Dalit families in Haryana's Bhagana village fled their homes due to a boycott by the Jat community over a land dispute. They have been camping outside the Hisar district secretariat. They have filed several complaints and writ petitions in the Haryana High Court. The conflict can be traced back to 2012, when the Bhagana panchayat allotted 280 acres of common land to families living below the poverty line (BPL) under the Mahatma Gandhi Grameen Basti Yojana. The move was in response to the Haryana government's announcement made in 2011 that land would be allotted to every BPL family. But the announcement never materialised and the panchayat decided to take matters into its own hands. The sarpanch (head of the panchayat), along with the panchayat members, prepared a scheme to divide and distribute the common land among the BPL families. They allocated 1,000 square yards of land to each uppercaste Jat family while dalit households were allocated 100 square yards each. This was because the common land was distributed in proportion to the land that the residents already owned, and the dalit families were mostly landless. As a result, the Jats allegedly managed to corner most of the redistributed land. The dalits were also asked to deposit Rs 1,000 as registration fee. In February 2012, the dominant Jat community in the village decided to lay claim to a playground that the dalits had been using for years. On February 23 that year, the Jats uprooted the trees that the dalits had planted around the playground and levelled the seating arrangements the latter had installed. The Jats also claimed that the playground was part of the village common land. When several Dalits approached the government authorities seeking help, the Jats became angry and called for the social and economic boycott of the dalit community. Unable to cope with the discrimination, 138 dalit families fled the village. In March 2014, Bhagana witnessed a second exodus after four minor girls belonging to the Dhanak community were allegedly gangraped by five Jat men. The accused were arrested but later released on bail. The incident instilled fear in the minds of the remaining Dalit households, and close to 100 Dhanak families left the village. They came to Delhi to demand justice, where they stayed for almost a month and met political leaders and government officials. They returned to their village after filing a First Information Report. Some members of the Dalit community filed a writ petition in 2014 in the Chandigarh High Court seeking rehabilitation of the affected families and prosecution of the accused. In March 2019, National Scheduled Caste Commission directed the state government to rehabilitate the victim families and provide them land and their houses. But, the rehabilitation remains pending. In February 2020, the High Court closed the case pertaining to the alleged gangrape as the court was informed that the accused in the case were acquitted. Awaiting justice, some dalit families are living in make shift tents near Hisar District Court complex, said Captain Tularam of Dr Ambedkar Sangarsh Shiksha Samiti. " While many others have relocated to other nearby villages in search of livelihood," he said.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Complaint against procedural violations
Demand for promised land
Demand for rehabilitation
Demand for compensation
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common
Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Other, Central/State Government Policy
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Forced evictions/dispossession of land
Lack of legal protection over land rights
Non-rehabilitation of displaced people
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Pending
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Yes
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
High Court of Punjab and Haryana
Case Number
Civil Writ Petition 9394 of 2014
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Displacement
Sexual violence/sexual harassment
Financial harassment
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Violation of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, since February 2012., In February 2012, dalits faced social and economic boycott for opposing the illegal distribution of common land. Unable to bear the discrimination, 138 dalit families fled the village., Four minor girls were gangraped by Jats in March 2014.
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Bhagana Village Panchayat, Haryana Government, National Scheduled Caste Commission
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
