Hathras part of 'disturbing' pattern: Delhi riots, Bhima-Koregaon, Jharkhand lynchings

By A Representative

Civil rights organization Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM), in a statement, has demanded the resignation of the UP chief minister, even as seeking strict action under the scheduled castes/scheduled tribes (SC/ST) Atrocities Act against all those responsible for the recent violence in Hathras, even as offering “comprehensive assistance to the victims.”
Stating that the recent incident of gang-rape and murder in Hathras is not an act of random hatred or brutality but also attempts to subjugate Dalits, women, and other oppressed groups, JJM said, such incidents are getting “more common and more brutal as oppressed groups wake up to their strength and stand up for their rights.”
“The Hathras incident illustrates a disturbing pattern also found in other recent cases such as the Delhi violence of February 2020, the Bhima-Koregaon case, and also several cases of lynching in Jharkhand; instead of going after the culprits, the state turns against the victims”, JMM said.
“Despite all constitutional safeguards and struggles for equality, the upper castes still have a firm grip on state institutions. In each of these cases, they managed to subvert the course of justice. Violence is intrinsic to the caste system since no person would willingly submit to the degradation and humiliation inflicted by the caste hierarchy without coercion”, it underlined.
JMM insisted, “It is only by destroying the caste system that violence against Dalits can be eradicated. The same applies to patriarchy, founded as it is on violence against women.”

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