Uneasy calm in Aligarh village post DalitThakur clash, cops up security
Keshopur-Jafri village, 15 km from the district headquarters, is deserted after Wednesday’s thakur-dalit clash, in which 10 people were injured. The 40-odd dalit families in the village, feeling insecure, are mulling over migration and some of them have already left for safer places. On the other hand, the thakurs have also left home fearing police raids. Cops are camping in the village, trying to restore normalcy. Though no new incident has taken place, the atmosphere is tense.
K es hop ur-J a fri, with a population of 5,000, i sat hak ur-dominated village. Only 40 dalit (560 voters) families live here. Only aged women can be seen in dalit homes, as most of the males have shifted to relatives’ places in other villages.
When Hindustan Times team visited the affected village, it found an uneasy silence in the dalit area, with the roads deserted. There were locks on most dalit houses. The dalit women who had stayed back in the village said that if they were not provided security, they would also leave the village.
Dropa, 70, sitting outside the house of Chandrapal Singh Jatav told HT , “Since centuries, we have been subjected to torture by higher castes and even after 67 years of independence we are not safe. Thakurs badly assaulted us and also resorted to firing but the administration and police have not taken any action till date.”
Tarawati, a Jatav whose son Subhash was injured in the clashes, said, “Many people of my caste have decided to quit the village and some have already left. The administration has not made security arrangements for us.”
Rajinder Singh, a PG student said, “Police and administration have taken the caste clash very lightly and no senior district official has visited us . Perhaps Aligarh administration has not taken any lesson from Shareefpur (Saharanpur) caste clashes”.
Dalit Ram Kishore said, “Though the BJP always shows its love for dalits, not a single BJP MP or MLA visited our village.”
However, gram pradhan Munni Devi said the panchayat would sort out the matter. “The clashes occurred over a simple drain. The drain was being dug on panchayat land and we will solve the problem . Now efforts will be made for harmony and brotherhood in the village.”