The date was 25 January 1999. The country was preparing to celebrate the 50th Republic Day. Just moments earlier, President K. R. Narayanan had addressed the nation, saying: “Atrocities on Dalits must stop.” But something very different happened that night.
Shankar Bigha is a village in the Arwal district of Bihar. At that time, it was part of Jehanabad district. There were about 110 houses in this village, with over 100 Dalit families living there. None of them had permanent houses or agricultural land. They had settled here for daily-wage labour.
It was half past ten on a freezing winter night. Around 100 armed men entered the village, carrying guns and axes. The first house belonged to Bhairon Rajvanshi. He was sleeping with his wife and children when he heard a noise. Startled, he wrapped his bedding around himself, ran out, and shouted to his wife, “Take the children and run. The army people have come.”
Bhairon managed to escape, but his wife and children stayed inside. The attackers entered the house, firing shots. The first bullet hit Bhairon’s wife in the legs, and she collapsed. One of the attackers grabbed the children from the cot and threw them on the ground.
Bhairon’s wife screamed, “Leave my children alone. What harm have they done to you?”
One attacker dragged her by the hair and shouted, “You people support the MCC, don’t you? No one in this village will survive tonight. We will wipe you all out.”
The attacker shot both children dead on the spot. The woman beat her chest and wailed. Enraged, the attacker slashed her neck with a sword. Then four or five more assailants entered. They fired indiscriminately all around the house for a while and then left.
A vigil was taking place in a large veranda. About 10–15 people were singing and dancing. The sound of gunfire had not yet reached them. Around 40–50 attackers had surrounded the veranda from all sides.
One of them said, “Shall we pour kerosene and burn everyone?”
Another replied, “No, they are all awake. They will run. They might even have guns.”
An attacker, tying his dhoti tightly around his waist, said, “Look, we don’t have much time. Quickly get into the veranda and attack. Don’t give them a chance to escape.”
The attackers charged in. They entered the porch, firing indiscriminately. Bullets rained down on the people performing kirtan. Within minutes, ten bodies lay there. A few somehow managed to flee into the fields.
From there, the attackers moved house to house, shouting slogans. Whoever they found, they shot dead. Those who survived the bullets were hacked with axes. The entire village echoed with screams.
Soon, gunfire was heard from neighbouring villages. The attackers’ commander was startled, wondering where the firing was coming from. Could it be that the MCC had arrived?
He quickly told his men, “It seems the MCC people are here. Look, a crowd is coming. Let’s get out of here.” The attackers fired in the air, shouted slogans, and escaped towards the western side of the village.
Bhairon Rajvanshi had been hiding in the haystack, watching everything. As soon as the attackers left, he ran home, gasping for breath. He called to his wife from the doorway, but there was no reply.
Terrified, Bhairon stepped inside. Something struck his foot. Trembling, he switched on his torch. His wife’s body was lying before him. Blood was splattered everywhere.
He stepped forward and saw the body of his elder son under the cot. Bhairon felt faint. He steadied himself and entered the other room. There, he found three more bodies – his two brothers and his younger son. Five members of his family had been slaughtered.
He began screaming hysterically, “I am ruined! They have killed everyone. They have spared no one!”
It was already midnight. The sound of crying and wailing echoed throughout the village. Corpses lay scattered in the streets. Meanwhile, the phone rang at the Jehanabad police station: “There has been a massacre in Shankar Bigha village.”
Around 2 a.m., Jehanabad SP Manmohan Singh and ASP K. K. Singh arrived at the village. The SP went from house to house, surveying the scene. A total of 23 bodies were found. Among the dead were five women and seven children. One child was barely ten months old. The gunshot had ripped his intestines out – the attackers had pressed the barrel of the gun to his stomach before firing.
Senior journalist Ramashankar Mishra recalls the massacre: “I reached the village on the morning of 26 January. It was a heart-wrenching sight. Some bodies were riddled with bullets, some had their hands cut off, others had their eyes gouged out. Houses, verandas, and alleys were all stained with blood.”
