Another businessman friend of Sunil claims that Vanjari women are pure vegetarians. So, one should not see Vanjaris as a criminal tribe. He also adds, “Suppose there comes a flood, then all the garbage gets washed away in it and the area gets clean. We are anticipating that it will be the same after this political power war gets over. One can imagine the destructive social impact of this whole eco-political power game has created by the fact that four ‘soyrik meetings’ in my Vanjari community (meetings in which marriages of young couples get fixed) were discarded as some of the people in such meetings had differences in their opinions. One can definitely say that the political happenings keep impacting the ‘Roti-Beti Vyavhar’ (family relations) deeply.

Shantabai Rathod is a social worker in Parli. She has fought many civic fights there. In our short meeting, she underlines the fact that there are hardly any women in active politics in a taluka place like Parli. Anyone can have a look at ZP and Panchayat Samiti politics and sense the lack of presence of women there. Our men don’t want any space to be created for women. And now, these dirty eco-political power games make politics as well as town-space more unsafe for women. Beed is a district where liquor visibly flows everywhere in criminal and political scenes.

There is a plant of Awada wind energy firm near Massajog. CRPF have been assigned to guard that firm. One of the CRPF officials said, “We are here on duty to maintain law and order. We don’t know what had happened earlier.” While traveling from Beed to Parli, I could see several large huge trucks up and down on the roads with enormous fins tied to their back.

Jyotiram Kande is an NRI working in an IT field in Canada. He was born and brought up in Parli. While sharing his thoughts on a phone call, he expresses deep sorrow about the changing environment of his beloved city. Jyotiram was born and brought up in Parli. While recalling his childhood days, he says, “I still remember my teenage and childhood days. Those days seem like a fairytale when I roam the streets of Parli nowadays. We, as teenagers, were into different things those days. Today’s teens have already started glorifying goons as ‘social workers’. I am just not able to imagine why common citizens are not aware of their rights when it comes to the basic needs like electricity, water, transport and health. Many of my friends are not able to think logically today. They just get driven into personal-political emotions. I can’t hold any constructive conversation with my own friends in such a situation. Even my well-educated, government officer friends are not an exception. Due to all these things, I have started to feel kind of helpless.”

Jyotiram also shared his observations about the young teenage boys who are being used as goons by various political leaders. He says, “Common people have always looked at political leaders as some God-like figures. None of these politicised youth are into serious academics. Their leaders are of the same ilk and have become career icons. These youth get addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, and gutka-mava very easily. Sexual frustration also plays a crucial role in their behaviour. Everyone wants a girlfriend but no one gets one. I am just not able to imagine the speed of transition as I look at the changed scenario to compare it with my childhood days. Everyone has a perception that some other person is going to grab his or her educational seat, job, opportunity, monetary gains etc. I don’t find any institution or government body sufficiently aligned, systematic or transparent so that this could solve the issues of the common man. In such a situation, political goons that are so called social workers easily fill this space. Within no time, they just come forward to be a bridge between this purposely failed system and common man. And within no time the godly image of such political goons assume a larger than life aura. One needs a truly good governance to circumvent this scenario. The enormous energy of youth should also be channelised pro-actively to avoid destructive consequences. At village level, Gram Panchayats and social organisations should start gyms and libraries for the young generation.”

One of the random vegetable sellers in Parli was also anxious about the changing surroundings. He said, “We can feel that there the casteism in the air. Though everyone is not experiencing it directly, it’s there. In many conversations. We need to think twice about the ‘caste location’ of the listener. It was not like that before. I needed to check the caste location of everyone online and offline. Because most of the time, people keep talking from their caste location and not from their conscious location.

Meanwhile, one of my friends in Parli anonymously told me his experience when he went to a Biryani eatery with one of his friends. “I was sitting at one of the popular Biryani joints in the outskirts of Parli. It was crowded as always. All the tables were full. Both of us were eating at a table where one chair was vacant. One young guy came up and sat on that chair. His friends grabbed other vacant chairs at different tables. That guy at our table was fully drunk. He was in the mood to have a conversation with us. So, he asked my name at first. As I responded, his second question was, what’s your caste? I just ignored his question with a smile. Then he got angry and started boasting about his money and muscle power. My friend and I were listening to his babbling with a cool mind. At the end of his conversation, he told us that he possessed a gun until the week before but now he has surrendered it. Me and my friend finished eating and went to wash our hands. That guy came to us again. I kept my hand on his shoulder with a friendly gesture and told him that I am Mali (one of the OBC castes). He suddenly smiled at me and said, ‘Jai OBC bhava!’ Caste has penetrated this deeply in everyone’s veins, much like hard liquor.”

Keshav Waghmare is an author and a senior activist from the Ambedkarite Movement who hails from Beed. He has a separate vision about this whole state-wide issue of Beed which has been the talk of the town for the past two months. Keshav says, “To understand the scenario in its entirety, one needs to understand the construction of the political economy of Beed at first. The Vanjari community has got geared up politically and socially when the politics of Gopinathrao Munde was dominant. Until then, the political power was in the hands of the Maratha community. This shift in power politics gave birth to a constant tussle and cold war. In Beed, the major economy is based on sugarcane cutting. The mukadams (contractors) of sugarcane workers are mostly Vanjaris. Most of the time, these contractors behave unfairly with men and women in his toli (sugar-cutting team). Once upon a time, these mukadams were the karyakartas (workers) of Gopinathrao Munde. When it comes to land, most of the land business is in the hands of Vanjaris.

I recall one incident that refuses to fade in memory. There was the weekly aathawdi bazaar (weekly market gathering) at a village called Wadwani. There appeared a mukadam with one of his labourers. Both belonged to the same caste, Vanjari. There started a heated argument between two of them over some monetary issues. The mukadam started beating that labourer with his shoes. Coincidentally, there was a programme of Gopinathrao Munde planned on that day. Munde’s helicopter suddenly started making rounds in the air. The worker stopped crying and started waving his hands in the air with joy, shouting, “O mukadam, bagha aaplya bhaucha helicopter…” (Hey, mukadam, see, there comes the helicopter of our beloved bhau!”) Isn’t this very symbolic?” These mukadams are kind of powerful goons in small villages of Marathwada. They have got political support. The roots of the constantly erupting violence in Beed could be found in this nexus.

