This is the second part of the series. Read Part 1, Part 3 & Part 4 here.

In the last three weeks, western Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district has turned into a hotbed of inter-caste violence. Clashes have been triggered by a war of dominance between the Thakur community legacy and resurgence of Dalit pride. The attacks and destruction of Dalit households in Shabirpur village during the clashes on May 5 between Thakurs and Dalits was followed by the call for a Mahapanchayat’ in Saharanpur. The Bhim Army, an organisation run by Dalits, was behind the call. On May 9, Saharanpur turned into a battleground between police forces and supporters of the Bhim Army. The large section of the media which failed to report on the havoc of Shabirpur and the plight of Sumit Singh’s family – who was killed during the May 5 violence – were quick to focus on the Bhim Army and its leader Chandrashekhar. Since then, speculations on his political connections and other links – including relations with Naxals – are on.

How the clashes snowballed

“Iss gaon ka chamaar kabhi nahi darta Thakuron se” (this village’s Dalits never fear the Thakurs), 25-year old Tinu Kumar told Newslaundry. “Agar humko pehle se pata hota ki Thakur hamla karenge, to hum unki esi halat karte … (If we’d known of the Thakur attacks from before, we would have made such a state of them…)”, he also added while sitting on the only bed left in his house after the May 5 violence.

Saharanpur is a land where Dalits hold considerable political power – due to their sizeable population. Once a Bahujan Samaj Party (bastion), Saharanpur has seen the rise of the Bhim Army in the past year. The organisation has tried to change caste equations to the extent that a specific section of the Dalit community has started taking pride in their identity. Now it is also known as the land of – “The Great Chamaar”.

Shabirpur, a village 24 kilometres away from Saharanpur, is no exception. Several households owned by the Thakur or Rajput community have “Rajputana” or similar phrases written at the entrance. Notably, a specific section of Dalits is considered socially equal to Thakur families in the village who are roughly over 600 in number in terms of population. In 2016, despite being declared a general seat, a Dalit candidate was elected as village pradhan.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Subash Chandra Dubey told Newslaundry that as the two communities were equal in number, there was an ongoing struggle for dominance. On May 5, when Dalits objected to the sound system hired by Thakur youth for the ‘jayanti‘ procession for Rajput warrior-king Maharana Pratap, the police was called. When the police reached the spot at around 11.30am, the Dalits allegedly started pelting stones at the Thakur youth. The police van was also damaged in the process. Thakur youth went to Simalana village where the Thakur community had organised a gathering of thousands to celebrate the Jayanti. Within 10 minutes, hundreds of Thakur youth from Simlana entered the village. “The local police station responded to this situation, and were able to stop them and control the situation,” SSP Dubey said. He also added that the other community (Dalits) again started stone-pelting from the roof top during which a youth from the Thakur community (Sumit Singh) died. “Rumours spread that three to four people had died and bullets were fired … a mob of 1,000-1,500 from Simalana entered Shabirpur,” said Dubey. This mob, which also included youth from several other villages and the adjacent state of Haryana, started setting houses on fire. By the time the response team from the district headquarters reached Shabirpur, the village was ravaged.

While Singh was killed, at least 15 – including a police officer –were injured in the inter-caste violence.

Chandrashekar and his Bhim Army first started the agitation on social media and later at the ‘mahapanchayat’ to demand compensation for Dalits. The mahapanchayat was called at Gandhi Park at the district headquarters, said sources. A senior official in UP Police said that the police had received information that there could be trouble during the mahapanchayat – which can prove detrimental to the law and order situation. The Bhim Army had organised the entire gathering on May 9. When police tried to disperse the crowd, the clashes began. Soon, it spread to eight different places in the city – including the Dalit-dominated locality Ramnagar. Here the mob allegedly demolished the Maharana Pratap Bhawan, which further intensified the clashes.

Maharana Pratap Bhavan, which was attacked on May 9, 2017, allegedly by Dalit protestors

“The entire May 9 incident was sponsored by the Bhim Army. However, direct or indirect – to what extent they were involved is a matter of investigation,” SSP Dubey said. There were reports that bullets were fired by the angry mob. Dubey confirmed this to Newslaundry – “There is no doubt they (organisers) tried to fire bullets from illegal weapons at the police… The police were being provoked to fire in response.”

By the time the situation was brought under control, the protesting mob had already set a police post on fire and had torched over 20 vehicles. Presently, the police are identifying those involved in the arson by all possible methods – including video footage, tracking mobile phones and internet surveillance.

It is also looking at the possible political connections of these clashes.

Is the Bhim Army being used as an instrument for meeting political ends?

Since the clashes and arson on May 9, the entire focus of the local media has shifted from the plight of families of Shabirpur and Rasoolpur village to finding the links of the Bhim Army. A section has tried to find the Bhim Army and Chandrashekar’s links to the BSP, others are still trying for a perfect match.

There are five assembly seats in Saharanpur district. While Muslims alone form the largest vote bank, Dalit communities have the second largest electoral weight. The upper caste vote is much smaller when compared to Muslims and Dalits. Saharanpur for long remained a BSP bastion. Even in 2012, when the incumbent BSP lost the assembly polls to Samajwadi Party, it managed to clinch three of five assembly seats here. However, in the 2017 polls, BSP faced a drubbing on all five seats. To its surprise, Deoband, a Muslim-dominated seat, and Ramnagar-Maniharan – a Dalit-dominated seat were clinched by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

RRF, anti-riot police force, deployed at Ambedkar Bhavan in Ramnagar, Saharanpur

Notably, Dalits in the Ramnagar assembly seat told Newslaundry that 50 per cent of the community voted for BJP. “Abki baar Daliton ne itni badi galti kari, ki ye samajh liya BJP pata nahi Daliton ka kya uthaan kar degi… (This time the Dalit community committed a mistake and voted for BJP. They thought BJP will work for the community)”, said the former pradhan of Ramnagar. The man in his 60s, added, “Logon ke andar gussa tha ki bhai jiske paas jao, wahi maar raha hai. Toh ab ki baar issi (BJP) ko dekh lein. (Voters were angry that whoever they have elected so far had only exploited them, so why not try BJP ).”

