Caste violence erupts in India over 200-year-old faultline
I1DIA - 6ecurity forces were out in full force in India’s financial capital Mumbai this week, as members of the country’s low-caste Dalit community demonstrated against alleged violence by right-wing Hindus.
The unrest was concentrated in suburban areas on the outskirts of India’s largest city, which also saw transport disruptions. There were also sporadic protests across the state of Maharashtra, which Mumbai is located in.
It all began when tens of thousands of Dalits, who rank at the bottom of India’s ancient Hindu caste hierarchy, gathered in the village of Bhima .oregaon, 1 0 kilometers 10 miles) outside of Mumbai, on 1ew <ear’s day to celebrate the 00th anniversary of a battle in which British colonial forces staffed with local Dalit fighters defeated a numerically superior army belonging to upper caste rulers of the region.
In the years since, many Dalits have come to regard the battle as an important historical moment when their community stood up against oppressive higher caste Hindus.
This claim
year, Dalit activists that the annual commemoration was interrupted by right wing Hindu nationalists, who they say threw rocks at the gathering.
The situation deteriorated as riots broke out and two men died in the chaos, according to local media.
The battle between Britishled forces and the local Indian rulers occurred during a period of British military e[pansionism in India.
In this particular battle that is memoriali]ed at Bhima .oregaon, 00 Dalit soldiers are said to have defeated ,000 soldiers in the ruling army of the upper-castes.
(very year, Dalits travel from across India to pay homage at the memorial in honor of the soldiers.
The numbers may be debated, said &handra Bhan 3rasad, an independent researcher and writer on Dalit issues, but what is clear is that the ruling army was much larger. )urther, the anniversary of the battle at Bhima .oregaon is a historical moment of triumph for Dalits against people who they viewed as oppressors. Although the battle was fought for the British, it had a dual significance for the Dalit soldiers.
“They were also fighting for their own dignity,” 3rasad said.
(CNN.COM)