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Dalit Awakening
The people of Gram Panchayat Chhibaura in Rampur Baghelaan development block in Satna district talk to the Thakurs with their heads down, start pleading in a single threat and feel safe in keeping their mouths shut. The Thakurs rule the village, whether they are in power or not. Belonging to upper caste, these people treat the lower caste people as untouchables, and avoid talking to them.
When the position of Sarpanch in Chibaura Gram Panchayat was reserved for a Scheduled Caste, the Thakurs could not take it. The Government had made on their faces a blow, which they were to tolerate for the next five years. They had thought of themselves as the strongest, but the administration made them weak. They waited for right opportunity to hit.
A Scheduled Caste woman Dayawati was elected as Sarpanch. She was doing her work very well. She took the responsibility to get her village rid of liquor vends and drunkards. Thakurs put hurdles in her work, but the Sarpanch succeeded in getting the work done. The Thakurs were not against the closure, but were against the acceptance of their defeat to a lower caste woman.
It month of May when there was nobody at Dayawatis’ house, the Thakurs got the chance that they were waiting for. They got her home burnt through three rowdy elements. They wanted to harass Dayawati to such an extent that she could not work further. Since wind was blowing, the fire spread very fast and despite people running to douse the flames, a large part of the house was destroyed.
Dayawati informed the police on phone, requesting them to lodge an FIR and inspect the place of incident, but the police did not take the matter seriously. Probably the police was in no mood to go against the Thakurs so fast. Dayawati went to the police station along with her brother-in-law and lodged an FIR against the Thakurs. Seeing the courage of Dayawati, the police went to the incident site, took photographs and statements of the neighbours. Thakurs felt ashamed, pleaded for compromise by paying compensation.
She also did one exemplary work. She got a health centre sanctioned, but with the pressure of feudal forces the Collector gave the work to another panchayat. When she met the collector to protest this injustice, he insulted her and forced her out of his office. But she met the Chief Minister, who through video conferencing took the Collector to task. But by this time half of work on health centre had been completed. In lieu of health centre she any way got a higher secondary school sanctioned for her village.
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