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CRIME: DACOIT REFORMER
Liaison Man
For half a century, Salik Ram has been persuading
dacoits to lay down their arms. This former MLA now enjoys a stature unrivalled
by any in Dang.
By Rohit Parihar
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STYLE STATEMENT: Ram (left) with his bodyguard
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Neta Salik Ram, 85, quit the Royal Dholpur
Infantry to join the freedom struggle, worked his way from grassroots
politics to become MLA twice and serves the people and authorities alike.
He is a messiah who has reformed hundreds of dacoits and despite being
illiterate, has emerged as a social reformer amongst Gurjjars. His rags
to riches story is based on his fairness."
—Shankar Singh Gurjjar, Dholpur-based
law teacher and expert on Gurjjar history
"On seeing Salik Ram disembarking from
the aeroplane behind Rajesh Pilot, then internal security minister, I
told him 'Sir, this man should have been in jail, not with you.' Everything
Salik Ram does is determined by his own interests and that is how he has
amassed wealth-exploiting his contacts with outlaws, illicit miners and
the police. Influential politicians patronise him.''
—a senior Rajasthan Police officer
Both opinions have
their merits. Not surprising really for a man who has made a career out
of his extraordinary access to people on either side of the law. Over
half a century, Salik Ram has persuaded almost 500 dacoits in Rajasthan's
Dang district to lay down arms.
To meet this sturdy octogenarian, you have to
cross the remains of a forest and climb over pink sandstone that takes
its name from the city of Dholpur in Dang, the thickly forested, ravine-filled
dacoit-infested area of the Chambal that falls in Rajasthan. Six kilometres
from Dholpur is Gawan village where Ram was born. The village is located
on a ridge in the ravines, right on the banks of the Chambal river. There,
Salik Ram brandishes a .32 bore Webley & Scott revolver. But there
are signs that age is catching up with him: his hands tremble as he poses
with his revolver. "Rajesh Pilot gifted it to me," he says,
his eyes filled with affection for the late Gurjjar leader, "but
I never used it." He carries it for effect. His bodyguard Babbu Khan,
a Pathan, too seems to be more a facilitator than a protector.
Ram is the most perfect liaison man Dang has
ever produced. His journey began soon after Independence, when he quit
the army and entered grassroots politics. He soon knew almost every dacoit
in the ravines by name. At the same time, he developed a friendship with
the police. The police realised he could be useful in persuading dacoits
to surrender, and the dacoits felt he could ensure they were not killed
or humiliated once in custody. In the early 1950s, Ram organised the surrender
of the dreaded Shankar Singh. His success encouraged Ram to talk other
dacoits, including Mohar Singh and Madho Singh, into surrendering. Though
many police officers say the surrendered dacoits paid him money in return
for a safe life post-crime, Ram's friends deny this.
Dang is infested with dacoits. Some say they
prosper because though the district has the highest rainfall among the
districts in Rajasthan, there still is no water to drink in the hot summers
and earning a livelihood becomes difficult. The locals, of course, say
it is the water of the Chambal that makes them fiery and short-tempered.
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