All posts by subhash gatade

Bad ideas, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Once There Was Hindutva Terror ..?

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Bomb blasts have taken place near the Delhi High Court, in Bombay, Bangalore etc. Within a few hours of such bomb blasts many T V channels started showing news item that Indian Mujahidin or Jaish-e-Mohammed or Harkatul-jihad-e-islam have sent e-mails or SMS claiming responsibility. The names of such alleged organizations will always be Muslim names. Now an e-mail can be sent by any mischievous person, but by showing this on TV channels and next day in the newspapers the tendency is to brand all Muslims in the country as terrorists and bomb throwers…Should the media, wittingly or unwittingly, become part of this policy of divide and rule?

(Justice (retired) Markandey Katju, Chairman of the Press Council of India, October 10, 2011 at a get-together with mediapersons)

1.
Introduction

What is common between the murder of the leader of a private army of landlords at the hands of his own gang members in faraway Bihar over distribution of booty, the felicitation of a terrorist lodged in jail as ‘living martyr’ (zinda Shaheed) in Punjab or the anointment of a hatemonger as the poster boy of the main opposition party ? Formally speaking there are no connections but if one tries to dig further few subterranean linkages become clear. Whether one agrees or not they exhibit the growing legitimacy of authoritarian, fanatic, exclucivist politics in this part of the subcontinent . Continue reading Once There Was Hindutva Terror ..? →

Identities, Right watch

Dalits in Hindurashtra – Time for another sadbhavna fast Modiji!

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…27 of the 30 complaints that were addressed to the commission spoke of indifference of police officials towards dalits.These issues were raised immediately after NHRC chairman KG Balakrishnan praised status of scheduled castes (SC) in Gujarat. He said the state’s schemes for development of the marginalised are working well and penetration of education among scheduled caste and scheduled tribes has reached 70%.Almost all dalits and their leaders present in the audience were not in agreement with this statement. [DNA]

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Justice Balakrishnan, retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, and at present Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), – who has remained in news since his retirement altogether for wrong reasons – provided further ammunition to his critics with his recent visit to Gujarat. The manner in which he lauded the state government for its ‘innovative schemes for the upliftment of dalits’ and claims that ‘..[f]uture of the SC community seems to be fairly good in Gujarat as compared to many other states’ is being seen as an attempt to clean chit and whitewash acts of ommission and commission.of a government which is still mired in the controversies surrounding the carnage in 2002

The said two day visit (14-15 th March) was part of the plan envisaged by the Commission to hold “open hearing” sessions on issues related to dalit atrocities in different parts of the country. According to media inputs, this was one of the important recommendattion by the K.B. Saxena committee which had done a painstaking job and brought out a report on dalit atrocities in the country few years back.for the commission itself. Not some time ago the commission had held its first such hearing in the state of Orissa.

Continue reading Dalits in Hindurashtra – Time for another sadbhavna fast Modiji! →

Bad ideas, Identities, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

75 Years of Bhonsala Military School: Militarising Minds, Hindutvaising the Nation

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..to bring about military regeneration of the Hindus and to fit Hindu youths for undertaking the entire responsibility for the defence of their motherland.

to educate them in the ‘Sanatan Dharma’, and to train them “in the science and art of personal and national defence”

– From the aims of ‘Central Hindu Military Education Society,’ NMML, Munje Papers, subject files, n 24, 1932-36)

This training is meant for qualifying and fitting our boys for the game of killing masses of men with the ambition of winning victory with the best possible causalities (sic) of dead and wounded while causing the utmost possible to the adversary.

– Preface to the scheme of the Central Hindu Military Society and Its Military School’NMML, Munje Papers, subject files, n 25, 1935

Nashik: Expressing concern over the dominance of ‘rich and powerful people’ in politics, besides the soaring inflation rate, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said that India’s situation was better during the British rule…Speaking at a function organized by Bhonsala Military School (BMS) to celebrate its platinum jubilee year in Nashik on Monday, Bhagwat …laid stress on the need for imparting military education to students, citing rising threat to the nation.

