Indore: Even after 73 years of independence people's mentality has not changed, especially in rural areas. Prejudice and discrimination still exists in villages so much so that a Dalits are often not allowed to cremate their dead in crematoriums and have to keep the bodies for days in their houses.
Highlighting this issue on Friday, dozens of members of Akhil Bhartiya Shree Balai Mahasangh staged a protest outside the Divisional Commissioner Office demanding a separate crematorium for Dalits.
The national president of the federation, Manoj Parmar gave a memorandum to the SDM Anshul Khare mentioning that higher caste people are not allowing Dalits to cremate their dead in common crematoriums in rural areas of the district.
"As a result, Dalits often have to keep the bodies of the dead for three to four days in their house, before finding a proper place," Parmar said, adding that there are around 50 such villages in rural areas of Indore where this problem exists.
Referring to one such incident, one of the federation members, Sachin Kochale stated that recently a Dalit woman died in one of the villages and the body had to be kept in the house for more than three days and finally the community members had to perform the last rites in a nearby jungle.
SDM Khare said, “we have taken the memorandum and will proceed in the proper manner to provide the best solution to the problem of the Dalits.”
