A man from Piparia Puaría village in the district has alleged that he and his family are facing social boycott and discrimination after he ate at the home of a Dalit family during a post-death ritual. RSS worker Bharat Raj Dhakad raised the issue during a public hearing before District Collector Arun Kumar Vishwakarma, saying that he and his two companions, Manoj Patel and teacher Satyendra Raghuvanshi, had eaten at the home of Santosh Parole. After a video of the meal went viral, some villagers began protesting.
Dhakad said that the village panchayat, led by sarpanch Bhagwan Singh Patel and involving several influential villagers, issued an order declaring that eating at a Valmiki family’s home was a sin. According to him, the panchayat demanded that the three men undergo “purification”, which included taking a dip in the Ganga and organising a community feast to apologise for what they called an offence.
Dhakad said that Manoj Patel and Satyendra Raghuvanshi carried out the ritual under pressure, but he refused, calling the practice unconstitutional and unacceptable. “I am an RSS worker and I do not believe in untouchability,” he said. He explained that the incident took place last month when he and others ate at the condolence meal at Santosh’s home, and that Satyendra Raghuvanshi had recorded the video that later went viral.
Since then, Dhakad says his entire family has been facing social boycott. He claims his father, Niranjan Singh, is no longer invited to village functions, people avoid speaking to them, and they face humiliation every day. Dhakad said he had earlier approached the SDM and the police, but no action was taken. He has now submitted a fresh application asking for immediate intervention.
The case is more striking because Udaipura is the constituency of Minister of State (Independent Charge) Narendra Shivaji Patel, who himself ate at a Dalit house a few weeks ago in an effort to promote social harmony. However, Dhakad said the minister’s gesture appears to have had no effect on the rigid attitude of the village panchayat.
District Collector Arun Kumar Vishwakarma strongly objected to the incident during the hearing and has begun looking into the matter.
