Thread by @PARInetwork

What happens when a Dalit seeks justice from the courts? Most times, the struggle may be just getting there, or charges are not framed years after a crime. This two-part story, done 20 years ago, continues to be relevant in 2020
#Dalits #HathrasCase 1/13
ruralindiaonline.org/articles/a-dal…

When Bhanwari Devi’s 13yo daughter was raped in the bajra fields by an upper caste youth, she picked up a lathi & went after the rapist herself. She had no faith in the police & courts. She was prevented from seeking any redress by the dominant castes of Ahiron ka Rampura. 2/13

It doesn’t mean much, though, in Rajasthan. On average in this state, one Dalit woman is raped every 60 hours. Data from reports of the National Commission show that nearly 900 cases of sexual assault of SC women were registered with the police between 1991 and 1996. 3/13

That’s round 150 cases a year – or one every 60 hours. The numbers don’t measure the reality. In this state, the extent of under-reporting of such crimes is perhaps the worst in the country. 4/13

In Naksoda of Dholpur district, the victim of one of the most dramatic atrocities has fled the village. In April 1998, Rameshwar Jatav, a Dalit, sought the return of Rs. 150 that he had loaned an upper caste Gujjar. That was asking for trouble. 5/13

Enraged by his arrogance, a band of Gujjars pierced his nose and put a ring of two threads of jute, a metre long and 2 mm thick, through his nostrils. Then they paraded him around the village, leading him by the ring. 6/13

The incident caused national outrage. It was widely reported overseas as well, both in print and on television. All that publicity, however, had no impact on ensuring justice. Terror within the village and a hostile bureaucracy at the ground level saw to that. 7/13

And with the sensational and spectacular out of the way, the press lost interest in the case. So, apparently, did the human rights groups. 8/13

The victims faced the post-media music on their own. Rameshwar completely changed his line in court. Yes, the atrocity had happened. However, it was not the six people named in his complaint who had done it. He could not identify the guilty. 9/13

The senior medical officer, who had recorded the injuries in detail, now pleaded forgetfulness. Yes, Rameshwar had approached him with those wounds. He could not remember, though, if the victim had told him how he had come by those unusual injuries. 10/13

Rameshwar’s father, Mangi Lal, has himself turned hostile as a witness. “What do you expect us to do? We live here in terror. The authorities were totally against us. The Gujjars can finish us any time. Various powerful people, and some in the police, forced this on us.” 11/13

Rameshwar has left the village. Mangi Lal has sold one of the just three bighas of land the family owns to meet the costs of the case thus far. 12/13

For the world, it was a barbaric act. In Rajasthan, it just falls into one of thousands of 'Other IPC' (Indian Penal Code) cases. Which means cases other than murder, rape, arson or grievous hurt. Between 1991-96, there was one such case registered every four hours. 13/13