BARIPADA: Caste discrimination runs so deep in the society that it does not even spare the dead. In a shocking display of the deeply entrenched prejudice, villagers of Kuchei panchayat within Kuliana police limits in the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district forced a man to wait for two days to cremate his 23-year-old wife’s body due to their opposition to his inter-caste love marriage.
The incident took place in Joseph Sahi of Kuchei. Kendra Soren’s wife Parbati succumbed to jaundice on Wednesday night. But his family was not allowed to cremate her as Kendra had opted for inter-caste marriage four years back.
Kendra had married Parbati of nearby Palashmundali in face of stiff opposition from locals of both the villages. While Kendra belonged to Santal tribe, Parbati hailed form Kullha community.After their marriage, villagers set up a Kangaroo court and demanded a goat, two pots of handia, three hens, money and 15 kg of rice as per the tradition to accept the duo to their community. Since Kendra was a daily wager and his father Sunaram was a physically disabled, he was unable to meet the demand.
A few days back, Parbati was affected with jaundice and admitted to PRM MCH at Baripada. However, Kendra brought her back to the village as he was unable to afford the treatment and medicine costs. After Parbati breathed her last, the villagers refused to extend any help to the family for her cremation. “As per the tradition of the Santal community, Kendra was asked to fulfil the demand of the Kangaroo court before taking his wife to the cremation ground,” said Ruhia Murmu, a neighbour.
On being informed about the incident, Additional SP Abhimanyu Nayak and a team of Kuliana police rushed to the village. Police with the help of some locals and family members brought Parbati’s body to the MCH for autopsy and later cremated it at Madhuban Barunei funeral ground.“If the district police would not have intervened, I had decided to carry my wife’s body and cremate it in the village graveyard,” said Kendra who has two kids.
The Additional SP said an unnatural death case has been registered and further investigation into the matter is on.Notably on Tuesday, a 60-year-old man was buried and his effigy cremated to follow two religious customs in Kadakusumi village within Suliapada police limits in the district. The son of the deceased, Dana Marandi, was forced to cremate the latter’s effigy as per Hindu tradition even after he had buried it as per Christian funeral customs.