It was an interesting encounter with a politically vocal truck driver. He showed me his facebook account where he keeps expressing his views deliberately. He said, “We keep experiencing virtual casteism as people keep fighting with each other on social media. The leaders should keep the politics limited to elections. They are not expected to encash caste as a cash cards from the common people. In old times, it was different. Leaders used to think beyond casts. In this particular case, political Maratha leaders like Suresh Dhas have glorified false and imaginary things which were not even mentioned in the post-mortem (PM) report of Sarpanch Deshmukh. In the winter session speech, he said, the eyes of Deshmukh were burnt with a lighter. He also said some goons in the mob might have peed in Deshmukh’s mouth when he was pleading for water before dying. These false narratives percolated have percolated among the mob like a wildfire. Who is accountable for the caste-based hate being spread in Maharashtra? Now the Zilla Parishad elections are imminent. No doubt the politicians will try and encash this caste based fragmentation. Despite the fact that there is a serious agrarian crisis here, none of our ‘leaders’ seems to pay heed to it.”

All of the accused in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case can be seen observing a particular lifestyle. They come from a lower or lower middle class family but possess vehicles like Scorpio with VIP numbers like 3333, 7777, 1010. They have a particular aesthetic with a lot of swag. They wear white linen or khadi clothes with very fragile egos on their sleeves. They like to flaunt gold ornaments. Addictions like Gutka, Maava, Pudi (tobacco) are very common, especially in Marathwada. From a very young age, distracted from academics, they start following some local or state level leader. The local level contractor-ship and extortion activities for the leaders are their main income source. Obviously most of them have a criminal background. On social media, especially on Facebook and Instagram, one can find thousands of accounts run by such Bhau, Dada or Anna. On Instagram they have thousands of followers. They keep making reels about their leader. For example, when Valmik Karad surrendered to CID, Vanjari Insta Reelstars made reels for him with these songs playing in background, “Bhetal java me gunhyaat, mala atak kara ho Punyaat” (As you will find me involved in some crime, just arrest me in Pune”). This song was originally written by Ajay Gaikwad for a Bailgada Sharyat Premi (Bullock cart racing lover Person) Pandhari Sheth Fadake. Sometimes they make romantic reels as well. In the time of political crisis, they start a virtual war supporting their leader. They keep trolling opposition leaders though statuses and reels.

This is the season of sugarcane cutting. The sugarcane workers keep migrating to West Maharashtra from Marathwada. I stopped at a temporary basti of some sugarcane workers on the Beed-Nagar road. The workers live in ‘Khopis’. These khopis are made out of dry shoots of sugarcane. The group of workers belonged to the SC Category (Scheduled Caste). They are the followers of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. While discussing the continuous outrages in Marathwada, these workers put their views bluntly. Neeta (Name has been changed to ensure anonymity)   says, “See, we are Ambedkarites. We have got the reservation as per the Indian Constitution. For a long time, In Maharashtra, upper castes like Maratha have looked at us as rivals. We deserve reservation. Maratha is a caste in Maharashtra which has been in political power continuously. If this is the reality, then who is to be blamed for this downfall of Marathas? Maratha leaders should be criticised for this and no other reservation-benefited castes.

Ram (Name has been changed to ensure anonymity) invited me for tea in his Khopi. He and his wife Seema have kept their one son back at their village. He studies in standard 10th. They have brought their elder son with them who will take his 12th exam in a few months. Seema has also brought her younger daughter with her. While making the tea on an earthen chulha (stove), Seema says, “Aamchya kashtachi sakhar aahe bagha he, bagha kasa lagatoy chaha…” (This sugar is made out of our own labour, see how the tea is flavoured” while adding sugar in the tea. Seema is concerned about the education of her children.

Ram says, “We are SC by caste, but as a sugarcane worker, we all worship our Lokneta (Leader of masses) Gopinath Munde (Former Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj), who did revolutionary work for the sugarcane mazdoors (labourers) of all the castes and tribes. He is like a god for us despite his caste. But nowadays the environment of Maharashtra has got so toxic that most of the people are judging each other on the basis of caste. This is not going to lead us anywhere. As a state, we have got bigger problems to solve. As a sugarcane worker, I need to break this vicious cycle of migration and poverty within my family. I don’t want my next generation to do all this harsh labour.” I bid farewell to the khopi-residents as they needed to start the next day at 3 am and start for the sugarcane fields.

Fidel Chavan, CPI leader, is a lawyer at Beed district court. Fidel has an experience of making interventions in some of the path-breaking court cases. There is a windmill repairing centre at Massajog. The fins of the windmills are around 70 to 175 meters long. One needs to construct a runway to take these fins through the farming fields. The lands of the farmers have been taken on lease for this purpose.

One of the young leaders accused of extortion, I am told, is Sandeep Tandale. Tandale hails from a poor family but owns a Scorpio car. He leads a team of 10-12 small goons and pays each one 17-20 thousand rupees. And there are so many of such political goons all over the Beed District. Most of the more powerful political leaders have tamed such goons for their benefits. Both the parties share a mutual political and monetary benefit. I need to think twice before I speak nowadays. It was not like this before.’

Mitali Deshmukh (Name has been changed to ensure anonymity) works at a technology firm in Pune. She is back home in Beed for a few days, her native place. She expresses herself in a nervous voice, “Beed people are the best when it comes to maintaining friendships. But these days, we are getting trolled on the basis of which native place we belong to. Several WhatsApp group admins have limited their group settings for one way messaging only, ‘admins only’. All this is new for an educated, conscious social girl like me. I am upset to see this new, unwanted wave of division flowing through my beloved city. I have never discussed such dark things with my family ever. These are some exceptional, hard days. I hope they will pass soon”

Prakash Chavan is a senior journalist from Parli. He shares his experience of reporting on the Ash power nexus, “It was the year 1971.  A thermal power plant was constructed in Parli. Earlier no one knew the value of the ash which was the residue of the plant. There are two types of ash derived in the thermal power making process. One is dry ash (fly ash) and the other is bottom ash. This bottom ash is used for making bricks. Hence, the bottom ash has got a big market value in itself. This has given birth to many ‘Ash Mafias’ in Parli Taluka and Beed district. Along with this, there are many Sand Mafias in the same area. At Daudpur, there was a dam where all the ash was being dumped for a long time. People planted trees there. Some awards were also conferred on that project. But as the value of the ash was underlined over a course of time, things changed drastically. Same kind of ash-lake was there at Daabi as well. These Mafias illegally dug out all the ash five years ago. These mafias have vast political support which is what has made them both powerful and brazen about their acts.

