SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Aug 23: A Dalit family has allegedly been ostracized for a love marriage with the daughter of the village chief (Mukhiya) in Darida panchayat under Barora police station, around 30 km from here.
The married couple has fled the village to save themselves from the wrath of the villagers. Boy Karan Kalindi belongs to a Dalit family while the girl is the daughter of the Mukhiya (tribal).
The villagers have allegedly stopped the boy’s family from taking drinking water from the public water tank, bathing in a pond. Even shopkeepers of the village have also stopped giving the family food materials under social exclusion.
It all started on Thursday when the boy and the girl claiming to be married reached the Dhanbad Mahila police station and sought protection from their family members. The police called both the families at the Dhanbad Mahila police station and advised them to compromise. The boy’s father Mahendra Kalindi and the girl’s mother Parwati Devi ( Mukhiya of Darida Panchayat) accepted the marriage.
But as the boy’s father returned to the village, villagers began to boycott him socially. Finally, on Sunday he lodged a written complaint against half a dozen villagers for his ostracism and denial of taking drinking water and bathing in a public pond.
Boy’s mother Sumitra Devi alleged that some tough villagers come daily to her house and threaten dire consequences if they allow the entry of boy and girl in the house.
Barora police station officer-in-charge Nandu Pal admitted that he had received a complaint from Mahendra Kalindi about social exclusion by villagers. “The case is being investigated and legal action would be taken duly if the complaint is found true as no one can be denied fundamental rights,” he said.
The Mukhiya of the village (mother of the girl) also refuted the ostracism of the Mahendra Kalindi family. “I have broken my relationship with my daughter. So, I have nothing to do with her. We live in a society and can’t stop any person from taking drinking water and bathing in the pond. But everyone has the right to say what is wrong and what is right,” she said.
The boy’s family members claimed both got married last year in July. Both were studying in the same school and later the girl went away to Hazaribag for higher education.
