kaam kar rahey hai” Everyone is back at work. Dr Rao insisted that this wasn’t like Gujarat. The boys who harassed were not vigilante. They were miscreants of twenty something. It was not an organised attack of any cow vigilante group. Has such incidents increased in Lucknow? this reporter asked next. Dr Rao said it was a one off case. He, however, agreed that cow protection drive is on the high in the country. Dr Rao used the word Gau-Mata while talking about cow. He however, added that there is no killing of cow in Lucknow. “Only a mad person would kill a cow in this area. Miscreants just harass people. Cleaning the dead cow is extremely important else the rot will cause endless health issues in the population”.

Next this reporter met with some of the contractors and workers who deal with carcasses. Municipal corporations hire contractors from reserved category of Muslim and Dalit community to keep the city clean. These contractors hire Dalit workers to transport the dead animals from their owner’s house. It is on the call of the Municipal Corporation that the contractors send their workers to lift a dead animal. Municipal Corporations have a department for dead animals. Removal of dead animals is a serious task in any civilized society where a government and its civic bodies are concerned about protecting its people from illnesses. The men who pick up dead animals get a daily wage of Rs 300 – 350 from the contractors in Lucknow. These men on other days work as daily wage labour and make an amount of Rs 200 – 250 a day. Contrary to Dr Rao’s assessment of the situation we were informed that Vidyasagar and Chhotey have returned to their hometown Sitapur. They have decided to not risk their life. No more picking of carcasses for them. The contractors and workers repeatedly used the words “Khauf” and “Dehshat” while mentioning the mood at ground zero. The workers asked this reporter why spontaneous acts of terrorising them were so common now. They asked – Does it matter who terrorised them? Isn’t the issue that they were terrorised because they were Dalits? Does it matter who hits, hurts and terrorises? The main issue is that Dalit men were hurt and humiliated specifically because of their caste and the nature of their work.

Kamta Prasad, a Dalit contractor from Zone 1 added that such cases have happened in Lucknow before. He has faced harassment twice in last four months. Once he had rushed to Gomtinagar where his vehicle carrying the carcass was stopped by a vigilante group. When he enquired what was the fuss about, the men in Innova tried driving away. In that chaos the car hit Kamta Prasad’s head. He showed the minor head injury he had suffered.

(Kamta Prasad, Dalit Contractor of dead animals with Lucknow Municipality Corporation)

Mohd Iliyas and Kamta Prasad welcome Dr Rao’s idea of an identity card with phone numbers of LMC and Police Station. The identity-card may help their cause. Some contractors suggested that LMC should tell the owner of the dead cow to accompany the body till the destination. The workers should not risk their life for a few hundred rupees for another man’s dead cow.

Some other contractors insisted that identity card may be of help but the question is much bigger and humanitarian. Why do caste Hindus and cow worshippers not pick up their own dead cow? Why don’t they buy a Kafan for their mother? Why doesn’t the cow vigilante group engage with the cow owners and tell them to ensure kafan and last rites for their “Mata”?

They added that general caste Hindu population may never touch a dead animal, including the cow they worship. However, some business minded men may be seen soon as future contractors.  “May be the Savarn workers will be able to afford a Kafan for the dead cow. We don’t make enough to often buy one for our dead family members”, one of them mourned.

(Meanings for English only readers: Mata is Mother. Gau-Mata is Cow Mother)

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