Uttarakhand: Over 20 Dalit Students Boycott Meals Cooked By Woman From Upper Caste

In a sudden turn of events, more than 20 Dalit students studying at a government school in Uttarakhand's Champawat district boycotted the mid-day meals cooked by an upper-caste woman. The incident took place after a cook belonging to the Scheduled Castes community was recently fired.

Earlier, students from the upper caste community had refused to eat the food cooked by the Dalit woman, Sunita Devi, who was hired on December 13. The students opted to bring home-cooked meals for lunch instead of eating meals cooked by Sunita Devi.

Devi was sacked from her post on December 21, with the state's education department listing procedural lapses in her appointment. As a sign of protest, the Dalit students resorted to such an act.

"When the midday meal was served, 23 Dalit students refused to eat the food cooked by the upper caste bhojanmata (cook)," said Prem Singh, Principal of the Government Inter College of Sukhidhang, reported Hindustan Times.

"They said if upper-caste students boycott the food cooked by a Dalit bhojanmata, they will boycott the meal cooked by the upper caste woman," he added.

Matter Resolved

Reports have, however, stated that the conflict between the two groups has been resolved after a discussion.

Champawat District Magistrate Vineet Tomar said that an inquiry had been initiated and the reports on the incident are expected to be in by a week.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said his outfit will gherao Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami if the Dalit woman was not re-instated.

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