Caste Violence Leads To Migration

A Dalit colony in Mirzpur has slowly been abandoned after a violent caste-related conflict last year. Almost one year ago, our CC Amit Kumar had made a video on this same incident, where two Dalits - a disabled father and his daughter - were burned alive in their house in an attack by members of the Jat caste. More than twenty houses were burned to the ground and over the last year, the case has been moved to Delhi for reasons of impartiality and is being investigated. In the mean time, the Dalits from Mirzpur have slowly been leaving the village in search of employment and security. "I felt really bad," says Satyawan, who is from an OBC himself. "Last year, for twelve days there were protests and I was truly scared. Everything was shut down, the Jat rioters were breaking down bus stands and the schools were closed, they were burning things because they wanted the case to be conducted in Haryana." Amid this chaos, the Dalits started packing and moving to Hissar and Mirzpur is now derelict and deserted. "The only ones left are the ones who want to run for MLA positions," Satyawan tells us. "What is upsetting is how people change during something like this. There were several Jat teachers I knew who used to discourage castism. But when all this happened, they forgot their own words. That is what makes me sad."

Fighting for Change: The Story of Bihar-Based Journalist Amir Abbas

 
/ March 23, 2023

  Inspiration can come from many sources, but one of the most powerful is seeing someone walk the path before you. Our Community Correspondent, Syed Amir Abbas found his inspiration in Stalin K., the founding director of Video Volunteers. “I met Stalin at VV’s national meet in 2017 and I...

The torch bearer of rights for marginalized tribals of Odisha

 
/ March 27, 2023

If you ask Video Volunteers’ Community Correspondent Bideshini Patel to rate her childhood on a scale of 1-10, she would probably give it a negative marking due to the neglect and abuse she faced.  But if you ask her to evaluate her professional life as an impactful journalist, resolving basic...

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *