When the upper-caste residents heard this, they called a panchayat (village council) meeting which ordered him to proceed by foot instead.
REWADI/KUND: All Lekhraj wants is to ride a horse to his wedding as per centuries-old tradition and in the manner of grooms everywhere. But Lekhraj, a Dalit, is disallowed from doing so by the upper-caste residents of his village, Vijaynagar, on the border of Rajasthan.
The 21st century may have dawned, but such is the feudal custom in this village: the upper caste considers equestrian riding its own custom and Dalits following it, an insult.
Some Dalits have rebelled: Lekhraj himself insisted that he should ride a horse to his Nikasi (a prayer before marriage).
When the upper-caste residents heard this, they called a panchayat (village council) meeting which ordered him to proceed by foot instead. But persecution on a more serious scale has also occurred in the form of violence against Dalits who have disobeyed the upper-caste prohibition of horse-processions. In the Khundaroth village, one Hoshiar Singh who rode to his Nikasi was stoned-- despite the presence of police. After Hoshiar Singh's marriage, the upper-caste Thakurs of the village denied access of their wells to Dalits. This prohibition lasted a year, by which time the village consensus ended it.
The Thakurs gradually stopped opposing the Dalits' horse processions, and seven Dalit grooms rode to their marriages in the next three years.
In Vijayanagar, though, things haven't changed. The upper-caste residents interviewed by DNA said that discrimination against Dalits was their prerogative, which could not be challenged. Vijayanagar's administration, however, said that it protected the rights of its Dalit citizens. The village sarpanch (administrative head) said that Dalits' complaints would be promptly addressed.
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