Maratha was a capitalist caste when it comes to land, money and power. But in the last 30 years, Marathas have got stuck in an agrarian crisis. Basically, the struggle and articulations should be class based and not caste based. But the people in power need the fight to remain caste based as they are going to benefit from it without delivering structural change. Here, population wise, the Maratha is the most prominent caste but the power is in the hands of Vanjari caste. In India, one can sense the caste based scenario, that is, most of the times, the majoritarian caste overpowers other castes. Here, in Parli, population wise, the Maratha is the most prominent caste but the power is in the hands of Vanjari caste. That is one of the causes of political and social tensions which keep erupting constantly. In Ashti-Patoda, the Maratha caste overpowers Vanjaris.

I feel like this is the fight between large big elephants. They just don’t care about other ant-like castes and communities. I keep wondering what will be the future of micro-minorities now and over time. Now the newly elected state government in Maharashtra has completed three months but no one is in any mood to discuss real life issues. This is basically a fight to gain and save reservation. Parli has got three collages. But most of the school and college students prefer to migrate to Latur for their studies. What is the future of this city?”

One of the Dhangar youth expresses his feelings while the hunger strike of Maratha Leader Manoj Jarange has started once again at Antarwali Sarati (Dist Jalna). “All this hate against us OBC’s has been sowed purposefully so that the ‘crop of Maratha reservation can be harvested.’ There are political egos behind the murders and tension created in Beed district. We shall all be paying a price if we paint this murder of Santosh Deshmukh in the colour of caste. We, as OBC’s, have found our own voice, our own pathways now. I, as an OBC youth, have started feeling that Marathas have just used us, under the blanket of the term ‘Bahujan’. But now, we are enlightened enough to fight our own fight as OBCs and not as Bahujans.”

On the way back from Beed, I realise, there is a strong strain of identity politics in this region. Adverse geographical conditions, agrarian crisis, scarcity of quality education, lack of employment and development make this politics darker. Most of the trucks or dumpers could be seen carrying a strong identity of some Caste or a political leader. ‘Chatrapati’ (Maratha) ‘Jai Bhagwan’ (Vanjari), ‘Apna Bhidu Bachhu Kadu’ (Political leader Bacchu Kadu), ‘Hoy Hinduch!’ (Yes, I am a Hindu), Jai Bheem (Ambedkarites) are some of the popular and visible slogans. Among these slogans, the enormous fins of windmills also keep crossing the paths. This region keeps shouting, Caste is not a thing to be apologetic about! It’s a thing to be flaunted, to be encashed! For the politics of the vote bank, as well as for the politics of survival. Caste could be personal, but let’s not forget, personal is political!

(With special thanks to Ashok Abuj, Sukeshini Naikwade, Dyaneshwar Mauli Munde, Amol Waghmare, Mahadev Shinde, Fidel Chavan, Comrade Namdevrao Chavan, Keshav Waghmare, Dinkar Choure, Baban Wadmare, Prakash Chavan)

Part 1 may be read here.

Special Thanks to Adv. Pankaj Chavan 

All photos credit – Yogesh Bhausaheb Dhakne

(This is Part 2 of the ground report. The author is an independent journalist and can be reached at sharmishtha.2011@gmail.com)  

Related:

Special Report: ‘They came like monkeys; they came like Nazis.’ Ambedkari Bastis in Parbhani face the traumas of police brutality

Gruesome murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed triggers state-wide protests, political fallout in the ruling government, and rampant calls for justice

Massive all-party march in Parbhani demands justice for Dalit youth’s custodial death

The post Beed, Marathwada: A heady and dangerous mix of mafia-political nexus has tainted the social fabric appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Now, over five weeks ago, on December 9, 2024, a 44 year-old Sarpanch of Massajog village (Taluka Kej, district Beed) was brutally murdered by some goons. Walmik Karad, the prime accused, is also the accused in a Rs. 2 crore extortion case linked to this murder and –after vocal agitation –is currently finally undergoing 14 days judicial custody. There are MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999) charges against Karad who is also considered to be the right hand man of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde. The murdered Sarpanch was Maratha by caste and the other accused– as well as Walmik Karad- (including minister, Dhananjay Munde) belong to Vanjari caste (classified as an Other Backward Casre-OBC). Today, in Beed and Marathwada, the entire chain of events are being seen as a caste war. This incident of December 9, the murder of a loved Sarpanch has caused deep schisms and polarisation in Maharashtra. There are ongoing and consistent protests that refuse to be silenced. On a ground visit of Beed, Parli and Massajog, this journalist tried to understand the unfolding tensions in the air as also gauge the damages to the social fabric. 

As one enters Beed, Shivaji Chowk is one of the centres of the city. Right as we enter, at the corners of the imposing Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue, the smiling photographs of Santosh Deshmukh can be seen hanging, signifying a vocal, not to be silenced cry for justice. Only days before, a march, ‘Samvidhan Bachao Morcha’ (‘Save the Constitution Rally’) had taken place. Such morchas, agitations and hunger strikes are not new to the struggling peoples and land of Marathwada.

Marathwada is a land of hardships. For the last 20 years, the agrarian crisis has gotten worse year after year. There are no big business projects, no major MIDCs (industrial development units), no mills which could fulfil the employment needs of the widely growing population. So, a major chunk of the young population tries hard for competitive and police services exams. There are, therefore, many, study centres at the district and Beed is no exception.

I went to one such study centre. One can easily sense the brewing anxiety amongst that group of 30-40 young girls and boys after a detailed discussion. All of them hail from small villages in the Beed district. A majority of these students belong to farmer families. We all had a heated discussion over reservation, law and order, the challenging events and the social-political future of Maharashtra. (Names have been changed to ensure anonymity)

According to Naresh, the occurrence of Maratha Morchas and the agitation for Maratha reservation was not this divisive or toxic before. Various social segments and castes, including Muslims supported the Marathas in their demand of reservation. As months progressed however, stances and speeches changed and became more radical. Maratha leaders like Manoj Jarange-Patil began targeting various OBC castes like the Mali, the Vanjaari. This is a purposeless turn of events as it achieves nothing constructive towards achieving the goal of Maratha reservation. Sheetal said, “We were brought up in an environment where we have friends from all castes. Our parents wanted me to be a broad minded and a rational Indian, always. But now, times are changing and that too, rapidly. Due to such prevalent tensions, many students have fled back to their native villages. Group-ism among the young has increased considerably. Not all, but some of my friends have started keeping a distance from me. This is reflective on the display status’ they flaunt on WhatsApp or Instagram. They keep posting and sharing particular things on Facebook. To say this out clearly, they have started to participate virtually in the war being fought between the Maratha and the Vanjari castes. They keep admiring their leaders along with trolling voices or leaders from the ‘opposite’ caste. Sometimes they use abusive language for the people who differ with their opinion. YouTube channels keep morphing the content as per their own limited agenda. Put together, these things are creating a deep impact on people, the masses. ”

Pratik belongs to the Maratha caste. He clearly expresses himself by saying, “My brothers and I are from the Maratha community and live deeply affected by poverty caused by the agrarian crisis. In my village, a large number of youth are frustrated. No good education, no employment. We are struggling to find a bridegroom as well. We need our share, we need reservation. We don’t find any answer to our unending problems except in the demand for reservation. If the central government is not able to give us any reservation, then it should also cancel the reservations of all the other castes. Why doesn’t the government give the facilities on an economic basis rather than on a caste basis?” Some of his friends nod their heads in agreement.

