Water and Violence Against Dalits in Maharashtra: A Multi-case Approach

Abstract

Water is one of the most vital resources required for human existence. Yet access to this natural resource has not been easy, especially for dalits living in rural India. There have been numerous violent incidents that have been perpetrated against dalits, ranging from verbal to physical abuse and sometimes even ending in murder when this under-privileged community has asserted its right to water. A multi-case study method has been used in selected villages located in Beed district of Maharashtra to examine the various forms of violence that have been employed to prevent dalits from accessing water. Most have occurred because upper caste Hindus believe that since the so-called ‘impure’ dalits in villages pollute water therefore it should be denied to them. The study concludes with B. R. Ambedkar’s views on accessing water on the principle of social justice, equality and human rights.

Keywords

Beed Maharashtra upper caste dalits purity pollution violence water

Introduction

Water is the most vital resource required for human existence. It is a limited natural resource.¹ However, some communities use violent means to establish control over water sources. The United Nations recognises that the right to water is essential for the realisation of human rights. During times of water shortage, it has been stated, members of any vulnerable community should not be discriminated on the basis of sex, race, age, language, religion and property, preventing them access to this critical resource. Water should be treated as a social and cultural good and not primarily as an economic good. The use of water imposes three fundamental obligations on the state: an obligation to respect, an obligation to protect and an obligation to fulfil, and these obligations should be enforced in a way so that there is no discrimination against any social group (United Nations, 2002, pp. 8–18).

Historically however, dalits have been discriminated while accessing water, especially if they are located around its source. It is believed that a dalit’s touch and presence pollutes the source of water and therefore all the water that emanates from it. Socially and economically inferior in status as compared to the upper castes, traditionally dalits are seen being impure. In India, before the country gained Independence, it was well known that some higher castes communities used to have access to those wells which would have water throughout the year, whereas the relatively few wells, which dalits had acess to, used to dry up during summer. When dalits tried to get water from the common wells that were open to all, sometimes with the help of the police, the higher caste community resorted to boycotts and refused to co-operate. In many cases because of the proximity of dalits to these common wells they were even abandoned by caste Hindus (Government of Bombay, 1950, p. 56). To look into this particular issue in 1932, the Bombay government constituted a committee under a leadership of David Symington from the Indian Civil Service and Zakeria Maniya to inquire into the conditions of dalits living in Nashik district. The report of the committee revealed that dalits were not allowed to draw water in spite of the government resolution of 1923² (Narake, Kasare, Kamble, & Godghate, 2003, p. 42).

Water is primarily a state subject under the Indian Constitution. The right to water is part of the fundamental right to life (Planning Commission, Government of India, 2013, p. 178). The National Water Policy 2012 states that, ‘The Centre, the States and the local bodies (governance institutions) must ensure access to a minimum quantity of potable water for essential health and hygiene to all its citizens, available within easy reach of the household’ (Government of India, 2012, p. 4). Article 15 (2) (b) of the Indian Constitution declares that no citizen shall be restricted in their use of wells, tanks, and bathing ghats which are maintained fully or partially out of state funds or dedicated to the use of the general public. The right to water of dalits is also reinforced in special laws such as the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 (PCR Act) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (PoA Act). For instance, Section 3 (b) of the PCR Act declares that all sources of water including river, lake, tank and watercourses are open for all and discrimination around such sources shall be punishable. Section 4 (iv) of the PoA Act also emphasises that dalits are equally entitled to have access to any sources of water, which other members have a right to use or have access to.

Despite all the laws, water continues to remain an issue among different castes, with dalits especially having to face violence while trying to access this vital resource. Here violence is not merely intentional physical harm meted out to a person or a group or a whole community. Here violence as a term is applied as a form of ‘structural violence’ as defined by Johan Galtung (1969). This refers to form of violence in which some social institutions may harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs. An unequal distribution of resources can be consequently seen as a mechanism of structural violence. ‘When structure is threatened, those who benefit from the structural violence, above all those who are at the top, will try to preserve the status quo to protect their interests’ (Galtung, 1969, pp. 168–179). As mentioned earlier, water is a basic need to sustain life. However, this is denied to dalits merely on the exclusionary status of caste. Water is considered ‘sacred’ according to Hinduism and Hindu national forces (Sharma, 2014, pp. 12–27). Violence while claiming one’s right to water is qualitatively different from the ordinary violence that occurs in other circumstances. Violence is committed because it carries notional values pertaining to purity and pollution and it is applied as the major reason behind preventing dalits claiming from the resource ownership. Violence is almost acceptable, if dalits break the rules of caste and pollute the source of water or the water. Such violence commonly occurs in everyday interactions in rural society.

