On the evening of 5 October, a large casteist nouveau riche group associated with the ruling Akali Dal (Badal) faction in a village in Sangrur district attacked a Dalit Khet Mazdoor mohalla in pre- planned manner. In this attack on workers- men, women, and old people were brutally beaten, subjected to casteist abuse and their homes were vandalized. More than 24 Dalit men and women were injured. The main target of the attack was the home of Punjab Kisan Union (AIKMS) State Secretary Com. Balbir Singh Jalur and his brother Aagu Balvinder Singh. During the entire attack, the police in spite of being fully informed, remained mute spectators. The next day, at the behest of Akali Dal (Badal) MLA and Finance Miister Parminder Singh Dhidhsa, the police registered cases against 68 workers who were actually victims and only 18 people from among the attackers. The police arrested Balbir Singh Jalur and his aged father and put them in jail; they even took the less seriously injured people from the hospital and arrested them. Till 22 October only two of the attackers were arrested, and the rest are not only roaming free but once again beat up women workers in the village and have called for a social boycott of the Dalit community in the village.
The bone of contention in this long-drawn out fight is the dispute over the Dalits’ one-third share of panchayati land. According to the Punjab Common Land Act of 1964 one-third of panchayati land in every village is allocated for Dalits. However, in reality what often happens is that the rich farmers of the village acquire these lands for themselves by making their servants or Dalits who are close to them make high bids for the land. With farming in Punjab being fully mechanized, the khet mazdoors can neither find enough work on the fields to sustain their livelihood, nor find food for their families or fodder for their cattle. This crisis led to the demand raised by many landless khet mazdoors in Sangrur district under the leadership of Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC) that the Dalits’ share of land should not be auctioned to the highest bidder; instead, it should be given to them at an affordable rate for collective farming. In March this year the land in this village was taken by a rich farmer through a high bid by a Dalit under his control. Since then there was constant conflict between the Dalit workers and the Jat farmers. The police and administration were fully aware of the situation but they did nothing to solve the issue, which resulted in the big casteist attack on Dalit workers on 5 October.
The CPI-ML (Liberation) has from the beginning supported this struggle by the Dalit workers. Even on the day of the attack, party workers and Mazdoor Mukti Morcha workers participated in a dharna in front of the SDM Laharagaga office in support of the Dalit workers’ demands. Party State Committee member and Sangrur district Secretary Com. Govind Singh Chhajli addressed the dharna. Effigies of the Badal government were burnt at several places by Party and MMM workers to protest against the 5 October attack. It was decided to organize a “Hankar Todo March” on 12 October from Lahra to Jalur but the march could not be held as the government deployed a large police force to stop it. However, a protest meeting was held at Lahra after which a rally was taken out through the town and a memorandum submitted to the administration with the Dalits’ demands.
On 21 October several workers’ and farmers’ organizations united to take out a huge joint rally against the 5 October attack in which leaders from the Party’s workers’ and farmers’ organizations participated. This struggle is still ongoing. District Secretary Com. Govind Chhajli is among the 68 workers who have been named as accused by the police. The Party at the State level has also condemned the Badal government’s open support and encouragement for casteism and the administration’s biased action and has demanded that all the attackers should be arrested; cases should be registered against them under the SC-ST Act; action should be taken against the police and civil service officials guilty of biased action; all the jailed workers should be released immediately and the false cases against all the workers should be withdrawn.
In another incident of atrocities on Dalits, a 21 year old dalit youth Sukhchain Singh was brutally murdered in Gharangana in Mansa. The murderers also cut off one of his legs and took it with them. Sukhchain had become a victim of the sellers of illegal alcohol and drugs and joined one such gang. He belonged to a normal agricultural labourer’s family. CPI (ML) has started an agitation against this brutal murder and demanded action against the culprits. The party insisted that post-mortem and cremation will not be held till the culprits are caught, the lost leg of the victim recovered and a compensation of 10 lakh paid to his family. A dharna was called immediately. Due to the pressure of the agitation, the administration and police were forced to act. The culprits were caught, the sections pertaining to SC-ST act were added to the FIR, the cut-off leg of the murdered youth recovered from his attackers along with their ammunitions and a compensation of 8 lakh was paid to the family of the victim. When Sukhchain was finally cremated, the people of the region refused to allow any Akali dal leader to be present.
