Sukanya Shantha 
Mumbai: For over a month, the families of victims of police violence, along with several anti-caste activists, have demonstrated in a sit-in protest in Parbhani. They had one simple demand: action be taken against the policemen who had battered several Dalit men and women and ransacked their belongings, all in the name of a “combing action” on December 11. But a month later, as their demands continue to be ignored, the protestors have now begun a long march from Parbhani to Mumbai, a distance of around 600 kilometres to be covered on foot in a month’s time.
“We have witnessed the worst kind of police atrocity, and it has been over a month, but the government is refusing to take action. We will march on until this government pays heed to our demands,” says 80-year-old Shirsabai Sawant, among more than hundred women who began walking from Parbhani on January 17.
80-year-old Shirsabai Sawant, in orange. Photo: By arrangement.
Like Sawant, several other old and young Ambedkarite activists have joined the long march. Some are direct victims of the violence, still recovering from the fractures and internal injuries they suffered in the police attack.
On December 10, a caste Hindu man allegedly desecrated a replica of the Indian constitution in the heart of Parbhani city. This act agitated the Ambedkarites, leading to public demonstrations across the city. While the protests did turn violent in some places, the subsequent police action was disproportionate.
Police were captured on cameras entering Dalit slums across Parbhani and beating up men and women mercilessly. Over 50 youths, including a few women, were arrested and allegedly beaten up while in custody.
The custodial violence also led to the death of a young law student, Somnath Suryawanshi. The post-mortem report confirmed that that Suryawanshi, who belonged to the nomadic Wadar community, died following internal injuries. This clinching evidence, however, didn’t lead to any criminal action against the police. When the demand for action against the police officers responsible for Suryawanshi’s death and other brutalities grew, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis spoke on the floor of the assembly at the winter session on December 20.
Fadnavis, suppressing the post-mortem report, claimed that Suryawanshi’s death was a result of some underlying health issues. Fadnavis, who also handles the home portfolio, refused to take responsibility for Suryawanshi’s death. He also, curiously, announced compensation for his kin.
While Fadnavis, in his statement in the assembly, continued to defend the police, he later contradicted his claims by announcing the suspension of police inspector Ashok Jogdand, who has been accused of using excessive force. Jogdand, he claimed, was suspended pending inquiry. “A judicial inquiry, under a retired judge, has been ordered,” Fadnavis announced.
Activists walk from Parbhani to Mumbai. Photo: By arrangement.
The manner in which the state government has handled the violence and the subsequent inquiries has left the community feeling let down. Suryawanshi’s younger brother, Avinash, who had been protesting for over a month along with his mother in Parbhani, has also joined the long march. “My brother’s death can’t go in vain,” he told The Wire.
Suryawanshi’s landless family works in Pune’s Chakan area. His brother, also a graduate, does odd jobs to run the family. The family, along with the demand for police action against the officers who brutalised him in custody, had also sought a job for his brother.
Days before the long march was to begin, some activists say they were summoned by the chief minister to meet him in Mumbai. Dalit Yuva Panther leader Rahul Pradhan says he refused to attend this meeting. “People here are anguished. They have lost faith in the system. If the chief minister [Fadnavis] was serious about doing something for the people, considering that his police system has failed, he should have come and met them here. Instead, he wanted to have some talks of compromise,” Pradhan claims. A
Although Pradhan didn’t visit Fadnavis, a few Ambedkarite leaders from Marathwada met him earlier this month.
Besides some verbal promises and an assurance to give Suryawanshi’s brother a job, nothing came out of the meeting, those who attended it told The Wire. “There was no word on taking action on the police, which has been our primary ask,” said one of the anti-caste leaders who attended the meeting with the CM.
Activists walk from Parbhani to Mumbai. Photo: By arrangement.
The protestors say they have intentionally tried to keep political parties out of the planning. “This is a people’s movement. If they [political parties] want to join, they can, but they need to keep their political affiliations outside,” said Sudhir Salve, a young Ambedkarite and a law student who has been at the forefront of organising and leading the march.
Atrocities and police violence, particularly against the Dalit and Adivasi communities, are a common phenomenon across India. Activists and lawyers have long pointed to the impunity with which the police act and how governments continues to shield them from any accountability. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a nodal agency that collates data on crimes and prison statistics in India, shows a growing trend of atrocities on both the Dalit and Adivasi communities in the state. The conviction rate, however, has been disturbingly low (less than 10%). Many researchers have attributed this to the police’s refusal to investigate matters.