Protesters from the Dalit community blocked roads and attacked government buses in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat yesterday in a third day of demonstrations over the flogging of four men accused of skinning a cow.
The four Dalit men were last week tied to a car, stripped and flogged with sticks by self-styled hardline Hindu cow protectors who then published a video of the attack as a “warning” to others.
The beatings sparked the most serious protests by Dalits in years in Gujarat, with seven youths trying to kill themselves in protest by taking pesticide in different parts of the state, an act that further inflamed tempers.
A police officer was killed on Tuesday during clashes in Una, 340km from Ahmedabad, where the tannery workers were attacked.
Cows are revered in Hinduism and their slaughter is banned in most states including Gujarat, where Modi ruled as chief minister for a decade and spearheaded a 2011 ban.
Dalits in the state, however, said they earn their livelihood from skinning cows that die naturally, buffaloes and other animals, and vowed to fight anyone trying to stop them from doing so.
“We are the poorest but we are not cowards,” said Mayur Dabhia, a leader of the Dalit campaign group in Ahmedabad.
Police are investigating whether the flogged men killed the cow or whether it was already dead.
Different regions of the state observed sporadic protests and partial shutdowns as Chief Minister Anandiben Patel visited the village of the four Dalit men in Una of Saurashtra region .
They broke down on seeing Anandiben at their doorsteps. She later claimed all 25 Dalit families in the village were satisfied with the government’s action in the assault case.
Besides aid, she said, the Gujarat government will provide financial help to these families for the construction of houses and toilets.
A special camp will be held to ensure they get benefits of all government schemes.
Dalit children studying in Class 5 and above will be enrolled in government model schools for free.
Anandiben said she had ordered the district administration to complete these tasks in a month’s time and that she will revisit the place after two months to monitor the progress.
Dalits are at the bottom of India’s ages-old social hierarchy, making them vulnerable to attacks perpetrated by self-styled cow-protecting vigilantes.
The vigilantes chase trucks transporting cattle and raid slaughter houses.
Several people accused of eating beef have also been attacked, including a Muslim man who was last year beaten to death by a mob in a town near New Delhi.
Opposition lawmakers disrupted parliament yesterday to protest against the floggings in Gujarat and demanded Modi apologise to the victims.
“The recent shocking incident in Gujarat where four Dalit youths were savagely beaten and humiliated publicly is just one example of the social terror this government condones,” Congress president Sonia Gandhi told supporters.
In the upper house Rajya Sabha, opposition members trooped near the chairman’s podium, raising slogans against the government.
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot expressed regret at the death of the Dalit who consumed poison.
The minister, however, said the issue should not be “politicised.”
Critics say Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s nationalist agenda empowers hardline activists to believe they can take matters into their hands and target minority groups like Dalits and Muslims involved in the cattle trade.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh condemned the attack in Gujarat and said Modi was committed to the protection of low-caste people.