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Dalit protests: How Mumbai was shut down

Anti-Dalit violence in Bhima-Koregaon sets off series of protests in India’s financial hub.

Dalit protests
Demonstrators stop a train at Kanjumarg railway station in Mumbai. There were numerous similar ways of protests during the two-day bandh, or shutdown, in a city that heavily depends on public transport. [Francis Mascerenhas/Indus Images/Al Jazeera]
By Al Jazeera
Published On 10 Jan 2018

Mumbai, India – On January 1 each year, members of India‘s Dalit community gather to mark the 1818 battle of Bhima-Koregaon

In that fight, two centuries ago, low-caste Dalits sided with the British army to defeat the upper-caste Peshwa rulers.

This year’s commemoration events, however, were marred by deadly violence after their rally in Bhima-Koregaon, in the state of Maharashtra, was allegedly attacked by members of upper caste Hindus.

Upper caste groups typically resent the celebration of the 200-year-old battle.

The violent attack on the rallies and the subsequent killing of a young man set off a series of protests across Maharashtra – a state with a history of violence against the Dalit people, who have faced centuries of discrimination under the Hindu caste system.

The initial call for bandh, or shutdown, by Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dalit icon Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, was answered by Dalit people across the political spectrum.

The demonstrations shook India’s financial hub of Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, where residents of Dalit neighbourhoods took to the streets to protest against the state government and the dominant castes – as well as the caste system itself.

For two days, protesters blocked highways and stopped local trains, the primary means of transport for residents of the major city. There was also some private and public property destruction.

A Dalit youth was allegedly killed in police firing in Nanded district and several others were wounded during clashes with police. Hundreds of people were also arrested.

Dalit protest
The Chembur area was one of the most affected as protesters vied to shut down the Eastern Express Highway, one of the busiest in the city. [Javed Iqbal/Al Jazeera]
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Dalit protests
Protesters at Dadar station, one of the busiest in the city, temporarily managed to stop a local train, as others cheered them on from the platform, while hundreds of commuters watched. Demonstrators from many locations across Mumbai such as Panvel, Bandra, Kalyan, Thane, Vashi, Santacruz, Byculla and Worli had gathered at Dadar. [Hari Adivarekar/Al Jazeera]
Dalit protest
A protester flaunts the image of Dalit icon Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar. [Hari Adivarekar/Al Jazeera]
Dalit protests
The majority of the protests was peaceful, with most demonstrators taking to the street to make sure their demands are heard and call for an egalitarian society envisaged by Ambedkar and subsequent Dalit leaders known as Ambedkarites. [Suchit Tambe/Al Jazeera]
Dalit Protest
The city-wide protests also drew strategic unity among different neighbourhoods. In a show of strength, residents from different settlements would march and plan actions together. Here, the residents of Kamaraj Nagar march to join a roadblock at Ramabai Nagar. [Javed Iqbal/Al Jazeera]
Dalit protests
This young protester was the first on the tracks at Dadar, waving a Buddhist flag, which signifies that there should be no discrimination based on race, nationality or skin colour, a potent symbol of the protests. [Hari Adivarekar/Al Jazeera]
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Dalit protest
Protesters run to block the Mitchowki junction in Malad, Mumbai. The demonstrations were de-centralised and any area with a strong Ambedkarite community found ways to protest. [Anushree Fadnavis/Al Jazeera]
Dalit protest
The Ambedkarite movement has a strong undercurrent of gender justice and often sees a lot of women in the forefront of the struggle against the caste system itself. [Hari Adivarekar/Al Jazeera]
Dalit protest
The protesters also spoke against the Hindu far-right and sought the arrest of those responsible for the violence at Bhima-Koregaon. [Hari Adivarekar/Al Jazeera]
Dalit protest
According to reports, more than 250 protesters were detained by the police, many arbitrarily. [Francis Mascarenhas/Indus Images/Al Jazeera]
Dalit protest
A group of young boys in Powai picked up rocks and hurled them towards a local bus, shattering its windows. One of the youth told Al Jazeera that his parents and sister were harmed in the violence against Dalits. [Francis Mascarenhas/Indus Images/Al Jazeera]
Dalit protest
Residents of Siddharth Colony told Al Jazeera that five members of their community, including Pramod Kamble, an Air India employee, were beaten up by the police after the night-time protests on January 2. At least two of them were admittted to a local hospital, where access to media workers was denied. [Javed Iqbal/Al Jazeera]
Dalit Protest
There was a prevalent anger among protesters across the city against the mainstream media due to its lack of coverage of the upper caste attack at Bhima-Koregaon. [Javed Iqbal/Al Jazeera]