On February 3, 2022, tension erupted between Dalits and upper caste people in Byrenahalli, a Dalit village in Tumakuru district of Karnataka. The conflict started when the family of a Dalit man buried his corpse on a piece of government land in the Koratagere Taluk of Byrenahalli. The deceased was a 57-year-old man named T.Hanumantharayappa who died on February 2 at Byrnehalli.
Amidst the clash, upper-caste people threatened to disinter the body of the deceased man after which the bereaved family sat on a vigil at the grave of their relative to prevent that.
Speaking to the media, T. Hanumantharayappa's nephew, Lakshmikantha BS said, "We used to bury the bodies of our neighbours and relatives by the roadside of NH-234. But the elders were not ready to bury Hanumantharayappa there, so we asked the village authorities to provide another place for us. When they didn't allow us, we buried the body on a piece of government land in survey No. 1, but upper caste people tried to stop us." The family alleged they had no other option as they were landless. State authorities meanwhile clarified that they visited the burial ground to address the issue and promised to intervene if any problem arose. Tehsildar of the area, Nahida Zam Zam, said, "I visited the general burial ground and told Dalit families to bury bodies on 20 guntas which are being cleaned." But Dalit leader Venkatesh Murthy alleged that the Tehsildar wanted them to bury bodies on the burial ground of upper castes, which would fuel more clashes.
In a similar incident in March 2021, a couple belonging to the Dalit community was not allowed to bury the body of their 4-month-old daughter. They were later forced to pick up the dead body from the burial pit and bury the child in a different place. In this case, the family had taken the body to the dry bed of the Suvarnamukhi rivulet for the last rites. But they were prevented from performing the rituals by some security guards of a nearby factory, who claimed the land belonged to the factory.
Notably, the demand for a separate burial land has been a long pending request of the Dalits in Koratagere Taluk of Tumakuru district. Of the 100 families living in the Dalit colony in Byrenahalli, 90 are landless and struggle to find spaces for burying deceased family members.
Back in 2016 there was a heated debate over providing separate burial grounds for the Dalit communities in the Upper Legislative House of Karnataka. The then Minister for Social Welfare, H. Anjaneya had announced on the floor of the House that the government had earmarked Rs. 40 crore to acquire land in phases to develop burial grounds for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.In August 2019, the Karnataka High Court directed the state government to take necessary possible steps to provide burial grounds to all the villages and towns which do not have burial grounds within six months.
The lack of burial grounds faced by Dalit communities is a problem that ails other parts of the country as well. To counter such land based exclusion and discrimination, Dalit activists who are a part of a broader national campaign have for long demanded 5 acres (2 hectares) of land for each Dalit family - just about enough for a home and a small farm to live off.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for better access to common land/resources
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for separate burial grounds
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
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.
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
No
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:
Violation of fundamental rights
Lack of legal protection over land rights
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Disposed
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
No
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Karnataka High Court
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Blackmail/threats/intimidation
Other harassment
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
No
Reported Details of the Violation:
The long-pending request for a separate burial cemetery for Dalits in Byrenahalli, Koratagere taluk, Tumakuru district, sparked tensions on Thursday when the family of a deceased man buried his body on government land, alleging they had no other option. This sparked a fight between Dalits and upper-caste individuals, with the latter threatening to disinter the dead and the grieving family standing guard at the grave to prevent it. In another incident, in Korategere Taluk, a couple, belonging to the Dalit community, was not allowed to bury the body of their 4-month-old-daughter. The couple was forced to pick up their daughter’s body from the pit. They then took the body to a different land and performed the final rites there.
Date of Violation
February 2, 2022
Location of Violation
Byrenahalli, Koratagere Taluk
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Social Welfare Department Karnataka, Health & Family Welfare Services Department Karnataka
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Yes
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?
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