The Anatomy of Hate by Revati Laul

The Anatomy of Hate by Revati Laul

Author:Revati Laul [Laul, Revati]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9789387894204
Publisher: Context
Published: 2018-12-09T23:00:00+00:00


SIXTEEN

For Dungar, the torment was entirely physical. He was sent to prison on charges of burning down the houses of Muslims. The police registered a case in March 2002, and he was on the run for the next five months. Tending to his fields during the day and disappearing into the forest at night. It was summer and the heat was oppressive. But the cool grass underfoot and the warm wind overhead dulled his senses, so he managed to get some sleep. It was the uncertainty that got to Dungar. Not knowing if or when the chase would end.

A few months later, July arrived and, with it, the monsoon. The incessant rain made it impossible to sleep out in the open, with the infernal din of insects, the constant itching from bites and a forest floor squelchy with slush. Dungar sensed that his time was up. The police first caught up with his friend and partner in crime, Roop Sinh. They used him as bait to get to Dungar and the others. They said they would hold Sinh in jail without framing charges until all those named, including Dungar, surrendered to the police. Dungar knew it was only a matter of time before the police tracked him down. So he gave himself up in August, in deference to the inclement weather and persistent police.

‘The first twenty-four hours in the lock up were terrible for me,’ Dungar recalled. ‘It was a tiny cell. There was no fan and there were so many mosquitoes.’ The next day, he was shifted to the district jail. It was a large compound, and Dungar used his privileged position as a member of the Sangh Parivar to his advantage. He was allowed to spend his time on the lawns outside the jail cell, where he could walk freely, unlike the rest. ‘Food would be sent for me from home. And I was allowed into the compound for twelve hours a day,’ Dungar said, looking pleased. ‘The six or seven others in my cell—all from my village, accused of the same crime—began to protest. They said to the jailer, how can you let him out and not the rest of us. I knew people, na.’ In the evenings, he would settle down to a game of cards with some of the inmates. But at night he tossed and turned. How long would he remain in prison?

‘I was filled with so much regret during those days in jail. I told myself that never again would I lift a finger against anyone. Even if I am beaten up, I will take it in my stride and not respond in kind. Not ever again,’ he said. ‘Those thirteen days felt like thirteen years.’

Fortunately for him, the VHP that he had so carefully cultivated delivered on its promise of protection. They sent to his rescue a lawyer who got him bail. Relieved as he was to be out of jail, Dungar still had to fight a case in court to have the charges against him dropped permanently.



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