Anmol and some of his friends have a different view. They say, “We believe that one should keep a distance from politicians and their blind followers if one wants to be a successful person in life, acquiring a post or rank in government services. When it comes to gundaraaj and terror of some political baahubalis (mobsters), we believe that it is our fear makes them more influential. So, we should not keep being afraid of them. This is the same with politicians, they need us, and we don’t need them. We should use our voting power consciously. And if you ask us about reservation, government sectors are rapidly getting privatised. What then is the use of this reservation?”

After bidding farewell to these future government officers, I met Balu with his friends at a small Chai Thela. All of them are drivers in the intercity transport line. Balu and his friends try to tap my caste at first by saying, “Parli has become a different caste now. There is a blunt and subtle discrimination against us when we go to Pune, Mumbai or even Aurangabad. There are very few opportunities here in Marathwada, especially Beed. So people are forced to migrate from Beed to bigger cities. I am afraid this will lead to some sort of anarchy.”

Balu’s friend Rehman is a Muslim. Starting in a low but firm tone, Rehman pours out his heart, “We, as Muslims, have been the victims of religious discrimination. We can very much relate toh this grief –and hatred–caused by caste and region faced by my friends. I feel like now, similar to Muslims, many others people are sailing in the same boat, facing prejudices while accessing jobs or a home on rent. Meanwhile another friend of theirs, Shubham Gite, showed us a recent video which went viral on Instagram some weeks ago. This video shows a Vanjari sugarcane worker alleged being beaten by some men because of reportedly belonging to that caste. This video continues to be circulated widely on social media.

Black Scorpios and Fortuners (models of cars) keep passing alongside as one walks around on the streets of Beed city and district. Most of these vehicles possess VIP number-plates. Meanwhile Beed is a district known for its sugarcane workers who keep migrating to West Maharashtra in every season. Another dark identities of Beed are its drought driven agrarian crisis & considerable numbers of Atrocities on SC & ST community.

Dinkar Choure is one of the shopkeepers in Beed city. He was affiliated with AISF (All India Students Federation) in his student days. He had worked closely with sugarcane workers for a long time. Choure has a prominent question for politicians of Maharashtra. He asks, “Why do the politicians keep trying all the experiments here in our Marathwada alone? There was a time when Peshwai Yuva Manch Adhiveshan (seminars) were impacting the minds of thousands. Later there was a wave of Maratha Morchas which have changed their form now. I am sure that Marathwada has become an experiment lab for politicians. There are so many people here, living without aim or direction, due to lack of opportunities and employment. There hasn’t been any major government recruitment or any MHADA or MIDC project (industrial parks) initiated for the past several years here in Beed district. Our sugarcane workers have kept migrating to West Maharashtra for so many years. Beed got its electricity in 1985 and West Maharashtra got it in 1960. Isn’t this symbolic enough?

So, the frustration and anger keeps boiling in their young, raw mind. It is these emotions that allow young persons to become, at a call, part of a mob. Who understands this mob psychology better than politicians? One can decipher the traces of this motivated politics visibly on the ground, but few people realise that the politics brewing beneath this outer layer is even more dangerous.

We, as Marathwadis, have been losing and sacrificing so many things since the Nizam rule. The world knows that we got our freedom one year later on September 17, 1948. Today, decades later, we have nothing to lose but our land. Hence, the land acquisition for the Green Energy windmills project has now become a cash cow for businesses here in Beed district. Land which hardly commandeered Rs 10 lakhs was recently sold for 40 lakhs. This business is going to destroy the land capital of Marathas over the years but no one is serious about all this. Everyone just wants to be the ultimate leader of the Marathas. This is the only, narrow fight going on.

Though not dire, some people have already become selective while choosing a hotel or a shop in some small towns and villages. Several victims of the Maratha-OBC fight are among students and government officials. The environment in the school-collages and various government offices is getting more polluted with casteism day by day.”

One of the citizens in a tea stall anonymously told me that the colleges in the city have also allegedly got divided in the Maratha-OBC cold war. Balbheem College is mainly of the Maratha caste and the KSK College is being chosen by most of the OBC students over the past few years.

Baban Wadmare is an Ambedkarite activist. He has experienced the socio-political melting pot of Beed very closely. Wadmare was working in the State Transport Department and has recently opted for voluntary retirement. While talking about the political character of Beed, he says, “Beed has been a broad-minded district for decades. Babasaheb Paranjape, Kesharkaku Kshirsagar, Gangadhar Appa Burande, Rajanitai Patil and Babanrao Dhakne were the MLAs who got elected, in the past, from Beed. All of them belonged to different castes. The case of Babanrao Dhakne is even more interesting. He was a Vanjari and hailed from a different geographical region that is Ahmednagar district. But this now feels like a dream. Most people are behaving suspiciously with each other. No doubt there are exceptions, but in some cases I have seen people even cutting off friendships while arguing about Maratha reservation and the current Massajog issue. The tea-stalls, Paan-Beedi shops, barber saloons are the social addas (hang-out places) in India. In Beed these addas (places) are a centre for heated arguments. In this not so normal environment, Dalit & Muslims and micro-minorities are apprehensive, afraid. Muslims were earlier supporting Marathas, they even distributed water to the Maratha Morchas (agitations), but now they have backed out as Maratha Morchas have become toxic and the leaders are spreading hatred against specific castes.

