Chandigarh: A shocking incident has come to light in Himachal Pradesh, where a 12-year-old boy from the Dalit community lost his life due to alleged caste-based discrimination.

While the police are now probing the matter as a caste crime and the Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Caste Commission (HPSCC) too has taken cognisance of the matter, this case lays bare deep-rooted social prejudice and systemic loopholes in a state where caste atrocities often go unnoticed.

The incident happened on September 16 and it took more than two weeks for the official machinery and media to take cognizance of the matter, underlining the neglect of such crimes.

According to the details of the case shared with The Wire by Kuldip Dhiman, chairman of the HPSCC, the victim was a Class 6 student from the Koli Dalit community in Limbda village of Rohru subdivision, Shimla.

On September 16, the boy had gone to purchase grocery items from a shop run by Pushpa Devi, who belongs to the upper-caste Rajput community.

Since no one was present at the shop counter, the boy stepped inside the adjoining house in search of someone who could assist him.

This simple act allegedly triggered Pushpa Devi, who, along with others, reprimanded the child, accusing him of “polluting” her house.

Pushpa Devi then locked up the boy in a cowshed near her house and threatened that he would not be freed till his parents brought a goat as sacrifice to “purify” her home.

Dhiman further told The Wire that the child somehow managed to escape after breaking an iron mesh in the cowshed and ran to his mother.

By the time child’s mother went to summon her relatives for help, the boy allegedly consumed a poisonous substance and died by suicide, Dhiman added.

“He was scared and worried how his poor parents would arrange a goat. There was no other reason for him to take his life. He was a sensitive child,” the boy’s mother the Indian Express,  

Glaring systemic loopholes

Hearing the delegation of local villagers on October 1 in Shimla, HPSCC directed police authorities to provide proper security arrangements for the boy's family in Rohru village and assured them of full justice in this case. But the case has exposed glaring systemic loopholes

Dhiman said that the local police failed to invoke stringent provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the initial FIR registered on September 20, three days after the boy's death.

Instead, the case first registered against Pushpa Devi was only under sections related to abetment to suicide, diluting the gravity of the crime.

As per media reports, by the time the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was slapped against the accused, she had obtained an interim bail from the Himachal Pradesh high court.

Underlining the lack of proper police response in the cases, Dhiman told the Wire that he had personally spoken to Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, urging immediate legal action to cancel the bail of the accused.

The chief minister, he said, had assured full cooperation, following which necessary directions were issued to the police to expedite the investigation and take swift action.

Expressing anguish over the incident, Dhiman remarked, “We have entered the 21st century. Himachal is home to gods and goddesses. Such cases are very shameful for us. If we take these matters lightly, nothing will change on the ground.”

Untouchability still hard reality in the state: NGOs

Speaking to The Wire, Kuldip Verma, convenor of Himachal Pradesh-based People's Action for People in Need (PAPN), an NGO working on the issue of caste discrimination in Sirmaur district, said that while caste conflicts and untouchability are widely documented in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, not many realise that the practice is equally entrenched in Himachal.

He said that such discrimination remains rampant in rural belts, particularly in Shimla, Kullu, Mandi and Sirmaur districts. “Even today, several upper-caste households do not allow Dalits to enter their homes, considering it inauspicious,” he added

He said there were several reasons why such incidents went unnoticed in hilly states like Himachal.

First, like Khap panchayats in Haryana, Himachal has a local judicial system called Khumli in their villages. It consists of upper caste members (mainly Brahman and Rajput) of the village. There is no representation of Dalit community or women in this system.

According to Verma, the Khumli frequently intervenes in disputes, including crimes against Dalits, and settles them within the village setup often through meagre punishments.

This parallel system, he says, not just silences victims but also reinforces caste hierarchies, ensuring that atrocities seldom come to light or face proper legal scrutiny.

Secondly, Verma adds, mobilisation of people is very difficult in hilly states like Himachal. Lack of education among the Dalit community and intentional ignorance by the police and other state bodies also aggravates the condition of Dalits in obtaining timely justice.

The poor economic condition of the community due to massive disparity in land holding among Dalit and non-Dalits is also a major hurdle, he added.

Sukhdev Vishwapremi, convener of People’s Campaign for Socio-Economic Equity based in Palampur, told the Wire that widespread untouchability in Himachal Pradesh can no longer be ignored and it is high time that it ended.

The state government must declare caste-based atrocity-prone areas and start a public campaign with the help of panchayats to eradicate them, he added

According to Vishwapremi, untouchability is not merely a social problem, it is a criminal practice. Referring to the Rohru incident, he said that the death of the child is not a suicide but systemic murder. “The structures that promote untouchability and caste violence are as much responsible as the individual accused,” he added

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