In yet another case of discrimination and atrocity perpetrated against the Dalits, a Dalit man from Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh was forced to spit and lick his saliva off the floor in public as a punishment after his son married a Muslim girl. ANI quoted the victim as saying, “During a Panchayat meeting, I was asked to spit and lick my own spit because my son married a Muslim woman. Panchayat also asked me to leave the village.” The father of the boy, 44-year-old Shri Krishna further added, “They said that my wife and daughter should be paraded naked.” He was also asked to leave the village.
#Bulandshahr: Dalit man says, "During a Panchayat meeting I was asked to spit &lick my own spit because my son married a Muslim girl. Panchayat also asked me to leave the village. They said that my wife & daughter should be paraded naked. I have filed a complained with police."
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) July 1, 2018
The appalling aspect of this is the silence of Dalit activists and crusaders of Dalit-Muslim unity. Meanwhile, SP Dehat Bulandshahr said, “We have received complaint from a Dalit man who said that he was made to spit and lick his own spit during a panchayat meeting as his son had married a Muslim girl. We will take strict action against those responsible.”
SP Dehat Bulandshahr says, "We have received complaint from a dalit man who said that he was made to spit and lick his own spit during a panchayat meeting as his son had married a Muslim girl. We will take strict action against those responsible." #Bulandshahr (28.06.18) pic.twitter.com/PiSrxiCAXd
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) July 1, 2018
On 6th June, 21 year-old son of Shri Krishna, Shivkumar, fled with the resident of his village Razia (18), after which the family of girl approached to the police. On 19th June, father of the boy managed to locate them in Delhi and brought them to the village.
The father of the boy told the police, “The girl was produced before the court where she insisted that she went with Shivkumar of her own will and wanted to be with him.” On the very same day, the boy and the girl registered their marriage in the court. Concerned about the security of the newly married couple, he asked the couple to leave the village immediately and they complied. He further added, “Here, a man cannot marry a girl from the same village. She was also from a different religion. I told my son to leave the village, else someone would kill him”, according to The Hindu.
On 26th June, brother of Shri Krishna received a call telling him that the girl’s family wants to settle the issue. For that, the caller asked him to bring the boy’s father before the panchayat. When Shri Krishna along with his two brothers reached to the spot, he came to know that no panchayat had been called and they were tricked to go there. There were about 100 people and they subjected him to all sorts of humiliation and abuses. He had been beaten, made to sit on the floor and forced to lick his own spit. The victim was also asked to leave the village with his family. When he refused to do so, he was badly thrashed.
Shri Krishna has now left the village and is living near the police station. He is scared that if he goes back, he will be killed. A case has been registered against the culprits under the relevant section of IPC and SC/ST act. It’s really unfortunate that such horrific incidents still take place in our society, time and again. Such cases of intolerance have happened earlier also. In Karnataka, a 21-year-old pregnant Muslim girl was burnt alive by her family members for marrying a Dalit man. Caste discrimination is a reality which is rampant not just in Hindu religion but also among the people of other different faiths.