Dalit groom, a cop, gets threats from Gurjars for bindori on mare
DEFYING TRADITION Bride wanted procession on female horse through village
: A Dalit groom, who is a police constable, is receiving threats from the Gurjar community after he took out his ‘bindori’ (pre-wedding procession) on a mare through Sangaoda village in Rajasthan’s Bundi district, a first in 70 years.
Police force was deployed at Sangaoda, 10 km from Bundi, for the safety of the groom and his family members who were preparing for the wedding due on Friday evening.
The entire scheduled caste community came together to ensure that the constable, Banwari Lal Meghwal, would take out his bindori through the village, said Ramraj Meghwal, ditrict president of the Balai Samaj Sewa Sansthan.
For the Dalits it became an issue of self-respect that even so long after independence and being given equal rights in the constitution, “our community is discriminated against” by upper castes. “Since independence, this was the first bindori taken out on a mare by a Dalit bridegroom in the village,” said Babulal Verma, president of the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Kalyan Samiti, Bundi.
Defying tradition and upper caste opposition, Banwari Lal, 25, took out his bindori on Thursday evening and since then he and his family are living in fear.
Banwari Lal, the first from his village to get a government job, said he and his relatives and friends are receiving threats from the Gurjars. “No Dalit in my village had taken out a Bindori on a mare. I thought I should break that tradition. I got help from the administration too. ”
Banwari Lal fears that the upper castes might try to harm him or his family after the security is removed. “I request senior police officials to set up a police outpost in my village as the Dalits are unsafe here,” he said. His bride-to-be is Pooja Meghwal from a nearby village, who is doing her graduation.
Verma said she too called up Banwari Lal and told him that if he did not take out the bindori on the mare through the village, she would cancel the wedding.
Sangaoda is populated by Gurjars and SCs, such as Meghwals, Kumhars and Kahars. Gurjars are in a majority.
Banwari Lal said he had given an application to the police on May 1 seeking security for his bindori through the village.
Verma said during the bindori, some police officials asked Banwari Lal to not pass in front of the Devnarayan temple where Gurjars pray. “We protested and then the senior administration officials came and assured us that we could take out the bindori through the entire village.”
Sadar police station SHO Anil Kumar Joshi said there was no opposition from the Gurjars and the bindori had passed peacefully. He said no complaints had been filed against any Gurjar.
Kishan Lal Gurjar of the village said Gurjars had not opposed the bindori. “Banwari Lal sought protection after which the administration held meetings with all communities in which we said that we have no opposition,” said Gurjar who runs a dairy booth in Bundi.
The Jaipur Discom has restored electricity supply in all the villages in Alwar district while power was yet to be restored in 180 villages in Bharatpur district and nine in Dholpur district.
The power supply was disrupted on May 2 after winds over 100 kmph wreaked havoc in Bharatpur, Alwar, and Dholpur districts leaving behind a trail of destruction, uprooting hundreds of trees and electricity poles. At least 36 people died in Rajasthan.
Major damage was reported from Alwar and Bharatpur districts where trees fell and power cables snapped, plunging many localities and hundreds of villages into darkness. “Power has been restored in 2,885 villages of Alwar,” Jaipur discom managing director R G Gupta said. HTC
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