{"id":51014,"date":"2009-10-24T18:51:37","date_gmt":"2009-10-24T18:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/test.tehelka.com\/?p=51014"},"modified":"2009-10-24T18:51:37","modified_gmt":"2009-10-24T18:51:37","slug":"ambedkars-lost-boys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/ambedkars-lost-boys\/","title":{"rendered":"Ambedkar\u2019s Lost Boys?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Dalit Organisation In Kerala Is Accused Of Terrorist Links<\/em>
\nAjit Sahi<\/strong>,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Editor-at-Large
\n

\"\"<\/a>
Men in black DHRM activists
Photos: Ajit Sahi<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nAT FIRST<\/strong> sight, 27-year-old VV Selvaraj looks more the assistant manager with Idea Cellular that he was until six years ago than the firebrand \u2014 and controversial \u2014 dalit leader he has quickly turned out to be in Kerala. He appears even less the man with the dubious distinction of being India\u2019s first dalit activist the police say they are probing for possible links with terrorism, as they indeed are.<\/span>
\nIt all started on the morning of September 23, 2009, when Siva Prasad, 61, a retiree in an idyllic suburb 50 km north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, was brutally attacked with swords on his morning walk and died on the way to the hospital. Once a driver for US Embassy officials in New Delhi, Prasad earned enough to build a house in this suburb of Varkala, where he returned 13 years ago to join his wife, daughter and son.<\/span>
\nBy evening, police had arrested K Das, a top functionary of the Dalit Human Rights Movement (DHRM), a quasi-political outfit floated by Selvaraj in December 2007, and accused him of masterminding the killing. Over the next few days, six others, including DHRM\u2019S legal adviser, known as \u2018Advocate Asokan\u2019, were picked up for Prasad\u2019s murder.<\/span>
\nThen, on September 29, Kerala Director- General of Police (DGP) Jacob Punnoose made a stunning claim. \u201cWe know the existence of the organisation [DHRM] and its activities,\u201d he told reporters at Kochi. \u201cWe are now looking into [allegations] whether it has any terrorist links.\u201d<\/span>
\nThe state\u2019s topmost police officer\u2019s sensational claim brought sharp focus on Selvaraj\u2019s fledgling outfit. The police are yet to offer any evidence to back the DGP\u2019s claim. (The DGP\u2019s office said he was travelling overseas and unavailable for comment.) Prasad\u2019s widow, Saraswati S, told TEHELKA that her husband had no political interests, and she hadn\u2019t heard of the DHRM until the police told her that the group had killed her husband. Varkala police chief, P Anil Kumar, refused to divulge their leads on DHRM\u2019S involvement in the murder. \u201cThey killed Prasad to get public attention and prove their strength in their ranks,\u201d Kumar told TEHELKA.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018DHRM teaches against drug addiction and alcoholism and encourages dalit education. How can it be a terrorist organisation?\u2019<\/span><\/strong>
\nSHASHIKALA,<\/span>
\n44, DHRM Member<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Varkala, a clutch of villages with roughly 40,000 people, the divide among dalits over the DHRM has got sharper since the murder. Shiv Sena activist N Babu \u2014 yes, Bal Thackeray\u2019s party has struck roots here \u2014 claims that DHRM men regularly attack dalits, including him, who refused to join them. \u201cThey are criminals,\u201d Babu says. Several women in his municipal ward, with about 300 dalit families, claim DHRM men often roughed them up.<\/span>
\n