Clearly, while the BSP lost its hold on the Dalit vote-bank, Muslim votes were divided between the BSP and Samajwadi Party. The Bhim Army’s rise and its alleged role in the violent clashes is set to push the Dalits back to their core parties. The recent clashes are set to create a trust deficit between the BJP and Dalit community, which will ultimately benefit the BSP. And the changes are visible.

Those in Shabirpur and Ramnagar firmly said that BJP had already proven itself worse than any party which has governed the state. “The police are charging our Dalit brothers under RaSuKa Act (National Security Act), but what about Thakurs? Why don’t they charge those who burnt our brothers’ households in Shabirpur under the same sections?”, questioned a 20-year-old Dalit youth, who asked not to be named. A Bhim Army-sympathiser, he added, “It is an act of vengeance by BJP … why are they only framing those from Bhim Army?”

A senior police official, in an off-the-record conversation, told Newslaundry, “several political parties are behind escalating the clashes. Bhim Army was being backed by these parties who wish to regain the vote-bank which has drifted towards BJP”. He added the entire episode was being driven to create a negative sentiment against the Yogi Adityanath government. “It is a BJP versus others fight.”

The BJP, itself is saying that the clashes are being fuelled by all anti-BJP parties. “Every Opposition party is trying to exploit the current crisis in order to regain their Dalit vote-bank, which drifted towards BJP in 2014 and then in 2017 polls”, BJP MLA Devendra Nim told Newslaundry. However, he made a direct attack on BSP by adding, “BSP to hai hi is ke piche kyunki unke ex-MLA ka naam aa raha hai iss mamle mein (BSP is definitely behind to this conspiracy, as their ex MLA’s [Ravindra Kumar Molhu] name is being associated with the clashes in the investigation.)”.

Kartik Rana, son of former SP minister late Rajendra Singh Rana also said, “Bhim Army is a proxy organisation of the BSP to carry out violence. It is aimed at reviving BSP’s vote bank.” Rana argued that BSP’s ex-MLA Mollu and Chandrashekar’s name have surfaced in the initial investigation being carried out by the police. “This clearly shows that they are linked”, said Rana.

Meanwhile, BSP has rejected any links with Bhim Army or Chandrashekar whatsoever. “We are not backing them – neither on an ideological level nor by giving any financial aid,” BSP’s Meerut Zone coordinator Naresh Gautam said. “Why will we fund them? You have to understand that this is propaganda being driven by the BJP to distract people from the real issue of Dalit atrocity”, Gautam told Newslaundry. None of the Dalit youths or sympathisers of Bhim Army were ready to accept there could be any possible link between the BSP and Chandrashekar.

Conspiracy theory and the Ravidas hostel

The police have already started identifying those involved in the arson of May 9. Since then, people are afraid of claiming to be associated with the Bhim Army or Chandrashekar. Meanwhile, the local media reports are linking a hostel at Jail Chungi with the Bhim Army. In 16 odd rooms of Ravidas Hostel live over 50 Dalit students – belonging to the same caste as those whose houses were gutted in Shabirpur. Amar Ujala reported that according to the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) report, “a secret meeting” was organised inside Ravidas Hostel. Students here are irked by these reports and are concerned about their safety. “A discussion meet was organised in the hostel on the occasion of Budh Purnima…  Now the media is referring it to as a secret meeting,” said 27-year-old PhD student Manoj Kumar.

Even though no one was ready to identify themselves as members or supporters of the Bhim Army, students were reluctant to accept any links between Chandrashekhar and BSP. Praveen Kumar argues that any community will have to stand for their rights as enshrined in the Constitution, if the administration fails to do so. “However, such action should be according to the constitutional process and options,” added Kumar.

Notably, when we questioned Chandrashekar’s political links, if any, students replied, “Wo humme pata hai ki Chandrashekar kis cheez se jude hain, (We know about Chandrashekar’s association very well)”. Arvind Sehgal quickly added, “we certainly don’t need media reports to ascertain his connections”. They, in fact, questioned the agenda of those who want to divert attention from the May 5 violence to Chandrashekar and vilify Dalits.

The British era building which was converted into a hostel for Dalit students in 1952 and has been producing eight to nine government employees every year, finds itself in an awkward situation. Upper caste locals have threatened that they will pull down the structure if no action is taken against the Bhim Army. According to Sehgal, “Ravidas hostel is an educational hub for Dalits and that is why upper castes are attacking it now”. Although police security has been provided to the hostel, students complained that the personnel disappear at night.

The conspiracy theories being reported in the local media have reached bizarre levels. The upper caste demanded the police to investigate the Dalit organisation’s links with the Naxalites. Notably, it is also rumoured that since the May 9 incident, Chandrashekhar is absconding. However, the police have rejected such claims. “An FIR has been lodged against Chandrashekhar. But we will summon him only when he is required during the investigation,” said SSP Dubey.

Dainik Jagran Saharapur, May 12, 2017

It is true that Chandrashekhar is unreachable for the past couple of days. However, the police are indeed tracking his movements, according to a source. What is certain is that Saharanpur is simmering. Hopefully, politics will not set it aflame again.

The author can be contacted on Twitter @tweets_amit.