While going from Beed to Massajog, I stopped at a tea stall. There was a prominent board with the name of the stall and photos of Bhagwan Baba (A respected saint & activist from the Vanjari caste) and Gopinath Munde (former Union Minister of India). With his worldly wisdom, within no time, Garje, the stall owner, sensed that I am not a native person, and I might be a journalist. After offering the tea, he spontaneously started a conversation. Garje was telling me that allegedly Maratha quota leader Manoj Jarange once stopped at his tea stall but as soon as he sensed that the stall was being run by a person of the Vanjari community, he suddenly asked his teammates to get up and then they together left from there. Garje continued to express himself, “You know, I am originally from Pathardi (Nagar dist) There I have voted for Monika Tai Rajale, who is a Maratha. Pratap Kaka Dhakne, who is a Vanjari, was defeated, stood against her. This is Maharashtra, beyond caste consciousness. We are common people, we need a work-oriented MLA, that’s it. As a common man, my life is already full of hardships, I am no more interested in these tug of wards between politicians. People like Jarange keep spreading hatred within Marathas against us OBCs. But being a Maratha Leader, I will say, Jarange has united OBCs more than Marathas. He has shown us the importance of being together in these toxic times. We should actually thank Jarange for this.

Massajog is a village with 3-4 thousand population with Maratha being a prominent caste along with some OBCs and SC families. Massajog, famous for its matki-poha dish, is situated on NH 348 highway. The economy of the village survives on the income of small shops and hotels along with farming. Now the village is in the national headlines because of the brutal murder of 44 year old sarpanch, Santosh Deshmukh, on December 9.

The village is experiencing a drama much like the ‘Peepli Live’ movie due to the overwhelming presence of media, visible for the whole month of December. When I went to Deshmukh’s home in the evening, all the women, including his wife Ashwini and mother Shardabai were sitting near his photo. One can sense that some pooja rituals had been concluded just a while ago. Shardabai says, “I want justice as soon as possible, nothing else. Hang the culprits till death. My son was the blue eyed boy for the whole village. He was admired by numerous government officials for the developmental work he was doing in Massajog.

Sudarshan Deshmukh is one of the relatives of the Sarpanch. Sudarshan says, “The criminal offenses registered in our village since the last 10 years are less than 2%. Massajog is known for its admirable work in sanitation & water supply. Our village was active during the Maratha Morchas from the start. As a village we have always been united.

Dhananjay Deshmukh, Sarpanch Santosh’s brother, was sitting in a temporary canopy where a photo of Santosh has been kept, decorated with flowers. Dhananjay, with some of the villagers, was getting ready to start for Aantarwali Sarati. Before that, I was able to have a short talk with him. Deshmukh proudly talks about the legacy of his brother Santosh. He says, “My brother has been elected as vice-president (upsarpanch) of the Massajog Gram Panchayat. Then for the second term, his wife Ashwini was the (president) Sarpanch. Then, for this third term, he became the President (Sarpanch), two years ago.

Our family is originally from Barshi (Dist. Dharashiv). A few generations ago, our family migrated from Barshi to Massajog due to drought conditions. My brother and his wife were literally the icons for the villagers. Police should have taken the atrocity complaint of the scheduled caste (SC) watchman who was beaten by the same goons who then killed my brother Santosh. This would have prevented the further tragedy. Now the whole village has united to demand justice for their beloved Sarpanch. We are wishing that this all hooliganism should forever stop soon. I can feel the tensions in the air, that just one mistake of mine can lead to some anarchy. That is why I am more than alert while reacting to any developments. The whole village is with us but we are not in any mood to show muscle power. As a family, we want a democratic justice.

The mother of Santosh Deshmukh, Shardabai, was in deep grief. After a while, she managed to talk to me while some women wiped her tears. “Maza sonyasarkha lekru gela. Navra aani lek nasal tar baichya jagnyala kay arth asto sanga…. He jyanni kelay tyanna fashi dya tarch santosh cha aatma shant hoil. (My beloved son is now no more. Without a husband and a son, the life of any woman is in vain. The goons responsible for my son’s murder should be hanged till death. Then only his soul will rest in peace.)”

One of the villagers told me, “We have lost our dear first man of the village. As that dreadful news came, not a single person cooked anything in their kitchen. Whole village was mourning in grief. Hotel owners kept the hotels closed for eight consecutive days. Isn’t this exceptional?”

While going from Massajog to Parli, I stopped at a tea stall at Kej. Suleman Bhai (name changed to ensure anonymity) runs the stall. This is where Santosh Deshmukh used to sit with his friends and colleagues. While sharing memories of Deshmukh, Suleman Bhai says, “He was a soft spoken and humble person. He has always worked hard for the betterment of his village. I strongly feel that the home minister should be held accountable for all this. Maharashtra is a state with law and order. No caste should overpower other castes in a democracy. Some people are really afraid these days, I have observed this while running my tea stall here. This is not an ideal situation in our democratic country. The people behind all this tragedy do not belong to any caste or religion. They are just sworn to power. However no person in power remains always in in power. This is the only truth. Minorities are being forced to live in a vulnerable condition today. Politics is just a game played by a few goons.”

On social media, virtually, one can witness the clashes between the young generation over the changing image of Beed and Parli. In one social media posts, a young boy outside Parli posted a mile-stone signboard of Parli Town and asked, ‘Shall I proceed or go back?’ In the same post, while commenting, several social-media users from Beed and Parli have expressed their deep anguish. Some of them logically expressed themselves by saying that a handful of people can’t decide the character of any city. Many of the users even abused that person for bad-naming their city. One can find such posts revolving around Beed and Parli with heated arguments in the comment box these days.

Parli Vaijnath is the second largest city in the Beed district when it comes to population. It is the birth place of Gopinath Munde. The city is famous for religious reasons. As one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva, Vaijanath is situated in Parli, the pilgrims from across India keep visiting the ancient temple. Nowadays, it is in headlines for different reasons.

Sunil (name changed to ensure anonymity) is a politician from Parli. He enjoys a large circle of friends which is a mix of diverse classes and castes. I went for a small tea party with Sunil and his friends. With a sarcastic tone, they started like, “We believe that the main profession in Parli is of people keeping alive heated discussions about politics with a cup of tea. If you ask us about Parli, this is a land which believes in the personality cult phenomenon. And this has its inevitable consequences.

One of Sunil’s friends says, Beed and Parli themselves have become a different caste now. When it comes to this geographical area, we are being treated as kind of ‘untouchables’. People outside Beed have already started treating us differently. Memes, sarcastic comments and jokes are enjoyable to a certain extent. There comes a time, however, when this hurts.

(To be continued)

(This is part one of the ground report. The author is an independent journalist and can be reached at sharmishtha.2011@gmail.com)

Images: Yogesh Bhausaheb Dhakne

Related:

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Gruesome murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed triggers state-wide protests, political fallout in the ruling government, and rampant calls for justice

Massive all-party march in Parbhani demands justice for Dalit youth’s custodial death

The post “Beed has become the new caste now!” an in-depth exploration of simmering caste tensions in Marathwada appeared first on SabrangIndia.

