Frustrated by the social boycott by fellow caste leaders and the administration’s apathy, 19 fishing families have warned they will commit mass suicide. The families are from Gud-Kagal village in Kumta taluk, about 100km from here. Their only crime, they say, was their opposition to the illegal hooch business in the area, an opposition that has led to ostracism. “There are around 75 villages in our hamlet; it’s not very big. But the illegal liquor business is having an adverse effect on our village youth. A number of them have become alcoholics. I spoke to local police about this problem, and that infuriated the hooch sellers. They called a caste panchayat in the village where I had to defend my action. This led to ostracism of my family, a result of the panchayat’s ruling. Now the people don’t even let us draw water from the village well. Nobody attends functions of our family. Even when there are deaths in these 19 families nobody comes to attend the fu neral,” says Shivu Harikantra, who runs a gymnasium in the area. Harikantra blames the Panchas (heads) of the caste panchayat, Jatti, Devu, Venkataraman, Maruti and Manjunath for this social boycott. Indira Harikant, a supervisor in the women and child welfare department, said she travels every day to her office in Kumta by bus. Nobody from the village sits next to her in the bus and she is also not allowed to sit next to the people of her caste. “I spoke to Kumta police but they failed to take any action because they are afraid of the political clout of the caste panchayat,” she says. “One cannot imagine the harassment and agony of the boycott we have been facing for the past 5 years. I am a sitting gram panchayat member and have been continuously elected for last 24 years. The only crime I committed was that I spoke to a family member of the ostracized family. Immediately, a caste panchayat was called in the village and I was also made a pariah. My grandchildren were made to sit on separate benches in the school. But the teachers protested and warned these leaders of legal action if they interfered in the school affairs, and then it was stopped in the school,” said Dasu Harikant. The victims have to pay a hefty penalty to the caste panchayat to get them waive the punishment. Ramesh Harikant says he and his family paid Rs 35,000 as fine. But they were again ostracized because Harikant allowed one of the banned family members to draw water from his well.
2016, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.