Days after being granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Dalit labour rights activist Nodeep Kaur spoke to Life News reporter Jagisha Arora about the custodial torture, the situation of women in jail, and her resolve to fight for the rights of farmers and workers.

Nodeep, a member of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan (MAS) was arrested on January 12, 2021, when she participated in a protest held by unpaid labourers near Singhu border between Haryana and Delhi. Nodeep Kaur, (23), was released from Karnal Jail in Haryana on 26 February. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Haryana Police for a report on a complaint alleging that Nodeep was harassed and tortured in custody.

Nodeep plight got international attention when Meena Harris, US vice-president Kamala Harris’ niece tweeted on February 6, 2021 about the alleged torture and arrest of Nodeep Kaur.

 

Interview

Question: What happened on January 12? You have also alleged that you have bruises on your sexual parts. What happened?

 

Reply: Yes, that's absolutely true. I have got bruises on my sexual parts. On January 12, we went to the Kundli Industrial Area, near Singhu Border, to help workers, who were demanding their pending wages. The police came there and dragged me by my hair. They put in the car and started beating me up badly. They stopped the car at an unknown place and beat me there also. They took me to Kundli Police Station and tortured me and they took me to Sonipat police stationand  they beat me up again. There were no female police personnel when I was arrested or when I was in police custody. They also hurled casteist abuses while beating me.

 

Question: What is the attitude of male and women police officers towards you?

Reply: The police are just pawns of the government whether they are female or male. I was not been allowed to meet my family members while in custody. The behavior of the policemen wasn’t right either outside or inside the police station. I was not allowed to get books inside the jail. The situation inside the jail is very bad. They tortured me a lot. The behaviour of the police was bad. They hit me on my private parts with their legs saying your job is not to agitate. Your real job is to clean the gutter.

 

Question: What is the situation of Dalit women in jail?

Reply: This has not happened to me alone, there are a lot of women who are beaten and raped. They are treated badly in police custody. Police harass Dalit women even more. Women, irrespective of any caste and class, are treated like this. People need to come forward to demand action against such policemen so that this does not happen in the future. When I went to jail, I learnt about the Butana case in which a girl was (allegedly) raped in jail. In Kundli police station also I met a girl who said she was raped in jail. I was told by women that I was beaten very little. They said they were also raped.

Pregnant women are also tortured, they told me. Many women are also in the jail on false charges, I was told. Some women’s hands and legs were still broken when I met them. This raises a big question about how our police treat women, especially Dalit women.

 

Question: According to you, what is the role of women in this farmer's movement?

Reply: The participation of women in the peasant movement should be as important as that of men. We are trying to have as many women as possible. Women play a role in every movement, but whenever women start speaking, society silences them.  As you can see, many women have been put in jail after being charged with sedition and UAPA(Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) for participating in this farmer’s movement. Women are also unable to rise up because the state, as well as society, is against them.

 

Question: Lastly, you worked as a labour activist so what is the situation of laborers in this farmer's movement?

Reply: Lies are being spread by some media that workers are not joining it. We have been targeted and put in jail when Labour Rights Organisation wanted to join. The peasant movement is not only about farmers alone, it is also for labourers. Confusion is being created by the government and people that workers have no role in the peasant movement.