Caste-related violence in India

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Caste-related violence in India has occurred and continues to occur in various forms.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch:

Discriminatory and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of over 165 million people in India has been justified on the basis of caste. Caste is descent-based and hereditary in nature. It is a characteristic determined by one's birth into a particular caste, irrespective of the faith practiced by the individual. Caste denotes a traditional system of rigid social stratification into ranked groups defined by descent and occupation. Caste divisions in India dominate in housing, marriage, employment, and general social interaction-divisions that are reinforced through the practice and threat of social ostracism, economic boycotts, and physical violence.^[1]

20th century

Year	Event	Location	Description
1948	Anti-Brahmin riots	Maharashtra	After assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse who was a Chitpavan Brahmin, Marathi Brahmins were targeted by Kunbi- Maratha community. Hundreds of Marathi Brahmins were killed^[dubious ] Several incidents of rape, lynching and sexual assault were also reported.^[2]^[3]
1987	Dalelchak-Bhagaura massacre	Bihar	The killing of 52 upper caste members particularly from Rajput community was organised by a Maoist Communist Centre, a far-left militia. The incident was a retribution of killings of scheduled caste members by upper-caste militant organization like Kuer Sena and Ranvir Sena.^[4]
1968	Kilvenmani massacre	Tamil Nadu	Massacre on 25 December 1968 in which a group of 44 Dalit village labourers who were on strike for higher wages were murdered by a gang, sent by their landlords.
1981	Behmai massacre	Uttar Pradesh	Phoolan Devi (1963 – 2001) was an Indian dacoit (bandit), who later became politician. Born into a traditional Mallaah (boatman class) family, she was kidnapped by a gang of dacoits. The Gujjar leader of the gang tried to rape her, but she was protected by the deputy leader Vikram, who belonged to her caste. Later, an upper-caste Thakur friend of Vikram killed him, abducted Phoolan, and locked her up in Behmai village. Phoolan was raped in the village by Thakur men, until she managed to escape after three weeks.^[5] Phoolan then formed a gang of Mallahs of her own, which carried out a series of violent robberies in north and central India, in search for Revenge. Seventeen months after her escape from Behmai, Phoolan returned to the village, to take her revenge. On 14 February 1981, her gang massacred 22 Thakur men in the village, only two of which were supposedly involved in her kidnapping or rape. Phoolan Devi later surrendered and served eleven years in prison, after which she became a politician. During her election campaign, she was criticized by the women widowed in the Behmai massacre. Kshatriya Swabhiman Andolan Samanvay Committee (KSASC), a Kshatriya organization, held a statewide campaign to protest against her. She was elected a Member of Parliament twice and fought for Dalit & Indigenous Rights. On July 25, 2001, Phoolan Devi was shot dead by unknown assassins. Later, a man named Sher Singh Rana confessed to the murder, saying he was avenging the deaths of 22 Kshatriyas at Behmai. Although the police were skeptical of his claims, he was arrested. Rana escaped from Tihar Jail in 2004. In 2006, KSASC decided to honor Rana for "upholding the dignity of the Thakur community" and "drying the tears of the widows of Behmai."^[6]
1985	Karamchedu massacre	Andhra Pradesh, Karamchedu	This massacre occurred on 17 July 1985, when madiga-caste dalits were killed by the Kamma caste people in 1985. Many people lost their lives in the incident.^[7]
1990s	Violence by Ranvir Sena	Bihar	Ranvir Sena is a militia group based in Bihar. The group is based amongst the higher-caste landlords, and carries out actions against the outlawed naxals in rural areas. It has committed violent acts against Dalits and other members of the scheduled caste community in an effort to prevent their land from going to them. ^[8]
