There has been a rise in the cases of Caste-related violence after 2014

Between the 1948 Anti-Brahmin riots to the 1999 incident of Bhungarkheda, In which a handicapped Dalit woman was paraded naked in the Bhungar Kheda village of Abohar district in Punjab, there were occasional cases of Caste-related violence. But in the 21^st century, major incidences of caste violence have been reported after 2014.

New Delhi— The Caste-related violence once again confirms that even today atrocities are being committed against Dalits, OBCs, Tribals and Muslims. The first case of caste-related violence came to light in 1948 from Maharasthra. Following that minor incidences of caste violence were reported in India. We also have to take into account the fact, that there were intermittent cases of caste-related violence, but they never came into the limelight and therefore there is no information available on the public platforms and never became an issue of public discourse. Let us see how the trend of caste-related atrocities has increased after 2014.

Dangawas (2015)

According to a report by NDTV, In the Nagaur district of Rajasthan, on 14^th May 2015 4 people were killed and 13 were injured after skirmishes between Jats and Dalits.

Violence post the suicide of Rohit Vemula (2016)

The suicide of Rohit Vemula of Hyderabad Central Universityfanned protests across the country and the discrimination against Dalits and Backward-caste captured the media attention and was seen as caste-based discrimination against OBCs.

Ariyalur (2016)

The same year in December 2016 another incident came to light in Ariyulur, Tamil Nadu, where a 17-year -old Dalit girl was gang-raped and murdered. According to the police, an official of Hindu Munnaniwas enraged when a Dalit girl pressurized him for marriage after she got pregnant during their relationship. He raped the girls with three of his associates and later pulled out the foetus from her womb, and dumped her body in a well. The mangled remains of the body were found inside the well, with the hands tied and her jewellery and clothes were also removed.

Saharanpur (2017)

Violence erupted between Dalits and Thakurs over loud music being played in a procession of Raja Maharana Pratap- a Rajput warrior. One person died in the violence and 16 were injured and 25 houses belonging to the Dalit community were arsoned. The incident was related to Saharanpur BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal.

Samrau, Jodhpur (2018)

According to a report in the Patrika, Samrau village of Jodhpur witnessed skirmishes between Jats and Rajputs in which homes and shops of many innocent people were torched and Rawla (the residence of King) was also destroyed.

Pune (2018)

In the same year, another incident was reported from Maharashtra.  An annual program was organized for celebrating the 200^th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, the people enroute to the site were attacked. Subsequently, a Think Tank called Forum for Integrated National Security, was formed, which consisted of retired officers of the Armed Forces. The report absolved Hindu leaders Milind Ekbote and SambhajiBhide of direct involvement but indicted several Dalit activists. The report also blamed Maharashtra Police for laxity and glossing over the evidence.

April Violence (2018)

The third incidence this year came to light in 2 April 2018, when a protest was called against a Verdict of the Supreme Court, which would have practically eviscerated the Prevention of atrocities against the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Act(1989). The All-India protests saw the death of 14 people and hundreds injured.

Payal Tadvi suicide (2019)

Payal Tadvi, a 26-year-old obstetrician belonging to the Muslim-ST community committed suicide. Before her death, she had confided to her mother that three "upper caste girls" had ragged her.

Punjab

The same year another incident from Punjab was reported. On 7^th November 2019 a Dalit sikh known as Jagmel Singh was kidnapped, tortured and was forced to drink urine. He died after some days in Sangrur, Punjab. 4 people of the Upper caste Sikh community kidnapped him and tortured him.

Hathras (2020)

In September, 2020 in Hathras district a Dalit girl was allegedly raped and murdered by four youths of Thakur community. According to the victims family, the thakurs of the villages gang-raped the girl and broke her ribs and cut her tongue to destroy the evidence. According to Newslaundry, the girl has revealed all this in her dying declaration in a video. The police furtively burnt the body in mid-night without a post-mortem.

The lynching of Lakhbir Singh, Sonipat(2021)

In a chilling incident, Lakhbir Singh, a Dalit labourer from TaranTaran District of Sonipat was lynched at the Singhu Border, in the Sonipat district of Haryana on the allegation of desecration of a Holy Book. The family members of Lakhbir Singh ruled out the possibility of his role in desecrating the Holy Book.

The Murder of Indra Meghwal, Jalore (2022)

In the Jalore district of Rajasthan, a Dalit student Indra Meghwal was beaten merely because he touched the utensil meant for drinking water. The student died 24 days after the incident.

यहाँ हिन्दी में भी पढ़ें–भारत में 2014 के बाद हर साल जाति संबंधित हिंसा की सबसे ज्यादा खबरें सामने आईं

[Story Translated By Pratikshit Singh]