A CRPF jawan, Gautam Harijan, was dragged out of a train and beaten by Kanwariyas at Mirzapur. His child watched in horror. The mob got bail in minutes. The system looked away.
BY Navin Upadhyay
Yesterday, a video surfaced that should haunt the conscience of every Indian. At Mirzapur railway station in Uttar Pradesh, a Dalit CRPF jawan was dragged out of a train and brutally assaulted by a group of Kanwariyas — in full public view, and most devastatingly, in front of his young son.
Gautam Harijan, a uniformed servant of the Republic, was kicked, slapped, punched, and humiliated on the railway platform as others stood by. At one point, the video shows him trying to get up — only to be surrounded and thrown down again like an animal. His child, terrified, looked on.
In New India even CRPF jawans are not safe as they get beaten up by Kanwariyas at Mirzapur railway station in UP.
But no worries they are peaceful devotees so no arrests only blessings.
BTW waiting for Adityanath to take action against CRPF jawan. pic.twitter.com/pxjt0S6HbV
— Punny (@PunnyBhaiya) July 19, 2025
This wasn’t a crime of passion. This was a public lynching, emboldened by mob mentality and religious entitlement — and enabled by a political system that no longer bothers to pretend it values discipline, dignity, or the Constitution.
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And what happened to the attackers?
They were arrested — and then granted bail within minutes.
No serious charges.
No remand.
No official condemnation.
No apology.
No action.
This editorial is not just about the beating of a soldier. It is about the moral collapse of a country that calls itself a democracy but rewards mobs over men in uniform, and caste pride over constitutional dignity.
The Kanwar Yatra, once a peaceful pilgrimage, has in recent years devolved into a show of muscle — often accompanied by aggressive behavior, road blockades, and a growing culture of impunity. But this assault — on a CRPF jawan, a Dalit, a father — marks a new low.
Let us say it plainly:
If the victim had been from a minority community, would anyone even talk about it?
If the attackers weren’t part of a politically coddled religious gathering, would the bail have come so swiftly?
This is not merely a law-and-order issue. It is a crisis of justice, of values, of who matters and who doesn’t in today’s India.
We have seen Dalits flogged for skinning cattle. We have seen them denied temple entry, denied water, denied dignity. But now, a Dalit in uniform, representing the Indian state, can be dragged out of a train, humiliated in front of his son, and abandoned by that very state — and we’re expected to move on?
Where are the leaders who chant “nation first” at every rally?
Where is the so-called nationalist media?
Silent. Complicit. Cowardly.
I know the so-called “nationalists” will be quick to point out that Jawans have no caste and it’s wrong to identify the victims as Dalit. But that’s not true. The caste system remains as dominant within the army as anywhere else. It’s a sad reality.
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And finally, India’s soldiers do not ask for much. They ask for respect. For safety. For their families to be treated with dignity. And for their sacrifice to mean something.
Instead, this jawan’s reward was humiliation, isolation, and state neglect.
When mobs walk free and soldiers bleed, when caste trumps justice, when religion overrides law — the Constitution is not just ignored, it is mocked.
Retired CRPF officers, civil rights activists, and citizens across the spectrum are rightly asking:
“If this is how we treat our protectors, what message are we sending to their children?”
We are sending the message that caste still matters more than courage, and mob strength matters more than moral strength.
We are sending the message that a uniform protects you on the border, but not at home.
And we are sending the message that the idea of India is on life support.
The Nation Wasn’t Just Silent — It Was Absent
There must be consequences. Not just for the attackers — but for the police officers who failed to press serious charges, for the judicial officers who rubber-stamped their release, and for the political leaders who said nothing.
A democracy that turns its back on its defenders is not a democracy. It is a hollow slogan wrapped in a saffron cloak.
Every slap that landed on that Dalit jawan’s face was a slap on the Indian Republic.
And every second of silence from our leaders was complicity in that assault.
If this doesn’t move the needle of our national conscience, perhaps we’ve lost it for good.