1991	Tsundur massacre	Andhra Pradesh, Tsundur	The village became infamous for the killing of 8 dalits on the 6 August 1991, when a mob of over 300 people, composed of mainly Reddys and Telagas chased down the victims along the bund of an irrigation canal. This happened after police department asked locals to go aggressive against large number of eve teasing outsiders entering village. In the trial which was concluded, 21 people were sentenced to life imprisonment and 35 others to a year of rigorous imprisonment and a penalty of Rs. 2,000 each, on the 31 July 2007, by special judge established for the purpose under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
1992	Bara massacre	Bihar	On the midnight of 12–13 February 1992, the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCC), now the Communist Party of India (Maoist)unit consisting Chamars, brutally killed 35 members of the Bhumihar caste at Bara Village near Gaya District of Bihar. The MCC's armed group brought the 35 men of Bara village to the bank of a nearby canal, tied their hands and slit their throats.As many as 36 people were accused of the crime, but charges were framed against only 13. The police failed to arrest the others, who had defied their summons.^[9]
1996	Bathani Tola massacre	Bihar	21 Dalits were killed by the Ranvir Sena in Bathani Tola, Bhojpur in Bihar on 11 July 1996.^[10] Among the dead were 11 women, six children and three infants. Ranvir Sena mob killed women and children in particular with the intention of deterring any future resistance which they foresaw. ^[8] Six members of Naimuddin Ansari's family were slaughtered by Ranvir Sena according to a witness statement. The FIR^[clarification needed] was lodged against 33 persons the day after the massacre. Niammuddin was a bangle-seller at the time of the carnage, whose 3 month old daughter was killed. Widespread claims suggest they were killed by Ranvir Sena aggressors. Naimuddin's 7 year son Saddam was attacked and his face was mutilated by sword lacerations. On 17 April 2012, the Patna High Court acquitted 23 men convicted of the murders. A Division bench of judges Navneeti Prasad Singh and Ashwani Kumar Singh cited "defective evidence" to acquit all of them.^[8]^[10] The next day, the Bihar State SC/ST Welfare Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi stated that the NDA-led Government (under Nitish Kumar) had decided to move to Supreme court challenging the Patna HC Order.^[11] A Ranvir Sena sympathizer, who spoke to the Hindu correspondent Shoumojit Banerjee, justified the reactionary mobilisation of the upper castes against those Naxals. "The land is ours. The crops belong to us. The labourers did not want to work, and also hampered our efforts by burning our machines and imposing economic blockades. So, they had it coming."^[8] Following the Bathani Tola carnage, there were several retaliatory naxal attacks killing at least 500 upper caste civilians ^[12] as well as attacks on Dalits and Labourers organized by the Ranvir Sena in Laxmanpur Bathe and Sankarbigha in which 81 Dalits were killed.^[8] The Counsel for the witness, Anand Vatsyayan, expressed being shocked at the High Court verdict and reportedly said that "sufficient evidence were at hand to uphold the judgement passed by the Ara sessions court. The Supreme Court guidelines in the event of a massacre are quite clear. The eyewitnesses need not remember all the names. Moreover, of the six prime witnesses questioned in this case, all had conclusively pointed fingers at the persons convicted by the lower court.^[10]
1994	Chhotan Shukla murder case	Bihar	Chhotan Shukla was a gangster of the Bhumihar community known for his tussle with Brij Bihari Prasad, a government minister who hailed from the Upper Caste Bania caste. During his return from an election campaign he was murdered allegedly by men operating on behalf of Prasad. In retribution, Prasad was also shot dead. Anand Mohan Singh, who was a leader of the upper-caste Rajputs, and his close companion Munna Shukla, the brother of Chhotan and himself a Bhumihar leader, were tried and given life terms in prison. The District Magistrate of Gopalganj, G. Krishnaiah, was also murdered by upper castes as he symbolised the growing power of backwards communities.^[13]
