‘Badlo Bihar Nyay Yatra’ Takes Off from Nawada

Badlo Bihar Nyay Yatra - Transform Bihar Justice March - took off on 16 November from village Krishnanagar in Nawada district of Bihar. This village witnessed one of the recent atrocities on dalits when land mafia burnt down 32 houses belonging to Manjhi and Ravidas caste people.

On the eve of the Yatra CPIML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and senior leaders from Bihar met the victim Dalit families of Krishnanagar whose huts and belongings were torched at the behest of the land mafia on 18 September. They have been living on this land since 1966 without any security. Badlo Bihar Nyay Yatra demands the land rights for nearly 80 dalit families of this hamlet. The attack and arson on 18 September was just another attempt to forcibly evict these families. There had been earlier such attempts, including one last year. This time the attack was facilitated in the name of a pending land dispute and ongoing land surveys in the state. Dalits of Krishnanagar symbolise the plight of lakhs of landless people who are deprived of very basic amenities as well as justice and dignity because the government is standing against them in favour of upper caste brahmanical oppressors. Lakhs of families in Bihar are forced to live under economic insecurity and social oppression.

The Transform Bihar Justice March began on 16th will cover all regions in the state in four routes by thousands of activists on foot. There will be some additional routes too for some remote areas to be covered by separate teams. CPIML Bihar state secretary Kunal said there has been a sharp increase in incidents of atrocities against dalits and poor owing to the lax Nitish Kumar administration which is in alliance with right wing forces. Current regime is protecting attackers involved in perpetrating crimes against dalits. Only recently there were incidents like the murder of a teacher Bharat Manjhi in Siwan who was killed for keeping moustaches and a mahadalit widow was beaten to death in Gaya. These atrocities force us to carry out the agenda of transformation of Bihar more vigorously. We will not let anyone turn Bihar into a state like Yogi’s Uttar Pradesh, said Kunal.

Bharat Manjhi hailed from an economically well off family. He loved to keep moustaches and live like a free soul. He had also built a good house to live in. But this is unacceptable for the upper caste feudal forces who attacked him multiple times leading to criminal cases lodged in Daraunda police station. He was threatened to withdraw those cases which the proud self-respecting teacher refused. And he was killed in broad daylight in the market. This is not an isolated incident of murder of a dalit for refusing to withdraw cases in Siwan. A CPIML leader was also killed in Goriyakothi for similar reasons.

Party MLA Satyadev Ram demanded resignation of Jitanram Majhi and Chirag Paswan for their failure in protecting dalit lives. He said these two so called leaders of dalits have meekly surrendered before the BJP, and same can be said of JDU leaders who are maintaining habitual silence after every incident of attacks on dalits.

The Transform Bihar Justice March Padyatra in Magadh region, is being led by Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya. Bihar State Secretary Kunal will lead the padyatra in Shahabad region.

In Mithila region this Padyatra will start from Benipatti, the historic land of struggles of prominent communist leaders Bhogendra Jha and Rajkumar Purve. This lag is led by CPIML Politburo member Dhirendra Jha and leader of the party legislative group in Bihar Assembly Mahboob Alam. They will be accompanied by ex-MLA Manju Prakash, AISA Gen. Sec. Prasenjit Kumar, Baidyanath Yadav, Abhishek Kumar and others.

Dhirendra Jha addressed a press conference in Darbhanga to apprise of the purpose of the Badlo Bihar Nyay Yatra. The issues of government’s indifference towards the ongoing attacks on lives and rights of the poor, especially the attacks on dalit, women and minorities, the economic onslaught on the poor due to Nitish government’s policies will be raised, he said. This part of Bihar is badly inundated in floods because the river banks of Kosi, Bagmati and other rivers have been swept away leading to immense miseries for the affected people. This could be prevented had there not been rampant corruption and callousness of the administration, he added.

Bihar is one of the poorest among states, but it is forced to pay highest rates for one unit of electricity. The Smart meters being brought to make electricity even costlier.

The state government had earlier announced many pro-poor schemes but most of that was not materialised on the ground. The questions of homesteads, houses, better education, and employment remain elusive as ever.

Nitish government’s announcement of providing a financial assistance of rupees two lakhs to most poor households also remains elusive. The demand of giving an honourable wage to Scheme workers including Jeevika, ASHA, Mid-day Meal and Aanganwadi was not fulfilled. This padyatra will raise these issues and mobilise public opinion. AISA leader Prasenjit Kumar criticised the central government policies which have turned Bihar into a zone that supplies cheap migrant labourers to be exploited in other states. He questioned state and central governments’ willingness in generating employment opportunities inside the state to prevent the migration. Measures could have been taken to open the closed down mills, to develop various agro industries, etc. Bihar can be turned into a hub for higher education for which it does not lack talent or infrastructure, he added.

The other issues like the problems arising out of the ongoing land surveys, land grab and bulldozer raj demolitions, lack of hospitals etc will also be raised during the Badlo Bihar Nyay Yatra. CPIML is raising the demand for free electricity up to 200 units to all.

Comrade Dipankar before launching the Padyatra from Nawada said we are working to build a new Bihar where people’s rights and dignity will be secured, hence this is a march to justice for the people of Bihar. He also emphasised for the immediate halt on the process of land surveys till the proper land titles for the genuine inhabitants living on those lands are made available. He raised the issue of Reservations to be included in the 9th Schedule of the constitution to increase the share of reservations in proportion to the numbers as well as the long pending demand of special status for Bihar.

While people of Bihar are striving for justice and equality, the BJP and its leaders like central minister Giriraj Singh are trying to spread communal tension through latter’s another yatra which is condemnable. The people will give a befitting answer to such nefarious manoeuvres by fascist forces as they understand well the importance of communal amity and unity for the development and stability in the state. The people are now asking from the double-engine government why Bihar is lagging so much on every developmental scale?

President of JNU Students’ Union Dhananjay is taking part in the Padyatra in the Magadh zone. Other prominent leaders are CPIML Politburo member Amar, MLAs Mahanand Singh, Gopal Ravidas and Rambali Singh.

Members of Parliament, Sudama Prasad and Raja Ram Singh along with ex-MLA Manoj Manzil, AIPWA leader Mina Tiwari, MLAs Arun Singh, Shivprakash Ranjan are accompanying the Yatra in Shahabad region.

Party central committee member and MLA Virendra Prasad Gupta is leading padyatra in Tirhut zone, which started from Bhitarhawa and will culminate at Muzaffarpur.

In Saran zone, this padyatra is led by Darauli MLA Satyadev Ram, Amarnath Yadav and Naimuddin Ansari.

The Badlo Bihar Nyay Yatras will end on 25 October in all zones and will finally conclude on 27 October in a Badlo Bihar Nyay Sammelan in Patna.