Social:1998 Multai farmer massacre

1998 Multai farmer massacre was an infamous case of political oppression and police brutality when police fired on protesting farmers in the Madhya Pradesh, India town of Multai. The protests and the firing led to the death of at least 19 persons and injuries to nearly 150 others.

Background

In 1997, the farmers faced heavy losses due to crop damage. The farmers were on the verge of starvation. The loans were piling up. The farmers launched protests against the MP government then headed by the Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, with several demands, including compensation for the damaged crops, loan waiver, electricity bill waiver, payment against crop insurance and several others.

Incident

On December 25, 1997, the farmers gathered outside Multai Tehsil. After 13 days, the police uprooted farmers’ tents. It was alleged that the police reached there at night and demolished the tents. The protesters claimed that the police snatched money that they had brought for ration and forced them to leave the protest site. The protests continued peacefully even after police action against the farmers. On January 11, police allegedly picked some farmers who were close to Sunilam to interrogate them. They were asked about the whereabouts of Sunilam, but the police could not get any information.

On January 12, 1998, Madhya Pradesh police fired on protesting farmers in Multai as the protests went violent. The farmers were seeking compensation for the damaged crops due to adverse weather. Thousands of farmers gathered on the call of then-newly-formed Kisan Sangharsh Samiti. The group had announced a program to lock and gherao the Multai tehsil office.

The group of farmers pelted stones and tried to attack officials. Some vehicles were set on fire. The violence resulted in police opening firing at the protesters. While the official count states 19 farmers lost their lives with over 150 injured, the unofficial count of the dead as per the activists is around 24.

Aftermath

BJP was in opposition at that time. They equated the incident to the Jalianwala Bagh massacre.

The farmers stated that the police did not warn them before opening fire on them. As per the eyewitnesses’ testimonies in BJP’s video, farmers were standing outside the tehsil when suddenly the police started firing. They fired several rounds from the nearby hospital as well. The massacre continued for over 2.5 hours, after which a curfew was imposed in the area.

Farmers, who were named in several cases, alleged that there were no cases filed against the officers who shot them. Fines as much as Rs.10,000 were imposed on all accused, and many of them are still struggling to get justice in the courts.

Nearly 15 years later, the sessions court in Multai has sentenced former Samajwadi Party MLA Dr Sunilam, 51, and two others to life imprisonment for their involvement in the protests. Activists found the judgment harsh while police point out that the protests had been very violent, with a fireman being lynched, one of the cases in which Sunilam has been convicted.