The protesting workers and activists demanded strict punishment for the killers of Sabir, and announcement of concrete steps by the Haryana government to prevent such crimes in future.
Groundxero| September 17, 2024
Sabir Mallick – a 22 year old Muslim migrant labourer from West Bengal, working in Haryana, was brutally killed by local Gau Rakshaks on 27th August 2024 in Badhra, Charkhi Dadri. Sabir, who worked as a garbage collector was called to the area by three men who pretended to sell him empty bottles. Once they had him in their clutches, more members of the Gau Rakshak Dal including two juveniles joined, who then thrashed him to death. Sabir’s brother-in-law and his father were also falsely implicated and were taken to the local police station under the same charge but were later released. They are now back to West Bengal but are too afraid to return back to Haryana despite not being able to find any job in their home state.
On 17th September, members of Mazdoor Sahyog Kendra (MSK) and Inquilabi Mazdoor Kendra (IMK), youths from Krantikari Naujawan Sabha (KNS) Gurgaon and Rajasthan as well as workers of Maruti Suzuki (Maruti Suzuki Struggle Committee) and Bellsonica from Gurgaon gathered in front of the DC Office Gurgaon in protest of this crime, demanding justice from the state government for lynching of a marginalized minority worker by in the guise of cow-protection. They submitted a memorandum addressed to the CM of Haryana in the hands of the Gurgaon Tehsildar.
One of the protesters stated: “Be it Gau Raksha, or other hooliganism such as pelting stones or demolishing mosques or temples, it is not the rich politicians or govt. officers or businessmen who suffer from it. The sufferers are the common men, the struggling workers like you and me. The children of those affluent influential people often go abroad, whereas the common people, the poor have no way-out of this violence. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians have given their blood and sweat to keep this country free and line in harmony. Today, hate and fear are being spread among us, but many are raising their voices across the country against the government that wants to divide us using religion as an excuse.”
Another worker pointed out: “Such crimes are deeply related to the underlying capitalist politics of exploiting workers. The government today is not ready to give any rights to the working class. Therefore, it must divert the attention of these deprived workers to something else, which is where caste and religion come in. Murder or lynching have become commonplace in people’s psyche now. Instead of humanity and empathy, our identity and acceptability in society now depend on our wealth, caste and religion.”
The protesters demanded strict punishment for the killers of Sabir, and announcement of concrete steps by the state government to prevent such crimes in Haryana in future. They also demanded compensation and a government job for Sabir’s family (West Bengal government has offered Sabir Mallick’s wife a job). Members of MSK and IMK stated that they would continue with their demands and conduct more protest programs until Sabir’s family gets justice.
Though Sabir was killed under mere suspicion of consuming beef, the Gau Rakshak groups in Haryana and elsewhere do not really care whether their suspicions are true. Their sole purpose is to harass and torture the poor Muslims and also Dalits, for whom beef is a staple and affordable food. Consumption and selling of beef is banned in Haryana and many other BJP-ruled Indian states. The BJP-VHP, in the name of cow-protection, intimidates and incriminates innocent Muslims, Christians and Dalits to put a ‘justifiable’ face to their hate crimes.
As one member of the group that gathered in front of the DC Office Gurgaon pointed out, the struggle against such communal crimes is not separate from their own struggles. The unlawfully retrenched workers of Maruti Suzuki and Bellsonica continue to fight for justice, for their rights to unionise. The Dalit youths belonging to KNS continue to fight for their constitutional rights of equal education and employment as well as against the communal poisoning of their own communities, even families, by the hindutva hate politics.
They said that their demands for justice for Sabir Mallick and other victims of Gau Raksha groups are part of their struggle against the nexus of state, corporate and communal leaders in India. The nexus exploits not only Muslims but the entire working class by communally dividing them, instead of providing education, employment and basic living conditions. They stated that opposing communal politics must be included in the top priority list for all working class organisations.
India is among the top six countries in terms of international beef exports, despite it being banned in many Indian states and the Hindutva vigilante groups’ brutal violence on Muslims engaged in cattle-trade and consumption of ‘beef’ and ‘buff’ (buffalo meat). During the Electoral Bond Scam this year, it was discovered that India’s largest buff export company Allanasons Pvt Ltd and Frigorifico Allana Pvt Ltd donated Rs 2 crore to BJP and Rs 5 crore to Shiv Sena through those bonds.
