In a state where everything is divided along caste, why shouldn’t be food? So, in Ara district jail, 97 prisoners and supporters of the Ranvir Sena have gone on an indefinite hunger strike demanding that their food be cooked in a kitchen separate from the one where meals are prepared for Dalit inmates. The latter, not surprisingly, are supporters of the rival CPI-ML (Liberation).While prisoners have been operating separate kitchens along caste lines here since 1998, it is prohibited under the jail manual and the district administration had cracked down and stopped the practice on September 5. But enraged over the recent arrest of Ranvir Sena chief Brahmeshwar Singh, his supporters seem to be in no mood to bow down.For the past four days, since the decision came into force, the Ara prisoners have been on strike, shouting slogans against the administration and threatening that if they are forced to eat from the same kitchen as the Dalit inmates, there could be serious trouble. Tempers anyway run high in this jail, where 1,023 prisoners crowd cells meant to house 400.Plus, Bhojpur happens to be the birthplace of Ranvir Sena, and a battleground in the fight between it and the CPI-ML (Liberation) for supremacy.‘‘We can’t have a common kitchen, it will lead to an explosive situation,’’ says Puneet Kumar Tiwari, a prisoner at the jail and a Ranvir Sena man. ‘‘If both the members get together, there will be fighting.Our mukhiya (Brahmeshwar) has been arrested, there is renewed tension.’’Another prisoner, Uma Shankar Tiwari, also predicts trouble. ‘‘We will start fighting if we eat from the same kitchen. There is tension between us. We want it (the kitchen) to be divided,’’ he says.The jail administration, however, remains confident the problem can be resolved through negotiations. ‘‘They are just some people who are against the rules. These are all vested interests. We will convince them one by one,’’ says Jail Superintendent Uday Kumar Kushwaha.Jails Minister Ashok Choudhary also rules out accepting the demand. ‘‘How can they ask for a different kitchen along caste lines? Let them be on strike.Soon everyone will start demanding separate kitchens.’’Outside the jail, the demand has only met incredulity. ‘‘In this day and age, to bring up an issue like this is shocking. How can they say we can’t eat with them?’’ asks CPI-ML member Santosh at Ara. Brahmeshwar Singh was arrested on August 28 and is lodged in Beur Jail in Patna.