Considering this basic background, some question arise. For instance, whether such a right to water actually exists in the twenty-first century? Does this right jeopardise dalits? Or whether the violence that is committed against dalits while getting water is acceptable? To attempt to answer these questions a detailed investigation is required.

Some studies have shown the link between water and violence against dalits. Paranjape, Adagale, and Pomane (2008) have looked into water conflicts between the dalits and savarnas (upper castes) in the Konkan region. They found that dalits were humiliated in various ways: by contaminating the source of water by putting human excreta into it, through torture, verbal and physical abuse and by making threats. Violence against women also took on a vicious form. Although some cases were amicably resolved by the village power structure, (Shah, Mander, Thorat, Deshpande & Baviskar, 2006) it was that found that dalits often faced violence and humiliation when they demanded their civil rights, including their right to water. Often for depressed classes it was difficult for them to assert their rights without jeopardising their livelihood. On their part, higher caste Hindus believed that dalits’ ‘assertion’ over water deserved retribution.

Sukhdeo Thorat says that violence is the fundamental way through which dalits are prevented from accessing water, especially in rural areas. Accessibility of drinking and irrigation water and the disposal of water from water-logged areas become issues that trigger atrocities on dalits (Thorat, 2002, pp. 574–578). To examine this thought further, one has looked at Maharashtra. Maharashtra’s irrigation sector is one of the largest in the country, both in terms of the number of large dams and live storage capacity. Water available from both surface and groundwater can irrigate about 60 per cent of the state’s cultivated land (Government of India, 2014, pp. 81–83). Shah et al. (2006) point out that, in the villages of Maharashtra, the backlash against dalits gets manifested in the form of water conflicts. Dalits generally do not have free access to common sources of water and in fact have separate water sources including being assigned a separate place (mostly downstream) on the riverbanks. Access to water at public places continues to be governed by the notion of caste-based pollution and untouchability. Waghmore (2013) points out that in claiming a dignified existence in public spaces dalits have to face violence, particularly from the Marathas in Beed district of Marathwada. Violence is committed mainly in public spaces, including water sources and in areas surrounding them. Some of these studies give a limited understanding of the phenomena and lack an in-depth analysis.

There are different theoretical perspectives one can examine while looking at the connection between violence and accessing water. For instance, according to the ‘Brahmanical perspective’ (Chakravarti, 2003; Rege, 2013, pp. 14–22),³ caste is God-given and therefore its validity and relevance cannot be questioned. God created the Shudra community to be the slaves of the other varnas, for instance, Brahmin, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Based on this principle, dalits cannot establish any rights over basic resources, including water. For instance, the Hindu lawgiver Manu declared that holding of wealth by a Shudra was a sin. Given this, from the Brahmanical perspective, the denial of water to dalits is also a crime. In fact, it is the God-assigned duty of upper caste Hindus to resort to violent means to prevent dalits from accessing water. Therefore, it cannot be challenged. But from the human right’s perspective, every human being is entitled to get access to water. The human rights to water can be achieved through legal means, in which the state has a prominent role to play. The Marxian perspective is based on the principle of class conflict, in which the capitalist class owns the means of production. This aim of this class is to amass private property which is the foundation of the exploitation of the proletariat class; those people who do not have control over the means of production are the have-nots (Marx & Engels, 1848). It is the capitalist class that controls natural resources, including water, which is another way to generate more profits.

India is a country where people follow the most rigid of caste rules. The Ambedkarian perspective defines caste as the reality. This perspective says that caste inherently has an inbuilt structure of violence, which can be seen, for instance, in the claiming of access to water. People cannot have political reform or economic reform unless they kill the monster that exists in the form of caste (Ambedkar, 1979, p. 47). Since the dalits’ social status is below the status of upper caste Hindus who control most of the water resources, dalits have traditionally found it difficult to claim access to water as their basic right. Historically, dalits are considered to be polluting, impure and thus need to be excluded. Such caste-based notions will continue as long as caste exists. The denial of access to water is based on the reality of caste which still prevails today.

