“I live in a madaiya (basic hut). What can I lure people with? If I had Rs 30,000 to spare, wouldn’t I use it to change my own life first, before distributing it to others?” asked Shankar wryly.

Shankar lives in a tiny one-room shack in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. To make more living space, he has erected a tin-roof shed in the adjoining area. The shed does not have proper walls; plastic sheets and bedsheets form a makeshift enclosure. The floor of a part of the shed also serves as a kitchen.

In 2021, 60-year-old Shankar was booked under The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 on the charge of converting poor Hindus in a locality in Azamgarh to Christianity by offering them money and promising to free them from the grip of ‘evil spirits’.

In addition to that, he faced the allegation of hurting religious sentiments by insulting Hindu goddesses and deities. The action against him was taken on the complaint of a right-wing activist linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

After a three-year-long legal battle, a court in Azamgarh in September 2024 acquitted him of the charge of unlawful conversion. The court found the charge to be dubious and said that the investigation by the police was riddled with illegalities and contradictions.

The judge, however, held Shankar guilty of hurting religious sentiments. Shankar was out on bail after having spent six months in prison when the 19-page verdict was delivered.

Considering his age and rural social background, the court decided against sending him back to prison and ordered his release on probation for a year.

Shankar’s conviction under Indian Penal Code Sections 298 (deliberately hurting someone’s religious feelings) and 504 (intentional insults that provoke others to break public peace) tainted his legal record in the autumn of his life but in the larger scheme of things, he stood vindicated. The main accusation of unlawful conversion was proven to be false.

“Truth prevailed. Talking about someone (Jesus Christ) does not amount to conversion. And the allegation of talking ill of Hindu deities was also baseless. All lies,” said Shankar.

Changing allegations

The criminal case against him was lodged on August 31, 2021, nine months after the Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh armed itself with a stringent new law that made religious conversion a non-bailable offence inviting up to 10 years in prison if found to be effected for marriage or through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or other allegedly fraudulent means. The vagueness of the offence under the law blurred the lines between what could be deemed as lawful conversion and what was considered illegal. These features opened doors for vigilante groups as well as the police to harass people.

Last year, the government amended the law to make it even more oppressive by increasing the maximum punishment from 10 years to life imprisonment, further empowering vigilante groups by allowing “any person” to file a complaint, and making the process of securing bail even more difficult.

Ever since the law came into force late in 2020, it has become routine for right-wing activists linked to the ruling saffron ideology to lodge FIRs against Muslims as well as “lower”-caste Hindus perceived to be practicing Christian traditions or deviating from traditional Hinduism. Most of these cases are based on general allegations and flimsy evidence, as part of a concerted strategy to harass individuals and groups from the minority and marginalised communities.

Shankar’s was a typical case.

The FIR against him was lodged on the complaint of one Jittu Sonkar, a fruit seller and right-wing activist from Azamgarh associated with several arms of the Sangh parivar. Sonkar, a Dalit like Shankar, alleged that an unidentified person had been visiting his locality Sarai Mandraj for three months and was promising people that he would “remove the obstacles of ghosts and spirits” from their lives. The man, whom Sonkar later identified as Shankar, was allegedly also active in a Dalit basti in the neighbouring locality of Kartalpur where he was “converting” people to Christianity by enrapturing them with his “illusions” and through other allurements.

Sonkar alleged that on August 31, 2021 – a Tuesday – at around 10 am, he found Shankar distributing Bibles and other Christian religious books to people in his locality. Shankar was also using “obscene” language to insult Hindu deities and goddesses, alleged Sonkar. When the locals objected to his language, Sonkar further alleged in his complaint, Shankar offered each of them an “allurement” of Rs 500 and mentioned that if they accepted Christianity, “Prabhu Ishu” (Jesus) would rid them of all their “suffering and penury”.