\"\"
Hapless<\/strong> DHRM members Podiyan and Shantha, whose son Shivalal is among the missing<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nBut then, many others in the same ward swear by the DHRM. \u201cMy husband would drink all day and was a total waster,\u201d 29-year-old Kochumol, a mother of three, says. \u201cHe turned a teetotaler after attending DHRM study circles.\u201d Soon, she followed him to these Sunday gatherings where, over five hours, Ambedkar\u2019s life would be recalled and advice given on daily affairs. Cultural shows at the end were a big hit. Despite their meagre earnings as wage labourers \u2014 they call themselves \u2018coolies\u2019 \u2014 everyone would gladly pay Rs 30 for the events.<\/span>
\nBut today, Kochumol\u2019s husband, also named Babu, has gone underground, fearing arrest. Selvaraj says 35 DHRM men are in police custody or jails, picked up over the last three weeks. Hundreds have possibly run away. In village Thachode, Podiyan, 52, and his wife, Shantha, are clueless on the whereabouts of their son, Shivalal. All three are DHRMmembers. The say that on September 22, a day before Prasad\u2019s murder, two plainclothes policemen dragged Shivalal away. \u201cMy son has never caused anyone harm,\u201d says Shantha. \u201cI beg the police to free him.\u201d (Varkala police chief Anil Kumar denied that Shivalal was in their custody.)<\/span>
\nFor now, DHRM has stopped all activities. Having taken anticipatory bail, Selvaraj is lying low. He called this reporter to a village in Ernakulam district, 260 km north of Thiruvananthapuram along the coast, to a house not his own. After the interview (see box), he quickly left the area. Selvaraj\u2019s fear of the police may not be entirely misplaced. When I visited dalits in Podiyan\u2019s village on October 12, about a dozen policemen landed up suddenly and began questioning me. \u201cYour T-shirt had us worried,\u201d their boss said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018DHRM activists are the prime accused in Siva Prasad\u2019s murder. Now people want to have nothing to do with them\u2019<\/span><\/strong>
\nV SIVANKUTTY,
\nBJP District President, Thiruvananthapuram<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

HIS REFERENCE<\/strong> is to the black T-shirts with Ambedkar\u2019s face, which Selvaraj made mandatory for DHRM members. Selvaraj also mandated they wear jeans, a practice few follow since the arrests began.<\/span>
\nSelvaraj may have a point in saying that neither the political parties nor the government has taken kindly to the DHRM. In a state where centuries old anti-dalit violence is legendary, DHRM has spread its influence quickly by articulating the dalits\u2019 desire for dignity. DHRM also issued I-cards to its volunteers. Selvaraj says its total membership topped 10,000. Alarmingly for the political parties, it has political ambitions. A DHRM activist fought \u2014 and lost \u2014 this year\u2019s Lok Sabha elections as an Independent from the Attingal constituency, winning about 5,000 votes.<\/span>
\nPerhaps the BJP, striving to grow influence among Kerala dalits, feels the greatest threat from the DHRM. \u201cI was once a BJP member,\u201d says Selvaraj. \u201cBut dalits need to be on their own because every political party treats them as pawns.\u201d For now, though, Selvaraj\u2019s social reform and political ambitions are subordinated to the needs to extricate his and his outfit\u2019s name from charges of terrorism.<\/span><\/p>\n

WRITER\u2019S EMAIL<\/strong>
\najit@tehelka.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018CBI should probe whether we have terrorist links\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

VV Selvaraj of DHRM claims its ideology is non-violent<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>Is DHRM linked with terrorism?<\/strong>
\nWe demand an inquiry by the CBI to investigate this false allegation. Five lakh dalits have been influenced by our ideology, which is non-violent. There was not a single criminal case against us until Siva Prasad\u2019s murder. Why isn\u2019t the Kerala Police showing any proof?<\/span>
\nWhat is the ideology of DHRM?<\/strong>
\nWe propagate the ideals of Babasaheb [BR] Ambedkar and the Buddhist values that he preached. All dalits should follow Ambedkar\u2019s life.<\/span>
\nHave you converted to Buddhism?<\/strong>
\nWe don\u2019t have to convert to Buddhism to follow its principles.<\/span>
\nDo you give arms training or do your members bear arms?
\n<\/strong>Never.<\/span>
\nWhy should the Kerala Police be hostile towards you?<\/strong>
\nOur influence among dalits has alarmed all the political parties, including the CPI(M), the Congress, the BJP and the Shiv Sena. They have all ganged up against us because dalits don\u2019t go to their rallies anymore. DHRM is now the mainstream.<\/span>
\nThe police claim to have proof of DHRM involvement in Siva Prasad\u2019s murder.
\n<\/strong>They have no evidence. They arrested K Das because he was a popular leader.<\/span>
\nWhat are the activities of DHRM?
\n<\/strong>We teach people how to read and write and fill applications to use government schemes for livelihood. We hold study classes every Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Dalit Organisation In Kerala Is Accused Of Terrorist Links Ajit Sahi,\u00a0Editor-at-Large AT FIRST sight, 27-year-old VV Selvaraj looks more the assistant manager with Idea Cellular that he was until six years ago than the firebrand \u2014 and controversial \u2014 dalit leader he has quickly turned out to be in Kerala. He appears even less […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":51030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[56],"tags":[8626,8739,8740,80,8741,466,8742],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51014"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}