Pawan Malviya, a Dalit groom from Madhya Pradesh, had to swap his wedding special turban with a helmet while riding a horse in his baraat till the bride’s door.
Malviya was compelled to do so in order to save his skull from the hard hitting stones that were being showered on him and the other baraatis by the upper cast villagers.
Source: Screen Grab
Why? Because Pawan is a Dalit and does not have the ‘right’ to ride a horse or take out a grand procession.
Repeatedly threatened by the high caste goondas, Pawan and his family tried to seek protection from the local police. However, the sudden attack on the baraat left six of the family members injured.
“They are not letting us go. They keep threatening us and trying to drive us away. We will carry on with help from the police,” Pawan said.
Later the police arrested 30 villagers and also guarded the procession from the rooftops.
“It is a dispute between two groups in the Nirun village. The procession was finally allowed to move peacefully and without incident. We have registered a case against around 70 people,” said a senior police officer.
Watch the footage below, uploaded by NDTV .