Later, while testifying in a trial court, Sonkar made a new allegation that Shankar had offered him Rs 30,000 to convert to Christianity. He claimed that Shankar used to convert people at the house of a local resident, Nirmala Devi. Sonkar said Shankar and Nirmal Devi called him to the house so that they could exorcise him. When he reached the house, the duo was already engaged in prayers and were converting several women to Christianity, he alleged. They offered him Rs 30,000 to accept Christianity but when he objected and rejected their money, they abused him with casteist slurs related to his Khatik background, Sonkar alleged. Khatik is Dalit sub-caste in Uttar Pradesh.

A life built on faith

Shankar has a different memory of the day. But to accurately grasp the circumstances behind the allegations against him, it is important to take into account his background. Shankar belongs to the Chamar Dalit community Over the last two decades, especially after his marriage, he had started committing himself to Jesus Christ, although he did not formally change his religion. He was exposed to the faith and the message of Jesus after coming in touch with two pastors.

When he was not pushing bricks, sand, stones or cement on trolleys at construction sites, he was engaged in ‘seva’ (selfless acts in the cause of faith) and prayer services for Jesus. Superstition and belief in unscientific methods of cure for ailments and distress are an inextricable element of this system of faith-based healing.

Many believers have over the years started their own prayer centres dedicated to Jesus in the region and even hold large events. But some, like Shankar, who lack the resources, prefer to provide home services and convene smaller sessions.  People, whether aggrieved by ailments, financial distress or ‘evil’ spirits, would invite Shankar to conduct such prayers and healing sessions in the privacy of their homes. A part of his work involved travelling from Varanasi to Azamgarh, a more than two-hour journey he often made on a motorcycle.

On August 31, 2021, Shankar said he had gone to Nirmala Devi’s house in Azamgarh to conduct a prayer for a 15-year-old girl who had been “troubled by evil forces” for the last four years. Word has spread how Shankar had earlier ‘cured’ a woman who was ‘possessed by evil spirits’ and Nirmala Devi looked towards him for relief.  Shankar claimed that many families had stopped going to the events and satsangs of other Hindu spiritual gurus, and instead turned to Kaleeshias or Christian prayer centres, after they came in touch with him. This had annoyed the Hindutva elements in the region, he said.  “We only go there to pray. Parmeshwar (supreme being) does the rest,” said Shankar, when I asked him to explain how he rid people of their afflictions.

Shankar carried a small donation box to such events. Since he usually visited poor households, the donations were nominal. On the day of the incident, Shankar was at Nirmala Devi’s residence when two strangers appeared there unannounced and walked in. Meanwhile, their associates waited outside. “One of those men started turning the pages of a Bible and said that he wanted to join the prayers. The second person started shooting a video of us. They left after a couple of minutes but soon returned with a larger group of people from a Hindu organisation and accused me of conversion,” Shankar said.

Shankar usually did his prayer services on Tuesdays. And on days when he was not available, his son Ujjwal, who works in a photo design store, would fill in. “My father was targeted. People like Jittu Sonkar would come to his meetings and carefully observe things. These people would often taunt us and say, ‘If you are a Hindu, why do you believe in Christ? If you want to worship Christ, adopt a Christian name and give up reservation,’” said Ujjwal. He believes that Hindutva elements mostly harass people from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities with such laws. “It’s mostly the lower caste people who are attracted towards Christianity,” said Ujjwal.

An unconvincing story

The Adityanath government-backed prosecution team produced four witnesses against Shankar: Sonkar himself; a locally-renowned dermatologist and office-bearer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Parijat Barnwal; Sonkar’s friend Rajan Chaubey; and the investigating officer of the case, sub-inspector Shivkumar Kushwaha.

The police claimed to have recovered 12 religious texts, including a book of Bhojpuri devotional songs about Christ, copies of the Bible and some other documents, and a single Rs 100 note from Shankar.

During the trial, Shankar pointed out that the only two public witnesses in the case were Sonkar’s friends. One of them, Rajan Chaubey, was the person who actually drafted the FIR which was dictated to him by Sonkar. The trial judge took note of this and ruled the FIR to be “suspicious” as he found several contradictions in its content.