This was the Shankar Bigha massacre. The Ranveer Sena was accused of carrying out the killings. About 20 days earlier, a newspaper had reported that the Ranveer Sena chief had announced the next location of their attack had been chosen. And it happened exactly there.
In 1998, ten upper-caste people had been killed in Chauram, in Arwal district. The Maoist organisation MCC was accused of the killings. The Ranveer Sena believed that the people of Shankar Bigha had assisted the Maoists – and that was why the village was chosen for retaliation.
On the morning of 27 January, Chief Minister Rabri Devi and Lalu Prasad Yadav reached Shankar Bigha. The crowd erupted in anger as soon as they saw them. Women hurled abuses. People shouted slogans – “Down with Lalu-Rabri! Social justice is a sham! End the Ranveer Sena! Rabri government, resign!”
Lalu tried to pacify the crowd: “Listen, we will ensure justice for everyone. The families of those killed will receive one lakh rupees each. Every villager will be given twenty thousand rupees to build houses. A school and a panchayat building will be constructed here.”
But the announcement only inflamed tempers. A woman carrying her child walked up to Rabri and screamed: “We don’t want your filthy money. Keep your reward! We want revenge. Give us guns, give us bullets, give us weapons. Your sweet words mean nothing. In Lakshmanpur Bathe, 58 of our people were killed. What did your government do? Nothing!”
Lalu somehow made his way through the crowd and entered the village. Five bodies lay outside a house. A woman sat on the doorstep, her face buried in her hands. As soon as she saw Lalu, she turned furious. She removed the cloth covering one of the bodies – the blood-soaked corpse of a child, intestines spilling out. Lalu and Rabri were visibly shaken.
The woman shouted: “If you want to give us justice, bring Babban Singh here and hand him over to us. We will punish him ourselves. Only then will we believe that you are truly the government. Your police are in league with the Ranveer Sena. When the killings were happening, no one came. When it was over, then the police arrived.”
Lalu, teary-eyed, replied: “Look, I cannot take the kind of action you are demanding. But I promise you, the accused will be dealt with properly. The case will be heard quickly and completed within six months. Everyone will be punished. Don’t lose faith – even the murderers are demanding our resignation. Don’t do the same.”
By evening, Lalu and Rabri had returned to Patna. Meanwhile, the opposition remained firm on its demand for Rabri’s resignation. Nitish Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan were openly calling for the government to be dismissed. Even several Congress leaders who were part of Rabri’s coalition began asking for her to step down.
Lalu was furious. He said: “Rabri will not resign. This massacre was a conspiracy to defame the government before Republic Day. The Ranveer Sena is nothing but an extension of the Bajrang Dal. Congress says we have abolished the zamindari system – if that were true, this massacre would never have happened.”
On 27 January, Congress sent former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil and Meira Kumar to Shankar Bigha. Sonia Gandhi said Congress would continue to support the government for now, but a decision would be taken after the leaders’ report.
On 28 January, Bihar DGP K. A. Jacob announced: “A reward of five lakh rupees will be given to anyone providing information about Ranveer Sena chief Brahmeshwar Mukhiya.”
That same day, Rabri Devi told the press: “Six accused have been arrested. The others will also be caught soon. When I visited the massacre site, people kept saying – all the Babhans have been killed.” Her remark was widely reported in newspapers.
On 29 January, Bihar Governor Sundar Singh Bhandari met Home Minister L. K. Advani. Media reports began circulating that the Centre might recommend President’s Rule in Bihar.
Pressure on the Rabri government intensified. On 1 February, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi alleged at a press conference: “There is a nexus between Lalu and the Ranveer Sena. Many in the RJD are associated with the Sena. Lalu has ensured the Sena chief’s release several times. Just six months ago, police in Shastri Nagar had arrested him, but Lalu intervened and got him freed.”