1997	Melavalavu massacre	Tamil Nadu, Madurai district	In the village of Melavalavu, in Tamil Nadu's Madurai district, following the election of a Dalit to the village council presidency, members of upper caste Hindus (Kallar) group murdered six Dalits in June 1996.^[14] Melur panchayat, which was a general constituency, was declared a reserved constituency in 1996. This had caused resentment between Scheduled Caste people and Kallar (Ambalakarar) community. In the 1996 panchayat elections, Murugesan was elected president.^[15] In June 1996, a group of persons attacked Murugesan, vice-president Mookan and others with deadly weapons, resulting in the death of six persons and injuries to many others. A total of 40 persons were cited as accused in the case. The trial court convicted Alagarsamy and 16 others and sentenced them to undergo life imprisonment. On appeal, the High Court by its judgment dated April 19, 2006, confirmed the trial court's order. Alagarsamy and others filed appeals against this judgment.^[15]
1997	Laxmanpur Bathe massacre	Bihar	On 1 December 1997, Ranvir Sena gunned down 58 Dalits at Laxmanpur Bathe, Jehanabad, in retaliation for the Bara massacre in Gaya where 37 upper castes were killed. In particular, a specific Bhumihar community was targeted in retaliation for their opposition towards handing out their land for land reform. Charges were framed in the Laxmanpur-Bathe case on 23 December 2008 against 46 Ranvir Sena members for killing Dalits, including 27 women and 10 children men.^[16]^[17] On 7 April 2010, the trial court at Patna convicted all 26 accused. 16 were sentenced to death and the other 10 were each give life imprisonment and fines of Rs. 50,000.^[16]^[17] Around 91 of 152 witnesses in the case had deposed before the court.^[16] On 9 October 2013, the Patna High Court suspended the conviction of all 26 accused, saying the prosecution had produced no evidence to guarantee any punishment at all.^[17]
1997	Ramabai killings	Mumbai	On 11 July 1997, a statue of B.R. Ambedkar in the Dalit colony of Ramabai was desecrated by unknown individuals. An initially peaceful protest was fired on by the police, killing ten people, including a bystander who had not been involved in the protests. Later in the day, 26 people were injured when the police carried out a lathi charge against the protesters. Commentators suggested that the arbitrarily violent response from the police had been the result of caste based prejudice, as the leader of the team stood accused in multiple cases involving caste-based discrimination.^[18]
1999	Senari Massacre	Uttar Pradesh	The Maoists extremist centre dominated by Yadav and Dusadh slaughtered 34 Bhumihar in Senari village near Jahanabad.^[19]
1999	Bhungar Khera incident	Abohar, Punjab	In January 1999 four members of the village panchayat of Bhungar Khera village in Abohar paraded a handicapped Dalit woman, Ramvati Devi, naked through the village. No action was taken by the police, despite local Dalit protests. It was only on July 20 that the four panchayat members and the head Ramesh Lal were arrested, after the State Home Department was compelled to order an inquiry into the incident.^[20]

21st century

Year	Event	Location	Description
2000	Afsar massacre	Bihar	This incident was a consequence of rivalry for domination between upper-caste Bhumihars and backward-caste KushwahaKurmis. The killing of 12 Bhumihars sparked anger among Bhumihar youths. The perpetrators of the incident were members of the Ashok Mahto gang, formed by a kushwaha militant who was also responsible for atrocities against upper castes including murder of sitting member of parliament Rajo Singh from Bihar.^[4]^[21]
2000	Kambalapalli incident	Karnataka	On 11 March 2000, seven Dalits were locked in a house and burnt alive by an upper-caste Reddy mob in Kambalapalli, Kolar district of Karnataka state. The Civil Rights Enforcement (CRE) Cell investigation revealed deep-rooted animosity between the Dalits and the upper-castes as the reason for the violence.^[22] The witnesses in the case, many of whom had narrowly escaped with their lives, had turned hostile during the trial in a lower court, resulting in a similar acquittal in 2006. Immediately after that verdict was delivered, many of the witnesses told the media that they backtracked because of threats from upper-caste groups.^[23] A subsequent plea for a retrial was rejected by the High Court.^[24] A division bench of Karnataka High Court acquitted all 46 accused in August 2014. The bench headed by Justice Mohan Shantanagoudar held that a conviction would be "pre-judicial" to the interest of the accused given that 14 years had passed since the incident and all the 22 eyewitnesses had since turned hostile. The court also observed that the investigating police officer and some of the eyewitnesses were not cross-examined properly.
