The rape and murder of a second-year woman postgraduate medical student in the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024 triggered massive outrage in India. People seem to show outrage over the rape and stand in solidarity with the victim. It is highly depressing to see how women are still vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation in workspaces while on the other hand it’s a positive sign that citizens have collectively chosen to stand for the victim.
It is highly depressing to see how women are still vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation in workspaces while on the other hand it’s a positive sign that citizens have collectively chosen to stand for the victim.
However, recently in Odisha’s Balangir district, a tribal woman was publicly raped and forced to eat feces. A while earlier a 14-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly abducted from her house, ‘gang-raped and killed‘ in Muzaffarpur district. But it seems to gain no attention from media nor from protestors. Highlighting the structural violence against dalit women Rao (2015) argues, positioned at the bottom of the social hierarchy, violence is a part of their lives, going beyond physical violence perpetrated by their masters, and employers, police and their own men, to the silent and hidden violence of everyday hunger, debt, and bondage, exclusion from schools and hospitals, uncertainty, and sex (Rao 2015; Anandhi 2013; Kapadia 1995; Racine and Racine 2000).
However, that doesn’t cause any rage among ‘protestors’ as it’s their (dalits’) fate. It is imperative to argue how caste identity informs the solidarity in mass movement against crimes through public support and protests.
Caste-ing mass outrage: collective silences for Dalit victims of rape and violence
Caste informs the mass movement against heinous crimes in two ways: first, it plays an important role in preference for mass outrage based upon identity of victim i.e everyone may not be worthy of being stood for. Think about the incident which took place in Hathras or any other rape case informed by the caste identity of the victims. Why can’t these cases qualify to gain the attention and empathy from people?
Do caste identities inform sympathy and solidarity? It raises questions how Dalits are seen as lesser than so that the nation does not think that it should stand with ‘Dalits’. As a medical student at AIIMS puts it:
‘I have been a part of the protest shouting for justice, but you know what I am feeling, it’s like I am standing for a doctor, not for a woman. The incident of Muzaffarpur is no new, as we have seen Phoolan too, it devastates our mind and heart. I feel pity, it’s pathetic for me even thinking how a society differentiates the cause on the basis of support and power. I’m shouting and then be quiet in the queue of the march, thinking about ‘Hathras ki beti’ and all the oppressed being underrepresented, but still the feminist mindset, the anti Manuwadi us will fight for a woman whosoever and hence we are doing this. This is the beauty of our cultural revolution, that we stand up even for the oppressors who are being subjugated under tyranny. The doctors who work hard to save lives are not getting support from the general public, but that public demands free consultations and treatment and all time availability from us. And hence this movement may bring some good to doctor’s fraternity as I thought being a doctor, but hope it may create awareness for rapes in India. I know doctors will get some protection that they deserve. But, these hegemonic powers will never think the same for us Dalits or marginalised sections. But we will fight brother, we will definitely shape our generations. These instances, we will particularly reflect upon, and we have to.’
Anxieties in casteless mobilisations
The message above points towards the anxiety and alienation that Dalit-Bahujans encounter being part of so-called “casteless” mobilisations. As noted by Teltumbde, ‘For instance, dalits who suffer alone when their daughters are raped and murdered with impunity are annoyed by this sudden burst of concern for rape as though it was some strange occurrence in the country‘ (Teltumbde 2013).
Dalit-Bahujans face differential treatment in society and at these protests. It is this discriminatory sympathy and selective outrage which may disenchant them from the “nation” in the sense of community. Most contemporary movements demand this sacrifice of internal debates and demands from Dalit-Bahujans for this larger cause.
However, when it comes to joint mobilisation the identity of the victim determines the political action. It is this imperative upon Dalit-Bahujans to participate in the movement which establishes new categories for collective action, in this case the profession of doctors. Though, in other instances, when a victim identifies as Dalit-Bahujan other layers of identity do not gather support and solidarity and the survivor/victim is reduced to their caste identity.
Protest as privilege: social rights of subordinate civilians
Another way in which caste affects is the identity of protestors i.e who is allowed to participate in protests and where. As noted by Pathania (2020), in universities like JNU, where confluence of ideologies, “Jai Bhim-Lal Salam” is observed which forms “hybrid” ideological frames without sacrificing internal debates, dissensions, and mutual grounds of consensus necessary for joint political actions.
However it seems to create an imperative upon Dalit-Bahujans to remain casteless in protests while in the real world, which is unlike universities, they may be asked to leave the protest site due to their caste identity.
However it seems to create an imperative upon Dalit-Bahujans to remain casteless in protests while in the real world, which is unlike universities, they may be asked to leave the protest site due to their caste identity. They are humiliated, and this poses another question: does the “nation” include citizens who do not have this social right to participate in these civil spaces?
Here one can refer to what happened in Mumbai, where women from ‘Jai Bhim Nagar’ were restricted from joining “Reclaim the Night” protests against the RG Kar rape organised by women’s collectives. The women from Jai Bhim Nagar were met with hostility and asked to leave the protest site. ‘Your issues are different from those raised here,’ said one of the protesters from the high-rises.
Residents added, ‘This is an exclusive protest only for residents of the Hiranandani complex.’ Confused, the women from the Jai Bhim Nagar slums tried to engage with the Hiranandani residents, explaining their ordeal of living in the open and the constant fear of sexual violence they face.
It is these humiliations and experiences of being subordinate civilians which leads to “submissiveness” among Dalit-Bahujans where they choose to mask their identity and hide themselves while participating in such protests. In Goffmanian sense, it’s stigma management.
‘Stigma management is an offshoot of something basic in society, the stereotyping or “profiling” of our normative expectations regarding conduct and character; stereotyping is classically reserves or customers, orientals, and motorist, that is, persons who fall into very broad categories and who may be passing strangers to us‘ says Goffman.
In conclusion, it is important to reflect that while oppression is their privilege and protest may be your right, certainly for many, that too is privilege.
Everyday while going to college, we read protest graffiti on walls which say things like ‘Oppression is their privilege and protest is our right‘, but certainly Dalit-Bahujans remain marginalised even in resistance, which is evident from the fact that Phoolan Devi, an epitome of resistance to gender and caste oppression is still not considered worthy to be mentioned by feminists. In conclusion, it is important to reflect that while oppression is their privilege and protest may be your right, certainly for many, that too is privilege.
Works Cited:
The Print. “Bihar: Body of Minor Girl with Injury Marks Recovered from Pond.” August 14, 2024. https://theprint.in/india/bihar-body-of-minor-girl-with-injury-marks-recovered-from-pond/2223636/
Goffman, Erving. (1963) : Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Latestly. “Odisha’s Balangir district, a tribal woman was publicly raped and forced to eat feces.” November 20, 2024.
Pathania, Govind J. (2020) : “Cultural Politics of Historically Marginalized Students in Indian Universities.” Critical Times 3 (3): 534-50. https://doi.org/10.1215/26410478-8662424
Rao, Nandita. (2015) : “Marriage, Violence, and Choice: Understanding Dalit Women’s Agency in Rural Tamil Nadu.” Gender and Society 29 (3): 410–33. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43669978
Som, Moyurie. “Death of Woman Doctor in Kolkata Medical College Triggers Outrage.” The Hindu, August 9, 2024. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/death-of-woman-doctor-in-kolkata-medical-college-triggers-outrage/article68506176.ece
Teltumbde, Anand. (2013) : “Delhi Gang Rape Case: Some Uncomfortable Questions.” Economic and Political Weekly 48 (6): 10–11. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23391383
