Dressed in a white sherwani and holding the handle of a sheathed sword hanging down his right side, 27-year-old Shriram Meghwal flashes a wide grin, as the mare he is perched on trots towards his wedding venue in Chadi village of Rajasthan’s Bundi district.

Meghwal was flanked by a group of khaki-clad police officers — some of them carrying lathes — in a procession that circled the village past brick houses and open gutters. Other police officers were stationed around the venue, keeping an eye on bystanders.

Between Bollywood blockbusters, the DJ recites the slogan “Jai Bhim” aloud. Women danced and children applauded as music played in the twinkling lights.
“I am the first Dalit groom to ride a mare across these roads. This will change the mentality of Dalit neeche hain, toh neeche hi rehne do (Dalits are oppressed, let them continue to be oppressed). This is A step towards equality,” said Meghwal, a contract worker at gram panchayat.

The wedding of Meghwal and his bride Dropadi on Monday was the first to be held under an initiative called “Operation Samanta (Operation Equality)” launched by the Bundi police and district government to break the taboo imposed on Dalits, For example, grooms of a predetermined caste (mainly females) are not allowed to attend their weddings on horseback.

As the caste system is deeply entrenched in the state’s long feudal history, Rajasthan regularly sees attacks on Dalit wedding processions over issues such as grooms riding horses – an act of advocacy and resistance in the eyes of the upper castes .
Recently, Rajasthan police revealed that they have registered 76 cases of Dalit grooms being stopped from riding horses in the past 10 years.

Bundi SP Jai Yadav told The Indian Express: “We did a survey of the Bundi district and found around 30 such villages where Dalits never rode horses as part of their wedding ceremony. In some places, people objected . We started ‘Operation Samanta’ and established Samanta committees in these villages with sarpanch, police, gram rakshak and police mitra.”

These committees meet Dalit families to let them know about their rights. “If we find out that someone is causing problems for Dalit families who want to use their horses in their weddings, we will take stern measures against them,” said Yadav, who attended Meghwal’s wedding with regional collectors on Monday.
In Chadi, they have had a positive response from people in various communities, SP said.
Thanks to the government’s support, Babulal Meghwal , the bride’s father, said: “Earlier, Dalit grooms would not ride horses due to fear. But my son-in-law changed that.”

About 60 officers from three different police stations were dispatched to the wedding, police officials said.

Complete News Source : The Indian Express