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In November and December 2006, the [[Vandalism of Ambedkar statues|desecration]] of an [[B. R. Ambedkar|Ambedkar]] statue in [[Kanpur]] triggered off violent protests by [[Dalit]]s in [[Maharashtra]], [[India]].

==Background==
There was resentment among the Dalit in Maharashtra, due to [[Kherlanji Massacre|murder of four Dalits]], allegedly by a mob of [[Kunbi]]s in [[Khairlanji]] village in September 2006.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.frontline.in/social-issues/dalit-blood-on-village-square/article6808442.ece
|title=Dalit blood on village square
|publisher=Frontline
|access-date=2006-12-02
}}</ref> On 28 November 2006, the brewing resentment in the Dalit community in Maharashtra took form of violent protests, when a statue of Dalit icon B. R. Ambedkar was desecrated by a vandal in [[Kanpur]].<ref name="Kanpur"/> Several people remarked that the protests were fueled by the [[Kherlanji Massacre|Khairlanji killings]],<ref name="Kanpur">{{cite web
|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/story/17707.html
|title=Khairlanji to Kanpur
|publisher=[[The Indian Express]]
|date=2006-12-02
|access-date=2006-12-02
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214102018/http://www.indianexpress.com/story/17707.html
|archive-date=14 December 2006
|url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/676915.cms
|title=Irrational violence: A result of dalit marginalisation
|publisher=[[The Economic Times]]
|date=2006-12-02
|access-date=2006-12-02
}}</ref> including the Maharashtra Chief Minister [[Vilasrao Deshmukh]],<ref name="toi_situation_normal">{{cite news
|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-12-02/mumbai/27797568_1_kanpur-incident-state-intelligence-dalit
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418230945/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-12-02/mumbai/27797568_1_kanpur-incident-state-intelligence-dalit
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=2012-04-18
|title=Situation in Mumbai, state back to normal
|work=[[The Times of India]]
|date=2006-12-02
|access-date=2006-12-02
}}</ref> and the [[Mumbai]] Police Commissioner A. N. Roy.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger">{{cite news
|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/nov/30statue.htm
|title=Maharashtra: Dalit anger leaves 4 dead, 60 injured
|work=Rediff.com
|date=2006-11-30
|access-date=2006-12-02
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061206175838/http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/nov/30statue.htm| archive-date= 6 December 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> According to [[The Hindu]], the political parties had not responded appropriately to the outrage over the Kherjlanji killings, resulting in heightened tensions.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sharma|first=Kalpana|title=Why are Maharashtra's Dalits so angry?|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/02/stories/2006120202561100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110420125602/http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/02/stories/2006120202561100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 April 2011|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=2006-12-02|access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref> Later, the [[Maharashtra Navnirman Sena]] (MNS) chief [[Raj Thackeray]] claimed that the protests were stoked by certain political parties in their bid to oust [[Maharashtra]] Home Minister [[R. R. Patil]].<ref name="et_rrpatil">{{cite news
|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/678074.cms
|title=Anti-RR Patil forces behind riots: Raj
|publisher=Economic times
|date=2006-12-02
|access-date=2006-12-03
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061205113006/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/678074.cms| archive-date= 5 December 2006 | url-status= dead}}</ref>

==Protests==
On 30 November 2006, violent protests took place in several places in Maharashtra. The Dalit protestors set three trains on fire, damaged over 100 buses and clashed with police.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger"/>

===North Maharashtra===
In [[Osmanabad]], two persons were killed in police firing on a protesting mob. Two more deaths were reported, one each in [[Nanded]] and [[Nashik]], during the violent protests.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger"/> Subsequently, a curfew was imposed in Osmanabad, Nanded and [[Nandurbar]] towns of Maharashtra.<ref name="ibnlive_3killed">{{cite news|url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/maharashtra-on-the-boil-2-kiiled-dalit-mob-rampage/27394-3.html |title=3 killed in Maharashtra Dalit violence |publisher=IBN Live |url-status=dead |date=2006-11-30 |access-date=2006-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213817/http://www.ibnlive.com/news/maharashtra-on-the-boil-2-kiiled-dalit-mob-rampage/27394-3.html |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref>

In [[Aurangabad, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]], a crowd of 1,000 Dalit gathered to protest against desecration. Some of the protestors started pelting stones at passing vehicles, injuring six persons, including sub-inspector and a constable. The police resorted to firing in air to disperse the crowd.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger"/> In [[Akola city|Akola]], a truck was set on fire on the national highway, and there was heavy stone-pelting on State Transport buses.<ref name="toi_situation_normal"/>