According to Ambedkar, one cannot expect dalits to establish their rights and utilise public water resources since religious sanctions, traditions and customs which are deeply embedded in society, prevent them (Ambedkar, 1979; Government of Maharashtra, 2008, p. 25). Ambedkar’s views on access to water are based on the principle of social justice, equality and human rights. This has been reflected clearly in the iconic Mahad Satyagraha lead by Ambedkar in 1927 to let dalits access a public tank to establish their human rights and a life of dignity (Government of Maharashtra, 2008). In pre-Independent India, this equitable water policy formulated by Ambedkar reflected a humanistic outlook and showed his concern for poor people and their access to water. The benefits of the irrigation projects should be filtered right down to the grassroots (Thorat, 2006, p. 127).

It is against this background of exclusion that this present study in the first section attempts to highlight the nature of crimes and indignities meted out to dalits while asserting their rights to water. The second section focusses on the methodology adopted while the third gives a detailed account of the study areas. And the final section deals with a discussion and analysis followed by a conclusion.

Methodology

To realise the above objectives, a multi-case study method (Yin, 1984, pp. 47–53) has been adopted. The study examines few purposively chosen cases of water-caste violence in the Marathwada, particularly in the Beed district located in western India. The choice of case-villages chosen for this study is based on the theoretical sampling method. The universe of the study constitutes all cases of water-caste violence on dalits in Beed district. The study is based on both primary and secondary sources of data. An unstructured interview schedule has been used as a tool to collect data from victims of water-caste crimes, their relatives and witnesses. Focus Group Discussions have also been conducted to collect data from others concerned with violence. Observation methods have been used for the purpose of capturing the reality. The data collected during the period of 2 September 2012 to 19 July 2013 has been examined using thematic analysis as a tool. In such an analysis, different sources of data have been interwoven in such a way that they reveal a comprehensive picture of water-caste violence on dalits.

Study Settings and Profile of Case Studies

Maharashtra is located in the western central part of India and is the second largest state in India in terms of population and geographical area, spread over 3.08 lakh sq. km. The distribution of rainfall in the state is uneven and erratic and has often affected the people of the region (Government of Maharashtra, 2009, pp. 1–5). Out of Maharashtra state’s six administrative divisions, Aurangabad division forms one of them. Traditionally known as Marathwada, particularly in the socio-cultural context, it is known for its high incidence of brutal crimes against dalits. Beed is a district located in this division. (see, Government of Maharashtra, 2015). The Godavari is the major river that flows in the northern part of Beed district. Agriculture here is mostly dependent on rainfall which averages at 674.77 mm in the district (Government of Maharashtra, 2013, pp. 1–2). Although about 99 per cent of the villages in the district have been provided with some or the other source of drinking water, they only provide seasonal sustenance and do not guarantee water supply for the whole year.

Thirteen diverse case-villages have been selected from Beed district for the study the socio-political nature of the violence that has occurred. Figure 1 shows the exact location of the study. These incidents highlight the different types of violence encountered by dalits as they access water ranging from verbal to physical brutality even murder ( Table 1 ). Commonalities from all these cases are identified and categorised on the basis of the dalit population present in the selected villages. The assumption is that the numerical strength of the dalit community always plays a crucial role in violence erupting while accessing water. The greater the strength of dalits in the population, the larger the community’s share in the power structure and the greater their role in their resistance. Out of the 13 selected cases-villages, the population of dalits in six villages is less than 11.81⁴ per cent, whereas in seven case-villages, it is more than 11.81 per cent. To get a nuanced understanding of the violence ( Table 1 ), these overall categories are thus divided into Below Average Population of Dalits (BAPD), Above Average Population of Dalits (AAPD). The details of these case-villages are as follows:

Figure 1.

Source: The map is generated for the study purpose.

Table 1.

Profile of Selected Cases

Numerical Strength	Village	Total Population*	Percentage of Schedule Caste Population*	Nature of the Crime**	Current Status of the Case**
BAPD	Dagadi Shahajanpur	1,103	7.43	Pouring of poison into the water source	Charge sheet filed
	Gawandara	2,253	8.88	Abusing the victim for irrigating land	Accused acquitted
	Kuslamb	2,760	8.99	Verbal abuses	Accused convicted
	Ashti	243,607	10.20	Murder	Pending in the court
	Ganjpur	1,255	8.76	Victims prohibited from accessing water	Non-registered case
	Vanjarwadi	989	2.22	Physical violence	Accused acquitted
AAPD	Ghodka Rajuri	2,257	12.54	Abuses hurled and physical assaults	Compromised (charge sheet not filed)
	Wantakli	2,004	21.26	Physical violence, burning the victim’s house	Stayed by the high court
	Ranmala	1,044	18.97	Beating the victim for not releasing water	Accused convicted
	Mali Pargaon	2,529	20.13	Murder	Accused acquitted
	Kiti Adgaon	4,767	16.15	Mob attack on dalits	Non-registered case
	Rui Dharur	2,866	21.11	Beating	File closed
	Jategaon	4,564	17.81	Physical violence	Pending in the court

Source: The author.

