The mood is festive in Sanjay Jathav’s Nizampura village in Kasganj district of Uttar Pradesh for his wedding. The wedding on Sunday, 15 July, will be first of its kind, as the Dalit groom will not only ride a horse but his procession will go across Thakur homes before he marries Sheetal.
“I am excited about the wedding, but also scared at the same time as there is tension of some communal violence erupting,” the 18-year-old bride Sheetal told The Quint.
Meanwhile, Sanjay was rather jubilant to be the first groom in the village to ride a horse.
The wedding was delayed once after a magistrate inquiry stated that the girl in question was not 18. It became a reality after seeing phases of tension between the Thakur and Jatavs of Nizampura. The village came under scrutiny during the 6-month tussle when the Thakurs had opposed the Dalits’ wish to take their procession across Thakur homes.
Earlier, in April, when the conflict was at its peak, The Quint travelled to Nizampura to document the face-off between the Thakurs and Dalits.
“They say they won't fall at our feet. We say we will not let the wedding procession move across the village. A Thakur will remain a Thakur. There will be conflict,” Urmila Devi, a Thakur from Nizampura village, had told The Quint then.
A heavy security cover is deployed in Nizampura and adjoining areas to in a bid to curb any communal violence should tensions erupt. “There are two platoons of police officers here with around 50 men and women,” additional superintendent of police Pavitra Mohan Tripathi told The Quint.
There are two check points, one at the ‘janmasa’ where people will eat and one at the entrance of the village off the highway. The checkpoints are to ensure miscreants or anyone who inebriated is removed and no weapons are carried.Pavitra Mohan Tripathi, Additional SP
He added that everything is under control as this is a compromise between Dalits and Thakurs. “The security will stay here till 7 morning when the procession returns.”
Security arrangements in Nizampura ahead of Sanjay and Sheetal’s wedding.
(Photo: Aishwarya Iyer/ The Quint)
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