#cateism

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have a history of Bahubali - muscle men who become local extortionists, criminals, and champions of their caste’s social power - turning into political leaders and using the levers of state power to further their criminal enterprise and suppress rivals. Bahubalis continue to be fielded as candidates by all parties, some win. When the police are expected to function according to the whims of political leaders, rather than the law, they lose accountability and gain arbitrary power over the citizenry. Deaths in police custody are a corollary.