Note: *Census of India, 2011; ^**Based on FIRs collected from Superintendent of Police, Beed.

Case-villages in the BAPD Category

In Dagadi Shahajanpur village, specifically on the water issue, dalits often have to face cruel violence and conspiracy. For instance in 2012, some village Gram Panchayat functionaries along with some other Maratha men mixed poison in the overhead water tanks of the village but placed the blame on a dalit family. Subsequently the Maratha community physically attacked dalits with sticks and axes.

In Gawandara village, the Vanjari caste is numerically strong and they therefore dominate most socio-political forums. The village comes under the command area of the Upali Medium Irrigation Project which provides irrigation water to more than 250 hectares. While getting water for irrigation, one dalit woman was verbally and physically assaulted in 2007. The conflict was registered with the police station under the Prevention of Atrocities Act. The accused got acquitted in the court. Apart from this, dalit communities have been denied drinking water from the common well located in front of the Maruti (deity) temple.

In Kuslamb village, the number of dalits is lower as compared to upper caste Hindus. In 2004, a young dalit girl was physically assaulted at the public well. A Maratha woman spat into the water vessel of the dalit girl asking her to drink the contaminated water which is what dalits are traditionally supposed to do. In the friction that ensued the dalit vasti (habitation) was attacked, a case was filed and was upheld in the District Sessions Court.

In Ashti village, dalits constitute about 10.20 per cent of the population ( Table 1 ) with Marathas and Other Backward Castes (OBCs) dominating. There have been many incidents where dalits access to water only after a struggle. In 2001, a dalit was murdered over the issue of accessing water for his livestock

In Ganjpur village, the Maratha and Vanjari communities have a substantial presence in the population as compared to dalits. Prior to 2008, most dalit households were prohibited from accessing the common well. The dominant castes mostly used verbal attacks to prevent dalits from accessing water. However, no formal complaint with the police was registered against them.

In Vanjarwadi village, dalits form a meagre 2.22 per cent of the overall population as compared to upper caste Hindus. In 2001, while accessing water, a dalit was verbally and physically assaulted by the Marathas. Ultimately, the case was acquitted in court.

Case-villages in the AAPD Category

In Ghodka Rajuri, on the issue of accessing water, violence against dalits is a common phenomenon. Two such incidents were registered with the police. The first complaint on the issue of accessing water for drinking from the public handpump was filed on 4 June 1995, which showed how some Marathas damaged the vessels belonging to a dalit woman and how they also threatened her with physical assault. However, the complaint was quickly resolved at the police station itself. The second incident of water-conflict erupted in 2012 against the same victim’s husband, who was physically assaulted by the Marathas while he was trying to get water.

In Wantakli village, dalits constitute about 21.26 per cent of the population ( Table 1 ). An atrocity took place against a 40-year old educated woman from the Dhor caste in 2007 when she was accessing water from the public handpump installed in front of the Maruti temple. Married to a man from the Vanjari caste, she had settled in the village. Her husband was also brutally beaten up. The case is still pending in the court, as the perpetrators succeeded in getting a stay from the High Court.

In Ranmala, dalits form about 18.97 per cent of the population ( Table 1 ) while Marathas have a more sizeable presence followed by OBCs. Here, a dalit waterman was beaten up on the issue of not releasing water to families from the Laman (Denotified Tribe) community in 2008. The perpetrators were convicted in the district court. However, the judgement was subsequently challenged in the apex court.

In Mali Pargaon village, dalit communities constitute 20.13 per cent population in the village. In 2003, while accessing water from a Maratha’s bore well an old dalit man was murdered. All the accused were acquitted by the court.

In Kiti Adgaon village, dalits form 16.15 per cent of the total population ( Table 1 ) while Marathas and OBCs are in a dominant position. A common well located in front of the Maruti temple was off-limits to dalits. They could only collect water from this well by paying the village ₹2 per vessel; the price was hiked during times of scarcity. The village appointed someone from the upper caste whose duty was to draw water from the well and then pour it further into vessels belonging to dalits. The dalits raised this issue of exclusion in gaining access to water from the prohibited well in 2008 thus creating some tension between dalits and caste Hindus.