Then, on 10 February – just 15 days after the Shankar Bigha massacre – attackers struck again, this time in Narayanpur village. Around 9 p.m., 11 Dalits were killed – six women and five men. The Ranveer Sena later claimed responsibility by distributing pamphlets.
The next day, Lalu and Rabri reached Narayanpur. They announced government jobs for three people and compensation of ₹1.2 lakh for each victim’s family, along with ₹20,000 under the Indira Awas Yojana to help survivors rebuild their homes.
High-Level Meeting in Delhi, PM Abroad, Bihar Government Dismissed at Night
On the morning of 12 February, the central government dispatched a team to Jehanabad, led by Defence Minister George Fernandes, Union Minister Nitish Kumar, and Union Minister Satya Narayan Jatiya. The three ministers flew to Patna aboard a special Air Force aircraft before travelling on to Narayanpur.
That same day, Home Minister L. K. Advani chaired a high-level meeting in Delhi. It was decided to dismiss the Bihar government and impose President’s Rule. However, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in Jamaica for a summit. The cabinet forwarded the proposal there, and shortly afterwards, Vajpayee approved it.
In the afternoon, the proposal was flown by special messenger to Kolkata, where President K. R. Narayanan was staying. At 9 p.m., he gave his assent. At 9:15 p.m., Union Minister Pramod Mahajan announced at a press conference that President’s Rule had been imposed in Bihar.
Lalu Prasad Yadav reacted furiously: “The Centre has murdered democracy. Take to the streets. Break the legs of these dictators. From tomorrow, I will go to the people’s court – and I cannot say what will happen then.”
The very next day, Lalu and Rabri Devi led supporters through the streets of Patna. Police briefly detained them. Across the state, violent protests erupted, claiming more than a dozen lives. During one such protest, Lalu thundered: “We will respond to bullets with violence.”
Within hours of President’s Rule being imposed, the Governor removed the Chief Secretary and the DGP. Vijay Shankar Dubey was appointed Chief Secretary, and T. P. Sinha became the new DGP, taking charge that very night. The Governor’s decision drew criticism, as both Dubey and Sinha belonged to the upper castes.
Sonia Gandhi’s Visit Revived Memories of Belchhi
On 13 February 1999, Congress President Sonia Gandhi arrived in Narayanpur. She toured the village and visited the homes of those killed in the massacre. Her visit drew immediate comparisons to Indira Gandhi’s famous trip to Belchhi in 1977. Back then, after her defeat in the post-Emergency elections, Indira had personally visited the victims of the Belchhi massacre – a move credited with reviving Congress’s fortunes both in Bihar and at the Centre.
For Sonia, the situation was strikingly similar. Congress had suffered major setbacks in the 1996 elections, losing key states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The party was looking for ways to reconnect with Dalits, and incidents like the Shankar Bigha and Narayanpur massacres provided an opportunity to reach out to them.
State Congress leaders were pressing for support of President’s Rule. Contemporary newspapers reported: “Sonia is in a dilemma. If she opposes the RJD, the Muslim vote bank will slip away. If she supports it, the Dalits will be angered.”
In the end, Sonia said nothing about President’s Rule. She announced a compensation of ₹10,000 for each victim’s family and then returned to Delhi via Patna.
Home Minister Advani and the Governor Clash – Bhandari Demands an Apology
After Sonia Gandhi’s visit to Bihar, the Centre realised that Congress would not back President’s Rule. On 16 February, Home Minister L. K. Advani announced: “Bihar Governor Sundar Singh Bhandari will be replaced by a non-political person.”
Governor Bhandari was furious. The very next day, he left for Delhi — pointedly by train, not by flight, reportedly as a mark of displeasure. On 18 February, he met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Their meeting lasted half an hour.
