Even as the boycott of Dalit by upper caste people in Lhor village of Mehsana district ended Yesterday, another disturbing news has trickled in from neighbouring Sabarkantha district of north Gujarat.
A Dalit policeman in Sitwada village of Prantij taluka could ride a horse during his wedding procession only after around 150 of his uniformed colleagues made a security ring around him and his family members and invitees.
The Dalits of Lhor village in Kadi taluka of Mehsana had faced boycott by upper castes for the last two days as a groom from the community rode a horse during his own wedding procession on Tuesday. But, being a police constable himself did not help Sitwada’s Sanjay Rathod to ride a horse during his wedding procession due to a stern warning from the upper caste people of the village.
So panicky the Dalit cop’s relatives felt that an ordinary disruption of electric supply was misconstrued as the handiwork of the village upper castes wanting to disrupt the wedding.
Finally, the Dalit cop could ride the horse for his wedding journey with security cover thrown by around 150 policemen, including officers and an executive magistrate.
The policemen camped in the village till the time all wedding rituals were over. Meanwhile, reports from Lhor village in Mehsana said that the upper caste villagers opened their shops on Saturday morning and started selling groceries to the Dalit families.
One reason for ending the boycott was also that they were losing business from the forty-odd families.