It was on December 10 when the incident of one Datta Sopan Pawar allegedly vandalising the preamble of the Constitution kept in front of the statue of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar occurred. This resulted in palpable tensions in the city. But this was the initial phase. Thereafter, Datta Sopan Pawar was allegedly manhandled and beaten by some ‘Ambedkarites’ who witnessed the incident. A doctor, on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that Datta Sopan Pawar was on drugs related to mental illness. It was then that the police ‘made interventions’ and claimed ‘they took ‘necessary action against him.’ The next day, December 11, however, local Ambedkarite organisations called for a ‘bandh’ in the city. During this, a mob of youth & teenagers, along with women, allegedly came out to the prominent areas of the city, like the District Magistrate (DM)’s office, Vyapari Sankul (Commercial Complex), & Visava corner. The mob of approximately 100 people allegedly went on the rampage and ransacked the DM’s office, tore documents there, and damaged the furniture amidst sloganeering. Then members of the mob also allegedly destroyed the small vendors’ stalls, looted money from the galas (cash counters) of pan (betel leaf) shops, and pelted stones on the glass walls of the malls & shops. This carried on for reportedly an hour. Witnesses say there were no police seen on the roads for that entire one hour. After an hour police appeared and started controlling the mob by imposing Section 144. Police called in the SRPF as well and started combing operations in some of the Ambedkarite bastis of Parbhani, according to the version of local citizens. Datta Sopan Pawar is now in jail at an unknown location according to information given by Additional SP of Parbhani Yashwant Kale.

Meanwhile, police also arrested around 40 people for ‘disturbing the law and order in the city’. Some people said they were surprised that in the FIR, the first name noted was that of Ambedkari leader, Vijay Vakode, who thereafter died on December 17 due to a sudden heart attack. Vakode was, in fact, one of the members of the peace committee formed by the police. Now, police have released all the people from the custody, against whom cases were filed, according to Ganpat Bhise and Dr. Sunil Jadhav, Ambedkari activists (follower of Ambedkar ideology). But days after the arrests, on December 15 news of Somanth Suryawanshi’s death became public. On December 14, all ‘accused’ had been transferred from police to MCR custody. Somnath Suryawanshi was a 35-year-old law student studying at Shivaji Law College, Parbhani. His custodial death has created a storm in social and political circles. Initially, police claimed that Suryawanshi had a heart attack and died. But later –on the vigilant insistence of local advocates and activists –his body was taken to Aurangabad Ghati Hospital, and postmortem (PM) was done in camera. The PM report stated that the cause of the death was ‘shock following multiple injuries.’ According to Somnath’s classmates and activists in the agitation, Somnath was capturing the videos of the police brutality, and that’s the only reason police seized him & then beat him to death. Meanwhile, CM Devendra Fadanvis, while replying to a debate on this issue in the State Legislature on Friday, December 20, declared a financial aid of Rs. 10 lakh to the family of Somanth Suryawanshi. Fadanvis also stated that the injuries found on the body of Somnath were old and police are not to be blamed for those. Fadnavis’ reactions in the State Assembly have not helped alleviate tensions, in fact raised questions on the state’s willingness or ability to conduct an impartial inquiry into the deaths and injuries caused by the combing operations.

Sabrangindia has detailed the chronology of arrests and legal interventions in its report that may also be read here.

Priyadarshini Nagar is a basti with an approximate population of 800 alongside Parbhani’s Vasmat road. The residents are closely associated with each other. Ashok Ubale and Ganpat Bhise, the social activists from the Ambedkarite movements, took me inside the narrow lanes of Basti. Ramesh, a 55-year-old daily wage worker (name has been changed for security reasons), narrated the trauma of December 11. He also shared a story of unexpected police actions that impacted on the life of the couple.

In a week, shaking voice, he says, “They were all wearing headgear, iron-shielded uniforms, and whatnot. We were all weaponless as well as helpless. Kunitari zopet dhonda ghatlyasarkha hota baga te sagla maay…(It was all like someone kills you with a huge stone when you are in a deep sleep). Now I am not able to decide how to sleep, as there is pain emanating from all over my body. Police beat me up, and they just left. Nothing is on the record. I have no evidence of all this brutality except my wounds!”

His wife, Sumantai (name has been changed for security reasons), says that she was working in the kitchen when police came with no intimation and just started beating her husband and asking him repeatedly if he was present in the protests yesterday. “My husband tried to convince them that he was very weak and went to work that very day, but they didn’t believe him. I went all out and tried to save my husband. In this process, they beat me as well.” Sumantai shows me her swollen right hand. “Now I am struggling with daily household chores as my right hand is damaged. My husband has not been able to rejoin his work for the last 10 days. We both are daily wage workers. Now I need to give him a bath as he can’t bathe on his own. All of my daughters are married and live in different cities. Our son studies in Standard X, and now he is compelled to work in a garage.” One can see a deep half-ripened wound on the shoulder bones of Ramesh.

I went to the Taluka court in the evening. I was looking for Somnath Suryawanshi’s mother. Taluka Court officials took the statement of Vijayabai Suryawanshi for 3 hours as she had filed a complaint against the cops saying that they should be held responsible for the custodial death of her 35-year-old son, Somnath Suryawanshi, who belonged to the Vadaar (Nomadic Tribe) community. We both had a word in the backyard of the court at 5:30 pm on the eve of December 18. Lalu Jadhav, an activist from Vadar Samaj Sanghatana, and some activists from Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi were accompanying her. Her advocate, Pawan Jondhale, was also there.

“Maza lekru nyayacha shikshan ghet hota, tebi dagad fodun, tyachyawar kiti motha anyay kela baga police lokanni.” My son was studying law along with breaking the gravel. But the police have taken utterly unlawful actions against him. Vijayabai keeps speaking amidst tears. Two of her other sons, Premnath and Avinash, keep consoling her. Avinash has completed an M.Sc. (Physics) as well as a B.Ed. degree and Premnath has done his B.Sc. along with his B.Ed. “My son was a bright, shining diamond in a stone mine. He was always focused when it came to education. He had acquired multiple degrees like Babasaheb Ambedkar. Recently he had qualified for the PET exam for pursuing a Ph.D. from Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. He was working as a LIC agent as well. My son Somnath and I were both struggling continuously to solve the monetary issues in the family. Somanth had always helped his siblings with education. After his father died in 2018, he was the backbone of my family.” Premnath adds to this account, “Somnath was working as a journalist for some media platform. He kept showing his Law & Journalist I-cards to the police that day, but this was of no use. He was in contact with us till December 11. Then afterwards, there was no connection. We were not informed after five days that Somnath had been abducted by the police. Then the cops called us directly when he got a so-called heart attack. He was in police custody for two days, and then he was moved to judicial custody. He was brutally beaten in the PCR. Then he was taken to the MCR. PM reports are clear enough to disclose the cause of his death. Is this all a legal process? Somanth’s seized mobile has not been returned to us yet. We are going to file an appeal soon for that. We have also filed an FIR against the police. In response they have given us a signature-stamped paper as a response to our FIR but no copy of the FIR.

