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{{Short description|Massacre of Dalits by upper caste militia led by Bhumihar caste}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Bathani Tola massacre

| location =
| date = 11 July 1996
| partof = •Caste wars of Bihar <br/> • clash between [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation|CPIML Liberation]] and [[Ranvir Sena]]

| map =
| coordinates =
| weapons =
| fatalities = 21 killed
| victims = [[Dalit]]s
| perpetrators = [[Ranvir Sena]]
| verdict = }}
{{Discrimination sidebar |General}}
The '''1996 Bathani Tola massacre''' was an incident of [[Caste-related violence in India|caste-related violence]] in which an upper-caste militia killed 21 [[Dalit]]s, including women and children, in the Indian state of [[Bihar]] on 11 July 1996. The attacks were allegedly by members of the [[Ranvir Sena]], in response to Dalit labourers' demand for wage increase.<ref name="Narula(Organization)1999">{{cite book|author1=Smita Narula|author2=Human Rights Watch (Organization)|title=Broken People: Caste Violence Against India's "untouchables".|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kd28Ay09adgC&pg=PA71|year=1999|publisher=Human Rights Watch|isbn=978-1-56432-228-9|page=71}}</ref>

==Massacre==
21 Dalits were slaughtered by [[Ranvir Sena]] militiamen in Bathani Tola, [[Bhojpur district, India|Bhojpur]], Bihar on 11 July 1996.<ref name=TheHindu17April2012>{{cite news|author=Shoumojit Banerjee |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3321368.ece |title=News / National : All accused in 1996 Bihar Dalit carnage acquitted |work=The Hindu|date=1996-07-11 |accessdate=2012-04-20 |location=Chennai, India}}</ref> Among the dead were 1 man, 11 women, six children and three infants, who were deliberately singled out by the attackers.<ref name=theHindu19April2012>{{cite news|author=Shoumojit Banerjee |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article3329111.ece?homepage=true |title=States / Other States : For residents of Bathani, it is a horror they cannot forget |work=The Hindu|date= 19 April 2012|accessdate=2012-04-20 |location=Chennai, India}}</ref> 60 members of the Ranvir Sena reportedly descended on the village and set 12 houses on fire. Using lathis, swords and firearms, the attackers continued the onslaught for two and a half hours. The attack was reportedly in retaliation for the earlier killing of nine Bhumihars in Nandhi village, by the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation]]. The conflict began when [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation|CPIML Liberation]] began organizing the agricultural laborers to demand the statutory daily minimum wage of Rs. 30.75. Landowners were willing to pay only Rs. 20. [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation|CPIML Liberation]] members convinced the laborers to refuse employment at that wage and called for an economic blockade against landowners. The attack on Bathani Tola, was an effort to weaken the resolve of [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation]] cadres organizing in the village and to prevent a labor boycott on hundreds of acres of land. None of the Ranvir Sena leaders were ever arrested for the Bathani Tola massacre.<ref name="Narula(Organization)1999" />

Following the massacre, there were further attacks on Dalits and Labourers organized by the Ranvir Sena in [[Laxmanpur Bathe]] (1 December 1997) and Sankarbigha (January 1999) in which 81 Dalits were killed.<ref name="theHindu19April2012" />

The Landlords wanted to reassert their feudal tyranny over the poor who have started becoming more vocal and by attacking the most vulnerable, women and children, they wanted to send a clear message that they would not allow anyone to disturb the social structure.<ref name="Narula(Organization)1999" />

A Ranvir Sena sympathiser, who spoke to the Hindu correspondent Shoumojit Banerjee,{{when|date=April 2012}} justified the mobilisation of the upper castes against those [[Naxalites|Naxals]].{{clarify|date=April 2012}} "The land is ours. The crops belong to us. They (the labourers) did not want to work, and moreover, hampered our efforts by burning our machines and imposing economic blockades. So, they had it coming."<ref name="theHindu19April2012" />

==Trial==
* 12 July 1996 - [[First information report]] lodged against 33 persons the day after the massacre
* 24 March 2000 - Charges framed against 64 accused<ref name="theHinduPatna14May2010">{{cite news|author=Shoumojit Banerjee |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article429329.ece |title=News / National : Death for three in Bathani Tola massacre case |work=The Hindu|date=2010-05-14 |accessdate=2012-04-20 |location=Chennai, India}}</ref>
* 5 May 2010 - The civil court at Ara sentences three persons to death and 20 others to life imprisonment. The court acquitted 30 others for want of evidence.<ref name="theHinduPatna14May2010" />
**Ajay Singh - charged with killing 10-year-old Phool Kumari - death sentenced<ref name=TheHindu17April2012/>
**Manoj Singh - charged with murder of 3-month-old daughter of Naimuddin - death sentenced<ref name=TheHindu17April2012/>
**Nagendar alias Narendra Singh - charged with murder of Sanjharu and Ramratiya Devi - death sentenced<ref name=TheHindu17April2012/>
* 17 April 2012 - The Patna High Court acquits 23 men convicted of the murders. A Division Bench of judges Navneeti Prasad Singh and Ashwani Kumar Singh cite "defective evidence" to acquit all of them.<ref name="theHindu19April2012" /><ref name=TheHindu17April2012/>
* 18 April 2012 - Bihar State SC/ST Welfare Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi told PTI in Patna that NDA led Govt (under [[Nitish Kumar]]). has decided to move to Supreme court challenging the Patna HC Order.<ref name=theHinduPatna18April2012>{{cite news|author=PTI |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3328131.ece |title=News / National : Bathani Tola case: Bihar Govt to move SC against verdict |work=The Hindu|date=1996-07-11 |accessdate=2012-04-20 |location=Chennai, India}}</ref>
* 16 July 2012- The Supreme Court admitted appeals filed by the Bihar Government and some of the family members of the victims against acquittal of 23 persons, allegedly responsible for the massacre.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3645740.ece | title= Bathani Tola: SC admits appeals against acquittals| date= 17 July 2012 | location=Chennai, India| work=The Hindu}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Dalelchak-Bhagaura Massacre 1987]]
*[[Bara Massacre]]
*[[Laxmanpur Bathe massacre]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{coord missing|Bihar}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathani Tola massacre}}

{{#seo:
|keywords=Mass murder in 1996, July 1996 events in Asia, July 1996 crimes, 1990s in Bihar, Massacres in 1996, Caste-related violence in Bihar, Massacres in India, Dalit history, Bhojpur district, India, Crime in Bihar, 1996 murders in India
|description=
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[[Category:Mass murder in 1996]]
[[Category:July 1996 events in Asia]]
[[Category:July 1996 crimes]]
[[Category:1990s in Bihar]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1996]]
[[Category:Caste-related violence in Bihar]]
[[Category:Massacres in India]]
[[Category:Dalit history]]
[[Category:Bhojpur district, India]]
[[Category:Crime in Bihar]]
[[Category:1996 murders in India]]

1996 Bathani Tola massacre - Revision history

MetaBOT at 15:47, 8 July 2023