A video of a 46-year-old Dalit man’s dead body being lowered from a steep bridge over a river for completing his last rites is going viral on social media. The reason is a few of the upper caste persons refused to allow the funeral procession of a Dalit to pass through their land. In 2019, when technology has taken over people, such an incident has shocked everyone. While the body is being lowered in a stretcher from the bridge, garlands can be seen falling off the body.
The incident that took place in Vaniyambadi taluk of Vellore district in Tamilnadu shows how Dalits are discriminated against by members of the local upper caste community in the village. The Dalit community does not even have a crematorium of its own. Some of them said this was the only way for them to cremate bodies and that there is no alternative way.
It is time the government acted tough on the issue. A thorough enquiry should be initiated. Those guilty should be punished. In rural Tamilnadu, such incidents are reported at many places. The need of the hour is caste-less and creed-less society. Media should play a major role in ensuring equality.