The Dalit Factor in Haryana: The Rustle of Resentment

EMOTIONS RUN CLOSE to the surface in the Dalit basti of Jatusana, one among some 30- odd villages in Rewari district listed as having more than 40 per cent Scheduled Caste (SC) population as per Census 2011. Ram Kishan and his slightly built wife are loading a trolley when they pause to scrutinise the midday in­trusion. A conversation opener on how their lives progressed in the past five years unlocks the floodgates of discontent. There is hardly any work, not even unskilled labour that can earn a daily wage while the cost of items of daily consumption has risen. They are not beneficiaries of any scheme that offers plots for the dis­advantaged either. “Take a look at the houses here. Two to three families live in one dwelling,” says Kishan, referring to elderly parents and grown-up married children sharing cramped, run­down houses lacking in amenities. His interest piqued by the discussion, Kishan offers a tour of the lanes in the Dalit quarter.

Ram Kishan identifies himself as a Bawaria, but much of Jatusana’s Dalit basti comprises Sapelas, traditionally snake catchers or charmers, also known as Nath. Dirty grey sewage and waste water run along the narrow, unpaved lanes—in contrast to other parts of the village—alongside plastic pipes that carry water to individual houses. The pipes are an informal arrange­ment since the dwellings do not receive ‘supply water’, or regular connections. Sultan Nath and Bablu Nath, watching the proceedings from a small courtyard, step out to add to Kishan’s submissions. Keeping snakes for entertainment and livelihood is no longer legal, ending a traditional occupation that was in any case on the wane.

Their concern now is more about the incursion of reptiles from overgrown vegetation near the basti. The Sapelas live on the edge of Jatusana, adjacent to a large plot of land earmarked for a school that lies vacant with bush and tall grass. On the other side, obscured by the shrubs, are more houses that are all but inaccessible. The group of village denizens has swelled and they point to the ramshackle state of many houses with discoloured walls, bricked-in windows and tin and tarpau­lin roofs and speak of the mosquito menace caused by stagnant water. “We did vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but this time we will vote for Congress,” says one of them. They say they were given plots when Congress was in office and maybe that was a better deal. Other parts of Jatusana with their clean pathways and an air of well-being bear little comparison to the Sapela hous­es and the mood here is more mixed. There is support for the BJP candidate and fewer backers for Congress. Like their Dalit neigh­bours, they too complain of steep power bills, but their houses are served with water connections and other civic amenities.

The contrast between Dalit and non-Dalit areas is also evident in Jatola village in Farrukhnagar tehsil. Despite its relative proxim­ity to Gurugram, being a little more than an hour away, it is very rural even if well-connected by road. Farmland owners chatting outside a shop near the entrance to the village are content with their situation. The rains have been timely and the current season has delivered a bumper crop. The purchase of crops under the gov­ernment procurement system works well with a roster informing farmers about the date they can take their produce to the mandi. The government assures purchase of eight quintals of produce per acre and the rate for bajra is satisfactory, covered under minimum support price (MSP). As with other places in south Haryana, the agi­tation by farm unions demanding a law guaranteeing MSP has not touched these parts, this group of Brahmin and Rajput voters says. The sentiment is unchanged right up to where Dalit houses begin and while there are gripes about the cost of electricity and demands for a fee cap on private schools, the complaints are not particularly serious. The view among Dalits is different though, they offer, and this proves correct. Although the houses in the Dalit parts of Jatola are better than those at Jatusana, residents feel disappointed with BJP, particularly in its second term when they expected improve­ments in their social and economic status.

The Dalit population of Rewari is a shade over 20 per cent, which matches the average for Haryana. The percentage is low­er at 13 per cent in the more urbanised Gurugram district, but Dalit numbers can have a bearing on the results in both districts as indeed in much of Haryana where elec­tions conclude this week. Psephologists and media analysts point to a shift in SC votes away from BJP and disaffection among Jat voters as an important reason for Congress’ gains. The dead heat 5-5 result on Haryana’s 10 Lok Sabha seats has boosted Congress’ expectations and Dalits are an essential variable in the calculations. The question whether Dalit mobilisa­tion in southern Haryana, or the Ahirwal belt, where the Jat presence is thin and the dominant Ya­dav community is rallying behind BJP, will tilt the scales for Congress holds the attention of political commentators. The race is likely to be close but the evident disenchantment of the more numerous Dalit castes like Chamars, Valmikis, Dhanaks and other SC communities as well is a significant hurdle for BJP which has tried to remind these vot­ers that they have suffered under Congress governments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a rally at Gohana where Dalit houses were burnt in 2005, reminded voters of the incident and said Congress rule was marked by nepotism and middlemen. Home Minister Amit Shah has referred to the sidelining of Con­gress’ Dalit face Selja Kumari from the party’s campaign. Modi has warned that Congress is represented by the “Bapu-Beta” duo, a reference to former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and son Deepender, with the underlying suggestion that benefits will be cornered by one community. During the Lok Sabha polls, the claim—fanned by BJP’s rivals—that its 400-plus target was intended to scrap reservations was seen to have influenced Dalits. This is not much discussed now and the community’s unhappi­ness is more to do with day-to-day problems. Just how the balance of caste interests will finally play out is not easy to predict.

Bhudpur is a large village that falls in the Rewari Assembly constituency, with a population of a little more than 2,000 and around 400 houses. The Valmiki houses are sturdy and boast of the odd cattle pen. A lone man stacking up firewood says a Con­gress “hawa (wind)” is apparent, pausing to explain how inflation and lack of opportunities are hurting the community. He points the way farther in where a knot of people, also Valmikis, are sit­ting under a tree. The lack of work they complain about requires closer examination as most people here are outside their homes and will be seen only in the evening. The problem seems to lie in the limitations of available employment.