2005	Jahanabad prison raid	Bihar	In 2005, Jahanabad, an area where Bhumihars are numerous, saw massive attacks and cordoning-off with the whole town under control of Maoists for more than two hours. About 200 armed men belonging to low caste agricultural labourers, led by poor peasants of castes such as the Koeri and Teli, attacked the district prison. They killed members of Ranvir Sena who were incarcerated there and returned with their comrades including Ajay Kanu, a Teli by caste.^[25]
2006	Bant Singh case	Punjab	On the evening of 5 January 2006, Bant Singh, a Mazhabi Sikh, was attacked by unknown assailants. His injuries necessitated medical amputation. He alleges that this was in retaliation for actively working to secure justice for his daughter, who was gang raped by upper caste members of his village in Punjab five years earlier.^[26]^[27]
2006	Khairlanji massacre	Maharashtra	On September 29, 2006, four members of the Bhotmange family belonging to the Mahar community were killed by a mob of 40 people belonging to the Maratha Kunbi caste. The incident happened in Kherlanji, a small village in Bhandara district of Maharashtra. The Mahars are Dalit, while the Kunbi are classified as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. The Bhotmanges were stripped naked and paraded to the village square by a mob of 40 people. The sons were ordered to rape their mother and sister, and when they refused, their genitals were mutilated before they were murdered.^[28] An initial call to the police was ignored, and a search for the bodies was deliberately delayed 2 days. The bodies were found in a canal, and due to the length of time the bodies were in the water, much of the physical evidence was contaminated or destroyed.^[29] The subsequent police and political inaction led to protests from Dalits. After allegations of a cover-up, the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).^[30] Maharashtra's home minister and Indian National Congress leader R. R. Patil claimed that the Dalit protests were motivated by extremist elements. A government report on the killings implicated top police officers, autopsy doctors and the local BJP MLA Madhukar Kukde for covering-up.^[30] A local court convicted 8 people, sentencing 6 of them to death and the other 2 to life.^[31] However, the death sentences were later commuted to life by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. The High Court declared that the murders were motivated by revenge, not caste.^[30]
2006	2006 Dalit protests	Maharashtra	In November–December 2006, the vandalism of an Ambedkar statue in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, triggered violent protests by Dalits in Maharashtra. Several people remarked that the protests were fueled by the Khairlanji massacre.^[32] During the violent protests, the Dalit protestors set 3 trains on fire, damaged over 100 buses, and clashed with police^[33] At least 4 deaths and many more injuries were reported.^[34]^[35]
2008	Gurjar agitation in Rajasthan	Rajasthan	In the Indian province of Rajasthan, between the years 1999 and 2002, crimes against Dalits average at about 5024 a year, with 46 killings and 138 cases of rape.^[36]^[37]
2011	Mirchpur Dalit killings incident	Haryana	In 2010, at Mirchpur, a Valmiki community colony of Dalits, a 2 year old dog allegedly barked at some 10 to 15 drunk boys from the Jat community who rode on motorcycles in front of the house of Jai Prakash. One of the Jat boys, Rajinder Pali, hurled a brick at the dog, causing a young Dalit to object. A physical fight ensued between them and the Jat boys threatened dire consequences. Later, two Valmiki elders named Veer Bhan and Karan Singh apologised to Jat elders but were beaten by them. On 21 April 2010, the Dalits met away from Mirchpur by arrangement with the police to achieve a compromise.^[38] In their absence, 300 to 400 Jat men^[39] and women went to Mirchpur, ransacked houses for jewels, cash and clothes, and then set the homes ablaze with Dalit women and children inside.^[40] This led to death by burning of 70-year-old Tara Chand and his 18-year-old physically challenged daughter Suman.^[38]^[41] After this incident, 200 Dalit families left the village fearing for their safety. Only 50 families remained with a group of 75 CRPF personnel deployed in the village.^[42] Police named 103 people in the charge sheet out of which 5 were juveniles.^[43] In September 2011, 15 people were convicted and 82 acquitted by a Sessions Court.^[44] The CRPF presence was withdrawn in December 2016. In January 2017, Shiv Kumar a 17-year-old Dalit boy (also a district-level athlete) won a cash prize of Rs 1,500 in the cycle-stunt competition at a local playground.