Dalit siblings thrashed by landlord (The Hindu)
"NEW DELHI: Three Dalit siblings living as tenants in Mukherjee Nagar here were allegedly beaten up and abused by their landlord’s family on Saturday apparently after they learnt of their Scheduled Caste status.
"Two sisters and a brother living on the third floor of 165 Mukherjee Nagar claimed that they were beaten up and punched by their landlord Om Prakash Grover, his wife, their son and daughter in-law on Saturday after one of the sisters, Kanaklata, went downstairs to fill water.
“'They did not let her fill water and instead started beating her with a slipper. My brother Chandra Bhushan who tried to intervene was also beaten up. On hearing the commotion, I rushed downstairs. They tried to tear my clothes and one of the sons of our landlord punched me. They hurled abuses at us. A number of people had gathered outside the house but no one came forward to help us,' claimed Manorama, the other sister, on Sunday."
See also:
A Dalit student in Delhi? Hide your surname: Brutal assault by upper-caste landlord on research scholar blows lid off capital’s can of worms by Ananya Sengupta (The Telegraph (Calcutta), May 6, 2008):
"Ashok Bharti, the chairperson of the National Conference of Dalit Organisations, said the incident was just the tip of the iceberg.
“'Twenty-five lakh Dalits stay in Delhi, out of whom, every five is a student. It’s a fact that if these students reveal that they belong to lower castes, they will not be able to find accommodation in the city. It takes a lot of time and energy for a Dalit to even buy land here. These girls got away with hiding their caste as they didn’t look like the stereotypical picture of Dalits that most people have in their minds — poor, badly dressed and uneducated,' said Bharti."
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