Man Buried Alive - Exclusive Video Never Before

In December 2006 what prompted me to start this blog indiavikalp was a news story of a dalit man Ram Prasad Das being buried alive in Bihar, while the Bihar government watched. Two days later when Aaj Tak Reporter Kumar Abhishek visited the village Karhaiya in Supaul he was brutally attacked by the villagers. So even now many years later no reporter has yet dared to go back to the Supaul village.

Indiavikalp releases an exclusive video of the man being buried alive (Caution: this is not for the faint-hearted).



BLIND FAITH & BLIND GOVERNMENT

By Manuwant Kumar Choudhary

In a shocking incident a dalit man Ram Prasad Das claiming to be a sadhu...is buried alive in village Karhaiya in Supaul, Bihar, India, on November 28. Fifteen days earlier its alleged he announced he would be taking a samadhi (an ancient Hindu way of taking one's own life)...and true to his claim he was buried alive with all festivities by his followers and for the first time ever the 'SAMADHI' is on video CD.

Shockingly, everyone including the Bihar government is aware of this social practice in Bihar's villages but do nothing to stop this man from ending his life or even prevent the villagers of committing murder.

All night the dalit man gives blessings to his bhaktas (followers) and by morning he is lifted and placed in a wooden box, the lid covered, and the box lowered into the open grave in full public view with followers seeking his personal blessings as he departs on his heavenly journey...

The video CD is taken by one of his followers and by some chance it falls into the hands of local stringers of TV news channels. Aaaj Tak carries the story...but two days later when their reporter Kumar Abhishek visits the Supaul village....angry villagers attack him and his crew including a CNN - IBN representative with bamboo sticks. The TV crew just about manage to escape.

What is shocking that a man buried alive does not make headline news in Bihar's newspapers or even national newspapers and such is the media competition these days that even other TV channels don't think its a story. Sahara TV a few days later carry the footage on the samadhi followed by footage on attacks on journalists.

Its said that after the first media leak of the samadhi the local police on orders from higher ups went to the village and threatened the villagers that if they did not give a signed undertaking that the dalit man died before he was buried they would all be charged with murder. So all the villagers did as the police asked them to....and when the media team visited to make full inquiries they were attacked in full presence of the police.

Later the District Magistrate of Supaul Mr. Shareef Alam instead of arresting the villagers..threatens the mediamen. Even the Bihar Home Commissioner Mr. Afzal Amanullah tells Aaj Tak that they would naturally be attacked if they do such stories.
And in Bihar most say journalists who do stories against the sentiments of villagers will naturally be attacked.

So far there is no condemnation of the samadhi from any political party and no word from Bihar's Chief Minister Mr. Nitish Kumar who perhaps only believes in image make-overs for Bihar.

A sad story for `samajik nyay' or social justice that when a dalit man is buried alive there are no protests. But when miscreants damage a B.R. Ambedkar statue in Uttar Pradesh....the Dalits burn the Deccan Queen train in Maharashtra.

Meira Kumar As Speaker To Silence Bihar!

By Manuwant Choudhary

In politics everything is a political move...even appointments of Speakers...but in the case of Meira Kumar's appointment..it has little to do with her being a woman or a dalit....she has been appointed only to silence Bihar.

Just like Somnath Chatterjee was appointed Speaker to keep the 60 Communist MPs in place.

Meira Kumar was only a few days ago made a minister for water resources - Bihar's lone minister.

And with all Bihar's MPs being in the opposition Bihar's issues like floods and Special Status was expected to be raised `noisily'.

Now Bihar's MPs will have to sit quietly for the next five years.

Forget jumping into the well of the house and forget fighting for Bihar.

Breaking News: Flood Waters Enter Villages in Madhubani

By Manuwant Choudhary

News just coming in is that flood waters have entered a few villages in Phoolparas in Madhubani district after seapage in the embankments of the Bhuthee Balan river.

Water has entered the homes of people and local villagers are rescuing the women and children trapped.

So far there is no sign for the state government, which had only two days ago claimed that there would be no floods in Bihar and all embankments were safe.

Its still not known about the extent of the floods right now.

Floods are an annual affair in these parts but this time its been early and sudden and at night which has caught people unaware.

