An endless cycle

Even by the standards of brutalisation of society set by Bihar, the killings of 34 upper-caste Bhumihars at Senari in Jehanabad district on Thursday night are the most horrendous so far. Each one of the victims was killed by slitting his throat. They were targeted for no other reason than their caste. Obviously, considerable planning had gone into the massacre. Hundreds of Maoist Communist Centre MCC cadres, disguised as policemen, surrounded the village and herded them to an isolated spot and slaughtered them like chicken. Yet the policemen whose outpost is just a kilometre away from the village had no clue to the killings until hours after the killers had made good their escape. After the recent attacks on the Dalits by the dreaded Ranbir Sena, a retaliation of this kind was only to be expected. The Rabri Devi government, which pro-ved its majority in the Assembly a few days ago, has blamed the Central government for the inadequate police presence in the district. Such an assertion is unlikely to convinceanyone for it is well known that Jehanabad is one of the most intensively policed districts in the state, nay country. It is dotted with police stations and outposts each of which was set up following some killing. Besides, it is less than an hour8217;s drive from the state capital and, therefore, within easy reach. Thus it is not inaccessibility or lack of police force that prevents the government from discharging its responsibility to the hapless citizens of the benighted district, created especially to fight extremist violence.

Even as each round of killing is followed by another of a more vicious kind, government seems to have disappeared from the area. It is the general perception that the government cannot enforce law and order and mete out justice that encourages forces like the Ranbir Sena and the MCC to take the law into their own hands. Opportunities to reassert the government8217;s authority by setting up special courts to deal with organised crime were sadly missed in the past. The people no longertrust the government. Such was the intensity of their anger that the Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders did not even dare to visit Senari to console the victims. One of the Congress MLAs who made so bold as to visit the village had to beat a hasty retreat when he was manhandled. In his personal suffering the MLA has paid a price for the volte-face of his party that enabled the RJD to return to power.

The Congress party8217;s protest against the massacre appears farcical against the backdrop of its unholy conduct. It is stating the obvious that the RJD has forfeited its right to continue in office, despite the vote it secured in the Assembly. But to expect Laloo Yadav and his wife to give up office is to not know them at all. Earlier, the people could at least ask for the dismissal of the state government and the imposition of President8217;s rule. But now that Rabri Devi is all set to stay in office for the remainder of her term because imposition of President8217;s rule a second time is virtually impossible, there is nosolution in sight to the predicament of the people of Jehanabad. Needless to say, the lack of an alternative to the RJD regime compounds their tragedy.