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Journalism of Courage
IT was one of Bihar8217;s many infamous massacres. But in many ways the Narayanpur massacre of 12 Dalits was different. It was a political landmark in Bihar8217;s history. It led to the dismissal of the then Rabri Devi government. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had come calling to the site reminiscent of Indira Gandhi8217;s elephant ride to Belchi 28 years ago where 12 Dalits were burnt to death.
At 9 pm on February 10, 1999, when the cobblers of this Dalit village in Jehanabad district had retired for the day, about 40-50 armed men of the Ranvir Sena8212;a private army of the landed Bhumihar caste8212;allegedly raided the village. Breaking into houses, they opened fire on whoever came in their range of vision. Among the dead were women and one child. After the hour-long bloody attack, the alleged killers left shouting slogans of 8216;Ranvir Sena zindabad8217;.
All the accused are out on bail and Dalits have alleged that they routinely threaten witnesses. About 12 people figured as named accused in the case apart from more than two-and-a-half dozen unnamed. Trial in the case started on February 22, 2002, the day charges were framed.
Four years later witnesses are still being examined. Laloo Prasad Yadav had promised to set up a special court for speedy trial in the case. Special court remained a far cry. The government even could not ensure the protection of witnesses in the case who were being threatened by the powerful accused in the case.
Krishna Das, the informant and the prime witness in the case was all prepared to identify some landowners of the village. But before his date in the court one of the accused allegedly had these words for him: 8216;8216;I may be hanged if you testify but you will not live a single day after that.8217;8217; After that Das stood in the court and said8212;8216;8216;I did not see anything8217;8217;.
The prime accused in the case is Sidhan Singh, a landed Bhumihar from village. More than a dozen witnesses have deposed against him, repeating what Das has said. Now, say many it8217;s only a matter of time before Singh is acquitted.
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IF the guilty escape punishment, that won8217;t be the only injustice. For the Dalits have not even got the piece of land that led to this . At the core of the conflict was an 18-acre plot adjacent to the village. This fertile piece of land surfaced after river Morhar changed its course in 1990. The landless Dalits saw it as God8217;s gift and went to stake their claim on it. But soon a strongman Bhumihar, Sidhan Singh put his foot down. The Dalits under the banner of the CPI-ML Liberation claimed there right on the land pointing out that it was government land. This planted the seed of conflict.
Bloodletting started with the murder of Sidhan Singh. He was shot dead by the banned outfit, Maoist Communist Centre MCC. Landed Bhumihars rose to avenge the killing and in 1991, the Savarn Liberation Front gunned down 7 Dalits. The Naxal outfits used the killing to strengthen their foothold in the region and then followed a number of sporadic killings.
However, relations between the Bhumihar landlords and the Dalits had improved before the February 10 massacre. Dalits had started working on their fields. But beneath the surface feudal rage was simmering. The Ranvir Sena apparently was going all out to teach a lesson to the Dalits who were embracing the Naxal outfits. In the aftermath of the Jehanabad jailbreak by the CPI Maoist, fear of retaliation has returned to haunt the Dalits.
