NEW DELHI: In the wake of the grisly Faridabad killings , Dalit activists wondered if the pictures of two charred infants could shake the nation’s conscience like the picture of drowned Aylan Kurdi on a Mediterranean beach moved the world on the plight of Syrian refugees.It is unlikely. But the query too was overlaid with cynicism, reflecting the weariness of a community bearing the brunt of recurring atrocities. Sunped under BJP follows the shameful trend set by Mirchpur and Gohana under Congress.In Mirchpur and Gohana, altercations between Jats and Dalits resulted in mobs razing down and burning Dalit houses, medieval style. No one died in Gohana but 50 houses were torched by a 1,000-strong mob. But Mirchpur saw a lynch mob set on fire a handicapped girl and her grandfather in their house, like Faridabad. In Sunped, Rajputs settled scores with Dalits.At the root of the brutal crimes is the newfound independence of Dalits and a questioning of the status quo. Observers say the brutal retribution inflicted by the upper castes is aimed to deliver a strong reminder to Dalits on who dominates socially.Karamvir Baudh, an activist in Haryana, said, “Jobs and small businesses are a growing trend among SCs. Cars and good houses in their neighbourhoods are visible. They refuse to work in landlords’ fields. It is enough of a provocation.”If the fault lines existed for ages, its incendiary eruption in medieval lynchings and immolations in the last decade results from fearless assertion by Dalits riding on job reservations and market economy.“The dominant peasant proprietors who were used to having their way are unable to take the resistance from Dalits. That is leading to brutality,” said Yogendra Yadav, a sociologist with roots in Haryana.The questioning of status quo is the trigger. And the oppressor changes with the turf, it could be Jats in Rohtak, Yadavs in Mahendragarh, Rajputs and OBC Rors in Yamunanagar.Dr Gulshan, who heads the Ambedkar missionaries society in Rohtak, recounted how every atrocity was accompanied by the incredulous “ek SC ne aisa kar diya” — it could refer to refusal to work in landlords’ fields or challenging the harassment of a Dalit girl. “In a wrestling game, the taunt is that you lost to a Dalit boy,” he said, talking about provocation.Sexual assault of Dalits has emerged as a new weapon to assert domination. Haryana, according to the NCRB, ranks seventh in assaults on SC women, fourth in sexual harassment, sixth in rapes.