* Since 1990, the Naxalites have killed 23 Dalits in Gadchiroli district alone
Staff Reporter
"The
Dalits or Scheduled Castes should be treated as a special social
section that is peculiar to the obnoxious caste-ridden Indian society." Thus
reads the opening lines of a paragraph on ‘Dalits’ on Page-127 of the
‘Strategy and Tactics’ document of Communist Party of India (Maoist).
The document, which is one of the founding documents of CPI (Maoist) --
an outfit formed that came into being in 2004 after merger of major
factions of erstwhile Naxalite organisations -- appears to be a mere
‘lip service’ to the cause of Dalits. Reason? If Naxalites/Maoists had
been really treating Dalits or Scheduled Castes as a ‘special social
section’, they would not have killed 23 Dalits in Gadchiroli district
alone.
As per the list of persons killed by Naxalites/Maoists from
1990 to April 2015, as many as 23 of those killed were Dalits (belonged
to Scheduled Castes). And, this is the data relating to Gadchiroli
district alone. Previously, the Left Wing Extremism was prevalent in six
districts namely Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Bhandara, Gondia, Yavatmal,
and Nanded.
In Gadchiroli district, as per the data, 12 Dalits were
killed between October 1990 and June 2004, that is a span of around 14
years. In September 2004, major Naxalite organisations merged to form
CPI (Maoist). Within a year, Maoists killed three Dalits. Between July
2005 and April 2015, that is a span of over nine years, the Maoists
killed 11 Dalits. Thus, before CPI (Maoist) came into being, the
erstwhile Left Wing Extremists had killed less than a Dalit per year.
However, data reveals, after CPI (Maoist) came into being, these Leftist
ultras killed more than one Dalit per year, with 2005 being the worst
year as it saw three Dalit killings.
A closer look at the data
brings out that the Left Wing Extremists killed the highest 4 Dalits in
area under the jurisdiction of Repanpalli Police Station in Aheri
tehsil; followed closely by three killings in Aheri Police Station area
in the same tehsil. Recently, on April 19 midnight, the Maoists killed
Patru Durge, their latest Dalit victim. Durge was Deputy Sarpanch of
Damrancha in Aheri Sub-Division, and was getting prominence as a leader
of Buddhist community.
The outlaws killed two Dalits each in areas
under the jurisdictions of Zinganoor, Dhanora, and Etapalli Police
Stations. A Dalit innocent was killed in each of the following police
station areas -- Jimalgatta, Bhamragad, Reguntha, Purada,
Tekada/Rompalli, Kurkheda, Sironcha, Rajaram, Asaralli.
The Dalits
hacked to death by the Left Wing Extremists in Gadchiroli district
include three surrendered Naxals, two Special Police Officers (SPOs),
two Kotwals, and one Police Patil also. These include: Yadala Pocham
(Police Patil, killed in 1991); Keshav Pagade (Kotwal, 1996), Mukunda
Sahare (Kotwal, 2009); Sujan Jangam (surrendered Naxal, 2003), Shyamrao
Durge (surrendered Naxal, 2007), Aruna Durgam (surrendered Naxal, 2010);
and Janardhan Zade (SPO, 2013) and Samayya Latkari (SPO, killed in
2014).
Dalits being sidelined in Maoist hierarchy too?
Naxalites/Maoists
have been terming Dalits as ‘natural proletariats’ and using them to
increase their cadre strength in rural areas. However, within
Naxalite/Maoist organisations also, there exists a caste bias. Many
Ambedkarite organisations have been alleging that the Left Wing
Extremists have been sidelining Dalit leaders in CPI (Maoist). Sources
familiar with the situation revealed that in the recent past, most of
the arrested Maoists belonged to Dalits or Scheduled Castes. In fact,
some of the Dalit cadres in CPI (Maoist) are displeased over the
treatment being meted out to Milind Teltumbde in the recent past that
has seen increase in domination of Kamma, Kapu, Sahu, Dhamdi, and
Bhumihar community commanders.
(01-05-2015)
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