According to newspaper reports from the time, Vajpayee advised the Governor to resolve the matter through dialogue. But Bhandari stood firm, insisting that Advani must apologise. After spending three days in Delhi, he returned to Patna on 21 February.
Meanwhile, Lalu Prasad Yadav met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi. Senior journalist Sankarshan Thakur writes in his book Bandhu Bihari: “Communal forces are rising. This is an RSS conspiracy. Madam, if Congress does not stop this, then who will? Congress must fight these forces.”
On 22 February, Congress declared that it would vote against President’s Rule in Parliament.
According to The Untold Vajpayee, the Prime Minister was never entirely convinced about imposing President’s Rule. But Nitish Kumar’s Samata Party had strongly pushed for it. In fact, six months earlier, in September 1998, Governor Bhandari had recommended President’s Rule, but President K. R. Narayanan had rejected it. Vajpayee is said to have told an aide at the time: “We will have to pay the price for bowing to the pressure of the Samata Party.”
On 7 March, Vajpayee met Sonia Gandhi in a last bid to secure Congress support but failed. On 8 March, the Centre formally withdrew President’s Rule. The next day, Rabri Devi was reinstated as Chief Minister.
But the state had no respite. Just nine days later, another major massacre occurred – the subject of the next episode.
On 15 March, the Centre finally removed Governor Bhandari. Patna High Court Chief Justice B. M. Lal was given charge as acting Governor.
34 Killed in Two Massacres, 49 Accused, 0 Convicted – Witnesses Recant in Court
In the Shankar Bigha massacre case, an FIR was lodged against 24 people. The trial ran from July to November 2014 in the Jehanabad Sessions Court. During this period, all 50 witnesses turned hostile. They refused to identify the accused.
The main witness, Bhairon Rajvanshi, told the court: “I was not even in Shankar Bigha on the day of the massacre. The police forcibly took my thumb impression. They wrote the statement themselves and never read it out to me.”
Another witness, Ramprasad Paswan, said: “I had fallen down after being shot. How could I recognise anyone? The police wrote a false statement.”
On 13 January 2015, the Jehanabad Sessions Court acquitted all 24 accused due to lack of evidence. The decision shocked the Dalit community even more because Bihar had a Dalit Chief Minister at the time – Jitan Ram Manjhi.
Later, Bhairon Rajvanshi explained to a journalist why he and others had retracted their statements: “During the inquiry by the Amir Das Commission, the police gave us protection and took us to Patna. But during the trial in Jehanabad, we had no security. We knew that if we spoke up, we would be killed. We work in their fields. Even our food would be stopped.”
In fact, during the final days of the trial, on 14 November 2014, the court wrote to the Arwal District Magistrate requesting security for witnesses. By then, most had already turned hostile. The DM later wrote to the SP on 9 January 2015 asking for witness protection, but the verdict came just four days later.
Just like in Shankar Bigha, all 25 accused in the Narayanpur massacre were also acquitted due to lack of evidence.
In total, 34 Dalits were killed across the two massacres. Forty-nine people were accused, but no one was punished. Left parties vowed to approach the Supreme Court – but even after eleven years, the case has not been heard.
Political Fallout: The Decline of RJD and Congress in Bihar
The wave of massacres left the RJD government politically weakened. Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party, which had won 167 seats in 1995, fell to 124 in the 2000 Assembly elections. Meanwhile, the BJP rose sharply, winning 67 seats – an increase of 26 from the previous election. From that point onwards, the NDA’s influence in Bihar steadily expanded.
Eventually, in the October–November 2005 elections, the NDA finally formed the government in Bihar. The Congress, which had ruled the state for nearly four decades, saw its political relevance collapse. Analysts believe that by continuing to support the RJD, Congress alienated a large part of its voter base. The upper castes gravitated towards the BJP, while Lalu and Nitish consolidated the backward and extremely backward caste vote.
Indrabhushan Mishra
Courtesy : Bhaskar English
Note: This news is originally published on https:/bhaskarenglish.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights