1997 Ramabai killings | |||
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Part of Caste-related violence in India | |||
Date | 11 July 1997 | ||
Location | Ramabai colony, Mumbai 19°04′26.9″N72°55′10.6″E / 19.074139°N 72.919611°E | ||
Methods | Police violence | ||
Parties | |||
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Lead figures | |||
Manohar Kadam (SRPF sub-Inspector) | |||
Casualties and losses | |||
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The 1997 Ramabai killings were a mass killing of Dalit residents of the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar colony in Mumbai on 11 July 1997. A team of State Reserve Police Force members fired upon a crowd protesting the recent desecration of a statue of Constitution maker B. R. Ambedkar. 10 Dalits were killed and 26 injured in the incident. [1]
The statue of Ambedkar was defaced with a garland of shoes which angered the Dalits. The Dalits took to the street and the police opened fire killing 10 Dalits. Police officer Manohar Kadam, who allegedly ordered the firing, was released on bail in 2009. [2]
Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar is a predominantly Dalit urban colony in the city of Mumbai. On 11 July 1997, a statue of Ambedkar in front of the colony was found to have had a garland of sandals placed around its neck, in an act widely seen as a desecration. The outraged residents of the colony complained to the nearest police station, Local Beat No. 5 Pantnagar Police, which happened to be located a few metres from the statue. The complainants were instead directed to the Pantnagar police station. A crowd of protesters began to form, and by 7 AM had blocked the highway that ran in front of the colony. [1]
A team of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) members arrived a few minutes later, and opened fire on the crowd with live ammunition. The firing continued for 10–15 minutes, and killed 10 people, including a bystander who had not been involved in the protests. [1] The protests then grew more violent. At approximately 11:30 AM, a luxury bus was set ablaze. In response, about 25 police officers entered Ramabai Colony, deployed tear gas and began a lathi charge. By the end of the day 26 people had been seriously injured, and Local Beat No. 5 had been destroyed by the protesters. [1]
Commentators on the event suggested that the excessive use of force was motivated by caste-based prejudice against the Dalit protesters. This was because the sub-Inspector who led the police force stood accused in multiple cases involving caste-based discrimination. [1] Vilas Ghogre, a Dalit activist, poet, and artist, committed suicide in protest at the event. [3]
Following the killing, the Maharashtra Government appointed the Gundewar commission to enquire into the issue in November 1997. [4] In 1999, the commission published its report. Two years later a case was filed in a sessions court against Manohar Kadam. A few years later, it was transferred to the Crime Investigation Department, which filed a charge-sheet in 2006. In 2009, the sessions court found Kadam guilty of "homicide amounting to murder," and sentenced him to life-imprisonment. [4] [5] [6] However, the sentence was later revoked by the high-court, and released him on bail. [2] In April 2011, the protesters who had been arrested for setting the bus on fire were acquitted, with the court finding that they had not been present during the incident. [7]
Indian documentary film-maker Anand Patwardhan, a friend of Vilas Ghogre, created a documentary based on the incident, entitled Jai Bhim Comrade . [8] Patwardhan stated that the filming took 14 years because he was waiting for the accused policemen to be jailed, and the residents of the colony to be acquitted. [9]
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served as Law and Justice minister in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru, and inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement after renouncing Hinduism.
Kumari Mayawati is an Indian politician who served as the 18th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1995 to 1995, 1997 to 1997, 2002 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2012. She is the national president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which focuses on a platform of social change for Bahujans, more commonly known as Other Backward Castes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as religious minorities since 2003. She had also served as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from 2012 to 2017 from Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati's rise from humble beginnings has been called a "miracle of democracy" by P. V. Narasimha Rao, former prime minister of India. In 1993, Kanshi Ram formed a coalition with the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1995. She was the first female Scheduled Caste chief minister in India. In 1997 and in 2002 she was chief minister with outside support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the second time only for a year up to 26 August 2003 due to BJP withdrawing support. Mayawati's tenure has attracted praise and criticism. Millions of Dalits across India popularly view her as an icon, and refer to her as Behen-ji and Iron lady. She has been praised for her fundraising efforts on behalf of her party and her birthdays have been widely celebrated by her supporters. On the contrary, the rise in her personal wealth and that of her party have been criticised as indicative of corruption.