An auto owner is unhappy about dwindling demand and a driver who worked for a private employer says the wages were too low. The driver prefers looking out for manual work in and around the village. Dalit residents here did receive grant of plots. The fly in the ointment is that they have been unable to claim them. “Other people have opposed our taking possession of plots on the grounds that this is gochar (grazing) land that belongs to the village. When we tried to go to our plots, the people nearby parked their tractors, saying this was common land and could not be given to us,” says one of the group. Those opposing Dalit ownership argue the government should acquire land rather than allocate the commons. It is a deadlock with no solutions so far. Other benefits available to SCs are accessible, but they point to much better-off Yadav neighbours also drawing free rations. Water supply is infrequent, available once in two-three days, and is used for bathing and cleaning as it cannot be utilised for drinking. Yet, Bhudpur is not far from where a new flyover and a new road have come up, improving connectivity with Rewari and other destinations.

The contrast is starker at the Alamgirpur industrial area in Dha­ruhera close to the Neemrana-Gurugram highway which houses several electrical, plastic, cold chain, machine parts and agricul­ture-related industries. It even has a large Carlsberg manufacturing plant that the Danish multinational brewer set up not long ago. It takes some finding, but Garib Nagar is several turns beyond the impressive collection of modern industries and at the very edge of Alamgirpur. It exists out of sight and in squalor, quite unmindful of the irony of its presence in the rain shadow of multi-million-dollar investments that earn profits running into hundreds of crores of rupees. A young man returning from work offers to lead the way off the concrete road where a muddy path begins. His home is reached soon where his father runs a small shop selling knick-knacks from an ill-lit room. Desraj and his father Suraj Bhan belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and are joined by a Harijan woman called Kamlesh, a widow who lives nearby. The house, clearly in need of repair, was constructed after the family sold a plot in an area near the highway. The ₹6 lakh they got in 2012 saw them build their current residence. But the story has stagnated since. There is some employ­ment on offer from the industries next door, but mainly in menial jobs. There are no training facilities that might equip residents of Garib Nagar for more skilled careers. Light comes and goes as the discussion proceeds. Desraj, Suraj and Kamlesh assure us this is how things usually are.

Kamlesh points out that getting work is harder for older people. She lives on her own and asks whether the ₹3,000 a month widow “pension” is enough to get by. A majority of in­habitants here are Chamars and Khatiks and while some of the construction is new, there are no sewer lines and no paved paths. As with the Dalit quarter of Jatusana, the surrounding shrub­bery is overgrown due to bountiful rainfall and children are at risk of snake bite. “The rains brought the water to our doorstep. The snakes are driven out due to water flooding their holes,” says Desraj. So, did they vote BJP previously? “Yes, we brought in a BJP government in the last 10 years (Hum toh BJP ko laye),” exclaims Kamlesh. Perched precariously on the outskirts of a modern industrial estate, Garib Nagar is an abomination and a shame.

THE DALIT SENTIMENT seems consistently aligned towards Congress, but there are variations, sometimes due to the record of a particular candidate. Naurangpur can be accessed by an exit to the left a few kilometres before Manesar, in Gurugram’s Sector 76. Like Jatusana, Budhpur and Alamgirpur, this basti is a ‘Dalit’ village, one of 16 in Gurugram. There is a little history to Naurangpur. This was where the Mane­sar land scam had unfolded in 2004-05 when the then Congress government issued notices for land acquisition. Panicked their lands would be compensated below market rates, owners sold properties to private buyers who conveniently appeared on the scene. Once the lands were sold, the government withdrew the notifications, enriching private buyers-builders while shocked villagers understood the trickery they were subjected to. Today, the village is urbanised and most individual houses and flats have cars parked outside. It is not yet 9AM and things are moving at a leisurely pace, unlike the corporate and business side of the city. Ram Prasad, who already has a hookah going, says he is a retired “fauji” and proclaims that voters will support BJP candidate Bimla Chaudhary who has previously contested the Pataudi re­served seat. Pataudi is one of four Assembly constituencies in Gu­rugram and Naurangpur is part of it. Ravi Kumar and Kishan, also Valmikis like Prasad, work for a contractor as sanitation workers and are less contented. They complain the private contractor pays wages as late as the 20th of the month. They are at the mercy of a private individual, bereft of the security regular government workers enjoy. It is unclear what their voting preferences are.

Farther into the village, Rattan Singh Yadav is watching the world from his house that sits between two Dalit sections of the village. He is voting BJP and is uninterested in the choice of region­al Congress leaders and does not feel the party’s better showing in the Lok Sabha polls changes things. “See what Rahul Gandhi is saying on foreign soil. Do you think he is fit to be a leader or prime minister?” he opines. A few bends in the lanes later, Rameshwar, a former sarpanch, and his two brothers are sitting outside their homes. Admitting he has lost more panchayat elections than he has won, he says Naurangpur is now a ward, part of the Manesar corporation. Rameshwar is well versed with the Manesar land scam and recalls the Supreme Court decision to scrap the land acquisition in 2018. Since then villagers have received compensa­tion for land acquired in other projects. He echoes Ram Prasad’s support for BJP and Bimla Chaudhary. Yet, when he steps into his house for a few moments, his younger brother, who has been quietly pulling on a hookah, murmurs that Congress is in with a chance this time.

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