Somnath’s last rites were performed on the eve of December 16. A large crowd was present for the same. I had a word with some of Somnath’s classmates. According to them, he was very sincere and aware. He had always struggled to balance between his bread and butter commitments and  academics. His friends also added that he was not present at the time of any violence but protested peacefully with a pen and diary in his hands on December 11.

Vatsalabai Manvate is an untrained medical helper in a private hospital, mostly on a night shift. But this is not her only identity. She is an Insta Reelstar. While struggling with daily life, she manages to make some reels about Babasaheb Ambedkar, her basti life, dhamma festivals, and all.

Swati (name changed for security reasons), her daughter-in-law, was at home in a hurry to make a tiffin for hospitalised Vatsalabai. She expresses herself fearlessly, “My mother-in-law, Vatsalabai, is a tech-savvy woman. She is also an honest follower of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s teachings. Due to this background of hers, that day, she started shooting the live videos of police and SRPF beating the innocent basti people without any strong evidence or paperwork. That was the only thing that went against her, and the police not only beat her but also molested her sexually. Two of the male police pressed her thighs, some of them pulled her hair, and the remaining police and SRPF mob beat her, which has resulted in serious injuries all over the body, including the areas of her private parts. The CCTV footage of the same incident is now viral all over the internet. Now I feel like the cops are like some goons wearing a police uniform. ‘Mungicha jeev baarik asto tila sagle ragditaat… tasa zalay aamcha.’ (The lives of ants are so tiny and insignificant that anyone can kill them, and the same is our case.)”

https://www.instagram.com/vachlabai/?igsh=MThqOGt2OTh4OHRwYw%

In the ICU ward of the Parbhani District Civil Hospital, bed no. 6 is a sensation for other patients and hospital staff as influential political figures, social activists & police officials keep making rounds of that bed to meet the patient. It is where the 50 year old Vatsalabai Manvate rests, recovering. A fair-skinned, grey-eyed, beautiful lady. One can sense the hardships of her life by looking at the fit and strong physique she holds. But when I went to meet her, I found her hands shivering with pain and trauma from the violence thrashing upon her.

Vatsalabai was lying on the bed wearing a nylon saree with her whole body covered with blankets. She said it was hard for her to get up. “What was my crime, that they beat me in such an insulting way? I need justice; I am not going to keep mum. I was not able to sleep at night the past few days. I had already undergone angiography some years ago. Besides that, I am a BP patient. I was continuously telling these facts to the police and SRPF, but they didn’t stop the assault. Targeting my knees, hands, legs, and private parts, they kept molesting me verbally & physically. During this assault, I requested that I needed to pee. One of them said, “Kholtes ki naahi mobile cha lock? Nasta tula aata ithach mutavto ki naahi baghch tu!” (If you are not going to unlock your mobile for us, I will forcefully make you pee here right now.”) There were women cops, but the male police beat me more than the women. Police forced me to unlock my mobile, seized it, and haven’t given it back till today.

One of the youth in Ahilyanagar spoke to me anonymously: “There were rumors all over in the air within our Basti that ‘they’ are going to come back again in the night. Our kids still wake up crying in the dark hours. Children, old-age people, breastfeeding women—no one was spared. Verbal abuse by the police was vile. They have also beaten 12-14-year-old teenagers. Many of the youth are wearing plasters on their hands or feet. Anyone can see the doors, windows, and vehicles were broken with boot kicks and lathis. Police had also used tear gas. Are we some kind of terrorists for the state?”

His friends participated in the discussion. He says, “Here in our city, there is a popular proverb, ‘Jagaat Germany, Bhartaat Parbhani.’ (When one looks at the world, there is Germany, so as in India, there is Parbhani.) Ironically, Germany holds the history of Nazi brutality. So this is the same replication happening in the Ambedkari Bastis of Parbhani now. So many of our women and youth have captured the live footage of police and SRPF violence. We have the evidence with us. Just this question remains: What action will be taken by the current home minister & state police authorities against all this? To date, no one from the ruling party has come here to witness the sufferings & property losses we have undergone. We are feeling excluded & targeted in a democratic state.” ^[1]

Both of them led me to the residence of Pranita (name changed for security reasons). Pranita is a breastfeeding mother. Her first daughter is three years old, and the second one is a newborn of two months. Recalling the incident, she breaks down in tears again and again and says, “I still get haunted with the echoes of that violence. I was told by some of the neighbours that the police were on the way. My elder daughter was asleep. So I hid in our bathroom with my small baby. Police & SRPF came in a moment and broke the main wooden door of our home. Then they started kicking on the bathroom cement door with tremendous force. This door as well broke down and was going to fall upon me. I got away with a blink of an eye. Then the women police forcefully took me to the front yard and asked me to come and sit in the police van. I kept telling them that I was nowhere in the peaceful agitations happening in the city as I am a breastfeeding mother, but they didn’t pay any attention. They started to beat me with a ‘sundari’ (police stick). Meanwhile, one of our neighbours brought my kids in front of them. Some of the women cops were kind of puzzled to see my kids. They paused for a moment and asked me to go home. I think they were able to smell the future consequences of the incident if they would have picked me up. I still hear the echoes of ‘khol darwajaa… khol darwajaa…’ (open the door… open the door). I still start shivering as I hear the word ‘Police.’ I am feeling feverish.

People say that this is the very first time that their basti has faced such a combing operation. According to some of the residents, police allegedly showed the video of their brutality to residents of other bastis threatening the same consequences! Come sit in the police van; otherwise we will beat you in the same way. One can see the vehicles, like autos and scooters, which have been allegedly damaged by police as there was a sign of Babasaheb Ambedkar painted on them. The residents complain that their desire to cook and eat has decreased tremendously.

