The government is talking about equal rights for all but the fact is that when it comes to Dalits, they back off. In Ravol village of Sabarkantha district, there was a dispute between Dalits and Savarna, where the Dalit groom was not allowed to ride the horse. The controversy was such that the upper castes boycotted the Dalits. Due to this, Dalits today are unable to purchase food and groceries from the village shops. Besides, the people from this community cannot get a ride to travel outside of the village in order to look for work. While the police are just talking about reconciliation.
Some people from the Dalit community set out on May 19 set to protest but were stoned badly. Seven people from the village were arrested following a police complaint from Dalits. Talking about the stoning incident, a short distance from Himmatnagar, Nitin Parmar said, “My nephew’s wedding was on May 19. He is my brother Rohit’s son. When the horse left the Ramdevji temple, the Savarnas threw stones at him, telling him not to ride on the horse.”
Following this, Rohit was arrested seven times on a police complaint and was later released on bail. “They have been hostile to us ever since,” Parmar says. The legal proceedings were underway when Parmar’s stable was set ablaze. He suffered a loss of manure worth Rs10,000. “When we went to talk to a Thakor, man who set fire to the stables, he threatened to kill. He said he was a retired Army man and had a gun. He accused me of harassing the villagers by filing a police case and said that he would kill me.”
Parmar further explained his plight, “When I informed my advocate about the threat, he told me to lodge a police complaint. I lodged a complaint at Jadar police station. But the police did not register my complaint and made such a settlement in my village. The villagers boycotted us from the second day of the settlement. No one allows us to buy groceries or vegetables in the village. No one gives us a ride in a rickshaw or cart so that we can travel out of the village. If any member of our society falls ill in the village, no vehicle is rented for him to go to the hospital or dispensary. There are 200 Dalit houses in the village with a population of 900.”
The chairman of the village justice committee said that the social justice committee had made representations to the DYSP regarding the boycott of Dalits. After that, the police came to the village and listened to both the parties. At that time, it was assured that Dalits would not be boycotted, but this is still happening. In this regard, Jadar police station officials said that there was no boycott of Dalits in the village, there was a dispute between the two parties and it has been resolved.
