In Punjab, open wounds from hit jobs on Ambedkar statues

On the outskirts of the quiet Nurpur Jattan village in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district is a modest yellow structure. Mounted upon it is a statue of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar in a glass enclosure. On March 30, the statue was desecrated, triggering immediate outrage among villagers and members of Dalit groups.

The statue was repaired within a few days, but the wounds of Punjab’s Dalit community remain raw. Two police officers now stand guard round the clock to prevent a repeat of the incident. Dalits saw the attack on the statue as yet another act of provocation meant to fracture Punjab’s social fabric for political and monetary gains. Last year, the same statue of the icon of the Dalit rights movement was vandalised.