Om Prakash Chautala Government of Haryana will long be remembered for feudal brutality and oppression on dalits in the state. Such cases were occurring during the rule of earlier Congress Government and the BJP-supported Government of Haryana Vikas Party too. However, the Chautala Government has set new records of insensitivity and indifference to such cases.

Over the last two years, CPI(ML)-New Democracy, in Panipat District has acquired a name for its struggles against increasing suppression and oppression of Dalits. During the general elections, it also exposed parties like BSP, the self-proclaimed messiah of Dalits, the Congress and other ruling class parties.

On October 12, 2004, a dalit woman Anganwadi worker in Dhodpur village of Panipat district was visiting the houses of the village in connection with Polio iradication programme. An aggressive landlord and the female members of his family beat her up, abbused her using casteist language and drove her out of the village. Demanding action against the landlord and his family, she approached police and administrative officials and even the SC/ST Commission. But even 50 days later, no FIR was even lodged against the incident, forget about actions against the act. The police, on the other hand, pressurized her for a for mutual agreement, and even warned her of dire consequences. She also approached the local CITU affiliated Anganbadi Workers’ Union, which too did not pay any heed to the oppression of the dalit women.

District Committee of CPI(ML)-New Democracy took up the case seriously and started an indefinite dharna and demonstration at the office of DSP, Samalkha. On the fourth day of the dharna (December 2. 2004), Naujawan Bharat Sabha took out a rally in Samalkha against the Chautala Government. Local activists of Loktantrik Janta Party, CPI, BSP and Dalit and Backward Mahasangh also joined it. The police was then forced to register a case against the people responsible for the crime under the Act against dalit oppression.

The police, however, also registered a case against the husband (a Dalit youth) of the Dalit woman on the basis of complaints of the women involved in the crime and to built pressure on the Dalits. The Party strongly condemned this corrupt act of the police and submitted a memorandum to the DCP demanding immediate arrest of the perpetrators of the crime and withdrawal of the false case.

Sonepat

In village Bhainswal of Sonepat District, houses of 5 Dalits were broken down by the village panchayat during construction of street. Dalit houses have been there for the past 51 years. According to official record, the street is 55 feet wide and has been encroached by landlords. To save their houses, dalit houses have been targeted.

Against this arbitrary act against Dalits, Naujawan Bharat Sabha held a demonstration in the town in December 27, 2004 and submitted a memorandum to the SDM. The memorandum demanded that a 12 feet wide street should be laid in the centre of the space marked in official records and not close to dalit houses, full compensation for breaking of houses should be paid to dalits and action should be taken against culprits of this action. The authorities initiated immediate action in the matter.