Heavy deployment of police forces took place in affected areas. Around 1,500 people were put under preventive arrest and three persons were detained in connection with the lynching of a youth in Nashik.<ref name="ibnlive_3killed"/> In Akola, the police arrested 14 persons for burning an effigy of chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.<ref name="toi_situation_normal"/>

===Pune District===
In [[Pune]] and [[Pimpri-Chinchwad]] areas, 60 vehicles were damaged and set ablaze by agitators and 13 policemen were injured.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger"/> A curfew was imposed in [[Pimpri]] on 30 November. On 1 December, a municipal corporation bus was stoned at Bopodi chowk in Pimpri-Chinchwad.

===Mumbai and its neighborhoods===
On 30 November, a mob of over 6000 protestors stopped the [[Deccan Queen]] passenger train near [[Ulhasnagar]], asked the passengers to alight and set afire its five bogies.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger"/> One compartment of a local train was set ablaze at [[Matunga]] in [[Mumbai]]. There were no injuries.<ref name="ibnlive_3killed"/> Some compartments of a commuter train were also torched at Ulhasnagar, and the police fired in the air to control the violent crowds. The mob in Ulhasnagar also vandalised the railway station. Suburban train services were affected in parts of Mumbai as protestors squatted on the tracks. Shops and establishments in the city were also closed in view of the protests.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger"/>

Incidents of protestors setting up road blocks and pelting stones were reported in Mumbai suburbs like [[Kanjurmarg]], [[Mulund]], [[Bhandup]], [[Trombay]], [[Kurla]], [[Santa Cruz (Mumbai)#Kalina|Kalina]], [[Chembur]], Kurar in [[Malad]], [[Goregaon]], Pali Hill in [[Bandra]], and [[Worli]]. The police reported that gangster [[Chhota Rajan]]'s brother Deepak Nikhalje was responsible for violence in Chembur.<ref name="ibnlive_3killed"/> Police used ''[[lathi charge|lathi]]'' charge and fired in the air at Kherwadi junction on the Western Express highway in [[Santa Cruz (Mumbai)#Vakola|Vakola]], after an [[angry mob]] blocked traffic and indulged in stone pelting. In Thane, corporation-run buses were off the road due to stone pelting. A Municipal Transport Corporation bus going from Kalyan to Dombivili was set on fire at Manpada by a violent mob. Protestors also forced owners of shops and establishments to down shutters.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger"/>

Over 100 buses and 35 private vehicles were damaged in stone pelting. The Mumbai Police Commissioner A. N. Roy put the loss at around Rs 30 lakh. [[Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport|BEST]] said 91 of its buses were damaged and four drivers and a woman passenger injured in stone pelting. At least 13 policemen, including Additional Commissioner of Police K. L. Bishnoi, were injured in the protests.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger"/>

176 people were arrested in Mumbai.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger"/> The Thane police arrested 19 persons and detained another 29.<ref name="toi_situation_normal"/>

===Outside Maharashtra===
The protests also spread to some parts of Maharashtra's neighboring states, [[Gujarat]] and [[Karnataka]]. In [[Surat]], Gujarat; a mob pelted stones and damaged vehicles. Eight persons were arrested in connection with the violence. In [[Hubli]], Karnataka; activists belonging to various Dalit organizations stoned a dozen city buses.<ref name="rediff_dalit_anger"/>

==Arrest of the vandal==
Many Dalit leaders, including the [[Uttar Pradesh|UP]] [[Republican Party of India|RPI]] vice-president S. R. Darapuri remarked that the desecration of [[B. R. Ambedkar|Ambedkar]] statue displayed the deep-seated animosity towards Dalits in India.<ref name="hindu_youth_arrested">{{cite news
|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/02/stories/2006120203321200.htm
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001044455/http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/02/stories/2006120203321200.htm
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=2007-10-01
|title=Youth arrested for statue desecration
|work=[[The Hindu]]|first1=Atiq|last1=Khan
|date=2006-12-02
|access-date=2016-03-06}}</ref> [[Janata Party]] president [[Subramanian Swamy]] claimed that the desecration was the work of "anti-national" elements.