^[45] A group of youths from the upper caste Jats^[46] allegedly passing casteist remarks against him which led to a fight where nine Dalit youths, aged between 14 and 25, were severely injured. After this incident remaining 40 Dalit families also left the village.^[47] On 24 August 2018, in a landmark judgement^[48] Delhi High Court reversed the acquittal of 20 accused and upheld the conviction of 13 others in the case with enhanced punishment for nine of them.^[49]^[50] A bench of justices S. Muralidhar and I S Mehta said: The incidents of April 21, 2010 constituted an act of deliberate targeting of Balmiki houses by Jats, setting them on fire in a pre-planned and carefully orchestrated manner. It was pursuant to a conspiracy by the Jats to ‘teach the Balmikis a lesson’.^[51] Muralidhar noted that atrocities by those belonging to dominant castes against Scheduled Castes have shown no sign of abating even after 71 years of Indian independence.^[52] After the verdict, two police companies were deployed in Mirchpur under the charge of duty magistrate and DSP.^[53] The next day, witnesses in the case did not step out for work fearing backlash of the verdict.^[54]
2012	Dharmapuri violence	Tamil Nadu	In December 2012 approximately 268 dwellings – huts, tiled-roof and one or two-room concrete houses of Dalits of the Adi Dravida community near Naikkankottai in Dharmapuri district of western Tamil Nadu were torched by the higher-caste Vanniyar. The victims have alleged that ‘systematic destruction’ of their properties and livelihood resources has taken place.^[55] In December 2012, in case of caste violence, two men named Akbar Ali and Mustafa Ansari were beaten by Muslims.^[56]
2013	Marakkanam violence	Tamil Nadu	In April 2013, violence broke out between the villagers along East Coast Road near Marakkanam and those travelling to Vanniyar dominant caste gathering at Mamallapuram. A mob indulged in setting fire to houses, 4 buses of TNSTC and PRTC. 3 people were injured in police firing. Traffic was closed in ECR for a day.^[57]
2015	Dalit violence in Dangawas	Rajasthan, Nagaur district	On Thursday, May 14, 2015, clashes between Jats and Dalits in Dangawas village of Rajasthan's Nagaur district left 4 people dead and 13 injured.^[58]
2016	Violence following the suicide of Rohith Vemula	Hyderabad	The suicide of Rohith Vemula, of Central University of Hyderabad, on 18 January 2016 sparked protests and outrage from across India and gained widespread media attention as an alleged case of discrimination against Dalits and backward classes in India in which elite educational institutions have been purportedly seen as an enduring vestige of caste-based discrimination against students belonging to "backward classes".
2016	Ariyalur gang rape case	Tamil Nadu	In December 2016, a Hindu Munnani Union Secretary and three of his accomplices gang-raped, and murdered a 17-year-old minor Dailt girl in Keezhamaligai village, Ariyalur district.^[59] The police revealed that the Hindu Munnani functionary was irritated over the lower-caste dalit girl who insisted to marry her after she got pregnant with him.^[60] The men also pulled out the fetus from her womb.^[61] Later, her body was found in decomposed state in a well with her hands tied, stripped of all jewelry and clothes.^[62]^[59]
2017	Anandpal Singh murder case	Rajasthan	The murder case of Anandpal Singh was a culmination of various events which were result of battle for dominance between Jats and Rajput of Rajasthan. It was claimed by supporters of Singh that his encounter was a conspiracy. The allegations were also made that Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, a maratha and Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria, a Jain,^[63] both were involved though charges were never proved.^[64]^[65]^[66]^[67]
2017	Saharanpur violence	Uttar Pradesh	Violence broke out between Thakurs and dalits during the procession of Rajput warrior-king Maharana Pratap over the loud music. In the violence one man was killed, 16 were injured, and 25 Dalit houses were burned. The incident was connected to MP Raghav Lakhanpal, BJP member from Saharanpur.^[68]
2018	Samrau violence	Rajasthan	On the evening of 14 January 2018, clashes between Jats and Rajputs in Samrau village of Rajasthan's Jodhpur district burned shops and houses of many innocent people, and destroyed the rawla (king's residence).^[69]