Shankar also produced his government-authorised Hindu Scheduled Caste certificate in court to prove that he had not converted to any other religion and was therefore not authorised to carry out conversions to Christianity.

The government lawyer argued that religious conversion was not just “against religious freedom and rights” but was also a “threat to the nation’s security”. “If conversion is not stopped, that day is not far when the majority community will become a minority,” said district government counsel Priyadarshi Piyush Tripathi, repeating the controversial statement made by Allahabad high court judge Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal in July last year while rejecting bail for a person who faced allegations similar to those against Shankar. The Supreme Court later barred the usage or citation of Justice Agarwal’s controversial words.

Azamgarh sessions judge Sanjeev Shukla found the prosecution’s story and the police investigation to be faulty and full of contradictions.

“The prosecution story is replete with inconsistencies, errors and contradictions. It does not stand the test of credibility and therefore appears doubtful,” he said in his order.

The judge underlined the contradictions in the monetary inducements allegedly offered by Shankar. While in the FIR, Sonkar said Shankar offered people Rs 500 each, in his court testimony he said he had received a personal offer of Rs 30,000. There was no clear or documentary evidence of any monetary allurement, noted Judge Shukla.

Sonkar also contradicted the version of the police investigation officer when it came to the alleged recovery of religious material. While Sonkar told the court that no money or item was recovered from Shankar at the time of his arrest at 11 am on August 31, 2021 the investigating officer sub-inspector Kushwaha in his inventory of arrest and recovery produced in court showed Shankar to be taken under arrest a day later, on September 1, with 12 religious books in his possession. Even though the officer claimed that Shankar was arrested from a public place (Kartalpur trijunction), he failed to produce a single independent witness of the event, only presenting two of his subordinates, constables Sandeep Singh and Pawan Kumar, as witnesses.

Judge Shukla noted that the police did not act as per the rules, making the prosecution story “dubious”. The judge also found the recovery and arrest memo, which had no signatures, to be suspicious as the investigation officer was himself a witness in the case. There were no independent witnesses.

While convicting Shankar for hurting religious sentiments, the court relied on the testimonies of Sonkar and Barnwal, the Azamgarh doctor.

Fear of the police and vigilante groups has impacted Shankar’s spiritual and religious life. It practically put a hold on his prayer meetings and ‘seva’ sessions, and he mostly stays home now.

But the ordeal has failed to diminish his conviction about faith. “It is the Collector’s job to issue conversion certificates to people. Having faith and becoming a Christian are two different things. We are vishwasi (believers), not Isai (Christians),” he said.

*Name changed to protect the victim’s anonymity.

Courtesy: The Wire

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In the industrial town of Thangadh in Gujarat, four Dalit laborers found themselves chained to a motorcycle and forced to dig a well. This horrifying ordeal only came to an end as two of the four managed to break free on the fourth night and informed the police who came over and freed the remaining men.

The authorities have taken swift action, apprehending both Kathat and Vanraj, the owner of a coal mine in the same village and his accomplice. Furthermore, an autorickshaw driver by the name of Rajubhai, who was reported to be involved in the crime, has also been identified and is currently being pursued by the police.

One of the victims, 34-year old Mukesh Rathod told the media about how he met Rajubhai, the auto driver, during his hunt from work. Rajubhai had offered an opportunity to work at a site for Rs 500 per day, along with the provisions of food and lodging. Rathod and three other labourers agreed to go with the driver in what would probably be the most harrowing event of their lives.

After arriving at the site, they met a man, Kathad, who led them to the mining site and informed them that they had to dig a well. Initially, he gave them the illusion of freedom and said that they could leave if the work proved too demanding.However, when they wanted to leave, Kathad demanded Rs 2500 from each labourer as he paid Rajubhai ₹2,500 for hiring each of them. When the workers said they did not have money, Kathat allegedly chained them to a motorbike. The four men have also accused the owner of the mine of beating and showering abuses on them.