Teens Kidnap, Kill 8-year-old Satyam in Patna

By Manuwant Choudhary

In Bihar its back to business..yes you got that right - the business of kidnapping but this latest incident has shocked even kidnappers in Bihar...teens Avinash and Monu kidnap their eight year old neighbour Satyam, demand ransom of 5 lakh rupees and when its not paid Satyam is sodomised and killed.

A plot perhaps even film director Prakash Jha could not have imagined.

The Bihar police like always came in late.

And now the arrested teens say they were influenced by Prakash Jha's film Apharan.

The latest case is not one-off...Bihar's crime scene is bleak at best..calling off the media's bluff about Nitish Kumar's turnaround of Bihar.

Newspapers receive so much government ads that they are simply not newspapers anymore - they have become an arm of the government and political parties.

Even national editors are on government appointed panels in Bihar and so Bihar's issues are off the national news.

But just look at the other news coming out of Bihar that you will not see on national TV at all:

1) Businessman robbed of 30 lakh rupees.

2) Gypsies Kill one person and angry villagers burn an entire gypsie village in revenge.

3) A mother can't yet find her son kidnapped 6 months ago even after paying 1.5 lakh rupees.

4) Two more kidnapped victims killed in Bettiah.

5) In Samastipur a local businessman Rajendra Sah killed and angry villagers burn four police vehicles.

This is to name just a few.

And its an irony that Bihar gets just one minister in the union cabinet and for the next five years all of Bihar's politicians will be sitting in the opposition.

But there is some good news... both Prakash Jha and Sadhu Yadav lost in these elections.

Both tried their best to win - caste combinations and even appeals to criminals in prison for support.

And all criminals lost in these elections, even the two fielded by Nitish Kumar. Even the criminals wives lost.

Bihar's politicians, yet, do not see the writing on the wall.

They are simply illiterate.

Disgraced Former Chief Minister In India's Union Cabinet

By Manuwant Choudhary

In India everyone is promoted even the disgraced...like only six months after being forced to step down as chief minister of Maharashtra for his failure in the aftermath of the terror attack on Bombay, Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh is now in India's union cabinet as minister for heavy industries.

As chief minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh failed in protecting Bombay but not just that he had taken Hindi film director Ram Gopal Verma on a tour of the Taj Mahal Hotel perhaps to see the sets first hand so that he could make a blockbuster.

This led to an outcry and his ouster but there is always a return in Indian politics.

And unlike South Korea no Indian politician has ever felt guilty or even thought of jumping off a cliff.

We are shameless.

But I just wonder when the minister for heavy industries would take Ramu on a tour of India's parliament...from Taj Mein Aag to Sansad Par Humla!

Everyone Wants US Dollars, Even Communist Kim Jong!

Pakistan Is A Terror Factory

By Manuwant Choudhary

The full-scale fighting in Swat and the resultant human displacement only prove the fact that Pakistan had over the years become a terror factory...brainwashing, training and arming terrorists to threaten the world.

Yesterday's attack in Lahore, very close to the ISI building, shows the Taliban can attack anyone, anywhere, even their former masters.

I was reading a BBC article published in 2000 on `Who Are The Taliban'? The report says the world came to know of the Taliban only in 1994 when Pakistan used them to provide cover to a convoy which was meant to open up a trade-route to central asia.

These Taliban men, mainly of Pashtun origin, had been trained in religious schools in Pakistan, and proved to be effective `bodyguards' against attacks on the convoy by other mujahideens.

The same religious training centres were used by Pakistn to train other mujahideens to fight in Kashmir and elsewhere.

But the Taliban had their own plans and they soon fought other war lords to gain control over 90 per cent of Afghan territory, except a small part in the north which was controlled by Ahmed Shah Masood, a tajek leader.

Soon Kabul came under the Taliban and they even wanted international recognition but the UN seat still remained with former President Burhanuddin Rabbani.

And when the US embassies were bombed in Kenya and the UN asked the Taliban to hand over Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban refused saying Osama Bin Laden was their `guest'.

Even during General Musharraf's rule the world saw what happend at Lal Masjid.

Pakistan's war within is going to be its toughest and success will come if they decide to shut their terror factories and remove corruption from their political lives thereby win the hearts and minds of ordinary Pakistanis.

Pakistan must shun `My criminals versus your criminals' mindset, if democracy is ever to become meaningful and order restored.

But with the billions in US dollars being poured into Pakistan by the United States and with President Zardari at the helm, things do not look positive - at least for now.