– ‘India was better off under British rule: Mohan Bhagwat’, Times of India, Feb 22, 2012

Continue reading 75 Years of Bhonsala Military School: Militarising Minds, Hindutvaising the Nation →

Capitalism, Debates, Politics

Three Formidable Barriers to the Advance of Democracy: Ravi Sinha

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This guest post by RAVI SINHA is the text of the key note address to the Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy in Allahabad on 30 December 2011

I must begin by expressing my gratitude to the organizers of this Convention and to this Forum for the opportunity and the honor you have given me by letting me address this impressive assembly. Also, I must congratulate you for choosing a theme that articulates, perhaps, the central challenge confronting all peoples and all nations of the world and more so for the peoples and the nations on the subcontinent. We are all witness to and victims of the times characterized by monstrous brutalities of war and deep scars of deprivations, inequities and oppressions. We live under a world order wherein those who brought, for example, untold tragedy and destruction to Iraq will never be brought to justice because they are the global hegemons. They will not be questioned about the hundreds of thousands of dead and maimed Iraqi men, women and children; they will not be questioned about the thousands of dead and decapitated American soldiers; they will not be questioned about the trillions of dollars spent on the war and further trillions destroyed by the war; and they will not be questioned about the kind of Iraq they are leaving behind.

Continue reading Three Formidable Barriers to the Advance of Democracy: Ravi Sinha →

Culture, Debates, Politics, Right watch

New friends of ISKCON? On the Gita controversy

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The Parliament which has remained rather dysfunctional for different reasons all the year witnessed a strange bonhomie few days back. It was difficult to believe that they are the same representatives of people who could not see eye to eye on various issues of concern and were always keen to score their point over their political adversaries. Led by the likes of Laloo Prasad Yadav – interspersed with slogans of ‘Jai Krishna’ –  the government’s alleged silence on the developments in a faraway court in Russia was called into question.

Interestingly, BJP the party which happens to be the chief opposition party, found itself playing second fiddle to the troika of Laloo, Mulayam and Sharad Yadav on this matter. The issue related to proceedings in a court in Tomsk which supposedly had found portions of ‘Gita’ objectionable and ‘extremist’ and was contemplating to ban it.

Continue reading New friends of ISKCON? On the Gita controversy →

Bad ideas, Identities, Right watch

Politics of Anna Hazare Anti-Corruption Movement by Sanjay Kumar

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Guest post by SANJAY KUMAR

Sonia Gandhi Hinsak Hai
Rahul Gandhi Napunsak Hai
(Sonia Gandhi is violent, Rahul Gandhi is impotent)
(placard displayed by a young man on Barakhamba road crossing, during anti-corruption march on 21st August, Delhi)

Rahul Bhaiyya! Why don’t you get married so that Bhabhi can take care of Sonia Aunty, and you do not have to spend so much (black) money to get her treated outside the country? (placard carried by a three year old girl child)

Manuvadi Krantikari Morcha supports Anna Hazare
(a banner heading for a group of 20-30 middle aged men)

Bihari Nahin Ham Jaat hain
Ham Anna ke saath hain
(We are not Biharis we are Jaats, we are with Anna)
(shout of youth in open jeep in Darya Ganj, after the 21st Aug march)

Continue reading Politics of Anna Hazare Anti-Corruption Movement by Sanjay Kumar →

Government

Whether Assam Is Turning Into a Police State ? : Asks Delhi Action Committee

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 Appeal by Delhi Action Committee Against Guwahati Police Killings on 22 nd June 2011

On 22nd June 2011, at around noon, the Assam police opened fire, killing four, on a demonstration led by Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) –  a peasant organization of Assam. The protesters were demanding a halt to a massive ongoing eviction drive  for more than a week around the hills in the city of Guwahati.  Different tribal communities and labouring poor of the city have been living on these hills for over many decades and many of them are clearly entitled to pieces of land based on the ‘Forest Regulation (Rights) Act’ and other provisions of law. KMSS has been demanding a thorough survey to be undertaken by concerned Government agencies, of not just hills but of the entire city and ‘notify’ all lands according to law, and also hold mass consultations and public hearings before any evictions is undertaken by the State agencies. Continue reading Whether Assam Is Turning Into a Police State ? : Asks Delhi Action Committee →

Excavation, Identities, Law, Violence/Conflict

Mecca Masjid police firing report dumped in cold storage: Lateef Mohd. Khan

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Guest post by LATEEF MOHD. KHAN

On Friday, 18th May 2007, the RSS terrorists planted bombs at historic Makkah Masjid and immediately after the bomb blast, a group of communal minded policemen started firing on the people who were helping the injured people in the blast. 9 people were killed and hundreds got injured in the blast. The sharp shooter policemen were chosen for firing on the people who came for prayers and who came forward to help the injured and this communal group of policemen was monitored by  the then Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime). Continue reading Mecca Masjid police firing report dumped in cold storage: Lateef Mohd. Khan →

Bad ideas, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Why does the RSS dread the terror tag?