On the night of September 30, two of them managed to escape and report the incident to the nearest police station.  The next morning, police raided and freed the remaining victims.

The police have so far booked three accused  in relation to the incident on charges which include voluntary causing harm, wrongful confinement, and sections of the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of the Indian Penal Code. Furthermore, the in-charge inspector of Thangadh, has promised to issue a comprehensive report on this incident to the geology and mining department, as well as the collectors and sub-divisional magistrates of Thangadh.

Kapadwanj, Gujarat

On October 2, 2023,  a 17-year-old Dalit boy named Ajay Vankar and his family were violently beaten up in Narsinhpur village in Kapadwanj. The attack was reportedly in retaliation for Ajay protesting against untouchability meted out to him by a boy nameed Himanshu Thakor from a nearby village, Nirmali.

It all started when Ajay, who is a student at an Industrial Training Institute (ITI), confided in his father, Bhanu Vankar, about how Himanshu subjected him to harassment and caste-based slurs. It is also reported that Himanshu explicitly told Ajay to stay away because he belongs to a scheduled caste background and hurled a lit firecrackers at him.

Following this, Ajay’s father visited Himanshu’s house to speak with his family members about their son’s harassment. However, this intervention only seemed to make the situation worse. On a Monday morning, Himanshu came to their house, accompanied with five other people, which included his own mother and subjected Ajay, Bhanu, and their family members to a torrent of caste-based abuses and beating. Ajay himself was forcibly dragged out of his house by his hair after which Himanshu and his accomplices struck him on the head with a stone.

When other family members rushed to intervene and protect Ajay, they too were met with violence. Ajay’s mother was also struck on the head with a stone when she attempted to rescue her son.

The assailants fled the scene when other villagers began to gather. Even while leaving, they left by threatening the family further, seeming to have no regret or fear over their actions. Fearing for their lives, the family reported the incident to the police. A complaint was filed for a range of offenses, including rioting, unlawful assembly, causing grievous harm, criminal intimidation, and invoking the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act under the IPC.

These incidents serve to be a stark reminder of the insecurity and danger Dalits with which have to live their everyday lives. When a small abuse against a Dalit student could escalate into an assault on his family, it is never certain. When a job opportunity for a Dalit labourer could result in him being enslaved and beaten, one can never know.  In fact, violence against Dalits has just risen. For instance,  the number of reported crimes has risen over the years, and the NCRB has reported a 1.2 % increase in crimes against Dalits from 2020 to 2021, and these are figures only of the crimes that are reported to the police. It is also evident that politicians and policy makers seem to give the issue of violence against Dalits little attention and care.

Related:

Violence and assault targeting Dalits rock Uttar Pradesh

Caste Census Survey Result: 63% OBCs, 19% SCs and 1.68% STs constitute Bihar’s total population

Systemic and widespread: Violence against Dalit continues across Indian states

Hathras Verdict: Justice not delivered

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A pukka Morcha has been planned outside the office of the chief minister Bhagwant Mann on September 12th by a set of agricultural labour organizations. A most significant event in light of the mass political movement of the dalit agricultural community of Punjab.

A meeting was convened by Zameen Prapt Sangharsh commitee leader Mukesh Mulaudh,where leaders of all agricultural labour groups participated. Around 1000 persons are expected to participate.

A most intensive gherao has been planned to do justice to the sustained challenge to the ruling classes for the basic demands of the agricultural labour community.Inspite of a chain of village level protests the chief minister has virtually paid a deaf ear to the grievances, after making promises earlier during negotiations.

Demands include distribution of 1/3rd of Panchayat land to every dalit family, work for atleast 100 days a year, scrapping of all debts, awarding of 10 marlas of land to each dalit family, implementation of 1971 land ceilings act preventing anyone from being in possession of more than 30 acres of land, pukka houses for dalits scrapping of electricity metres.

