The Great Dalit Divide: Who dunnit?

Mumbai: The alleged defacement of a statue of Dalit messiah and the author of Indian Constitution B R Ambedkar in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur snowballed into a raging mob violence in Maharashtra, that killed three people and damaged public property worth crores.

Nearly 200 shops across the state were gutted, 250 vehicles burnt and over 150 citizens injured.

But the almost systematic spread of violence from UP to Maharashtra in a short span of few hours has raised many questions - how was a movement of that big a magnitude organised in such a short time?

The Maharashtra police claim that underworld don Chhota Rajan’s brother Deepak Nikhalje was responsible for the rampage in Mumbai's Chembur area on Thursday.

Nikhalje is also a film-producer, who is said to have funded the Sanjay Dutt-starrer Vastav.

His political ambitions are well-known and his association with Republican Party of India (RPI) is a testimony to that.

"He had taken some people to the railway station to stop trains. He hasn't been found but there is a complaint against him," said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil.

The speculation of an underworld hand has, however, been denied by the Dalit political parties.

"It was a spontaneous movement, this is against police brutality," said BRP Bahujan Mahasang President Prakash Ambedkar.

Six people have so far been arrested for torching two trains in Ulhasnagar on Thursday.

According to sources, most of the arrested are connected with local RPI leader Pappu Kalani. However, quite shockingly, many of the arrested are non-Dalits.

However, the state police are maintaining a guarded silence over the issue. "We are investigating the matter," said Railway Police Commissioner Suresh Khopade.

There are other theories doing the rounds as well.

The fact that this protest has been a headless, leaderless agitation driven mostly by local Dalit leaders simply means there is more than what meets the eye.

There is also speculation that the anarchy was a result of infighting between opportunistic Dalit leaders looking to showcase strength.

While it will surely take the state government quite some to find convincing answers to these disturbing questions, Maharashtra remains simmering in the caste cauldron.

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