GADAG: Even as the country is celebrating ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, an incident of untouchability has been reported from Shyagoti village, 13 km from Gadag town, on Tuesday.
The incident took place when a bridegroom, Sharanu Madar, a farmer and his family members were on their way to a temple to perform a pre-marriage ritual called Devara Karya. To their shock, they saw that all shops along the way and the Dyamavva Temple were they were going to perform the ritual were shut. The family has alleged that the shops and the temple were forced to shut down on the orders of some people belonging to upper caste, who threatened to collect a fine of Rs 2,500 if people from lower castes were entertained.
The untouchability issue was brought to the notice of Gadag’s deputy commissioner during a programme on January 21 following which he directed the tahsildar to visit the village and resolve the matter. However, as no effective measures were taken, the issue resurfaced and police had to be deployed.
When Sharanu’s family members enquired why the temple was closed, they were told that it was shut since early morning. The victim’s family, however, lodged a complaint with the tahsildar. According to them, the temple was open in the morning and was closed by the authorities concerned only after the news of Sharanu’s family members and relatives heading to the temple, spread.
Sharanu said, “All shops are closed whenever there is any event in our family. The shop owners shut their shops out of fear to pay the fine. This situation is prevalent in many villages. Though the shop owners don’t disclose the reason openly, they even refuse to give us the product we ask for by saying that it is unavailable. The tahsildar and authorities concerned have convened peace meetings at a temple in the past. The upper caste people agree to abide by the rules in the meeting but go back to their old ways later.” The villagers say that this practice is not new and is secretly being followed for decades.
Gadag tahsildar Kishan Kalal said, “We have deployed police personnel in the village and formed a team of officials to create awareness about social equality. No untoward incident happened on Tuesday. We are thinking of bringing in stricter rules to eradicate this practice”.