It has almost become a routine habit of the administration to retract from promises made to undertake distribution of Panchayat land and auctioning at fair price and many activists have been targeted for waging resistance in recent times.

A most progressive phenomena has been the unity of dalit agricultural labour groups from various sections of the revolutionary camp, since Chandigarh in 2016.They include the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union,the Pendu Mazdoor Union,2 sections of the Krantikari Pendu Mazdoor Union,Punjab Khet Mazdoor Sabha .Together they have undertaken blockades of rail tracks last December and relentlessly staged protests outside the Chief Minister’s palatial house., mobilising over 5000 agricultural workers. A binding force has been the Zammen Prapt Sangharsh commitee,which has propelled many an agitation, waging resistance at the block levels. It is heartening that mutual differences have not vitiated the broad unity, which is absolutely imperative.

Leaders participating included Laxman Sewevala, Sanjeeev Mintu, Lakhvir Singh,Kashmir Singh Gugshore,, Paramjeet Kaur, Makhan Singh,Dev Kumari and Darshan Nahar.

Plans were initiated to fortify the protest with a proper medical team, drinking water and toilet arrangements etc.a with a strong team of volunteers.

In a most calculative or methodical manner the agricultural labour organisations are organising campaigns at the very grassroots, to spur the dalit community to join the protest. Impressive meetings are being conducted by Krantikari PenduMazdoor Union in Sangrur and Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union in Malwa region.An important feature of the united protests in recent years are he mass preparations.

It is important that support is garnered to this protest from students, industrial workers and the landed pleasantry. It is perhaps time that the organizations of the landed peasantry in Punjab initiated self-criticism on the inability to draw in the dalit agricultural labour in their mass rallies. Another important issue to be confronted is the rekindling of Sikh separatist politics, which is tarnishing the name of Shaheed Bhagat Sngh.

Harsh Thakor is freelance journalist who has frequently travelled to Punjab to cover mass programmes and participated in protest of agricultural labour

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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Two Dalit labourers from Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh allegedly suffered brutal attacks and abuse on December 31, 2020 by a mob of upper caste people for honking at an upper caste person standing in the middle of the road, said Junputh regional news on January 5, 2021.

This happened in the same state where months ago the Hathras incident occurred and took the entire country by storm.

As per the account of one of the survivors, Brijesh Kumar, the labourer was allegedly attacked Kumar with knives and sticks by an upper caste man along with 20-25 people while irrigating the field. Locals who heard noises rushed to save Kumar and the other labourer Pampravesh.

उत्तर प्रदेश, जिला आजमगढ़ में एक SC व्यक्ति ने साइड के लिए हॉर्न बजाया तो इससे ब्राह्मण विशाल मिश्रा का जातीय गुमान आहत हो गया।

उसने अपने गुंडों के साथ पीड़ित पर धारदार हमला किया। पुलिस ने अभी तक एक भी गिरफ्तारी नहीं की। गांव में डर का माहौल बना हुआ है। pic.twitter.com/N9LoUlQkKI

— Suraj Kumar Bauddh (@SurajKrBauddh) January 5, 2021

Kumar said that the attack was the result of an altercation between the two men and local upper caste man Vishal Mishra. The two men honked at Mishra who stood in the middle of the road, blocking their way to the village market to buy diesel. Mishra responded to the honking by abusing them with casteist slurs that resulted in a verbal fight.

Local political group Rihai Manch heard about the incident and promised to help the injured man fight for justice. An FIR was lodged at the nearby police station.

Meanwhile, the labourers’ families told Junputh that criminals had attacked their boys with the intention of murder. They said that the accused are still roaming free and threatening to kill the two men.

“The police of Yogi-government gave us a piece of paper instead of justice. No one has been arrested yet. Dalits survive deadly attacks every day and in this corrupt government, we are not safe at all. Today many days after the attack, no criminal was arrested. Is there an understanding between police and criminals?” they said to Junputh.

Villagers said that the bullies circle the area on motorcycles from morning till evening to threaten villages who continue to demand justice.