In Rui Dharur village, dalits account for what might seem a sizeable 21.11 per cent in the village’s population. They might dominate in the socio-political context, but in reality it is the Vanjari and Maratha castes, who have substantial numbers in the population. While accessing water for drinking, a 45-year old dalit was abused and badly beaten up by a moneylender from the Vanjari caste in 2008. The police complaint was ultimately discarded after an on-the-spot verification and an initial police inquiry.

In Jategaon, the Maratha and Laman castes form the dominant communities in the locality, accounting for a significant proportion of population of the village. Here too, dalits often faced deprivation and violence while accessing water in the village. A dalit sugarcane-cutter was brutally attacked with a chopper in an attempted murder in 2011. The reason behind the attack was because his livestock had drunk some water from vessels belonging to the Lamans community. The case is still pending in court.

The nature of violence and the various kinds of indignities faced by dalits have been discussed in the following section.

Water and Violence: Analysis and Discussion

Blaming Dalits

The study reveals that dalits were continuously branded as drunks, criminals, robbers, meat-eaters,⁵ or sometimes, interestingly, even tagged as sajjan (decent). In the AAPD category, dalits were stereotyped. For instance in Kiti Adagaon, a former Maratha sarpanch said that dalits used to get drunk and would go to fetch water from the common well where upper caste Hindu women were drawing water. It was pointed out that in their stupor the dalits would make inappropriate remarks to the women thus causing a problem. (Interview: 30 March 2013). Clearly, this seemed an attempt to maintain the dignity of upper caste Hindu women. Patriarchy is additionally attributed to hide the notion of caste. However, it should be noted that when the reverse happened it was accepted as ‘normal’ and acceptable for dominant castes to behave in the same ‘inappropriate’ manner.

In Ghodka Rajuri and Wantakli, dalit women were being targetted while accessing water, abused and assaulted badly. In Kiti Adgaon too, during a water-caste conflict, there was an attempt by a Maratha man to get physical with a dalit woman by grabbing her hand (Interview: 1 March 2013). Some dalits were labelled sajjan (decent) provided they never claimed access to a common well (Interview: 28 March 2013). It was observed that dalits actually feared that upper caste-Hindus would unleash violence on them if they asserted their claim on water as their fundamental right. Such contradiction continue to be alive in the rural India. Only examine the Mali Pargaon case, when we see that the savarnas could not bear to see any display of dalit self-esteem. They were known to pass taunts. (Field notes: 26 October 2012). The savarnas pretended that the victim had died because he was either drinking alcohol or due to a snakebite. They alleged that he had tried to enter the farm belonging to the accused to steal wheat. (Interview: 29 September 2012).

In the BAPD cases, for instance in Gawandara, a Maratha woman was also part of the violence against dalit women, but her name was not included in the criminal case. In order to hide water-related exclusion, the issue of gender was brought to the forefront by upper caste Hindus which also reflected a certain patriarchal mindset based on brahminical theory. It has also been seen in the Kuslamb case when a Maratha woman spat in the water vessel belonging to a dalit girl. Later this girl was beaten up because she had ‘polluted’ the water source. In the same village, another victim was deliberately defamed by his Maratha opponents. His image was portrayed in such a way that he came across as a hooligan. This was to pressurise him to withdraw the atrocity case he had filed with the authorities (Interview: 26 October 2012). It is also possible that the accused tried to garner sympathy and support by highlighting the attack. A protest march demanding the withdrawal of the case by a large number of caste Hindus to the tehsil office against the dalits was organised (Zunjar Neta, 2004, pp. 1–2). In Dagadi Shahajanpur, it was reported that the Marathas were jealous seeing their ‘inferiors’ occupying well-off positions in educational institutions and in the local economy as compared to them (Tathya Sanshodhan Ahaval, 2012, p. 2).

According to one activist, ‘Casteism is reinforced by jealously. This is reflected even among the well-educated in society and rural India is no exception to this’ (Interview: 24 April 2013). Take this argument further and one sees that water has become the arena for exhibiting jealousy based on casteism.

Verbal Abuse

Verbal assault on dalits while they assert their right to water is a common practice that has been observed in this study. In the BAPD cases, for instance in Ganjpur, when dalit women began to draw water from the common well, upper caste Hindus started to taunt them verbally. Whenever these women walked through the village they were often times subjected to threats like, ‘You will need to be beaten’. Their water vessels were often thrown and they were abused (FGD: 26 February 2012). A dalit leader states that when they started asserting their right to access water from a well upper castes people reacted strongly saying that dalits could not touch this water and ought to behave according to their payari (status). In fact, slowly a consensus began to be built among upper caste Hindus to drive away dalits from the well. Surveillance was even used to check whether or not dalits were accessing the well (Interview: 26 February 2013). In Ashti and Vanjarwadi village, offensive language was used involving the name of the caste in an insulting way. This became a common practice, when dalits started asserting their right to water (Interview: 29 September 2012). In Dagadi Shahajanpur, a Maratha waterman abused dalits by coming up to the doors of their homes and maligning them.

