Phula Devi’s humble house “became a home” when she got a toilet made in it. “We got it made with our own money. Our applications for government funds were rejected several times without a reason,” said Devi, 32, cradling her newborn. “Toilets in our houses, ration… everything is at the mercy of the upper caste people,” she added.
Sharda Meghwal, 21, a neighbour of Devi’s at Bidiyad village, which is part of Parbatsar assembly constituency, said her family’s applications for a toilet under the government scheme were also rejected.
“My father applied for the toilet in 2020, but it was rejected. He applied again, but it was turned down over some formalities. There were no explanations given, but we know that the upper caste authorities here do not want us Dalits to live with better facilities. My father finally borrowed money from some people and got the toilet built,” said Meghwal, a first-year college student.
As per the NCRB report of 2021, as many as 7,524 cases of crimes/ atrocities against Scheduled Caste (SC) people were reported in Rajasthan. The figure stood at 7,017 in 2020, and 6,794 in 2019. Rajasthan was second in the country in crimes /atrocities against the SC communities in 2021, as per this report.
“There is discrimination everywhere. When we go for MGNREGS work, our attendances are not marked till we complete all orders of the contractor, who are mostly from the upper castes,” said Phula Devi. “Whenever political leaders come for visits or rallies to this area, and they need people to show big crowds, we are forced to attend those events. Despite working daily, we are threatened that our payment will not be made if we do not attend such events. How can we leave our daily work and go to attend the rallies?” she asked.
Seema, another Dalit woman in the village, said families of her community hardly get the ration distributed by the state government at PDS shops. “We are always told that the stock is over, but we know it is not finished. They do not want to give it to us and want to sell it in the open market. But who do we complain to?” she asked.
Sharda Meghwal, 21, a neighbour of Devi’s at Bidiyad village, which is part of Parbatsar assembly constituency, said her family’s applications for a toilet under the government scheme were also rejected.
“My father applied for the toilet in 2020, but it was rejected. He applied again, but it was turned down over some formalities. There were no explanations given, but we know that the upper caste authorities here do not want us Dalits to live with better facilities. My father finally borrowed money from some people and got the toilet built,” said Meghwal, a first-year college student.
As per the NCRB report of 2021, as many as 7,524 cases of crimes/ atrocities against Scheduled Caste (SC) people were reported in Rajasthan. The figure stood at 7,017 in 2020, and 6,794 in 2019. Rajasthan was second in the country in crimes /atrocities against the SC communities in 2021, as per this report.
“There is discrimination everywhere. When we go for MGNREGS work, our attendances are not marked till we complete all orders of the contractor, who are mostly from the upper castes,” said Phula Devi. “Whenever political leaders come for visits or rallies to this area, and they need people to show big crowds, we are forced to attend those events. Despite working daily, we are threatened that our payment will not be made if we do not attend such events. How can we leave our daily work and go to attend the rallies?” she asked.
Seema, another Dalit woman in the village, said families of her community hardly get the ration distributed by the state government at PDS shops. “We are always told that the stock is over, but we know it is not finished. They do not want to give it to us and want to sell it in the open market. But who do we complain to?” she asked.
