There is a tension in the Dalit basti of Pimpalgaon Kohali village, 80 km from Bhandara in Lakhandur tehsil. Panchayat polls are due and ‘caste divide’ is in play once more.
Even trivial conflicts are made out to be atrocity cases, such is the caste venom spread in villages
BHANDARA AND GONDIA: There is a palpable tension in the Dalit basti of Pimpalgaon Kohali village, 80 km from Bhandara in Lakhandur tehsil. Panchayat polls are due and ‘caste divide’ is in play once more.
“This year our basti had to buy two tractors to complete ‘our’ work in the fields, because ‘they’ refused to lend us theirs,” reveals Sumedh Lade, a neo-Buddhist (Mahars who have embraced Buddhism).
Earlier this year, Ambedkarites - or neo-Buddhists as they are called here - faced socio-economic boycott, he says.
“We were not allowed to shop; we got no work,” says Bhaiyyalal Motghare, a villager.
“They erased us from the BPL list, but we fought back.”
Things have calmed a bit off late, but only just. “We know it’s all superficial.”
Pimpalgaon is a sample of what’s happened - and is happening - across the rural Vidarbha, particularly in Bhandara and Gondia districts, exactly a year after four members of Bhotmange family were brutally killed in Khairlanji sparking a wave of violent protests in Maharashtra.
Today, it’s “they” versus “us”; but Buddhists are isolated, ostracised and living in fear and insecurity in village unto villages.
“You can see the reflection of this polarisation and total isolation of Buddhists in village elections,” notes Vinod Thakre, a BJP worker in Lakhandur, Bhandara.
Says Bhandara ZP member Vasant Einchilwar, every incident is given a caste colour and tagged as an atrocity case by the petty leaders.
Politicians from dominant castes exploit this situation to consolidate their base, by antagonising the impoverished Buddhist community, he says.
Several of them had to migrate out for work, having been economically boycotted by the dominant castes.
“This past year has seen a spurt in the atrocity cases, though many were actually very trivial and personal issues,” says a senior police officer in Bhandara. If there was any chance of reconciliation, political class ensured the tension remained.
Genuine atrocity cases are falling apart, as pressure from the leaders grows.
Interactions between Buddhists and dominant castes have stopped.
In Surewada, an OBC teacher sprinkled cow-urine to purify Dalit students six months ago. The teacher was transferred, but the incident hurt the Buddhists.
“The matter is serious. Every village is a Khairlanji today,” warns a senior police officer.
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