Dressed in a white sherwani and holding the handle of a sheathed brand hanging down his right side, 27- time-old Shriram Meghwal flashes a wide grin, as the mare he’s perched on trots towards his marriage venue in Chadi vill of Rajasthan’s Bundi quarter.
Meghwal is adjoined by a group of bobbies in khaki — some of them holding lathis — as the procession goes once slipup houses and open rainspouts, circling the vill. Other police help are posted each around the venue keeping a keen eye on onlookers In between Bollywood chartbusters, the DJ lets out loud, melodious rendition of the watchword‘Jai Bhim’. Women cotillion and children crack as the music blares out amidst flashing lights I’m the first Dalit bachelor to ride a mare through these roads. This will change the intelligence that Dalit neeche hain, toh neeche hi rehne do (Dalits are crushed, let them remain crushed). This is one step towards equivalency,” Meghwal, a contractual hand with a gram panchayat, says.
The marriage of Meghwal and his bridegroom Dropadi on Monday was the first form held under an action of the Bundi police and quarter administration, named‘Operation Samanta (Operation Equality)’, to break taboos executed on Dalits, similar as not letting Scheduled Caste consorts ride a steed ( substantially a womanish) to their marriage form With order rooted in the state with its long feudal history, Rajasthan constantly sees attacks on Dalit marriage processions over issues similar as the bachelor riding a steed — seen by the upper gentries as an act of assertion and defiance.
. Lately, the Rajasthan Police revealed that in the once 10 times, they had registered 76 cases over Dalit consorts being stopped from riding a steed Bundi SP Jai Yadav told The Indian Express “ We surveyed Bundi quarter and linked around 30 similar townlets where Dalits have noway got onto a steed as part of marriage solemnities. In some places, people expostulated. We started‘Operation Samanta’and constituted Samanta committes in these townlets with the sarpanch, police, gram rakshak and police mitras being members These panels meet Dalit families to make them apprehensive of theirrights.However, we take strict action against them,” said Yadav, “ If we find there are people who can produce problems for Dalit families who want to use a steed at a marriage. The SP said that in Chadi, they entered a positive response from people of all communities Thanking the administration for its support, Babulal Meghwal, the father of the bridegroom, said “ Before, because of fear, Dalit consorts would not ride a steed. But my son-in- law has changed this.”
Police officers said around 60 help from three different police stations were stationed for the marriage. After completing a full circle of the vill as part of the marriage procession, Meghwal headed to the stage, where a large print of B R Ambedkar formed the background. Doing a high-five with his musketeers who stood in front of the stage, he said “ Now, there will be more consorts from the Dalit community who’ll ride a steed to their marriage procession. Our society is changing.”