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1.
Ram Madhav, the bespectacled ex-spokesperson of RSS is not known for his sense of humour.

It is a different matter that some of the media people just could not control their smiles when sometime back (second week of Feb 2011) in a press conference in the capital he enlightened the journos about l’affaire Aseemanand and the broader phenomenon of Hindutva terror.

Giving a completely new and almost unforeseen twist to the Aseemanand episode he said that he (i.e. Aseemanand) had in fact left the RSS in 2006. Of course, as a good spokesperson – although he has become an ex- he had the usual disclaimers in the beginning: RSS does not believe in violence and is a cultural organisation… One does not know whether much on the lines of the School Leaving Certificate, with which lesser mortals like us are more familiar with, Ram Madhav distributed photocopies of ‘Sangh Leaving Certificate’ of Aseemanand or anything similar to give authenticity to his claims or not. Continue reading Why does the RSS dread the terror tag? →

Bad ideas, Frontiers, Identities, Law, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Justice for Aasia Bibi; Speedy Trial of Salman Taseer’s Killers: New Socialist Initiative, Delhi

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Statement from the NEW SOCIALIST INITIATIVE, Delhi

History is said to be made when humanity has tried to break asunder forces of unreason, irrationality, bigotry, intolerance and reaction which keep reappearing in newer forms in its onward journey. But what can one say when it tries to do the exact opposite, or prefer to go back on the path undertaken.

Pakistan, a country of 170 millions, stands at a similar juncture today.  Continue reading Justice for Aasia Bibi; Speedy Trial of Salman Taseer’s Killers: New Socialist Initiative, Delhi →

Debates, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Villain in Life, Hero in Death: Hindutva’s New found Love for Hemant Karkare

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…sources who were close to Karkare have said there was indeed a threat perception at that time and the former ATS chief was disturbed over allegations against his family after the Malegaon probe was made public.

However, they said “Karkare was not scared” and that “he was very practical and took adequate measures to ensure his family was safe”. According to sources, Karkare had raised the wall around his house just a week before his death and also brought home a dog. “The wall was raised around the garage-end of the house, as it faced the road outside,” sources said.

An officer, who did not wish to be identified, said, “Soon after the probe, there were news reports alleging various things about his family which disturbed him. He was not scared for his life nor was he the kind to be afraid of consequences of an honest probe. …It was the allegations against his family that disturbed him and he took practical measures to ensure their safety.”

(Indian Express, Posted: Tue Dec 14 2010, 03:31 hrs Mumbai) Continue reading Villain in Life, Hero in Death: Hindutva’s New found Love for Hemant Karkare →

Excavation, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

The Hidden Arm – Criminals for Hindutva?

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Anyone ever heard about Sudhakar Rao Maratha alias Sudhakar Rao Prabhune ? A hardcore rightwing criminal who was nabbed by the M.P. police few months back in Jhansi which seized a car, a revolver and five cartridges from him. In fact one of Sudhakar’s colleague Shivam Dhakad was already under the custody of Ujjain police when Sudhakar was apprehended. According to the senior police officers Sudhakar Rao was in touch with RSS Pracharak -Terrorist Sunil Joshi, who was shot dead in Dewas in 2007 under mysterious circumstances.

Hardcore right-wing criminal Sudhakar Prabhune alias Sudhakar Rao Maratha, who could throw light on the mysterious murder of RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, has been arrested in Madhya Pradesh. The 26-year-old was wanted in connection with a string of murders of Muslims in Ratlam and Mandsaur. The state police claimed he was arrested on Tuesday from Bilkhiria when he was on way to Bhopal from Sagar. …

Rao took to crime when he was 19. His name cropped in the murder of Jafar Khan, who was shot dead in Chittorgarh. ’ (Right-wing criminal’ held, to be questioned in Joshi murder case, Indian Express, Posted: Thu Sep 30 2010, 02:50 hrs Bhopal)

Continue reading The Hidden Arm – Criminals for Hindutva? →

Culture, Excavation, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Bhagwat Purana of a Different Kind

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(This post is by SUBHASH GATADE. It was initially inadvertently posted under Aditya Nigam’s name. The error is deeply regretted.)

I. Conflating Hinduism and Hindutva

Mr Mohan Bhagwat, the ‘young’ Supremo of an eighty plus year old exclusively male cultural organisation called Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is in high spirits these days.

It is not very difficult to understand the glee on his face which has to do with the latest developments in the cause celebre of Sangh Parivar. One can even notice that every member of this different kind of ‘family’ also seem to be upbeat , whose representatives can be traced on neighbourhood playground in the morning doing drills, playing games or listening to ‘sermons’ of their seniors which they call Baudhik.