2018	Bhima Koregaon violence	Maharashtra, Pune	This event was an attack on visitors during an annual celebratory gathering at Bhima Koregaon to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon victory. Later, a think tank called Forum for Integrated National Security (FINS), mainly consisting of retired army officers, released a report on the Bhima Koregaon riots. The report absolved the Hindu leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide from direct involvement. Instead, it blamed the Maoists (ultra left-wing organisations) for instigating the Dalit activists. It also blamed the Maharashtra Police for "apathy" and overlooking evidence.^[70]^[71]^[72]
2018	April caste protests in India	India	In early April 2018, lakhs of people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) protested across India against an order of the Supreme Court on the Atrocities Act. In subsequent violence, 14 people died and hundreds were injured.^[73]^[74]^[75]^[76]
2018	Kachanatham temple incident	Tamil Nadu	On 28 May 2018, dominant-caste Hindus were “enraged” that Dalits did not present temple honours to an upper-caste family, and a Dalit man sat cross-legged in front of upper-caste men. Dominant caste members also were enraged when Dalits protested the sale of marijuana in the area by people from a neighbouring village and intimidated and threatened the Dalits.^[77] When the Dalit caste protested the intimidation and threats from the dominant castes in the village with the local police in retaliation a gang of 15 dominant caste members raided the Dalit village at night attacking people indiscriminately killing three and injuring six.^[78]
2019	Suicide of Payal Tadvi	Maharashtra, Mumbai	On 22 May 2019, Dr. Payal Tadvi, a 26-year-old Schedule-Tribe Muslim gynaecologist,^[79] died by suicide in Mumbai.^[80] For months leading up to her death, she had told her family that she was subjected to ragging by three "upper" caste women doctors;^[81] however, the accused denied of having any knowledge of Tadvi's tribal background.^[82]^[83] They allegedly went to the toilet and then wiped their feet on her bed, called her casteist slurs, made fun of her for being a tribal on WhatsApp groups and threatened to not allow her to enter operation theatres or perform deliveries. A few hours before she took her life, she had reportedly told her mother, once again, about this harassment.
2019	Lynching of Jagmael Singh	Punjab, India	On 7 November 2019, a Dalit Sikh man, namely Jagmael Singh was kidnapped, tortured, and forced to drink urine after which he died in Sangrur.^[84] He was kidnapped and tortured by 4 men of the upper-caste Sikh community over the matter of caste status.^[85]
2020	Hathras gang rape & murder	Uttar Pradesh, Hathras district	In September 2020, a dalit girl in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh was allegedly murdered by 4 men from Thakur caste. According to victim's family, the girl was gang raped by Thakurs of the Village and in order to eliminate the evidences her backbone was broken and the tongue was cut by the perpetrators. The girl has confessed the same on a video shot inside the hospital. The Police secretly burned her dead body at midnight without conducting any Post Mortem Test.^[86]
2021	Lynching and murder of Lakhbir Singh	Singhu border, Sonipat district, Haryana	On night of 14 October 2021, a Dalit Sikh labourer, Lakhbir Singh from Cheema Khurd village of Tarn Taran district was lynched by Nihang Sikhs present at farmers' protest site on the allegations of blasphemy by him touching and picking up the copy of a Sarbloh Granth.^[87]^[88]^[89] Family members of Lakhbir denied his role in alleged blasphemy.^[90] Village residents told The Caravan that they had first seen main accused Nihang Sarabjit Singh in the village about three months earlier, near the Sarai Amanat Khan police station. Several other villagers had seen Sarabjit in Cheema Kalan on several occasions driving a Bolero Camper car close to a langar hall being built near the village's bus stand. On 12 October Lakhbir was seen leaving the market when one man on a bike picked up Lakhbir from the nearby cremation ground crossing and handed him over to two Nihangs in a Bolero car, later that night Lakhbir was seen at Nihang Goshala (cowshed) feeding the cattle.^[91]
2022	Murder of Indra Meghwal	Jalore district, Rajasthan	A nine year old Dalit boy, named Indra Meghwal, was assaulted by a teacher after touching a pot of drinking water meant only for upper castes, which lead to his death after 24 days.^[92]

See also

• List of caste based violence in Bihar
• Communalism (South Asia)
• Religious harmony in India
• Crime in India
• Caste system in India
• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

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