Later, the Kanpur Police arrested a Dalit youth Arun Kumar Balmiki for desecrating the Ambedkar statue. According to the police, the youth had "admitted to having damaged the statue in a drunken state along with two friends".<ref name="business_standard_suspect">{{cite news
|url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/dalits-force-police-to-let-off-suspect-in-kanpur/18172/on
|title=Dalits force police to let off suspect in Kanpur
|publisher=Business Standard
|date=2006-12-01
|access-date=2006-12-02
}}</ref> Earlier in a similar case, a Dalit youth was held for desecrating an Ambedkar statue in [[Gulbarga]], Karnataka.<ref name="deccanherald">
{{cite news
|url=http://archive.deccanherald.com/Deccanherald/sep222006/district1711462006921.asp
|title=Dalit youth held for desecrating Ambedkar statue
|publisher=Deccan Herald
|date=2006-09-26
|access-date=2006-12-02
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219190257/http://archive.deccanherald.com/Deccanherald/sep222006/district1711462006921.asp
|archive-date=2016-02-19
|url-status=dead
}}
</ref> However, some Dalits in Kanpur alleged that the youth was falsely implicated to protect the real culprits.<ref name="business_standard_suspect"/> Some Dalits protesting against Balmiki's arrest damaged vehicles and blocked traffic in Kanpur.<ref name="deccanherald"/> Meanwhile, the old desecrated statue in Kanpur was buried with full honors and quickly replaced with a new one.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6159541.stm
|title=Caste protests grip Indian state
|publisher=[[BBC]]
|date=2006-11-30
|access-date=2006-12-02
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061130140503/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6159541.stm| archive-date= 30 November 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref>

==Political fallout==
The Maharashtra Chief Minister [[Vilasrao Deshmukh]] requested Dalit leaders to maintain calm. The Police Commissioner of Mumbai, A. N. Roy, requested the state government to declare a holiday on December 6 (Dr. Ambedkar's death anniversary),<ref name="ibnlive_3killed"/> but the Government decided against doing so.<ref name="toi_situation_normal"/> Deshmukh also called an all-party meeting. The Congress president [[Sonia Gandhi]] also pitched in to settle the issue.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?category=National&template=dalitprotests&slug=Maharashtra%3A+CM+calls+all-party+meet&id=97273&callid=1
|title=Dalit protests: Deshmukh calls all-party meet
|publisher=[[NDTV]]
|date=2006-12-02
|access-date=2006-12-02
}}</ref>

[[Raj Thackeray]] accused the "anti-[[R. R. Patil]] forces" of fueling the riots. He also drew attention to another incident in Khairlanji, in which a Dalit man allegedly raped a girl and killed her. Thackeray demanded action on those responsible for the rape and the subsequent death of the girl, and also remarked that nobody helped the girl's family.<ref name="toi_situation_normal"/>

In Kanpur, a Congress delegation, led by former bureaucrat [[P. L. Punia]] sat on a ''[[dharna]]'' (strike), when the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police prevented them from visiting the site of desecration. [[Republican Party of India|RPI]] president [[Ramdas Athawale]] also reached Kanpur to visit the site of desecration.<ref name="hindu_youth_arrested"/> Earlier, he had said that he will hold protests in [[Kanpur]] against the "heinous" act.<ref name="hindu_statue">{{cite news
|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200612011717.htm
|title=Statue desecration: Dalit activists demand action
|work=[[The Hindu]]
|date=2006-12-01|access-date=2006-12-02
}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> However, he alleged house arrest, after police put him under tight security in a local circuit house in [[Kanpur]].<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?rep=2&aid=339382&sid=REG
|title= Athwale alleges "house arrest" in Kanpur
|publisher=[[Zee News]]
|date=2006-12-02
|access-date=2006-12-02
}}</ref>

At the 22nd National Conference of Dalit Writers in New Delhi, the former Governor of [[Arunachal Pradesh]], Mata Prasad declared that the agitation will continue through Dalit literature.<ref name="hindu_statue"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==See also==
*[[Vandalism of Ambedkar statues]]

{{Reservation in India}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:2006 Dalit Protests In Maharashtra}}

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|keywords=Protests in India, Dalit politics, Dalit history, History of Maharashtra (1947–present), Caste-related violence in India, November 2006 events in Asia, December 2006 events in Asia
|description=
}}

[[Category:2006 riots|Dalit protests in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:2006 in India|Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in India|Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Protests in India]]
[[Category:Dalit politics]]
[[Category:Dalit history]]
[[Category:History of Maharashtra (1947–present)]]
[[Category:Caste-related violence in India]]
[[Category:2006 protests|Dalit protests in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:November 2006 events in Asia]]
[[Category:December 2006 events in Asia]]

2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra - Revision history

MetaBOT at 16:46, 8 July 2023