Rihai Manch General Secretary Rajiv Yadav said that Dalits, minorities and women suffer tortures in the Yogi government. The state police are unable to stop them. However, he said that the group will continue to demand justice at every level.

Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of crimes against Scheduled Castes in 2019, reporting 11,829 cases in the National Crime Records Bureau report.

Related:

SC/ST Act: Merely because crime is reported, immediate arrest need not be made
A 2020 Report of 10 Worst Victims of apathy: Dalits, Adivasis
Gumla lynching case accused moves Jharkhand HC for bail
Gujarat: Dalit lawyer dies after being assaulted in a casteist attack

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Dalit agricultural labourers’ struggle for food

Image Courtesy: Tulika Books
 
…the underclass in Muktidih is hopelessly on the margins of survival because of its limited access to the necessities of life, including food, clothing and shelter. One of my informants, …, insightfully stated that even insects were more capable of coping with their needs than were members of his class. This is a corollary of a situation where the terms and conditions of the employment of landless labourers (whose only resource is their labour power) are determined by their employers (who control the means of production). Labourers are therefore constrained to work for low wages (as shown in the preceding chapter), rendering them incapable of accessing essential needs in full measure.

Food
… Beyond rice (bhat), which is the staple food for rich and poor alike in this area, even the poorest labourer imagined that a complete diet would also include dal, tarkari, dudh, dahi (lentils, vegetables, milk and curd). Ironically, as one labourer remarked, ‘Only jamidars [landowners] can access lentils and vegetables on a regular basis. Even if they cannot produce sufficient quantities for their daily requirements, they can purchase what they need.’

[…]
Around mid-day, as I talked to Jeevan, then a leading member of the community, he drew my attention to a girl of about 10 standing close by. She was eating a dry roti, flavouring each morsel with some salt that she carried in the palm of her left hand. He spoke resentfully of the contrast between the diet of ‘our children’ (Bhuiya children) and the children of babu sahib (the Rajput landholders of Babugram). The latter, he implied, would never have to assuage their hunger in such a spartan manner. The sight of the girl somehow making do with a roti and salt made me conscious of the poor state of nourishment among the underclass in general. As meals are consumed privately, I only once got the opportunity to witness a meal while it was being eaten… . However, many labourers spoke pathetically about their food, which conformed broadly to what I witnessed.

[…]
The exclusion of lentils from Dashrath’s meals was by no means unique among the underclass. His statement that he could not afford dal, except occasionally, applied to all Paswan and Bhuiya labourers, who procured the item only once in ten or fifteen days. As described below, the regular inclusion of dal in the meals occurred when heet-natey (relatives) visited a household, and when there was a chance of earning a small quantity after the rabi harvest. Otherwise, on most days, as one Bhuiya man said, madh flavoured with salt and red chillies substituted for dal in all households.

Rice normally constituted the core component of a meal, both in the morning or at mid-day and in the evening. However, for a brief period after the rabi harvest (perhaps a month or two), wheat formed the base for the evening meal. While there was no apparent reluctance among Paswan households to eating wheat for one meal, I was explicitly told that Bhuiyas did so only out of compulsion. Thus, a Bhuiya labourer expressed his liking for rice by asserting that his community excelled all the others in its capacity to consume this cereal: ‘We are Bhuiyas; no other community can consume more rice than us!’

The nature of a labourer’s employment determined the principal source of the rice consumed by his family. For a halwaha, an unfree farm servant, and his family, the source of much of the rice consumed was the entitlement to paddy on the piece of land allotted to him by his employer, as well as the paddy earned for every nineteen days of work. In addition, a halwaha and the working members of his family earned paddy during the harvesting season. The main source of the rice consumed in the household of a casual labourer was from the wages in kind earned by him and the working members of his family for harvesting paddy in the kharif season. A small amount of rice could also be bought through the cash component of the daily wages earned for various agricultural operations.
… large amounts of foodgrain were used to redeem debts incurred during the preceding season, including those for tiding over food deficits. Therefore a deficit in one season generated a deficit in the following season too, because a sizeable quantity of the grain produced or earned during the latter was used for redeeming debts from an earlier time. …

