LUCKNOW: The post of the gram pradhan at Malasa village of Bhognipur block in Kanpur Dehat has been lying vacant for decades. Though reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC), no Dalit could ever muster courage to contest panchayat elections here, fearing backlash from the dominant Thakur community for whom a Dalit village head is intolerable. Last year, when two Dalits dared do the impossible, their candidature was rejected. Reason: No one, including from their own caste, came forward to propose and second their candidature, as required for filing nomination papers.In Rajpur tehsil, 60 km from Kanpur, Thakurs have withdrawn their children from the Banwaripur Basic Primary School after a Dalit cook was appointed to prepare mid-day meal here. When TOI team visited the school early this week, only 26 out of 62 students were attending classes and having the mid-day meal. All of them were Dalits. The remaining -- mostly Thakurs -- have stopped coming to school in order to avoid food prepared by a Dalit cook.These are only two examples of different manifestation of untouchability still prevalent in UP. In every village one can find a "chamrauha" or "chamar toli", a segregated place for Dalits. Their wells and handpumps are separate and so are their temples. Even in the schools, Dalit children are made to sit separately. And what is perhaps unique to north India, particularly UP, is that untouchability is not only practised by the upper castes but has percolated down to Dalits as well. There are various sub-castes among Dalits and higher ones in the hierarchy do not share `roti-pani aur beti ka rishta' with those in the lower category.At Haddiganj in Barabanki, 30 km from the state capital, `Hadbinnas' face discrimination within their Dalit fraternity. Considered lowest sub-caste among Dalits, Hadbinnas make living by collecting bones and flaying hydes of dead animals. Dalit communities like cobbler, which enjoy higher position in the sub-caste hierarchy, do not share table with `Hadbinnas', forcing them to make separate arrangement for their children.Says Prof DM Diwakar, Giri Institute of Development Studies, "The condition of Dalits will not change till they stop untouchability among themselves." In fact, he added, UP's problem is the deep-rooted feudal mindset which does not allow social democracy to germinate, leading to discrimination at all levels. "But changes, though superficial, have generated some awareness among dalits, as a result they have started asserting themselves, resulting in the backlash from upper castes. Hence, what is visible as rise in incidents of atrocities on Dalits is actually the outcome of friction between lower and upper castes," he said.In the past six months alone, according to police records, over two dozen cases of Dalits being targeted by upper castes for violating `old social order' have been reported from various parts of the state. Last month, one Jagrup, a Dalit at village Naheli in Kanpur, was thrashed by the upper caste men for drawing water from public pond. Sudhir, a Dalit, was assaulted by the priest when he entered a temple in Auraiya. Dalits in Behrampur were assaulted when their cattle strayed into the fields of upper caste. In Kathawara village, Lucknow, Dalits cannot hold marriage celebrations and festivities like upper castes.The problem in urban areas and educational institutes is found in a different form. Dalit students were attacked by upper caste counterparts for allegedly taking admission in a `vedic learning' course in the Sampoornanand University in August 2008. A survey conducted by All India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA) in Lucknow revealed that 80% Dalit women faced discrimination while working in upper caste households. "They admitted that though upper caste families employ them as house maids, they are served on different plates which they have to wash separately after eating," said AIDWA secretary Madhu Garg.