This basti is still experiencing the echoes of the alleged brutality. People are terrified to leave their homes. The collective emotion is, “Marnaa ho ka tarnaa ho aata amhala nyay pahije.” (Now we will either get drowned or get to the riverbank, but we want justice at any cost.)

Sambhaji Brigade is a politically and socially active organization of the Maratha community in Maharashtra. Maratha Seva Sangh is their think tank. Balaji Mohite, Gajanan Jogdand, and Swapnil Garud (Sambhaji Brigade) express their deep anguish over all recent developments. They say, “But in a way this was bound to happen. We remember that in the pre-corona times, when Gulabrao Patil was our guardian minister. Some of us went to him on an organisational level and handed him an appeal that said that the security of the Babasaheb Ambedkar Statue is very nominal and weak. We had demanded that the contract be awarded to some better contractor, but this was given to a local one. The statue is on the highway. There are only steel rods that cover the statue. Along with this, the placement of the stand of the Preamble has been so wrong that the glass case covering the preamble can be accessed by anyone randomly. Can the Preamble be kept so handy on the road? There was no action taken on our appeal, and now these violent consequences are there, which could have been avoided. We doubt that the violent mob that broke into the District Magistrate office and shops was local.”

They continue, “We also doubt the very intentions of police and district administration. Firstly, there was a huge mob of around 5,000 people gathering on December 10 near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Babasaheb statue. This was an aggressive morcha by the Sakal Hindu Samaj for raising the issue of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. To tell the truth, any common citizen would have sensed that not enough precautionary measures were taken to tackle this huge mob if their speeches had led to any tensions. Thereafter, within this overall tense scenario, it is tragic that Datta Sopan Pawar damaged the Preamble and the mob manhandled him brutally. But now the whole city is asking a common question: what prevented the police and administration from enforcing section 144 in the city immediately on that very day? To date, the DM and police have not been able to answer this question. There is one more point: a peace committee meeting with local citizens and the police was called on the same day after the combing operations were done. As committee members, we said that still matters could have been controlled, ‘This should have been reversed.’”

Comrade Rajan Kshirsagar from Parbhani CPI has his own say on the unfolding tensions in the city. Rajan said, “One can draw a pattern when it comes to police brutality in Parbhani. The opposition has already been weakened in the state legislature. So, they don’t have enough power to keep any restraint on the ruling party when it comes to misusing the police force. We are all familiar with the cruel violence thrashing upon Palestine by the forces of Israel. The current chief minister has employed or used the modus operandi of the Israelis in Parbhani Ambedkarite bastis. They are using Parbhani as a lab. One can sense the connection by going deep enough.”

What did the police say…?

IG Shahaji Umap has been in charge, handling all aspects of the unfolding incidents since December 10. Speaking to the writer about this, Umap said, “From the very first day, we have handled the situation to our best ability, in a fair manner. I know many allegations are being raised, like the timing of imposing 144 and using the police and SRPF force to maintain law & order… But we have done this all for a greater good, which was the crucial need of that particular situation. Now the whole case is under judicial inquiry. In this situation, I, as a police authority, should not be commenting on anything. We all should wait & watch now.

I also asked him about seizing the mobile of Somanth Suryawanshi, who belongs to the Vadar (NT-Nomadic Tribe) community & Vatsalabai Manvate (Nav Bouddha) forcefully; it contains their personal data, so does he not see this as a breach of their privacy… IG Umap cross-questioned me, “But Somnath Suryawanshi is dead now, isn’t he? We are doing this all under a legal process.”

Two academicians from Parbhani put forth his interesting observation. They said, “Pushpa – 2 is a massive hit nowadays. This is the era where we are glorifying the antagonists as so-called protagonist heroes. Maharashtra was way better till the ‘Guwahati Campaign’ happened to us. Maharashtra is seen as a state that respects the rule of law when we compare it to other states, and it should remain like that. In the last ten years, the environment has gotten so polluted that we can sense the caste-religion location of our students from their aesthetics and clothes. On the desks of schools & colleges, we keep observing the chants like Jai Shree Ram have been engraved. If there is a lack of education and social sensitivity, then radicalism is bound to get provoked.”

After covering the unfolding events, I was on my train journey from Parbhani to Nanded. A 50-plus year-old lady was sitting in front of me. Along with her, everyone was talking about last week’s tensions in the city. This was no doubt a hot topic for all, everywhere. The lady, from a so-called privileged caste, started to express herself in a considerably raised voice. Her arguments were both anti-reservation and anti-Dalit. She said, “These people, you know, are always the ones who like to show their destructive powers. They cause the damages and then demand money from the government like some kind of aid, “These people also have reservation. They are always the ones who like to show their destructive powers, it is extortion. They want reservation. They just take the whole administrative and social system for granted. They pressurise others by using the tool of ‘atrocities’. I do not want to discriminate but this is the brutal truth.” Some of the fellow travelers nodded  their heads in agreement. Others just kept mum. The nervousness of some of the travelers in the next bogie could be seen through their body language.

The city of Parbhani still possesses the cankers of the violence all over its body. Some political party offices, small vendor ‘thelas’ (small shops at corners), and glass-windowed showrooms still show signs of the damage. People are back to their daily routine, but they have so many unanswered questions in their mind. They keep pouring their hearts out as soon as you try to check them out for some details. Most of the small thelas and shops have been examined by the administration and have been provided with compensation for the damages. Yet there is an invisible anxiety flowing in the city markets.

Shahir Vilas Ghogre had written & composed a poem at the time of the Namantar (Changing of Name) Movement of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University.

It was titled “Jaltoy Marathwada, bagh jaltoy Marathwada…” (Marathwada is burning; see Marathwada is burning.) Just after a few days of December 6, which is the death anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, how some political people and forces will benefit from the renewed burning of Parbhani in Marathwada, is now the talk of the town.

(The author is an independent journalist and can be reached at sharmishtha.2011@gmail.com)

Photo Credits: All photographs except 2 and 5 by Sharmishtha Bhosale 

[1] Ajit Pawar deputy chief minister met victim of custodial death, Somnath Suryanwanshi’s mother, Vijayabai Suryawanshi and two brothers, Avinash and Premnath on December 22 and promised some aid.

Related:

State-sanctioned brutality? Dalit communities targeted in Parbhani “combing operations”, women, children abused

Protests rage in Parbhani after Dalit activist dies in custody, allegations of police torture

The post Special Report: ‘They came like monkeys; they came like Nazis.’ Ambedkari Bastis in Parbhani face the traumas of police brutality appeared first on SabrangIndia.