An incident of untouchability was reported from Shyagoti hamlet, 13 km from Gadag town, on Tuesday, while the nation was celebrating "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav."
The incident happened as the bridegroom, Sharanu Madar, a farmer, and his family were traveling to a temple to carry out the Devara Karya pre-marriage rite. They were shocked to see that the Dyamavva Temple, where they were intended to execute the rite, and all nearby stores were closed.
The family claims that the stores and temple were forced to close on the orders of some upper caste individuals who threatened to levy a fee of Rs 2,500 if those from lower castes were given accommodations.
On January 21, the deputy commissioner of Gadag was made aware of the untouchability issue during a program. As a result, he instructed the tahsildar to go to the village and address the situation. However, because no concrete steps were taken, the problem returned, necessitating the use of police.
Family members of Sharanu were informed that the temple had been closed since early in the morning when they asked why it was closed. However, the victim's family complained to the tahsildar.
They claim that the temple was open in the morning and that the relevant authorities only decided to close it when word got out that Sharanu's family and other relatives were visiting the temple.
All businesses are closed anytime there is a family gathering, according to Sharanu. Due to their concern about having to pay the penalties, the store owners closed. Many villages are affected by this issue. The shop owners even refuse to provide us with the item we request by claiming that it is out of stock, but not being clear about the reason.
Meetings for peace have already been held at a temple by the tahsildar and the relevant authorities. In the conference, the members of the higher caste promise to follow the rules, but they later revert to their former behaviour. The people claim that this procedure has been carried out covertly for years and is not new.
The Gadag tahsildar Kishan Kalal stated, "We have sent police officers to the area and assembled a group of government representatives to raise awareness of social equality. On Tuesday, nothing strange occurred. To end this practice, we are considering enacting harsher rules.
