NEW DELHI: On the evening of Wednesday, September 18, a Dalit settlement in Krishna Nagar village, located in Bihar’s Nawada district, was set ablaze, reportedly over a long-standing land dispute between two Dalit groups. The incident occurred around 7 p.m., when members of one faction, asserting their claim over the land, stormed the settlement and torched several houses.
Initial reports suggested that between 80 to 100 homes were destroyed in the fire, but Nawada police later confirmed that the number of affected houses was closer to 20-25. Ten individuals were arrested in connection with the attack based on information provided by local villagers.
The land in question is government-owned, and the dispute involves two Dalit factions: the Paswan and Majhi communities. Residents of the settlement have been living in the area for years, but another group, led by Nandu Paswan from the nearby village of Pranbigha, has been claiming ownership of the land. It is believed that Nandu Paswan and his associates instigated the violence, which led to the devastating fire.
VIDEO | Bihar: Dozens of houses were set on fire in Nawada district on Wednesday evening, police said. Preliminary investigation suggested that a land dispute could be the cause behind the incident that happened in Manjhi Tola in Mufassil police station area, they said.#Nawada… pic.twitter.com/HIcHtQJajD
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 19, 2024
The incident, rooted in a personal land dispute, has taken on political dimensions, with opposition leaders and critics of the NDA government in Bihar seizing the opportunity to portray the violence as part of a broader narrative of caste-based atrocities. Several left-leaning figures and critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to push the narrative of caste oppression, despite the local nature of the conflict.
Mallikarjun Kharge, President of the Indian National Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, was among those who criticised the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government. Kharge, in a post on X, condemned the incident and accused the state government of failing to protect vulnerable communities. However, in his criticism, Kharge overlooked the fact that the violence was sparked by a land dispute between two Dalit factions, rather than being a case of caste-based oppression by dominant groups.
The Nawada police, in their statements, made it clear that the issue was a localised land conflict. Nevertheless, several political leaders continued to highlight the incident as an example of the broader challenges faced by Dalit communities in Bihar, using it as an opportunity to criticize the state’s handling of social and economic inequalities.
Local authorities have increased security in the region to prevent further violence, and investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of the damage and the involvement of the arrested individuals.
The incident highlights the complexity of land disputes in rural India, where conflicts between marginalised groups can quickly escalate into violence, often exacerbated by historical grievances and political opportunism. As the dust settles, both the state government and law enforcement are being called upon to ensure that justice is served and that such incidents are prevented in the future.