Bhola Bhuiya, a halwaha, was among the few persons who gladly answered all my questions. At that time his household included his wife, a married teenaged daughter who had not yet moved to her affinal home, and a 10-year-old son. On the day I spoke to him (12 October 2001), the previous evening’s meal had comprised roti with a mixture of salt and crushed red chillies. Bhola specifically mentioned that neither he nor the members of his family had had enough to eat. He had eaten three rotis, but had wanted one more to feel satiated. Some time before I met him, the family had eaten the morning meal comprising madh-bhat and a stew made from saag (a cheap leafy vegetable), which sold for Rs 2 a kg. The evening meal was likely to conform to the same pattern as the meal the previous evening, and therefore the family would not have enough to feel satiated.

The principal reason for the deficiencies in the food consumed by Bhola’s family, in terms of both quantity and quality, was the fact that the basic items (rice and wheat) had been taken on loan, and caution had to be exercised to ensure that they lasted as long as possible. … His household had been in a state of deficit much before September, and he could only hope that there would be enough foodgrain for consumption after the forthcoming Aghani harvest. …the amount of foodgrain borrowed was indeed staggering, including 3 maunds and 25 seers of rice and 2¾ maunds of wheat. The huge deficit in Bhola’s stock of foodgrain was mainly attributable to the marriage of his teenage daughter in May that year, which demanded a series of customary feasts for the members of his tola.

[…]
The visits of relatives, an inevitable part of family life in general, had a major impact on the household budgets of the underclass. Indeed, the principal reason for the premature depletion of Jeetu Paswan’s stock of rice in April 2001… was the visit in March–April of a group of affinal relatives who stayed for a fortnight. …They had come to propitiate a deity in the neighbouring village of Babugram. The deity was said to possess miraculous powers to cure people suffering from serious diseases and to ensure that they maintained good health. Jeetu or his wife accompanied the group daily to propitiate the deity. The former bore the expenses on prasad (offering of food to a deity) as well as snacks for his sister-in-law’s children, all of which required him to have enough cash. He said that he spent liberally, as the visits to the deity cost him Rs 1800. Apart from this, dal was included in the meals frequently during the visit of his relatives. He claimed that he could afford the expenditure because he had supplemented his earnings as an agricultural labourer by working in the brick kiln in the neighbourhood of Muktidih.

[…]
As the rabi harvest was in progress at the time of speaking to Hiteshwar in April 2001, I wondered whether the wages in kind earned by him would be of any significance for redeeming his debt. He replied in the negative, because whatever he and his son earned as wages would constitute the base for the evening meal in his household for about a month.

… I spoke to Subhash Bhuiya (50), a casual labourer, in October 2001… . His household included his wife and an adult son (about 20). They had been unemployed since the completion of paddy transplanting operations, and had been surviving since mid-September mainly on borrowed rice and money borrowed to purchase rice. Subhash’s meal comprised just madh-bhat flavoured with salt. He stated that this was most likely to be the only meal his family would eat on that day because of acute financial constraints. Some days earlier, he had borrowed Rs 50 with great difficulty and procured 4 kg of rice. By undereating, or by missing a meal, he hoped that the rice would last his family for four days. He also mentioned that when the quantity of rice fell short of the requirements of a household in his tola, the practice was to double the quantity of water normally used for cooking it, thus increasing the volume of madh-bhat to provide servings to all its members.

It is beyond doubt that the problem of accessing food punctuated the everyday lives of labourers in the local agrarian economy.

This is an extract from the third chapter ‘Surviving at the Margins: The Struggle for Basic Necessities’ of “Is This Azaadi? Everyday Lives of Dalit Agricultural Labourers in a Bihar Village,” published by Tulika Books in 2018. Republished here with permission from the publisher.

First Published in Indian Cultural Forum

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