In contrast, examine the case of a waterman in the AAPD case-village. A Mahar waterman in Ranmala on a particular day was unable to release the water which was going to be used by the Laman community. The Lamans abused him, calling his family, majlet, which translates to being excessively fat and lazy (Interview: 29 October 2012). A Maratha who bore witness however said that the waterman was being unjustly abused simply because he was a dalit. The oppressors were clearly interested in triggering a conflict using the non-release of water as a pretext. And the waterman was humiliated (Interview: 1 March 2013). In Ranmala it seemed that in this instance the Marathas had sided with the dalit because the oppressor belonged to the Laman caste and held a powerful position in the Gram Panchayat, something the Marathas were unhappy with. Typically though in the BAPD category, for instance in Dagadi, Shahajanpur, Kuslamb, Vanjarwadi and Ashti, the Marathas seemed dominating often holding prime positions of power and remaining unchallenged.

In the AAPD cases, for instance in Kiti Adgaon, the dalit community often faced derogatory and belittling comments made by upper caste Hindus. In Ranmala and Ghodka, Rajuri oppressors were confident that though violence occurred on the water issue dalits could not fight back as they were powerless. For instance in Rui Dharur, the nephew of a victim said, ‘Of course there is a water problem. Even if there are ten taunts instead of one we have to tolerate all of them. What are the other options of water available to us? We have no option but to collect water from them’ (Interview: 4 October 2012).

The practice of exogamy is still socially prohibited in rural India and all means are deployed to stop it. In the AAPD case in Wantakli for instance the victim’s family was denied access to water because of an inter-caste marriage. The family was continuously being harassed in their daily lives; their children were not allowed to play on the temple’s platform and they were all banned from all the village’s public areas. The victim said that his oppressors used to harass the family by hurling abuses. ‘You Dhor, b*** go away; you are the son of Mahar Mangs; you work on carcasses; you are meat-eaters. Where have you come from to stay in our village?’ (Interview: 3 November 2012).

It was observed in the BAPD case in Dagadi Sahajahanpur, a deep conspiracy was hatched against the victims. A chemical pesticide was poured by upper caste Hindus into an overhead water tank merely because dalits had the audacity to take water from it. Later, a false rumour was spread that it was the dalits who had intentionally poured poison into the tank to kill all villagers (Lokmat, 2012). Resultantly, a criminal case was registered against them in the local police station. To show their innocence the dalits showed a recording they had made on their mobiles showing clearly who had poured the pesticide. This so enraged the real perpetrators that the dalits had to flee from their village to hide (Interview: 25 September 2012). Even in the AAPD cases in Mali Pargaon, a conspiracy was hatched against the victim. Accused of killing a member of the marginalised community, a member of the upper caste placed a bundle of wheat near the body of the dalit in an attempt to show that he was in the process of stealing the crop.

Dalits are often threatened to perpetuate the vested interests of their oppressors. In the BAPD cases, for instance in Gawandara, the victim was continuously being threatened as she mostly worked alone in the fields. Her oppressors used to be constantly on the lookout for an opportunity to trouble her (Interview: 27 September 2012). In Dagadi Shahajanpur, the perpetrators threatened a victim and his supporters with dire consequences as a police case had been filed against them (Field notes: 20 March 2013). In Kuslamb, Balasaheb reported that he was being threatened with death by caste Hindus. And indeed a professional killer had been actually hired. ‘The caste Hindu wanted us to withdraw the case otherwise they said we would be killed. They didn’t even want us to stay on in the village’ (Interview: 26 October 2012). In the AAPD case in Jategaon, after registration of the case with the police the dalits were so threatened that they were compelled to withdraw the case. To scare and intimidate dalits, the accused would drive their motorcycles rashly on the roads, knowing fully well that the goats belonging to the dalits were grazing by the roadside and could be harmed (Interview: 30 March 2013). In AAPD (Wantakli), a victim said that the subjugation by the Vanjari caste members had intensified so much that it became almost impossible to stay on in the village. After a water conflict, the victim’s family was physically bullied when they refused to withdraw the case (Interview: 3 November 2012).

