Caste Violence and the ‘Valmiki Caste’ in Haryana: Atrocities, Trauma, and Resistance

— ✍️ Dr. Krishan Kumar

Atrocities against Dalits have been a big challenge for Dalits as well as governments. Because, as Dalits have been waking up about their rights, they have become objectives for casteist minds, and they have tried to break their confidence and even dismantle their leadership. The Indian caste system always endorses structures of social exclusion and discrimination. It would hardly be an exception to find a Dalit who has not experienced discrimination of some kind.

The Valmiki community, a Dalit sub-caste traditionally associated with sanitation and manual scavenging, has particularly suffered under the weight of this oppressive system. The caste “Valmiki” does not refer to a single caste but rather a group of communities that were historically forced into occupations considered impure or degrading, especially manual scavenging and cleaning. Unfortunately, still today, Valmikis, who are associated with their hereditary professions, are accepted by Savarnas and Dalits also. However, if someone tries to establish him/herself, s/he would face dual exclusion from Dalits and non-Dalits. Even though India gained independence more than seventy-seven years ago and enacted a constitution that guarantees equality and dignity for all, many caste-bound occupations continue to function as inherited fates.

Casteist minds still resist the idea that a Valmiki can rise beyond socially imposed boundaries, that they too can become teachers, doctors, artists, or leaders. This systemic prejudice is evident in many everyday situations and becomes glaringly violent in others. A striking recent example is the case of Jansu Chauhan, a Class 8 student at Christ Raja Convent School in Jind, Haryana. His father is a schoolteacher and his mother a homemaker. It was very unbelievable that an ignorable quarrel between Jansu and a classmate, Jivansh, during a telephonic conversation, turned into a horrifying episode of casteist abuse and threats because of Jansu's caste identity.

Following the argument, Jivansh’s father, Vikas Sharma, and his uncle, Deepak Sharma, called Jansu and unleashed a torrent of caste-based slurs—terms like “Chude,” “Chamaar,” and “Bhangi”—words that have been used for generations to shame and degrade Dalit individuals. The abuse went beyond words; they threatened to strip Jansu’s parents and kill him and his father, aiming to reduce the family to a state of terror. many difficulties, on May 17, 2025, Jansu’s mother lodged a complaint at Patiala Chowki in Jind. She described how her son had been harassed continuously for three years. She named not just the relatives of Jivansh but also a teacher, Hariom, who allegedly supported the harassment. She described that Vikas and Deepak Sharma often stood outside the school, harassed her son, and made videos to mock and intimidate him. However, the police delayed registering an FIR for eight days. When they finally did, on May 25, 2025, the FIR—registered as Case No. 179—only mentioned Deepak Sharma's name. The other two accused, including the teacher named explicitly in the complaint, were excluded.

The FIR invoked Sections 296 and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. But the selective naming of the accused and the delay in filing the FIR point to a larger issue: the collusion of caste and prejudices of state institutions. Even in a formal educational setting, and even when supported by a written complaint, a Valmiki child’s trauma was not taken seriously. Jansu has now stopped attending school. The trauma inflicted on him has not only interrupted his education but also left a deep emotional scar. After a few weeks, another shocking incident occurred—this time in the 12 Quarter Road area of Hisar district—on July 7, 2025, Ganesh, a minor young boy from the Valmiki community, was celebrating his birthday with his family. Loudspeakers were used during the celebration, reportedly beyond the legal time limits, which disturbed a nearby police outpost. What followed was a brutal overreaction by the police. Without a warrant and in the absence of a female officer—both in violation of standard legal procedures—the police forcibly entered the home. They beat members of the family, including women; Ganesh died during this trauma. Later, the video of the police attack circulated widely on social media, sparking anger and mourning. Members of the Valmiki community gathered at the Civil Hospital of Hisar, where Ganesh’s body had been taken for postmortem. They refused to cremate the body and demanded justice. Their demands were registration of an FIR against the officers involved, a CBI inquiry, termination of the involved personnel, financial compensation, and a government job for a family member. For ten days, from July 8 to July 17, they held a peaceful protest. The government initially ignored their demands and even issued a coercive notice under the Haryana Honourable Disposal of Dead Body Act, 2025, mandating cremation within 12 hours—a move widely seen as an attempt to suppress resistance. Finally, on July 17, after public pressure and ongoing protest, the government agreed to all five demands. Ganesh was cremated on July 18, 2025.

The incident served as a painful reminder of other brutal caste crimes in Haryana—particularly Gohana (2005) and Mirchpur (2010). In 2020, a young man from the Valmiki community—Raman Valmiki—died under mysterious circumstances in judicial custody. His death also sparked protests by Dalit organizations, particularly by Balmikis. However, later investigation revealed that Raman’s death occurred due to health issues. Yet, it was still an institutional murder because it is the duty of the jail authorities to provide immediate medical facilities. One thing that must be discussed here is why all these atrocities have occurred specifically against the Balmikis.

I investigated and found some answers to this question:

1. Balmikis are not aware of the value of icons. Due to this ignorance, they are misled by misinformation and end up following icons who are not well established.

2. Due to a lack of education, Balmiki representatives are fewer in the system than their proportion in the population.

3. They are still not associated with any particular ideology, so everyone tries to impose their own ideology on the Balmiki community.

4. Balmikis have been more focused on religious issues than on material concerns. As, in the case of Ganesh, some Balmikis were criticizing Cabinet Minister Krishan Bedi, himself a Valmiki and MLA from Narwana, while he played an important role in negotiating and resolving the matter. Yet, ironically, he was criticized by some Ambedkarite activists who blamed him for supporting sub-categorization within Scheduled Castes—dividing them into Depressed Scheduled Castes (DSC) and Other Scheduled Castes (OSC). They accused him of weakening Dalit unity. However, this criticism appears misplaced, especially when support for justice came from across sub-castes.

Prominent leaders like Kumari Selja and Charanjit Singh Channi, both from OSC backgrounds, extended support to the Valmiki community. The Supreme Court has already upheld the constitutional validity of sub-categorization, viewing it as a way to ensure equitable representation and benefits within the larger Dalit population.

This political controversy raises a deeper question: why was Bedi, a Dalit minister from the Valmiki community, made the face of criticism, while 17 other Dalit MLAs and 2 MPs from Haryana remained silent? Was it because Bedi’s identity as a Valmiki and his unapologetic assertion of leadership challenged the old hierarchies within Dalit politics itself? The silence of elected representatives, particularly those from Hisar, where the atrocity occurred, is even more troubling. In a representative democracy, where Dalits do not have separate electorates, all leaders, regardless of caste, must be held accountable for ensuring justice and dignity for the most vulnerable. Yet, amidst these painful experiences, the Valmiki community in Haryana is also writing a new chapter because of their resistance against injustice and atrocities.

- The author is a scholar based in Haryana specializing in Dalits and Marginalized Studies.