Lucknow: In a caste-based physical assault case in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah district, a group of Brahmins tonsured the heads of two Yadav community members, a religious preacher and his aide, after discovering their caste identity, ThePrint has learnt. The case has sparked outrage since a video of the incident showing the four men assaulting the preachers surfaced online.
On Tuesday, Etawah police arrested four accused—Ashish Tiwari, Uttam Kumar Awasthi, Nikki Awasthi, and Manu Dubey—all residents of Dandarpur village, where the incident happened Sunday night.
The victims, ‘Katha vachak (narrator)’ Mukut Mani Yadav and his assistant Sant Singh Yadav, had entered the village to deliver a ‘Bhagwat Katha (religious discourse)’ but came under attack when they revealed their caste identity in response to queries of the accused, Etawah police sources have said.
Etawah Senior Superintendent of Police Brajesh Srivastava has released a video statement, saying, “A video from the Bakewar police station area went viral—showing some villagers misbehaving with two persons and forcibly cutting their hair after a religious event. After registering a case, four people, including the main accused, Nikki, have been arrested.”
Later, speaking to reporters, Sant Singh Yadav, one of the victims, recounted his ordeal. “We were invited to the Dandarpur village for a Bhagwat Katha, starting 21 June. Some of the villagers began questioning our caste, saying we were ‘chamar’. I clarified, ‘I am a Yadav’. But they demanded my identification card and accused me of defiling a Brahmin village with my presence,” he said.
He further alleged that the villagers forcibly shaved his hair, sprinkled urine on him, and claimed he was ‘purified’ after all that. “They asked how a Yadav dared to conduct religious discourse in a Brahmin village,” Sant Singh Yadav recalled.
Akhilesh calls it an ‘attack on PDA’
The case has sparked a political storm, with the Opposition condemning the caste-based violence and demanding stringent action. On Tuesday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav invited the victims to the SP headquarters in Lucknow, and he honoured them with a cheque of Rs 51,000 each.
Speaking to the media, the SP chief has condemned the Etawah incident, alleging that such acts have been becoming frequent under the BJP-led government in UP. “These incidents are being allowed to happen. This government is heartless,” he said.
Referring to the assault on the men from the Yadav community, Akhilesh Yadav stated, “’Bhagwat Katha’ is meant for everyone. If people can listen to it, they should also be allowed to recite it. Who has the authority to decide who can narrate the ‘katha’? The government should enact a law on this.”
He has alleged that dominant caste groups, who believe they hold exclusive rights over religious practices, refuse to accept religious offerings from members of the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, and Alpsankhyak) communities. “The support of the BJP government emboldens these people,” Akhilesh Yadav said, adding that the President of India also could not escape such discrimination.
Leaders of several opposition parties have shared the disturbing video.
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The accused should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and, if found guilty, should receive the highest sentences possible. Hinduism, as it moves into the future, has to move away from the idea of any particular caste as the sole repository of spiritual and religious authority. True equality for all Hindu groups and individuals is essential for the survival of our faith and culture.
This is the truth of Santana dharma/ Hinduism. They call for uniting but the reality is, that call is a bogus call. They (so called upper castes, especially Brahmins) are afraid if they don’t create fake fear and fake narrative ,of so called sab katenge, to unite Hindus for political purposes they will lose all the privileges they have been holding for thousands of years. It is a political call and has nothing to with Hindu unity. Under such influence if the OBCs and the SC ST even fall for the fake promise of Hindu unity, this is what they get in return. And even in leftist circles or liberals they will talk about religious discrimination with fervour but the same goes missing when caste gets involved. It is because the Muslims are small in number compared to OBCs SC and STs, and the Muslims are mostly not fighting for reservation and Ben if they have they to be accommodated, it won’t hurt the privileges of the upper castes. But if the OBCs SC and STs get equal, the upper castes have lot to lose given the size of the population. So it is visible everywhere in leftist circles the liberal circles and so called media and obviously Bollywood . Now coming back, When the OBCs SC and STs ask for equality the upper castes get afraid that it will at into their privileges and also they will not be able to enjoy the thousand years of reservation they have got in the temples and the temple wealth. So OBCs and SC ST should not fall for such fake narratives. It reminds me of the famous line from the movie “The patriot”, why should I be afraid of a tyrant sitting 3000 miles away when I have 3000 tyrants sitting just one mile away.