By Vanya Mehta, TwoCircles.net,
Indore: K.P. Gangore, a 35-year-old lawyer from Indore, Madhya Pradesh and a member of the Bahujan Samaj Party, lives with his extended family in a depressed area of the city called Solanki Nagar. On the inside, the foyer of the three-room house has a nothing but a cot for a bed and a few chairs. The surrounding area of dirt roads consists of small homes where the heat beats down on the residents. According to Gangore, the neighborhood he lives in is predominantly scheduled caste. While he could possibly afford to move, he chooses to stay in that area to make a point that his interests are in community advocacy.
“I will make 100 more lawyers belonging to SC/ST community and I will promote them,” Advocate Gangore said, beaming with a smile, citing B.R. Ambedkar as his inspiration.
Currently, he is able to practice law pro-bono through the help of a three-year fellowship provided by the Dalit Foundation. The foundation along with other NGOs such as the Din Bandhu Charitable Trust and the Human Rights and Legal Education Trust helped him purchase a laptop and legal materials necessary to conduct his research.
At the age of 25, Gangore was already the district president of BSP. “Do you think AAP or Congress or BJP would ever give me a chance like that? Never,” he said. He believes that the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe community in Indore has not united in such a way to bring up the level of influence of the BSP in the area.
BSP has not had much success in Indore, with a very small presence throughout the state. In the 14th Vidhan Sabha, BSP won only 6 out of 229 seats in which they contested. In 2003 the BSP had only 2 seats, and in 2008 they won 7.
In the area, many of the local community members do not send their children to school because the government-funded public schools are not well-equipped teaching facilities. Mr. Gangore has been able to send his children to missionary schools Lawrence International and Saint Vincent, but he says this is not the privilege many of his neighbors have.
He fights cases in support of Muslim womens’ issues. He is currently representing a Dalit lawyer Sundarlal Sagar for a book he wrote upon which VHP and RSS workers filed a case under section 153A for containing negative words about the Hindu community. Another case he fought for ten years was on behalf of a Dalit woman from the Chamar background whose husband was encountered and harassed by police and eventually killed. That case finally was heard in court under Section 302 and the main police officer, Sanjay Pathak, who killed the man was implicated, but the twelve other officers who harassed him and his wife as well were not.
Gangore’s strong will to defend, without pay, the Dalit community is a rare case to be seen in the area. Through the help of the various Dalit foundations he may be one of the first in his community to obtain a law degree. Very few advocates exist with his specialty. He intends to continue his studies by attending workshops in the Supreme Court in New Delhi so that he can expand his understanding of how to fight as a public defender.
But he is aware that for his legal success he needs the political support. Even without much political success being a member of BSP, according to Gangore, helped him with what he described as “security, if there is any problem, if any case needs to be taken to the higher authorities, police officials, or other administrative officials.”