Dalits face social boycott in Gujarat village

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Reason: Dalit groom rode a horse

*The reason for the social boycott was that a Dalit groom, 24-year-old Mehul Parmar who worked in a private company in Ahmedabad, had ridden a horse in his marriage procession.

*Horse riding during marriage is generally associated with the upper castes, particularly Kshtriyas, in most parts of north Gujarat.

*Dalits following upper caste rituals are usually inflicted heavy punishment.

Manas Dasgupta

Ahmedabad, May 12

Dalits at Lhor village in Kadi taluka in Mehsana district continue to suffer social boycott even two days after Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel had intervened to broker peace between the Dalits and upper castes in this north Gujarat village.

A Dalit activist, Chirag Solanki, said Patel’s appeal had gone unheeded in his own hometown (Nitin Patel hails from Kadi) and the Dalits were not been able to acquire even daily essentials from the shops run by the upper castes.

The reason for the social boycott was that a Dalit groom, 24-year-old Mehul Parmar who worked in a private company in Ahmedabad, had ridden a horse in his marriage procession. Horse riding during marriage is generally associated with the upper castes, particularly Kshtriyas, in most parts of north Gujarat. Dalits following upper caste rituals are usually inflicted heavy punishment.

Soon after the marriage on May 7, the village panchayat controlled by the upper castes banned any relations with the Dalits. It imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on anyone who dared to sell groceries to the Dalits, employ them in their fields or even talk to any member of the Dalit community.

Even the arrest by the police of five persons, including village sarpanch Vinuji Thakor and his deputy Baldeo Thakor, under the Atrocities Act failed to have any impact on the situation and the Dalits had to go without the supply of essential commodities including milk.

On being informed about the situation in the village which falls in his Assembly constituency, Nitin Patel rushed to Lhor and convened a meeting of leaders of both the communities in the presence of senior police officers of the region and brokered peace between them.

But after the Deputy Chief Minister left, the upper castes refused to lift the social boycott and a senior panchayat member said the Dalits would not be spared till they withdraw the police complaints and the upper caste leaders were released from custody.