A Dalit woman’s body was removed from the funeral pyre allegedly by upper caste men minutes before she was to be cremated in Agra. The incident happened last week and has sparked outrage after the video of the incident went viral on social media platforms.
#Casteism Upper Caste deny cremation of a dalit woman in Raibha village #Agra. Body of the woman was removed from the pyre & cremated at a different place. Police probing the matter.#DalitLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/FOdOGHi2hR
— The Dalit Voice (@ambedkariteIND) July 23, 2020
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday took to twitter narrating the incident, ‘In UP near Agra, the body of a Dalit woman was removed from the cremation ground by people of upper castes having casteist mentality because the cremation ghat belonged to upper castes. This is the most shameful and most condemnable.’
1. यू.पी. में आगरा के पास एक दलित महिला का शव वहाँ जातिवादी मानसिकता रखने वाले उच्च वर्गों के लोगों ने इसलिए चिता से हटा दिया, क्योंकि वह शमशान-घाट उच्च वर्गों का था, जो यह अति-शर्मनाक व अति-निन्दनीय भी है। 1/3
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) July 28, 2020
According to the IANS report, the incident happened a week ago at an Agra crematorium where a 26-year old woman’s body was removed allegedly by the Thakur community, while the last rites were being performed. The Thakurs allegedly said that the cremation ground was not meant for people from the Dalit community.
The BSP leader has asked the Yogi government for a thorough investigation in the case and to chase down the misdemeanants for conducting such a grievous act so that such incidents are prevented from occurring in future.
