Assaults on Dalits are getting more vicious by the day
THE Ekalavya episode in Mahabharata is widely known. But it is sought to be embedded in the narrative of valour of Pandavas and their shining tales of struggle for justice. Dronacharya’s extreme act of cruelty on Ekalavya’s incessant effort to accomplish mastery over martial prowess sticks out as a jarring note in the grand narrative of the timeless epic. The modern exponents of Hindutva, in their pernicious act of reconstructing the Indian past, remain busy in rebranding the grotesque caste driven social hierarchy as ‘mother of democracy’. Commissioned by the RSS inspired mandarins of ICHR ‘researchers’ worked overtime to flesh out Modi’s coinage from the ramparts of Red Fort on the Independence Day to add a pseudo historical texture to an obnoxious vision. No wonder that in such exercises, Ekalavyas will remain on the margins.
The growing prejudice of Brahminism and the defence of Sanatan came to the fore when the second Dalit Chief Justice BR Gavai came under attack by a lawyer inside the courtroom. Justice Gavai’s bench had rejected a petition for offering puja to a statue of Lord Vishnu located as part of thousand years old Khajuraho temple complex. That relevant law cannot concede such an outrageous demand did not deter their insistence. Justice Gavai’s sarcastic retort that perhaps Lord Vishnu can address their call implicitly reiterating the Constitution’s premise that the law prevails over faith was unpalatable.
Despite the widespread outrage across the country which forced even the PM who otherwise remains silent over such vile acts, to distance himself. He tweeted: “Spoke to Chief Justice of India, Justice BR Gavai Ji. The attack on him earlier today in the Supreme Court premises has angered every Indian. There is no place for such reprehensible acts in our society. It is utterly condemnable. I appreciated the calm displayed by Justice Gavai in the face of such a situation. It highlights his commitment to values of justice and strengthening the spirit of our Constitution.” But, the troll brigade on the social media continued undeterred.
On another outrageous case, few days back a senior IPS officer Puran Kumar in Haryana died in mysterious circumstances. The details of events revealed in the officer's final note are shocking and point to a pattern of harassment and humiliation rooted in caste bias. It is deeply regrettable that a senior police officer had to pay the price of his life for exposing caste bias and oppression. Despite filing written complaints against this discrimination and harassment at all levels of the government, including the then state Home Minister, he received no relief. It is noteworthy that the state home ministry is now held by the Chief Minister himself.
Equally regrettably on October 1, 2025, a Dalit man named Hari Om was brutally lynched by a mob in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, after being accused of being a “drone thief.” The attack involved merciless beating and abandonment near railway tracks, where he succumbed to injuries.
Dalit lynching has rapidly become a political flashpoint in Uttar Pradesh.
Of the 51,656 cases registered under the law for Scheduled Castes (SCs) in 2022, Uttar Pradesh accounted for 12,287 cases which is 23.78 per cent of total cases, followed by Rajasthan at 8,651 (16.75 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh at 7,732 (14.97 per cent). Every annual report of the Government, even while answering to the Parliament, shows an upward curve.
It is not just cold statistics. On a daily basis we are witness to crimes and atrocities against the Dalits which speak of rare viciousness. Lynchings, classroom violence, hate crimes, rapes of Dalit women, the examples are endless. Police apathy and even complicity aggravates the drift. Although untouchability was outlawed by India’s constitution in 1950, the Prevention of Atrocities Act is the first statute to specifically classify all verbal, physical, and “political, ritual, or symbolic violence” against Dalits and Adivasis as crimes or “atrocities.” The growing deterioration highlights the fact that very few cases filed under this Act result in convictions and that most never ever reach the courtroom.
An animated discourse earlier raged across the country. The discussion on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha witnessed an outburst by Amit Shah which could be considered unthinkable even a few years back. The aggressive and sarcastic tone of Shah, stating that it had become a fashion to chant Babasaheb’s name, carried a mocking undertone. His taunt insinuated repeated chanting would lead them to ‘seventh heaven’ in their communion with God. The attempts were clearly to bring in the hierarchy-driven Brahminical order, where the final salvation lay in the individual’s communion with God.
With all constitutional offices and at the helm of several state governments, the BJP’s thirst for burying the Constitution and pursuit of Hindutva state is now unsatiable. Indian nationhood was born on the principle of ‘unity in diversity’ which embraced an inclusive, federal, multicultural polity but RSS wants it to be substituted by a religious identity-driven nationhood where, as Golwalkar suggested, non-Hindus would be ‘second-class citizens’. This is a new definition which would deny the principle of diverse but equal citizenship for all citizens. Thus far, the Constitution has provided a granite-like resistance to the RSS project of a sectarian and fascist Hindutva state.
This unadulterated exercise for legitimacy to Brahminism-driven social order and the laws of Manu needs no explanation. It is clear that this was no chance coincidence. Amit Shah was expressing the well-recorded animosity of RSS towards the Indian Constitution and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. His remarks represent a fundamental opposition to the basic principles of the Constitution - an assault to reverse the basis of social and gender equality, which form the foundations of the Constitution.
Savarkar’s observations offer critical insight into their ideological underpinning. Savarkar was blunt in calling the Constitution “un-Indian” while eulogising Manusmriti – the ancient legal text - for steering the constitutional process. The same views were unambiguously expressed by RSS on November 30, 1949 in its mouthpiece, Organiser, claiming that the new Constitution lacked “Bhartiyata” and it was “alien” to cultural and religious ethos of the Indian people. Therefore, it is this RSS obsession for Manusmriti over the Constitution that underlines a profound ideological hiatus between the vision of a secular democratic state and the Hindutva forces’ preference for a theocratic state. Manusmriti’s promotion of caste-based discrimination is in direct contradiction to the inclusive and egalitarian principles embedded in India’s Constitution.
The Constitution’s contribution was to lay the foundations for a just society rooted in equality and social justice. To equate this with a passing trend undermines the enduring significance of this legacy. The RSS had earlier sounded ambivalent fearing a direct confrontation with Ambedkar’s legacy might adversely impact electoral expediency.
But the hierarchical and exclusionary principles that they espouse no longer needs a camouflage. Historically, Hindutva forces have been at odds with constitutional principles which Constitution makers championed. This is the essence of the impunity that marks the current aggressive viciousness. Therefore, taking on this anti-Dalit Hindutva becomes an urgent necessity.
(October 22, 2025)
