Nearly 50 members of the Dalit community of
Haryana’s Bhagana village on Saturday converted
to Islam during protest demonstration at Jantar
Mantar in the National Capital. The
demonstration, organised by Bhagana Kand
Sangarsh Samiti (BKSS) was against the alleged
persecution faced by the Dalit community at the
hands of upper caste Jats.
At the heart of the conflict in Haryana is the
struggle over land and it’s use and ownership by
the poor Dalits which has been grabbed by the
dominant castes.
45-year-old Ved Pal of the BKSS said that the
movement to convert to Islam has been gaining
pace ever since the brutal gang rape of four Dalit
girls in Bhagana village in 2014.The girls were
going out to fetch water in the evening and they
saw a white colored car rushing towards them
and grabbed them inside the car.
The girls, aged between 13 and 18 years, belong
to the landless Dhanuk caste, and worked for
upper caste landowners. Ved Pal said the khap
panchayat had imposed a social boycott against
the caste group, forcing 250 families to leave their
homes and flee the village.
“The villagers had to leave our village facing total
boycott. Barbers not cutting hair, kids being
removed from schools and denying entry into
temples is a common happening,” Pal said.
On Saturday afternoon, around 50 people, all of
them men, gathered for demonstration and after
brief speeches of community leaders converted to
Islam. The protesters recited verses of Quran and
offered prayers as well.
The development comes after almost a year of
holding a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar.
Previously, in a written statement, the victim
families had said some of the victims have
already converted to Islam in protest against the
atrocities of upper caste Hindus.
Satish Kajla, was among the men who converted
to Islam on Saturday. While speaking to reporters
said that by becoming Muslims he hopes that
other Islamic nations would raise voice against
the persecution the Dalit community faces.
Source : eastcoastdaily.in
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