MUMBAI – India’s financial capital ground to a halt on Wednesday as Dalit groups damaged buses, blocked roads, railway lines and Metro services to protest against the death of a 28-year-old man and violence near the bicentennial celebrations of a British-era war.
Daily life also came to a standstill in the suburbs of Thane, Dombivali, Navi Mumbai and across Maharashtra in cities such as Nagpur, Pune and Aurangabad because of a statewide bandh.
“Inquiry will be conducted in the incidents of violence that took place across Maharashtra. We are monitoring the CCTV footage of the violence,” chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said in the evening.
Echoes of the protest also reached Parliament in Delhi where the Congress disrupted Lok Sabha to accuse the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of fuelling violence against Dalits.
“We demand that the prime minister, who shows sympathy for Dalits during polls, should clarify his position inside Parliament on violence against Dalits,” Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters.
The bandh, called by BR Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar and supported by 250 groups, was against violence that broke out near Bhima Koregaon, 40 kilometres from Pune, on January 1 that left one man dead and 40 vehicles charred or damaged.
Hundreds of thousands of Dalits had gathered to commemorate the 200th anniversary of a battle between the Peshwa, the erstwhile rulers of the state, and the British. Many believe the Dalit soldiers in the British army defeated the much larger army of the Peshwa, who is said to have instituted oppressive caste practices.
“Barring a couple of incidents, the bandh was observed in peaceful manner. Like minded groups and left parties participated in the bandh,” said Prakash Ambedkar, calling off the bandh around 4.15pm. He also demanded the arrest of two Hindu right-wing leaders – against whom FIR has been registered for allegedly inciting the January 1 violence – and warned the state government. “If the government fails to act, it will have to bear the consequences,” he said.
The two accused are Sambhaji Bhide of Shiv Pratisthan from Sangli and Milind Ekbote of the Hindu Ekta Aghadi from Pune. “These two should face similar action to that of Yakub Memon in the Mumbai blasts. They are also terrorists,” added Prakash Ambedkar.
“Registration of FIRs is going on at different places. More than 150 miscreants detained at different places,” says Mumbai police spokesperson Sachin Patil in the evening.
