Dalit groom takes out wedding procession in UP’s Kasganj to defy caste prejudice
KASGANJ, UTTAR PRADESH: “Today, I have become a cabinet minister.” Sanjay Jatav, 27, was in raptures as he led his wedding procession through Nizampur village, passing upper caste neighbourhoods, capping six months of struggle to become the first Dalit man to do so.
“This is the 21st century but some don’t think Dalits should have dignity. I am the first to take a ‘baraat’ (wedding procession) out in this village. It is only because of Babasaheb and his Constitution that it has been possible,” said Jatav, dressed in a powder-blue suit, as hundreds of people ring-fenced his horse-drawn buggy.
Flanked by rice fields on either side, the village of about 100 households in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj district became the unlikely site of resistance in February after Jatav announced his intention of routing his ‘baraat’ through his bride’s village - a common practice among upper castes. But this route winded through several Thakur pockets, and quickly became controversial for defying decades-old caste discrimination that forced Dalits to keep their weddings short and simple.
The district administration refused permission at first, but Jatav refused to back down, appealing to the district magistrate, the superintendent of police, the Allahabad high court and even the chief minister’s office.
In April, Jatav won a victory of sorts after the local administration charted an alternative route that halved the distance of his desired path but still included several Thakur houses.
“The Jatavs of Basai ( his ancestral village) do what they say. And Sanjay Jatav is one of them,” he said triumphantly.
The administration fortified the area around his bride’s village, deploying 10 police inspectors, 22 sub-inspectors, 35 head constables, 100 constables and a platoon of the state provincial armed constabulary.
“Even if someone wants to create trouble, it wouldn’t be possible for them to do that. We have made sure there are more police than guests in this wedding,” said RP Singh, Kasganj’s district magistrate.
Jatav, a local worker with the Bahujan Samaj Party, drove from his village, about 20km away, in a convoy of 30 cars, a police pilot vehicle and an armed security guard. Right outside Nizampur, he was greeted by a phalanx of press, senior police and administration officers and political leaders cutting across party lines.
Thakur families watched Jatav’s grand procession — featuring police escorts, a DJ cart and breathless villagers dancing around the buggy — perched on their rooftops, exchanging details of the wedding arrangement.
Asked why her family is taking the risk of retribution in a village where Dalits are outnumbered 1:10, the bride, Sheetal Kumari, said: “We want our fair share of rights. India is a free country and the Constitution gives everyone equal rights.”
Despite the successful wedding, the fight for the Dalit families may not have ended as hostilities continue to simmer. “Not one Thakur in the village will attend this wedding,” said Rupender Chauhan, a village resident. “Repercussions will follow, if not in two days then in two years.”
Dalits form around a fifth of Uttar Pradesh’ population and Jatavs are the largest Dalit group, considered a loyal support base of former chief minister Mayawati.
Since independence, Dalits have made great strides in education, employment and social mobility, owing partially to reservations, but the progress has triggered resentment among erstwhile dominant castes in recent years.
This year alone, several incidents of Dalit grooms being beaten up for riding horses and taking out grand processions have been reported from across India, including in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
courtesy : hindustantimes.com
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BJP does not follow democratic norms: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi
Kozhikode(Kerala) (PTI): Congress MP from Wayanad Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who arrived on a two day visit to Kerala after her maiden electoral win, on Saturday attacked the BJP by accusing it of not following usual democratic norms even in political fights.
Priyanka compared the BJP's behaviour with the landslides that hit Wayanad in July, saying just like the natural disaster the saffron party's conduct knows no rules, offers no explanations and follows no democratic norms that are normally adhered to in political fights.
"The political challenges we face (from the BJP) today are like the landslides. There are no rules. There are no explanations."
"The behaviour of the ruling party (at the Centre), the BJP, knows no democratic norms, not even those we normally adhere to in a political fight," she said while speaking at a joint public meeting, with her brother and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, at Mukkam here.
She further contended that institutions were being destroyed leading to the wavering of the people's basic faith in the electoral process and "the institutions that held our country together".
Priyanka assured the people of Wayanad LS constituency that she was in the Parliament for them and it is their voice that she will raise there.
"It is your voice that I will raise, it is your problems that I will try to resolve and it is your beliefs, values and aspirations that I will stand for each and every day from now till the end," she said.
After the joint public meeting at Mukkam in Thiruvambadi assembly constituency here, receptions will be held for her at Karulai in Nilambur, Wandoor, and Edavanna in Eranad during the day, the party said.
The Wayanad constituency comprises seven assembly segments of Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad district; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district; and Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor in Malappuram district.
Priyanka had scored her maiden electoral victory by winning the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll with a huge margin of 4,10,931 votes, which is bigger than the lead her brother Rahul secured when he won from the constituency during the Lok Sabha general elections held early this year.
