Dangawas (nagaur)--Two weeks after the dominant Jat community clashed with the backward Meghwals of Dangawas village in Nagaur district, leading to six deaths, villagers continue to worry as police patrol Dangawas as well as JLN Hospital in Ajmer.
The clashes have brought together Dalits from around the state who, while camping outside the mortuary, refused to accept Ganesha Ram’s body till the Centre last week ordered a CBI inquiry.
At Dangawas, 2 km from Merta city, Meghwals congregate at the house of slain brothers Pancha Ram and Ratna Ram at Meghwalon ka Mohalla. While neighbours and friends refuse to speak up against the Jats and insist all is well, Sugna Ram, a relative of the deceased, says, “What has happened is horrific. Though this village has always been peaceful, there were some incidents over the past few months and Meghwals were being targeted.”
The Meghwals say they had stopped visiting their own fields that are close to the spot where the violence happened on May 14, a Jat-dominated area. While the Meghwals huddle in a closed room, the Jats gather at the open village square playing cards and throwing angry glances at visitors.
A little ahead along a dirt track leading to the fields, the caste divide appears clearer: the Meghwals’ crematorium is cramped and small while the Jats’ crematorium is sprawling and neatly done up.
INDIAN EXPRESS
