Original image courtesy: The Wire.in
On May 25, 2019, two days after sweeping back to power, Prime Minister Modi made a speech at the Central Hall of Parliament. He said, “We belong with those who voted for us and with those who consider us their enemy.” He spoke of minorities living in fear, but claimed that this fear is an imaginary creation of vote-bank politics. In the video of the speech below he evoked the memory of Baba Saheb Ambedkar as the camera panned obligingly to the portrait of him hung in the historic hall. Modi said the new government must take it upon itself to win the faith of all minorities: “Sabka Vishwas”.
May 29, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh: Four daily wage labourers were beaten up by seven men who accused them of eating meat near a temple.
Read: Spurt in Violence, Killings in UP After LS Poll Results
May 31, Jharkhand: Triggered by the April 10 murder of a 50-year-old adivasi man suspected of killing a bull, 5000 protestors gathered at Dumri in Jharkhand to protest against mob lynchings and police negligence. The protest was organised by Kendriya Jan Sangharsh Samiti and many of the state’s human rights activists were also present at the demonstration.
Read: 5000 people come together in Jharkhand at anti-lynching protest
May 31, Surat, Gujarat: A hawker selling toys on a train was arrested for mimicking Modi after the video of him went viral. He has been booked under several sections of the Railway Act such as 145 B (spreading nuisance or using abusive language in railway carriage).
Read: Gujarat: Train hawker arrested after video of him mimicking politicians goes viral
June 03, Vadodara, Gujarat: The people staying in plot survey no. 287 of Ektanagar Rahis Association, mostly Muslims and Marathas, are being intimidated by the VMC to vacate the slum for a Smart City project, even though the Gujarat HC had stayed the demolition order two years ago. There has been no direct water to this area, while the neighbouring, largely Hindu-populated slums face no such problem.
Read: No Water But Gutter and Garbage: Vadodara’s Minorities Living in Hell
June 06, Jammu: Continued incidents of caste-based occupational and structural discrimination in Jammu was brought to light. In the narrow lanes of Valmiki Colony of Gandhinagar , every household has a story.
Read: Dalits in Jammu Still Fighting Caste Discrimination
June 07, Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh: It was reported that in the Chitrakoot region, taps and pumps are running dry in the dalit basti where the Chamar community live. Yet, upper-caste settlementsof mainly Brahmins and Thakurs do not allow them access to their hand pumps and bore wells that are replenished by water tankers. Local officials deny the ongoing discrimination, insisting that untouchability practises are a thing of the past contrary to evidence procured by Khabar Lahariya.
Read: Caste Discrimination in UP’s Bundelkhand is Worsening the Water Woes of Dalits
June 07, Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh: A 12-year-old dalit girl was raped in front of her family who were also beaten up. The accused, reported had a dispute with the girl’s family over the building of a drainage channel. Those accused have been booked under the Prevention of Atrocities against SCs and STs Act (POA) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
Read: 12-year-old Dalit girl dragged from home, raped by six men in UP’s Kushinagar
June 07, Pali, Rajasthan: It came to light following a viral video that a dalit boy had been beaten by men from the Kumawat community, an OBC. The boy’s family claims that it was because the he had entered the Kumbaji Maharaj temple. They also did not report the incident to the police fearing reprisal. They are the only dalit household near an area of about 600 Kumawat households. The police allege that the boy and the Vaishnav priest’s daughter were “found in a compromising position” and have booked him under the POCSO Act in the meantime.
Read: Rajasthan: Dalit Boy Thrashed for Alleged Relationship With Priest’s Daughter
June 07, Barak Valley, Assam: 82 families comprising more than 1,000 people — all Muslims — have been evicted from the Rajanikhal forest village under the Haiwaithang range, which falls inside Assam’s Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya’s home constituency Dholai.
Read: Eviction Leaves Over 1,000 Muslims Homeless in Barak Valley
June 09, Katihar district, Bihar: 25 dalit homes were set on fire by upper-caste men who allegedly have connections to the local land mafia. They appeared on bikes, carrying arms and torched homes. The police say this is to do with an ongoing land dispute.
Read: Houses of 25 dalits set on fire in Katihar village
The Indian Cultural Forum will do a regular round-up of how Modi’s “New India” holds up to the promise of “Sabka Vishwas”. This list is sourced from news reports and is by no means complete. Speaking of minority rights in one speech is not enough. It is not enough, when Hindutva forces have taken the lives of dalits, adivasis and Muslims in the last five years of the Modi government. When those forces threaten and intimidate them every day. When they rape and brutalise them. We were not silent then. We refuse to be silent under Modi’s second term as Prime Minister.
Read More:
“Sabka Vishwas” Tracker – Post One