In Kiti Adgaon, dalits were often threatened by citing the example of the Purushottampuri episode. Purushottampuri, located 10 kms away from Kiti Adgaon, was where Mahars and Mangs had been brutally assaulted by the Marathas on a temple issue. The situation was so tense that a couple of people were murdered and dalits, fearing for their lives, had to go underground and hide. Purushottampuri’s dalits were not even allowed to pass through Kiti Adgaon. The Marathas had created, in a sense, a reign of terror in support of their caste brethren in Purushottampuri and its surrounding areas. When dalits did not fall in line, they were often threatened by giving the chilling example of Purshottampuri: ‘The same lesson can be repeated here’ (Interview: 1 March 2013).

Physical Violence

In both BAPD and AAPD village-cases, serious physical assault on dalits was reported over accessing water. In the BAPD cases, terrible violence erupted mostly in Dagadi Shahajanpur, Kuslamb, Vanjarwadi and Ashti. In Dagadi Shahajanpur, a mob of upper caste Hindus attacked dalits with sticks and stones. The victims’ parents could not run away because of their age. Upper caste Hindus prevented the remaining victims from leaving the village and it was only with a lot of difficulty that they finally managed to escape and walked down to the district headquarters in the dead of night (Interview: 25 September 2012). As in Gawandara in Kuslamb, the accused beat a dalit girl with the help of two other Maratha women. However, while investigating the police and the sarpanch instigated harsh action against the dalits even though it was the upper caste Hindus who had attacked the victim’s house and brutally assaulted all the members of her family. In the onslaught, most of the household effects of the dalit family, including food, were destroyed. The walls of the house and its tin roof were demolished (Sakal, 2004, p. 1). A young girl of the family was even thrown off the roof of the house. The intention was to kill off the family and terrorise the dalit’s vasti. The conflict was so serious that the accused also broke the collector’s order under Section 37 (1) (3), hence all of them were booked. The attackers believed that the victim’s family should not be allowed to live in the village, as it was also politically active. A member from the victim’s family said that the situation could have become like the ‘Khairlanji massacre’ referring to the 2006 massacre when many Scheduled Caste men were brutally killed by upper castes—with the family getting murdered in a similar way (Field notes: 26 October 2012). On 16 July 2013, yet another incident of rioting against dalits occurred this time triggered by a land dispute issue (Lokmat, 2013, p.1). Similarly in Ashti, a dalit was brutally murdered while drawing water for his goats. His son shared the details:

The girl who had witnessed the incident reported to me that it was a very hot day. My father used the water in the well to give to his goats. Seeing this, the accused started abusing him by using his caste name. An argument ensued and then the accused threw a stone, injuring my father The accused then grabbed the axe with which my father used to cut branches to feed the goats and assaulted him on the chest, back and neck. Soon, he was lying in a pool of blood. (Interview: 25 October 2012)

In the AAPD cases, mostly in Wantakli, Jategaon, Ranmala, Rui Dharur, Ghodka Rajuri and Mali Pargaon, physical violence had occurred. In Wantakli, not only was a dalit woman’s hand fractured, she sustained other wounds. Chilli powder was thrown into her eyes and her children were also beaten up. When her husband questioned as to why his wife and children were being assaulted, he was also beaten badly and had to be hospitalised for two months. The husband said that initially, he attempted to rescue his wife from the attackers as they manhandled her and drove her away. He then literally begged them for her life saying, ‘She will die’. Later the same day, the atatckers came to their house and brutally assaulted them, saying how had they dared to come to the handpump (Interview: 31 October 2012). The brutality did not stop. The dalits house was set on fire when they were sleeping inside (Lokmat, 2007, p. 7). Though the population of dalits in Wantakli is considerably high, the violence was committed because of the inter-caste marriage of the victims. Also, in Jategaon after water had been drunk by the victim’s goats, he was dragged to the accused’s home. Two of the accused held him, while the other smashed his head with a chopper making him unconscious. The victim had been attacked earlier over a dispute concerning an economic transaction (Interview: 29 March 2013).

In the AAPD cases in Ranmala, the waterman could not release the water on time as there was a problem with the electric pump which could not be repaired that day. Nevertheless, unconvinced the waterman was attacked. The attackers were a socio-politically powerful group in the village as their family held the post of sarpanch whereas the dalit community was powerless, especially the victim’s family. It was said that the victim had always been prompt and punctual in distributing water to the village and it can be argued that the brutal incident occurred over establishing control over water resources in the village. In Rui Dharur, while manhandling the victim one perpetrator held his collar while another attacked him. Stone pelting also occurred. According to the victim, the voice of the dalits was usually suppressed but more so after this atrocity had occurred (Interview: 5 October 2012).

