In India, an 'Untouchables' wedding highlights tensions over social change

Jason Overdorf | Special to USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Deadly caste protests sweep across India Deadly caste protests sweep across India Video provided by AFP

NEW DELHI – If all goes well, Sanjay Jatav will marry Sheetal in July. But armed police could become a large portion of the wedding guests.

Jatav and his fiancée, Sheetal — who, like many Indians, does not use a surname — are Dalits, once known as “Untouchables,” the lowest of castes in traditional Hinduism.

Jatav, 27, a lawyer and member of his village council, is intent on defying tradition and riding a horse in his marriage procession, or baraat, a ritual reserved for higher castes. His battle comes amid a broader mobilization of Dalits tired of being at the bottom of a society that still observes a caste system.

Another Dalit man was murdered for a similar act of defiance. Nationwide protests April 2 over India's civil rights laws resulted in 10 deaths, scores of injuries and hundreds of arrests.

Jatav took his case to court, fighting to hold the wedding the way the couple want. After months of wrangling and negotiations, an agreement was reached to let Jatav ride. The low-caste couple signed the accord with the high-caste Thakurs, who dominate the bride’s village of Nizampur in northern India.

Rather than restrict Jatav's wedding procession to the outskirts of Nizampur — as the Thakurs initially demanded — the agreement allows him to ride a horse down the main road at the head of his baraat.

Police will be stationed along the route to prevent violence, and an armed officer will protect the bride’s family from anyone seeking revenge for the perceived affront, according to District Magistrate R.P. Singh, who is responsible for the area.

India's constitution outlawed discrimination against the Dalits in 1950. The Dalits make up 17% of India's population and have emerged as a powerful voting bloc. They could be a crucial group in next year's national elections for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Jatav, who is affiliated with the Dalit-focused Bahujan Samaj Party, said he took his case to court because Dalits suffer discrimination in villages such as Nizampur.

For centuries, many communities allowed only Rajputs and other warrior castes to ride horses in weddings. The symbolism is so strong that upper-caste villagers throughout India frequently stop Dalits from using horses for their weddings.

“My education made me realize my fundamental rights," Jatav said. “Old, outdated customs and traditions still continue.”

Last month, while Jatav’s case worked its way through the courts, Pradeep Rathod, 21, was beaten to death in the state of Gujarat because he dared to own and ride his horse, his father said.

“By caste Hindu tradition, Dalits are forbidden from using several symbols of social prestige like gold, silver, new clothes, twirled mustaches,” said Chandrabhan Prasad, a Dalit journalist. “A Dalit on donkey-back is cheered; on horseback, feared.”

Jatav's case came up for review in a state court. Last month, India’s Supreme Court banned "automatic arrests" for hate crimes against Dalits. The ruling March 20 sparked a general strike this month and nationwide protests by Dalits.

The Supreme Court, siding with an upper caste, said the 1989 law designed to protect Dalits from discrimination was misused in property disputes and to settle personal disagreements.

The contentious issue could heat up again over Jatav's wedding. The fiancée's brother, Bittu, who also doesn’t use a surname, feared what will happen when the wedding is over and the police and other authorities go home.

He said the village's high-caste Thakurs cut off water to the fields of the Dalits, spoiling their corn and vegetable crops. The village has about 50 Thakur families, and only five families are Dalits.

Only the Thakurs of Nizampur — not the surrounding villages — signed the peace agreement with Jatav, under pressure from authorities.

“They tell the Thakurs here that once this is over, they will come and teach us a lesson so that no blame would come on the Thakurs of this village,” Bittu warned.