'Don바카라�t Be Afraid. Don바카라�t Accept Defeat,' Says Nodeep Kaur's Mother

It took a tweet from Meena Harris, niece of US vice president Kamala Harris, for India to learn about Nodeep Kaur, a 23-year-old Dalit activist who is in jail for more than three weeks in Punjab on alleged trumped-up charges. And even more serious are allegations that Kaur was tortured in custody. Harris바카라�s February 6 tweet, 바카라� Weird to see a photo of yourself burned by an extremist mob but imagine what they would do if we lived in India,바카라� was a sharp comment바카라�in the backdrop of the farmers protest바카라�on frequent assault on dissenters in India.

Nodeep Kaur is a Mazhabi Sikh, a community considered untouchable in Punjab. Around four months back, she came to Delhi in search of work. And today, as I write this, she has been in Karnal Jail for the past 27 days, under serious charges of attempt to murder and extortion. During the lockdown, her family went up to its ears in debt due to which Nodeep and her brothers had to drop out of school. She had no choice but to come to Delhi in search of work. She came to her sister Rajveer, the only person in the family who was able to step into a university. Rajveer is a student of Punjabi Literature at Delhi University.

When I met Rajveer, she was waiting for a bus to Chandigarh where she had to meet the lawyer. To my surprise, her first words came with a smile, 바카라�My sister is a fighter. Sometimes it바카라�s the only choice we have.바카라� She continues,바카라� When Nodeep came to Delhi and started working in a factory in Kundli, she and her fellow-workers faced many atrocities at the hands of the factory owners. This motivated them to join Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan (MAS)바카라�.

Rajveer told Outlook, 바카라�MAS toiled hard for the rights of workers who were fired from the factories without any notice, just like our own father.바카라� Many workers in the area shared their grievances with the organisation. Taking out a register from her bag, Rajveer told us, 바카라�This is the record of all the workers who were not paid their dues. Nodeep and her organisation protested against many factory owners and helped more than 300 workers get their due payments within a month.바카라� On December 2, MAS carried out a protest march of 2,000 workers from across Delhi in solidarity with the farmers바카라� protest. Many of them, including Nodeep, were fired from the factories when the news reached the owners. On December 28, MAS activists were allegedly beaten assaulted by goons hired by the Kundli Industrial Association바카라�. They even opened fire on the workers. Rajveer points out, 바카라�No FIR has been lodged till date바카라�.

On January 12, MAS was on a sit-in dharna outside a factory, when Nodeep, along with MAS president Shiv Kumar, was arrested. Rajveer adds, 바카라�The media is not even talking about Shiv Kumar. He comes from a very poor Dalit family. He is partially blind and the police had beaten him so brutally in jail that he can barely stand. Why aren바카라�t they (the media) talking about him?바카라�

바카라�These people treat them as criminals. The SHO of Kundli station gave a statement to a newspaper that 바카라�Nodeep is a girl who keeps 40-50 men with her and extorts money from factory owners바카라�,바카라� says Rajveer. With fury in her tone, she asks, 바카라�What do they mean by 바카라�keep바카라�? And if she was a criminal, why didn바카라�t the police send women cops to arrest her?바카라� With a choking voice, Rajveer recalls her meeting with Nodeep in the jail, 바카라�She was holding back her tears but burst out, saying that she was beaten and tortured by male police.바카라�

The next day, her fellow inmates sent a message to Nodeep바카라�s family that she was bleeding heavily from her legs and could barely walk. On January 14, serious injuries were found in her private parts during a medical examination. The family alleges that male police have brutally beaten her on her private parts with lathis.

We also got a few minutes with Nodeep바카라�s mother. She wanted to send a message to all the daughters in India, 바카라�Darna nahi hai bachhe. Haar nahi manni hai. Aakhir tak ladna hai warna ye log humein jeene nahi denge.바카라� (Don바카라�t be afraid. Don바카라�t accept defeat. We have to fight till the finish or else these people will not allow us to live).

She proudly recalled, 바카라�These girls were barely 10-12 years old when they used to hold placards in their tiny hands and raise slogans with me.바카라� Taking a sip of water to ease her words, she said, 바카라�I have taught them not to suffer silently but to question.바카라�

바카라�I remember when I was jailed for 12 days for raising my voice for Dalit women in our village. We even faced a social boycott. But these girls stood strong and faced every adversity with a smile, 바카라� she says pointing to Nodeep바카라�s photograph.

In her eyes, beyond the storm of hope, tears and pride, I could see Pavel바카라�s mother from Maxim Gorky바카라�s famous novel Mother. With a smile and teary eyes, she said, 바카라�And today, I stand strong with her.바카라