Anand Patwardhan is an Indian documentary filmmaker known for his socio-political, human rights-oriented films. Some of his films explore the rise of religious fundamentalism, sectarianism and casteism in India, while others investigate nuclear nationalism and unsustainable development. Notable films include Bombay: Our City (1985), In Memory of Friends (1990), In the Name of God (1992), Father, Son, and Holy War (1995), A Narmada Diary (1995), War and Peace (2002) and Jai Bhim Comrade (2011), and Reason (2018) which have won national and international awards.
Ramdas Bandu Athawale is an Indian politician, social activist and trade unionist from Maharashtra. He is the president of the Republican Party of India (A), a splinter group of the Republican Party of India and has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar since 1999. Currently, he is the Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India since 2016 and represents Maharashtra in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament since 2014. Previously, he was Lok Sabha MP from Pandharpur from 1999 to 2009 and from Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency from 1998 to 1999. He was also Cabinet minister of Maharashtra from 1990 to 1995 and a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from 1990 to 1996.
The Kherlanji massacre refers to the murders of four Scheduled Caste citizens by villagers of Khairlanji on 29 September 2006. The killings took place in a small village in India named Kherlanji, located in the Bhandara district of the state of Maharashtra.
In November and December 2006, the desecration of an Ambedkar statue in Kanpur triggered off violent protests by Dalits in Maharashtra, India.
Caste-related violence in India has occurred and continues to occur in various forms.
Arun Krushnaji Kamble was an Indian Marathi language writer, professor, Politician, and Dalit activist. Arun Kamble, President and one of the founding members of Dalit Panthers of India, worked as a Head of Marathi department at University of Mumbai. He was the National General Secretary of Janata Dal. He took many major decisions in favour of Dalit, Backward Class and Minorities.
Namantar Andolan was a Dalit and Navayana Buddhist movement to change the name of Marathwada University, in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar University. It achieved a measure of success in 1994, when the compromise name of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University was accepted. The movement was notable for the violence against Dalits and Navayana Buddhists.
Sudhir Dhawale is an Indian activist, actor and publisher of the bi-monthly Marathi magazine Vidrohi. He is also the founder of organisation, Republican Panthers.
Karamchedu massacre refers to an incident that occurred in Karamchedu, Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh on 17 July 1985, where brutality by Kamma landlords against Madigas (Dalits) resulted in the killing of six Madigas and grievous injuries to many others. Three Madiga women were raped. Hundreds of Madigas in the village were displaced from their home after their houses were burnt and looted.
Jai Bhim Comrade is a 2011 Indian documentary film directed by Anand Patwardhan. The film begins with a description of police violence in the 1997 Ramabai killings. It goes on to explore various aspects of the lives and politics of Dalit people in Mumbai. The film took 14 years to produce, and was released in 2011 after the conclusion of the court trials that followed the Ramabai incident. The film was widely shown both nationally and internationally, and received an overwhelmingly positive reaction. It has won numerous national and international awards.
Kabir Kala Manch was a cultural organisation that was formed in Pune, Maharashtra, India, in the wake of the Gujarat riots in 2002. Through music, poetry and theatre, it aims to spread an anti-caste, pro-democracy message. It comprises students and young professionals who perform protest poetry and plays in slums and streets.
Vilas Ghogre was a prominent Dalit activist, poet, and artist from Bombay who committed suicide in protest against the 1997 Ramabai killings in which 10 Dalits were killed by Maharashtra State Reserve Police Force and 26 were injured. He is featured prominently in Anand Patwardhan's documentaries Bombay Our City (1985) Jai Bhim Comrade (2011).
The Bhim Army, alternatively Bheem Army or the Bheem Army Bharat Ekta Mission is an Ambedkarite and Dalit rights organisation in India. It was founded by Satish Kumar, Vinay Ratan Singh and Chandra Shekhar Aazad in 2015. The organisation runs more than 350 free schools for Dalits and Bahujans in the districts of Saharanpur, Meerut, Shamli and Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh. The organisation is named after B. R. Ambedkar.
Ramabai Bhimrao Ambedkar was the first wife of B. R. Ambedkar, who said her support was instrumental in helping him pursue his higher education and his true potential. She has been the subject of a number of biographical movies and books. A number of landmarks across India have been named after her. She is also known as Ramai.
Ramabai may refer to:
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