Continue reading Bhagwat Purana of a Different Kind →

Culture, Politics, Right watch

‘Shastra Pujas’ – What’s Religious About Worshipping Weapons ?

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I.

Schools are meant for play and studies where kids slowly blossom into adolescents. Schools are meant for books, laboratories and other cultural activities which cater to the all round development of its students. Schools are meant for opening up of minds, inculcating inquisitiveness and curiosity, explain the wonder that is the world and lead the students towards further enquiries and promoting inclusiveness cutting across different ascriptive categories with which all of us are born with.

Of course, in emergency situations, schools even metamorphose into shelter homes for the victims of a natural calamity or a social catastrophe.

But certainly, no sane person can imagine that school premises can ever be used for worshipping deadly weapons – loaded pistols and illegal rifles. But it appears that on this count RSS – the all hindu male organisation – thinks differently. It is not for nothing that schools which run under the aegis of its affiliated organisation are freely handed over for such programmes under the specious reason that it is a religious programme. Any close watcher of the ground level situation can vouch that worshipping of weapons on Dusshera has nothing to with religion rather it is part of social tradition. Despite this reality organising of ‘shastra pujas’ has of late become a national phenomenon and hindutva organisations are known to play an important role in it. It serves a double purpose for them : consolidate their constituency by using religion as the legitimising force, terrorising the ‘others’ simply by taking out ‘religious processions’ brandishing weapons.

Continue reading ‘Shastra Pujas’ – What’s Religious About Worshipping Weapons ? →

Culture, Debates, Scams, Sex

Godmen and Conmen

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Why the Criticism of Religion Should Now Come On The Agenda

The foundation of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion, religion does not make man.

Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But, man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man – state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopaedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d’honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion.

– Karl Marx, Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy ofRight

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Sheltering fugitives from the law, laundering money, ‘arranging’ for government contracts, solving your financial woes or even bumbing off a pesky blackmailer – tasks which are normally associated with D company or their local level clones are today not their sole preserve. Spiritual gurus of the day who are a dime a dozen in this country have emerged as powerful challengers to their monopoly. And not only the newly emergent Sadhus, who are recent entrants in the sprawling spiritual bazaar, but even the old ones also seem deeply emersed in this morass of crime and corruption.

One can easily notice that hardly had the discussion around Icchadhari baba alias Shivmurat Dwivedi, who ran a prostitution racket which spanned many states, with his clientele reaching powerful bureaucrats and politicians, has died down, a sting operation by a leading channel has brought forth the different skills developed by the leading lights of this profession.

Continue reading Godmen and Conmen →

Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Pracharak as Terrorist – On the Bhasmasur of Hindutva Terror

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I.

Hindu mythology with its plethora of gods and goddesses (which according to a conservative estimate numbers around 330 millions or 33 crores) has n number of stories supposedly to show the human face of the almighty. One such story talks of the creation of a demon called Bhasmasur by one of the gods himself. The said demon had the unique power of turning everything into ash if he could touch anybody’s head. The story goes that after ‘conquering’ the world the demon tries to attack his ‘creator god’ namely Shiva himself and then Lord Vishnu intervenes and manages to eliminate the demon itself.

Whatever might have been the significance of the story then, it bears striking resemblance to the plight of the RSS – the biggest fountainhead of Hindutva politics in the country – today. And this relates to the arrest of many of its senior wholetimers (called Pracharaks in its lexicon) for their role as masterminds, instigators or patrons of terrorist acts in the country and the ongoing questioning of many other senior leaders for their role in aiding and abetting such acts. Interestingly the parent organisation has till date not formally denied their role in all these acts and nor called it witchhunting as it did when investigations into the Malegaon bomb blast II (Sept 2008) were on and the likes of Sadhvi Pragya, Lt Col Purohit and others from the larger Hindutva family found themselves behind bars. In fact, this time it appears more cautious and according to a report it has even sent few of its leaders who supposedly played some role in these acts on a compulsory leave and has plans to send few more. (Bhaskar, 7 th July 2010).

Continue reading Pracharak as Terrorist – On the Bhasmasur of Hindutva Terror →

Debates, Government, Law, Violence/Conflict

Social Profiling – Indian Style

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“The Muslim is not wanted in the armed forces because he is always suspect – whether we want to admit it or not, most Indians consider Muslims a fifth column for Pakistan” [Vengeance! India after the assassination of Indira Gandhi (New Delhi, Norton, 1985), pp. 1995-96]
-George Fernandes

Amnesty International  defines racial profiling as the targeting of individuals and groups by law enforcement officials, even partially, on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion, except when there is trustworthy information, relevant to the locality and timeframe, that links persons belonging to one of the aforementioned groups to an identified criminal incident or scheme.

