Activists slam Fadnavis govt, cops after arrest of Dhawale and others for Bhima-Koregaon violence

The Bhima-Koregaon case took a strange twist Wednesday when Maharashtra Police arrested five prominent activists under the much-panned Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, alleging they were “Naxalites”. This drew sharp criticism from Dalit leaders and the civil society.

The Pune Police arrested Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale from Mumbai. Activists Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, and lawyer Surendra Gadling were arrested from Nagpur while Rona Wilson was picked up from Delhi. They arrests were for alleged hate speeches and distributing “controversial” pamphlets.

Offences were registered against some of these activists, including Dhawale, in January itself after the violence broke out at the turn of the year in Bhima-Koregaon. It was alleged that their inflammatory speeches at Elgar Parishad. The Elgar Parishad was organised by Dalit activists and intellectuals on 31 December last near Shaniwarwada in Pune.

“We have been working on gathering evidence to make a strong case,” a senior police officer said from Pune. The police claims are sure to be hotly contested though.

The criticism

Dalit acivist and a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Jignesh Mevani called the arrests an “attack on Ambedkarite movement”. 

The People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) condemned the arrests of (those) “who have been active in various movements and organisations, and have publicly defended the rights of Dalits and various sections of marginalised people.”

Mihir Desai, on behalf of the civil rights organisation, said: “The simultaneous arrests at different places in the country, by state authorities, smack of predetermined planned attack on people who have been protesting against injustice and atrocities perpetuated by various state and non-state Hindu right-wing groups.”

He called the arrests a “blatant violation of citizen’s rights to freedom of expression and voicing dissent... a move to target individuals working for rights of the marginalised sections of society, and to produce a chilling effect on voices of dissent.”

Veteran poet Sambhaji Bhagat said: “All those arrested are highly sensitive about human rights and have been working for it since many years now.”

How it all started

The battle of Bhima-Koregaon, fought on 1 January 1818, gained prominence after BR Ambedkar visited its site on the anniversary day in 1927. An obelisk there, listing the names of Dalit soldiers of the British East India company who fell in battle fighting Peshwa forces, has ever since become a symbol of solidarity. Dalits have thronged the site on New Year's Days since then to mark Ambedkar's visit.

This New Year's Day was the 200th anniversary of the battle and thousands gathered at the Pune village on 31 December-1 January to commemorate the the Mahar regiment's achievement. However, things soon took a violent turn, with incidents of arson and stone-pelting being reported from Bhima-Koregaon and adjoining villages. One person died and several were injured.

There was an ensuing Dalit backlash and Maharashtra bandh on 3 January. The impact was felt up to Maharashtra's capital Mumbai as well.

An first information report was lodged on a complaint by Tushar Damgude at Pune's Vishrambaug police station against Dhavale, Sagar Gorkhe, Harshali Potdar, Ramesh Gaychor, Deepak Dengle and Jyoti Jagtap. Sections 153 (provocations for riot), 505 1B (causing fear, inducing violence), 117 (abetment) and 34 (criminal act by several persons) of the Indian Penal Code were used.

The Pune Police also filed an FIR against Mevani “an inflammatory speech” at Elgar Parishad. Dhawale is the state president of a co-ordination committee formed for the Parishad.

The Devendra Fadnavis government earlier appointed a two-member committee to probe the violence. Activists of troubadour group Kabir Kala Manch were booked and organisers and speakers at Elgar Parishad were accused of delivering provocative speech.

The cops also filed FIRs on complaints by Dalit activists against Hindutva activists Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote for “inciting violence”. Ekbote was arrested, but is out on bail.
PUCL's Desai pointed out that the duo faced several complaints and FIRs. “These two pro-Hindutva leaders have a history of allegations for causing communal and caste tensions, rioting.” They allegedly desecrated the memorial of a Dalit icon in Pune on 29 December, 2017, he said.

“The Supreme Court even denied anticipatory bail to Ekbote,” his statement added. “Both have deep links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and are clearly being protected by the ruling dispensation,” he alleged.

Undeclared emergency

On the ground, while Bhide and Ekbote roam free, Dalit activists now bear the brunt. Those arrested today have even been termed “Naxalites” – the Indian government establishment's umbrella term for those from the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). According to Desai, this has become a standard protocol.

According to him, under the garb of countering “Naxalites”, democratic protests are labeled unlawful, protestors are incarcerated for years and subsequently released when the State fails to prove its case. "The whole purpose is to crush any protest against injustice, deny people their basic citizenship rights, deprive them of their basic means of livelihood,” he said.

Citing the example of Wednesday he said a prejudicial narrative that those arrested are “Maoist sympathisers” or “top Maoist operatives” was underway in mainstream media.

“The current situation in the state and country can only be termed as an unannounced emergency. The government has unleashed atrocities against those who don't approve of its ideology,” Bhagat said. “It did not even touch Bhide, who openly applauded Manu Smriti. On the contrary, innocent people are being harassed,” he added.

“Oppression of the innocent, claiming they are Naxals will only alienate them … It is high time that the Opposition and Dalit parties like BRP Bahujan Mahasangh came together and took a firm stand against it,” he said.

According to Republican Panther President Sumedh Jadhav: “The government is after Dalit activists ever since Elgar Parishad. Dhavale and Prakash Ambedkar successfully exposed the government. The Parishad infused enthusiasm among Dalits and now the government wants to keep dedicated, hard-working activists under pressure until the next elections.”