Bonded Labour In Maharashtra

Dalit Entrepreneurs celebrate the launch of Dicci's Mumbai chapter

MUMBAI: Dalit capitalism, on the fringes of socioeconomic debate for a while, finally ordained its high priests, bared the material possessions and aplomb of new Dalit wealth, and basked in a serenade by officials of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) at a 'coming out' party of sorts in Mumbai on Saturday.

Some of the 1,000-odd signatories to this new take on capitalism — members of the fledgling Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (Dicci) — met at The Rooftop Rendezvous of Hotel Taj Mahal in south Mumbai, the evening hiring charges of which exceed Rs 5 lakh.

The launch of Dicci's Mumbai chapter, in a way, heralds the willingness of this small set to stand up and be counted among wealth creators of a new and reforming India. The deliberate choice of venue, the BMWs and limousines in the parking lot, and display of the usual trappings of wealth was to signal their 'arrival', as it were, in India's financial capital, the city of opportunities, and home to some of the most distinguished industrial groups of the country.

"We are now in the league of jobgivers," says Milind Kamble, chairman, Dicci. The congregation even found a poster boy in Rajesh Saraiya, CEO of the UK-based SteelMont, which has a turnover of about $400 million. Saraiya, a penurious youth from rural Uttar Pradesh, began his career in Ukraine as a Russian language interpreter to billionaire steel tycoon Laxmi Niwas Mittal. He eventually got into steel trading and is now one of the biggest buyers of steel from SAIL, the Indian public sector giant. Would he get into steel manufacturing, emulating his first employer?

"I have just started my India operations," he says. "It's early days; but nothing can be ruled out." CAPITAL, NOT CASTE The confidence and resolve of the bunch of Dalit entrepreneurs at the meet was infectious as they, dressed in dapper business suits and with glasses of single malt whisky, recalled their early days. The caste prejudices they confronted as struggling Dalits were, however, cast aside and not broached. "Look ahead, the future belongs to us," says Ashok Khade, managing director of the Rs 550-crore DAS Offshore Engineering. Khade employs 4,500 people, of which 152 are BTech engineers.

Teen Raped in Revenge by Her Father's Employer :

For six days, she was raped repeatedly by a group of four men. The ringleader, Babulal Rasal, was not a stranger. Her father had worked for him for two years as a farm hand; he had recently managed to pay off Babulal’s loan, which allowed him the freedom to find a new job.

On the seventh day, when Babulal decided he had punished her enough, he dropped her off outside her home.

On the eight day, she tried to set herself on fire in her village of Surmapuri in Maharashtra’s Beed district.

She is sixteen. Her body is covered with severe burns. Doctors attending to her say she is unlikely to survive.

”On April 5, my son and I went to the police station and registered a case against Babulal Rasal and Narayan Kale. The police said they will find my daughter. But they didn’t do anything,” said her father, flatly.

Babulal and his men allegedly moved the victim between three different small lodges, where they raped her.

Two men, including the key accused Babulal, have been arrested.

Economic and political weekly

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