PAYEEN (UP): Seeds of a backlash against rising Dalit militancy in eastern Uttar Pardash have been sown in this village which tough Part of Varanasi district is nearer Gazipur and just 2 km from the Bihar border.
Power full upper castes Thakurs Brahmins and Bhumihars have joined hands to float an organization called the Sayama Mukti Morcha (Upper Castes Liberation front). for one used to reading sign boards in the name of depressed classes all the way from Karol Bagh in New Delhi to Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh thé new banner may appear a little odd.
The man behind the organization is Rampariya Rai an influential. How unsafe the persons who earlier lorded over the region feel in the changing environment is manifest from the way Relives. A policeman armed with as ten gun accompanies him wherever he goes. And head of a posse of the Provincial Armed Constabulary posted in the village for the last two years was sitting in Rats farmhouse when this correspondent met him. Rai traces the origin of the morcha to a spate of violent incidents by Dalit militants He asserts that the morcha has been organized against the increasing Naxalite violence. He says that they are not against Harijans and avoids using the expression Dalit militants He claims that a proposal is afoot to rechristen the morcha as the anti Naxalite Front. However the ground realities are vastly different Rai himself lets the cat out of the bag. Yes no Harijan is a member of the more he admits. He says the fear of caste violence is there. But hastens to add It is good that there is awakening among the Harijans this is welcome. But what we are against is the use of force to achieve any objective.
Upper castes in the area arc already worried over the Dalits decision not to observe the 13th day ceremony of Ramayiar Paswan. Will there be more retaliatory violence? Rai explains why the morcha was formed the entire area was disturbed There were kidnappings. We discussed the situation with focal authorities who advised us to consolidate ourselves he said.
About 2000 persons met here he added pointing to his big compound they came from Mirza pur Gazipur Balia Jaipur and Varanasi Districts. It was decided that we should protect ourselves without being aggressive we felt that Bhumihars Brahmins and Thakurs alone should not be the members. Lalas (as Kayasth has are known here) should also be included as the other depressed classes like the Yadava.
He recalls only one instance so far of having come face to face with Naxalites. The latter fled after we picked up our weapons. In another instance this month the morcha activists disrupted traffic for hours on the nearby Shershah Suri Marg in protest against the killing of Thakurs in the aftermath of Paswan’s murder
Article extracted from this publication >> February 25, 1994
