January  2004 
Year 11    No.104

Law: Judicial Delays


Justice delayed, justice denied

Thirteen years after the brutal massacre of Dalits at Tsundur in Andhra Pradesh, the trial
began at a special court in December 2004, only to be interrupted once again and
rescheduled for February 2005

BY VB RAWAT

It is a story similar in many ways to the ongoing, much-publicised Best Bakery trial in terms of the chal-
lenges it poses to the criminal justice system.

The Best Bakery trial has rightly been in the media focus given the backdrop in this case of the genocide in Gujarat. Unfortunately, however, there is virtually no media attention on the August 1991 massacre of Dalits at Tsundur in Andhra Pradesh, where the trial finally commenced in December 2004 only to be postponed by two months. The intervening 13 years are a case study in the determination of the perpetrators of violence to subvert the justice process in every way: using dilatory tactics to protract the judicial process coupled with constant threats and allurements to break the resolve of case witnesses.

If the resolve of the witnesses is a tribute to their grit and determination to ensure the punishment of the guilty, the unconscionable delay of 13 long years is a severe indictment of our criminal justice system.

Just a year before the Tsundur massacre, the then Prime Minister VP Singh had announced the implementation of the Mandal Commission report on August 7, 1990, which the Hindu upper castes vociferously opposed. They took to the streets. The myth of Hindu tolerance stood exposed. Mandal may not have helped the Dalits but they were in fact the first to support it. During this process, as in other parts of the country, Andhra saw many Dalit groups joining hands with the OBCs. There were talks of a grand Bahujan alliance even in the villages.

Outraged by the growing self-assertiveness of Dalits, the upper castes were itching for an opportunity to teach the downtrodden a lesson. And the Tsundur massacre, among many other mass killings of Dalits, was an expression of this pent-up fury. Today, 13 years after the ghastly massacre, the Tsunduru Dalits face a challenge not only from the powerful Reddys locally but also their masters occupying powerful positions in the state. Andhra Pradesh politics has long been dominated by two powerful castes. The Reddys, who have ruled for the most part since Andhra came into being, and the Kammas, who formed the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to counter Reddy domination. Reddys are the dominant landowning community in Andhra Pradesh and Dalits have been the biggest victims of their feudal fantasies.

Tsundur is a small town, a two-hour journey from Vijayawada city. With a population of over 5,000, Tsundur has clearly demarcated Dalit localities and upper caste areas. Among the Dalits, the Malas are in a majority while the Madigas are next in numerical strength. Two Scheduled Tribe communities, Eurkulas and Yanadis live in the ST colony along the railway track, while the Dalits live in the nearby Dalitwada, which they have proudly renamed Ambedkarnagar.

Growing Dalit assertion for dignity and equality increasingly posed a challenge for the Reddys. Over the years, a large number of Dalits from Tsundur had joined the Indian Railways in different categories and had started sending their children to schools. Their homes had electricity and other essential items hitherto inaccessible to Dalits.

Educated Dalits, particularly those who live in cities, do not easily bow to the fancies of the upper castes. Tsundur witnessed a similar fight where for several reasons Dalits came to be better educated than the upper castes, who, though landed, had lagged behind in education. The boys wore jeans; the girls attended a degree college, their heads held high. Dalits were not supposed to sit in the cinema hall but education changed everything. In an incident symptomatic of the changing times, Dalit youth rushed to the rescue of upper caste girls who were being teased by boys from their own caste at a cinema hall in the town. Dalit women and men had started demanding minimum wages and that was unacceptable. Things had been simmering for many years because the Dalits were embracing modernity and the Reddys wanted to stick to the age-old tradition of subjugation.

The government of Andhra Pradesh was under Reddy rule when the Tsundur massacre took place. Though the then chief minister, Janardhan Reddy happened to be Christian, a different faith makes no difference. Indians take their caste along with them when they shift their loyalties to other holy books and seers. Reddy’s government tried to quietly bury the gory incident but this did not work.

In all, nine people died in the August 6, 1991 attack. Their bodies were cut into pieces, put in gunny bags and thrown into Tungbhadra drainage as well as adjacent canals. Those who died were: Jaladi Mathaiah (40), Jaladi Imaneul (38), Jaladi Isaac (25), Mallela Subba Rao (35), A. Rajamohan (25), Sunkuru Samson (28), D. Jayaraj (30), Mundru Ramesh (21) and Mundru Parisudha Rao (35). Among the injured were Sambaiah (50), P. Jakraiah (52) and D. Dhanraj (25).

All the Dalits fled from the village following the killings. The murders were so brutal that Mundru Parisudha Rao, elder brother of Mundru Ramesh, who went to see the bodies at the hospital in Tenali, was so shocked that he died of a heart attack. A Dalit doctor who performed the post-mortem examination on the bodies in Tenali was said to have been so traumatised by the condition of the bodies that he later committed suicide. Many relatives became psychologically disturbed.

A survivor, P. Jakraiah, who is now around 75 years of age, is paralysed and has a memory problem. It is difficult for him to narrate the incidents that took place in 1991. When a badly injured Jakraiah had asked for water, they (Reddys) urinated in his hand. Even today, 13 years later, he gets agitated as he recalls that time.

