Inability to play ‘Dhol’ whole night led to ostracisation of dalits in Chamoli village, cases of atrocities on rise in Uttarakhand

Inability to play ‘Dhol’ whole night led to ostracisation of dalits in Chamoli village, cases of atrocities on rise in Uttarakhand

S.M.A.KAZMI

Dehradun , July 19

Dalits of a village in Chamoli district are being allegedly ostracised by upper caste people for not beating the ‘Dhol’, (drum) the whole night.Interestingly, despite the efforts by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party/RSS combine to portray Uttarakhand as a model Hindu state on the lines of ‘Gujarat model’, the cases of atrocities against dalits and tribals are on the rise in the hill state of Uttarakhand. In the past one week two cases of alleged atrocities against dalits and tribals have been reported and cases registered under relevant sections of  BNS and Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

In a recent case registered by the Chamoli district police, 28 people belonging to upper castes have been booked for allegedly ostracising the entire dalit families of of Subhai-Chachri village in Joshimath block of Chamoli district. The dalits of the village in a complaint to the Joshimath police station charged that the upper caste people of the village were miffed with Pushkar Lal, a Dalit ‘Dhol’ (drum) player for not beating the ‘Dhol’,the whole night during the Baisakhi celebrations of the villagers held in May 2024. Pushkar Lal who played the Dhol for only two hours pleaded that he was unwell so could not play the whole night. But the upper caste people charged him of being drunk and imposed a fine a Rs.5000 on him, which he reportedly paid to the village panchayat on May 3, 2024. According to the police complaint, this did not placate the upper caste people who called for ostracisation of the dalit from ‘Jal, Jungle and Jazeen’resources of the village.

Joshimath kotwali police incharge Rakesh Bhatt said that a case has been registered against  28 people and police investigations are going on. On Wednesday, DSP Parmod Shah, and Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Chander Shekhar Vashisht along with a police team visited the village and talked to both the parties. The officials said that prima facia charges have been found to be true and further action would be taken. Meanwhile, upper caste people refute the allegation of ostracization of dalits but admit that Pushkar Lal, the drum player  was fined for being drunk on a religious festival occasion.

In another incident, Uttarakhand police booked nine people on the charges of garlanding a tribal woman with a garland of shoes in a village in Champawat district of Kumaon region.According to police, the villagers who were unhappy after being affected with recent floods and subsequent relief measures, allegedly garlanded the village sarpanch belonging to Scheduled Tribe community with shoes.

The villagers of Gudmi village under Banbasa police station in Champawat were hit by massive floods recently, where they lost their houses and crops. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected area of Banbasa and order relief measures. Annoyed with the relief measures, angry villagers put a garland of shoes in the neck of  Vinita Rana, the head of the village and insulted her. Vinita Rana filed a complaint with the police. A probe order has been assigned to the circle officer (CO) but action is still awaited. Police have booked nine people, including five women, under sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt),351 (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult), 193 (liability of owner, occupier etc of land on which an unlawful assembly or riot takes place) of Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Uttarakhand saw a rise in crimes committed against members of the Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST) community in the state. In 2019, 100 such cases were registered, the number went up to 115 in 2020 and 135 in 2021 as per police record. Upper caste Rajputs and Brahmins account for more than 60 per cent of the population while Dalits constitute about 19 per cent of the population in the state. Caste discrimination in wedding ceremonies is not uncommon and Dalits are served food separately.

Jagdish Chandra, a Dalit political activist, of Panuadhokhan village was killed at Bhikiasain town of Almora district for marrying an uppercase girl Geeta, in September 2022.

The case of Sunita Devi, a mid-day meal school cook (Bhojan Mata) was sacked from her job following objections by parents of upper caste students in Champawat district. A case was registered on her complaint but the state government claimed that she was removed following discrepancy in her appointment.

These incidents had political repercussions also. The Dalits and Tribals members of the Panchayats have decided to form their own organisation. Jagat Singh Martoliya, a member of the district panchayat, Pithoragarh said that the interests of dalits and tribals are not secure and they need to have their own bodies. He said that a panchayat body of dalits and tribals members of the would be formed soon.