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Is racial/social profiling practised in India? Continue reading Social Profiling – Indian Style →

Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Why RSS Wants to Forget Pracharak Sunil Joshi’s Murder?

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I.
It was a murder of an old activist, which the RSS would love to forget. It is a different matter that despite the innumerable ways in which it has tried to banish the memory of the whole incident it has found it very difficult to get away with it. And with the latest exposures in the Ajmer Dargah bomb blast case the whole issue has once again returned to haunt it.

“A former RSS pracharak, who was an accused in the murder of a Congress leader and his son, was shot dead in Dewas town, about 35 kms from Indore, late on Saturday.
Sunil Joshi, 45, was strolling in Chuna Khadan locality when assailants, who used a Maruti van and a two-wheeler, shot him thrice. He was declared dead on arrival in the district hospital.”
(Indian Express, Posted: Mon Dec 31 2007, 00:00 hrs) Continue reading Why RSS Wants to Forget Pracharak Sunil Joshi’s Murder? →

Countryside, Government, Politics, Violence/Conflict

In Search of Brahmeshwar Singh, ‘the Absconder’

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The Myth of the ‘Misuse’ of Laws Meant for the Protection of Dalits and Tribals

Are the laws meant for the protection of Dalits and tribals are put to misuse?

It is a theme which recurs regularly in the discussions engaged in by the chattering classes of the country. While nobody can deny that frivolous cases are not filed under this act the manner in which the issue gets raised creates an impression that the only ‘use’ of this law is its ‘misuse.’ Neither the polity nor the articulate sections of our society seem ready to go for a reality check. In fact, as a marker of these classes’ ‘sensitivities’ towards this delicate issue, even Ms Mayawati in her earlier incarnations as Chief Minister of UP had cautioned the police about its ‘misuse’. She is also reported to have issued G.Os (government orders) to use this law only in cases of rapes and murders of the Dalits.
Continue reading In Search of Brahmeshwar Singh, ‘the Absconder’ →

Empire/ Imperialism, Law, Violence/Conflict

The Headley Trail

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Have you had a chance to browse through the latest media interaction of the US ambassador to India, a gentleman called Mr Timothy Roemer? (US wants Headley to be brought to justice: Roemer, February 18, 2010 17:53 IST, rediff.com ) And could anyone decipher that it was a response to the growing clamour in a section of the media about seeking access to American terror suspect Headley whose name has surfaced in the light of his links with the 26/11 plot and who is at present lodged in the US jail. There were also reports about Headley’s visit to India in March 2009 and his survey of the Osho Ashram, Chabad House as well as the German Bakery in Pune, which became a site of the bomb explosion in second week of February 2010. Continue reading The Headley Trail →

Countryside, Law, Movements, Violence/Conflict

Social Boycott of Dalits in MP: Uncivil Society, apathetic administration

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(A Fact Finding Report issued by Nagrik Adhikar Manch and Yuva Samvad.)

(The situation in the Gadarwara Sub Division of District.Narsinghpur (MP) has been in a state of constant flux since last 3-4 months. The Dalits living in the villages adjoining Gadarwara have been condemned to a life of fear and intimidation.Their human rights and dignity are being at stake.

Obviously there is a concrete reason behind this sudden spurt in violence against them.They have refused to remain subservient to the interests of the upper/dominant castes and have decided to speak up.

Instead of taking concrete steps to guarantee the human rights of dalits granted to them under constituion, the administration has preferred to remain silent or at best supportive of the interests of the dominant castes only. One can easily see why Madhya Pradesh happens to be the state which tops the list of atrocities on tribals and stands second when it comes to cases of atrocities against dalits.)

Dist: Narsinghpur(Madhya Pradesh)
Tehsil: Gadarwara
Affected Area: Dalits (Ahirwar community) in Gadarwara and adjoining villages
Villages visited by the Fact Finding Team: Nander, Madgula, Devri and Tekapar

Date: 7th and 9th November 2009
Members of Fact Finding Team

Jai Bhim, Moolchand Ahirwar, Javed, Skand Shukla, Manoj, Satyam, Shivkumar, Nishant Kaushik

Brief Introduction to Narsinghpur District. Continue reading Social Boycott of Dalits in MP: Uncivil Society, apathetic administration →