Another Dalit who survived the lynching mob is D. Dhanraj. His story of survival is that of a brave and valiant man. A witness to the murder of five others, Dhanraj himself was beaten mercilessly. His legs and hands were broken and he was brought to a banana orchard owned by Munanaga Reddy, a physically disabled person. Dhanraj alleges that since Munanaga was incapable of running he could not participate in the mass lynching. Hence, to facilitate his participation in the carnage, Dhanraj was brought to Munanaga’s orchard near the canal. When a semi-conscious Dhanraj pleaded for water, those guarding him urinated in his hand. Shortly, his captors went to the nearby bridge across the canal, leaving Dhanraj in the field. A parched Dhanraj crawled towards the canal. Jumping into the canal, he was carried away with the current. About a kilometre downstream he heard the voices of his neighbours and some Dalit women who had come in search of their men and he cried out for help. They brought Dhanraj home and then took him to Tenali draped in a saree because the Reddys refused to allow any men to leave Tsundur even for medical treatment.

Today Dhanraj is a crucial witness among several others. The children of those killed have since grown up. They have shown great resilience in the face of adversity, a slap on the face of powerful feudal lords. By and large, the younger generation are doing exceedingly well. It was heartening to see girls studying for the BTech, MTech and other post-graduate courses. Most of Tsundur’s Dalits are government employees. The government has kept to its promise of a house, an acre of land and a government job for each of the affected Dalit families.

But the government has not pursued the critical issue of justice and punishment of the guilty with any seriousness. Perhaps those in power believed that since they had provided more than adequate compensation the people would not ask for justice! But the Dalits of Tsundur have formed a committee to fight against the upper caste attempts to thwart justice. Refusing to go for hearings to faraway places, they demanded that a special court be set up under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in Tsundur. They also demanded the appointment of public prosecutors of their choice to argue their case in the special court. Finally, the government announced the setting up of a special court in Tsundur with a judge belonging to the Dalit community. Fearing reprisal, the Reddys tried to delay the process adopting various tactics. They succeeded in transferring the judge.

Another judge was appointed, the hearings began and people started identifying witnesses. But since the Congress government’s return to power in Andhra Pradesh in 2004, the Reddys have been feeling more secure. As soon as the case hearing began in December, the Reddys asked for an adjournment on account of the coming festival and harvesting season, which the judge granted.

The hearing is now in the final stage but one does not know when it will conclude. Summons have been issued for February 25 and the pressure is no doubt tremendous on the Dalits. There have been several incidents of allurement as well as threats because the Tsundur case could prove to be a watershed. It will decide the future course of action on the part of Dalits. It will also throw light on the functioning of our judicial system. Given the larger implications of this case, it is a pity that the media is showing so little interest in it.

Fully aware of the upper caste antipathy towards them, the youths of Tsundur have been fighting hard for their rights. But, supported by the police, the upper caste reaction has been consistently aggressive and brutal, determined to ensure that the Dalits stay in their "proper place". During a peaceful dharna, the police shot at Anil Kumar, a BA student who was in the forefront of Dalit mobilisation. The role of the police in Tsundur has been highly partisan and against all norms of the rule of law.

The Dalits of Tsundur chose to bury all nine victims of the massacre in the heart of the village, a spot named ‘Raktkshetra’, as a reminder to the upper castes that they would not them let go without facing a trial. Just 50 metres from the burial spot stands a statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar, yet to be unveiled. The upper castes have been resisting the statue’s installation in an attempt to crush the Dalit self-respect that Dr. Ambedkar fought so hard for.

But undaunted in their struggle for justice and equality, the Dalits of Tsundur have erected a monument in memory of Anil Kumar outside his house. Gudurulamma, an old woman, died in Delhi when she went there to participate in a protest demanding justice for her community.

Over 13 years after the massacre, the families of the victims of Tsundur still await justice for those who died. They say they will not find peace until the guilty are punished for their crime. Today, the Dalits of Tsundur know full well that the price of truth is extremely high. They know that the government has compensated them handsomely and even given their distant relatives jobs in an effort to keep their mouths shut. But when I spoke to most of the survivors, who are doing quite well for themselves, they said they would be betraying their elders if they changed their testimony for mere pennies.

The children of 1991 have grown up. Mose, the son of a victim, is now one of the leaders of the committee. Even today you can see the fire and rage in his eyes as he recalls how he felt as a young lad when he went to pick up his father’s body. He wants to see the culprits hanged for their heinous crime.

The role of the police in Tsundur needs to be carefully examined. It was the police who forced people to leave, to flee to other villages, perhaps as part of a deliberate plan to force them into a well-laid Reddy trap. So far 219 people have been named in the FIR. About 29 of the accused are already dead while seven main culprits have yet to be arrested. In many cases, the police have made deliberate mistakes in naming the accused; some of the names in the FIRs are fictitious in an apparent attempt to weaken the case.

Our police system still functions in a feudal mindset. According to K. Satyanarayana, secretary, Kula Nirmoolana Porata Samiti, Andhra Pradesh, the Dalits are under intense pressure from the upper caste bureaucracy and police. In the village, the Dalits face death threats as well as boycott, while at the bureaucratic and police level it is dilatory tactics, distortion of facts and hiding behind technicalities. Satya and his colleagues, including the president of the Samiti, D. Prabhakar, have been camping in the village for days, mobilising people through cultural shows. The legendary poet and singer Gaddar also visited the village and penned a song in memory of Tsundur.

As February approaches, Dalits wait for justice. After that they will decide their future course of action. But one thing is certain: the Dalits of Tsundur will not be silenced. Armed with the benefits of education and learning, they now feel duty-bound to speak out against the indignities of caste. It is time to awaken and to assert, they say. n

(VB Rawat is director, Social Development Foundation, New Delhi).


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