On April 29, Pooja Meghwal’s bindoli procession in Udaipur was waylaid by some men and women, who allegedly objected to her riding a mare ‘despite’ being a Dalit, and for taking the procession outside their house, eventually pulling her down from the mare.
The assault left several persons injured and led to an FIR. However, the lasting image was yet to come; eight days later, a symbolic bindoli saw Pooja riding a white mare, a turquoise blue poshak flowing around her, a red and golden umbrella above her, and, most importantly, a photo of Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule gently resting between her hands.
Surrounding Pooja on her journey from Udaipur’s Town Hall to Collectorate was a sea of people, including her family members, most of them wearing shades of white on their torso, a blue scarf around their necks, and a blue flag or a blue placard in their hands. While the flags had photos of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, the placards had slogans on rights of the marginalised communities, including Dalits, and ‘Jai Bhim’ written on them.
“We wanted to show that we are also humans, that we are also residents of Bharat just like you. It is almost 80 years since Independence yet some people’s mentality regarding untouchability is still there,” Pooja’s father Bhairulal Meghwal told The Indian Express. The May 7 procession was led by Bhim Army which was joined by some other caste organisations.
“The upper castes here don’t want us to sit on a mare, just because we are Dalits. It keeps happening with Dalits in the Mewar region. So, we submitted a memorandum to the administration,” Meghwal said.
Roshan Meghwal, the senior vice president of Bhim Army, Udaipur, and a key figure in the Pooja’s symbolic march, said that it was the effort of figures like Savitribai Phule due to which “women now have equal rights in every sector. Then why are women still being stopped from riding a mare?”
“We wanted to tell the government and the country that when it comes to honour and respect, there is no need to hesitate or be scared. The country is celebrating ‘Amrit Kaal’ but Dalits are being stopped and pulled down from riding a mare. This a democratic country and everyone has an equal right to live,” he said.
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Meghwal said that such cases keep happening in the region, “There was a case in Chittorgarh just a couple of days ago. In Tadawara, Rajsamand, three bindolis had to be taken out under police protection last year. We want the government to eradicate this casteist mindset.”
As per the FIR lodged by the Pooja’s father Bhairulal, her bindoli procession was passing through the main road of Dhira Talai in Hariyav, under Dabok police station limits, when the procession was waylaid on April 29.
He alleged that casteist abuses were hurled at the procession, threatening them to remove the procession from outside their house “else there will be bloodshed.”
“A fight broke out. The DJ was stopped and the bride was pulled down from the horse and the guests were also pelted with stones. The women and children of the (other) family too threw stones and the procession was attacked with sticks, rods and swords,” Mehgwal alleged.
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He said that in the ensuing chaos, mangalsutra of at least two women was snatched away, apart from people losing their other valuables, including jewelry and watches, and several of them sustaining injuries.
The FIR was lodged under BNS sections for voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, unlawful assembly, as well as several sections of the SC ST Act. It was lodged against siblings Laxman Singh, Madhu Singh, Kishan Singh, Udai Singh, and Arjun Singh, as well as Takhat Singh, Fateh Singh, Vikram Singh and Manju Kunwar.
At the end of the symbolic bindoli, the memorandum by Bhim Army said, “only four persons have been arrested so far.” They also claimed that since Takht Singh attacked with a sword, sections of the Arms Act should also be added to the FIR, while mentioning the names of several other men and women who were allegedly involved in the attack but have not been named in the FIR.
Demanding an impartial investigation, they said, “In all districts of Rajasthan, the Scheduled Castes, especially the Meghwal community, face discrimination on a daily basis, including prohibition from collecting drinking water, barbers not cutting their hair, prohibitions on their entry in temples and public places, and discrimination even at the time of cremation after their death. All this should be stopped and strict enforcement of the law should be ensured.”
