SUNPED (Ballabhgarh): The caste divide in this village runs deeper than ever after the death of two dalit children in an arson attack in which the accused are upper caste Thakurs. The brutal murders only reignited caste animosities sharpened by the gradual leveling of social disparities as education and more refined occupations saw dalits shed their lowly status as farm labour.

READ ALSO: SIT formed to probe Dalit boy's death in Haryana

The upending of social equations led to Sunped’s dalits, who worked as labour in fields owned by local Thakur zamindars, resent and resist being typecast as “outcastes”. The earlier acquiescence to living in segregation, visiting upper caste houses only when required and near total exclusion from social gatherings gave way to more assertive ways.

“In Sunped village, there are around 50 households belonging to dalits. Many of them are well-educated and working in local factories. Some of us are also in government jobs. We are not dependent on the upper castes for livelihoods anymore. But they don’t like it,” said Master Ram Singh, who retired as a teacher.

He added that dalit families are still not invited to social occasions or marriages at upper caste households except for cleaning purposes. “Some of them arrange a separate tent for us to eat leftovers,” chipped in Hukum Singh, a labourer, one of those dalit residents who still engage in manual work.

READ ALSO: CBI to probe Haryana dalit killings; CM Khattar cancels visit to village

On Tuesday, when the attack on the house of Jitender – the father of the children – took place, none of the villagers offered their vehicles to take the kids and his wife to hospital, say family members. “A police officer, Ali Mohammad, rushed them to hospital in his personal car when no one came forward,” one of them said. The local police confirmed this.

On the other hand, the upper castes insist they have never wronged the dalits. “We gave them our land to inhabit and work. For years, our forefathers have taken care of them, by employing them in the fields or assisting with money when needed,” said Rajendra Singh, an ex-sarpanch.

Anger over alleged pandering of dalits wells over. “No politician cares for Baniya, Brahmin and Thakurs. They run after the dalit votes. Where were Hooda (ex-Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh) and Rahul Gandhi (Congress vice-president) when our children were stabbed to death by them?” a Thakur asked. The reference is to deaths of three Thakurs – relatives of ex-sarpanch Balwant Singh -- in a fight with Jitender’s relatives last year.

READ ALSO: 2 children killed as Dalit family set ablaze in Haryana village

Surinder S Jodhka, professor of sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said changes in social structure was not reflected in attitudes. “The upper castes believe their superiority as natural justice. They are not able to accept insubordination which is behind this confrontation,” he said.

Attacks on dalits in Haryana have happened before, in Mirchpur in 2011 and in Bhadana in 2012. In both cases, the dalits were forced to flee the village. With the increase in reservations for lower castes in panchayats in the 1990s, many have gained political clout.

READ ALSO: Rahul Gandhi visits Haryana village

