Omar Rashid 
New Delhi: A Dalit man in Bulandshahr was forced off his horse during his wedding procession by dominant caste Thakur men who also allegedly assaulted the baraatis (those attending the wedding procession) on February 20. A day later, the wedding of two Dalit sisters in Mathura was disrupted and later called off after a group of Yadav (a backward caste community) allegedly assaulted the baraatis following a minor accident between one of their bikes and the car in which the two brides were travelling.
The news of the two incidents from western Uttar Pradesh prompted Member of Parliament Chandra Shekhar Aazad to describe them as “planned terror against Dalits” in the state, while Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav suggested that only a unity of the backward castes, Dalits and minorities would bring about a change against such attacks. Referring to the Mathura incident, Aazad said, it “shows that casteist forces even today have the mentality of humiliating the Dalit community and crushing their constitutional rights.”
Casteist abuses, a ‘horse-riding’ clause
In Bulandshahr, a case was registered against 29 persons and 8-10 unidentified others, after members of the Thakur community on February 20 objected to a Dalit bridegroom riding a horse through their locality in Dhamrwali village and attacked the procession. According to the FIR lodged in the case by Surendra Singh, his son Arun Bharti’s wedding procession was passing by the house of the village head’s husband Kripal Singh at around 7 pm, when a group of men, already assembled there, attacked the procession with sticks and sharp objects. They also threatened the Dalits and hurled casteist abuses at them, said Singh in his complaint, a copy of which is with The Wire.
Six persons, including two women, received serious injuries in the assault, said Singh.
The Jatav villager said that a similar incident took place in the village at the same location on February 16 during the wedding procession and ‘gudchadi’, or horse riding ceremony, of a Dalit man Bhagwat Singh. It was around 8 pm when the procession was passing by Kripla Singh’s house when four Thakur men, Sachin, Nitin, Pradeep and Deepu, abused those in attendance with casteist slurs and told them that they would not allow them to pass through their locality, said Singh. The Thakur men stopped the horse-riding and forced the procession to go back, said Singh, adding that they threatened the Dalits that they would have to pay a cost if they attempted to ride a horse in their locality again.
An FIR was lodged regarding the February 20 incident under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, including assault without provocation, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace. Relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were also slapped against the accused persons.
Also read: Dalit Groom to Break Age-Old Practice in UP Village, Ride a Horse on His Wedding Day
Circle Officer (City), Bulandshahr, Rijul Kumar said there was a dispute between the two sides over the movement of the procession and playing DJ music during the ceremony. The officer said five persons had been arrested.
Jewellery stolen, casteist abuses hurled
In Mathura, police arrested six persons for assaulting two brides, both sisters, and their relatives on February 21. The FIR was lodged against 15 persons and included the charge of attempt to murder. Padam Singh, the father of the two girls, Manisha and Rani, said that around 9:30 pm, his daughters were returning home after getting ready at a beauty parlour in a car driven by their maternal aunt’s husband. Their car allegedly had a minor accident with a bike. The accused persons allegedly stopped the car and pulled out the brides and their uncle and aunt from the vehicle. They took away a chain worn by their uncle and their wedding rings as well, alleged Padam Singh.
They also used casteist slurs against them, added Singh. He also alleged that one of the accused men, Satish, drove a tractor and crushed two cars outside their house and attacked his brother-in-law with the intent of killing him.
Police on February 24 said they recovered a gold ring, an iron rod and a stick from the six accused persons who were arrested.
Arvind Kumar, SP City, Mathura, said that four persons had been arrested in the case. An altercation had broken out after the car carrying the brides collided with the bike of the accused persons, he said.
Commenting on the Bulandshahr incident, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said that “prabutvadi soch” or (dominant caste thinking), “hurts the PDA.” “Now this pain cannot be tolerated any more, only the unity of the PDA will bring about change,” said Yadav.
Nagina MP Aazad demanded that all the accused in the Mathura case be arrested immediately. “This is not just a case of assault, but it is a caste-based atrocity, hence punishment should be given under stringent laws,” he said.
“The attack on Dalit brides, their aunts, family members and baraatis in the Refinery police station area of Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh is not an ordinary incident but a disgusting example of well-planned caste terror and social oppression,” said Aazad.