A young Dalit man in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, was brutally bludgeoned to death last Thursday, allegedly by members of the upper caste. Reason? They were enraged at him for riding a horse. As shocking as it is to comprehend, Pradeep Rathod, 21, was beaten to death by a group of people from the Darbar community in Timbi village. He had reportedly been receiving threats from the local Darbar men ever since he began horse riding about a fortnight ago. However, Pradeep took the threats and continued to ride the horse in the village.
Last week, when his horse returned without him, his family got suspicious. His father, Kalu Rathod, who lodged a complaint at Umrala police station said, “On searching, I found his body lying in a pool of blood near the farm; his head was badly smashed.” While he remains certain that horse riding was the main reason he lost his young son, authorities are investigating different angles. Umrala police arrested three main accused after the family refused to cremate the deceased until the arrests were made. Several human rights activists helped build pressure on the authorities.
Natubha Darbar and his friends are accused of threatening the family when they bought the Rs 30,000 worth horse. As case of murder has been registered against the three. “My son's love for horses led to his murder. About a week ago, when I was riding the horse with my son, one of the persons from the upper caste Kshatriya community warned us not to ride the horse in the village. He said that people of Dalit community cannot ride horses, only Kshatriyas can ride horses. He also threatened to kill us if we did not sell the horse,” the complaint read.
Bottom of India's deeply entrenched social heirarchy system, the Dalit community still endures disturbing discrimination in all parts of the country. Rural parts of Gujarat still to this day, boast a feudal mindset, especially Saurashtra, where upper castes do not take too kindly to those of the lower sections. The news came merely days after the government of India decided to file a review against the Supreme Court judgment diluting provisions of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. News of the unfortunate incident spread like wildfire, and national parties jumped in to give their two pennies' worth. The Congress Twitter handle shared the news saying, “The BJP must hang its head in shame. Is this the "Gujarat Model" it boasts of?”
Even the Chief Minister of Karnataka took a dig at BJP President Amit Shah. He tweeted, “Shocking inhumanity towards Dalits in Gujarat! Yet, a certain Gujarati gentleman comes here with a bag full of #Jumlas & promises heaven to Dalits. If they question him, they are branded as Cong goons. Kannadigas will not make the mistake of trusting this.” With the Opposition using a youth's death to their benefit, a twist in the story suggested the death was not related to the victim's caste.
Bhavnagar police said primary investigation revealed ownership of horse wasn't the only reason of Pradeep's death. Issues related to eve-teasing and several complaints about objectionable behaviour of the boy came to fore. According to police, villagers had complaint that Rathod often used to perform stunts on the horse and his motorcycle after seeing girls passing from the streets of the village. Some even said that when confronted over such behaviour, he used to fight with them.
There is never a good reason for murder. Masses in India are known to take law on their own hands. For whatever reason the youth was murdered, it comes as a tragedy that no one is addressing the real issue. Statistically, 180 million Dalits reside in India. Crimes against the socially repressed community has seen a 66 per cent growth in the last decade. It is said that a crime is committed against a Dalit every 15 minutes, and approximately six Dalit women are raped every day. With the Opposition milking in on such incidents, and driving constant propaganda to further caste divide, focus is taken away from the fact that people are dying each day.