In Ghodka Rajuri, conflicts were frequent often with serious consequences. A particular water-caste conflict in question happened with a victim’s family twice. The first incident occurred in 1995 and the second one in 2013. The woman said that being a Mahar, an ex-untouchable and with small children and an alcoholic husband, she had to keep quiet in deference to the muscle power and status quo of upper caste Hindus (Field notes: 24 January 2013). In the same village, 27 years ago, a dalit had been murdered on the issue of polluting the village common well (Interview: 21 March 2013).

Similarly, another murder came to light in Mali Pargaon. Prior to the murder, the victim had been discriminated against a couple of times. The upper caste Hindus’ bore well leaked from a certain point which the victim used to assuage his thirst. As soon as they got to know this the upper caste Hindus beat him up. Since the victim was physically strong, it was possible that two-three people would have found it difficult to control him. They tied his legs and hands with a rope and beat him up, eventually causing his death (Interview: 29 September 2012).

Atrocities against dalits were a usual occurrence in the village. Prior to the murder, there was a communal riot unleashed on dalits during the Pola (bullock) festival. Deep hatred simmered among the upper caste Hindus. The victim’s son said that his father’s murder was a great loss to the family, leading them to sell 9 acres out of their 18 acres of land as it was not possible to cultivate the whole portion of the land alone (Interview: 29 September 2012).

Thus in the BAPD cases, we can see that the unit of oppression becomes the community, rather than simply the individual. In such a scenario, if the community is unorganised there is a greater possibility of violence being perpetuated against the individual, allowing other members in the community can escape provided there are certain conditions like siding with the perpetrators. If not, then counter complaints are filed against victims. One of the intentions of such a practice is to negotiate with dalits, mostly by pressurising them to compromise with the accused to resolve the water-caste conflict. For instance, in the BAPD cases in Kuslamb and Vanjarwadi, after the riots in dalit localities, caste Hindus filed counter-cases against the victims while in the AAPD case in Wantakli, counter-complaints were filed against victims. However, the BAPD case in Vanjarwadi was compromised as the victim’s family had a meagre population in the village.

Conclusion

The discussions above show that dalits bear the worst forms of caste-based violence while claiming their right to water. In the BAPD cases, assertive dalits were often falsely implicated in incidents they never were even associated with. In the AAPD cases in order to keep dalits away from water sources upper caste Hindus also followed a strategy of describing dalits as being ‘very obedient’ ‘trustworthy,’ expecting them to obey their orders. In these cases, dalits seemed to play a decisive role in the overall power structure because their numerical strength in population was considerably higher. In the BAPD cases, it was found that the public sources of water that were meant for dalit communities were unfairly usurped by caste Hindus. It was also found that in the AAPD cases, some incidents of water-caste conflicts were actually not the water-caste conflicts at all they were made out to be. Caste Hindus merely used the dalits’ assertion for water as a means to harass them. In the BAPD cases, dalit supporters who attempted to stand by dalits were also threatened. It was seen in the AAPD cases, some dalits had received a death threat and the practice of inter-caste marriage was prohibited, whereas in the BAPD cases, dalits were harassed by filing counter-complaints against them.

In both the BAPD and AAPD cases, a dalits’ plight was marked by consistent verbal and physical violence becoming almost an inevitable part of life. In the BAPD cases, violence was a constant factor in a dalit community as a whole. Therefore, asserting a right to water for their varied needs became extremely challenging. Upper caste Hindus believed that water touched by a dalit was polluted or defiled and therefore was unworthy for them. Water was sacred and holy. For this reason, the upper castes practised violence against dalits and often tried to prevent them accessing water directly from water sources. By controlling water resources, upper caste Hindus tried to maintain their caste superiority. This was seen in both the BAPD and AAPD cases that have been examined as part of this study. Therefore, these findings negate the argument of Gupta (2000) that the notion of purity and pollution is inactive in many rituals and symbols in a society which prominently separates castes. Thus, there is need to address the issue of ‘structural violence’ against dalits on an urgent basis. One immediate action is the effective implementation of special laws as a possible solution. Also, in the long run, the present social structure needs to be restructured, a formula that has been outlined in B.R. Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author was a recipient of Indian Council of Social Science Research Doctoral Fellowship 2012–2014. But he has received no financial support for the authorship and/ or publication of this article.

Notes

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