Agra: A Dalit groom’s wedding procession in Agra district turned violent last week when armed upper-caste men brandishing a gun threatened to kill him and demanded he abandon his horse and walk on foot through the village, reigniting concerns over caste-based discrimination in the state despite decades of legal protection.
The attack, which left the groom’s father with a head injury and shocked the entire wedding party, occurred on 6 March, Thursday, when the procession was making its way through the Azizpur area in the Dhanoli town on the way to a marriage hall.
According to the groom’s uncle, Mahendra, tensions escalated when the driver of a car accompanying the procession on a narrow road allegedly clashed with a resident, who called his relatives. Mahendra said the relatives arrived at the scene armed with weapons and sticks and began hurling casteist slurs at the wedding party.
“The bullies openly used casteist words and told the groom to get off the horse and walk on foot through the village. When the family members came to intervene, the groom’s father, Mukesh, was attacked with the butt of a gun, leaving him bleeding,” Mahendra told ThePrint.
Police, once alerted, escorted the wedding procession to the wedding venue without any band playing.
Mahendra alleged that despite informing officers about the issue during Thana Diwas, a local grievance redressal event on Saturday, they took no action. The groom’s uncle further claimed that the caste aspect of the incident was downplayed as a minor dispute.
ACP Saiyan Devesh Singh told The Print that the case was initially treated as a road rage incident.
However, after it emerged that one of the upper-caste residents used caste-specific slurs and smashed portraits of prominent Dalit personalities with the wedding procession, charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, were framed against the accused.
Malpura police station in-charge inspector Pawan Kumar Saini told ThePrint that police, who received complaints from both parties, were investigating the matter.
According to him, the dispute started over the sounding of a car horn. Saini said that members of the groom’s party were also armed with licensed weapons, and a passenger stepped out of a car during the dispute and brandished his weapon, leading to the flare-up of tensions.
The Agra attack came weeks after another caste-related incident in the Karnawal village of Mathura on 21 February, where some upper-caste men attacked a marriage procession of two Scheduled Caste brides, forcing the grooms to return without getting married.
The weddings, eventually conducted on 8 March, Saturday, took place under the strict supervision of the administration. Leaders of various political parties, including Uttar Pradesh minister Asim Arun, attended the events.
Experts said the Agra and Mathura incidents have, once again, exposed the deep-rooted caste discrimination plaguing the state, underscoring the urgent need for not only administrative action but also meaningful social reforms.
“Caste discrimination is still deeply rooted in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh. The incidents of Agra and Mathura show how Dalits are still not able to get the right to social equality,” Hindustani Biradari Vice President Vishal Sharma told ThePrint.
“This is not just a failure of law and order, but a deep problem in the mentality of society. The administration should not only take immediate action but also take concrete steps to root out such cases,” Sharma said.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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