Nirmal village boycotts woman for her sister’s inter-caste marriage in Telangana

NIRMAL: A 38-year-old woman of fishermen’s community at Nawabpet village in Nirmal district had to face social boycott by members of her community for six months for the flimsy reason that her sister married a man from another caste.

It was only after she lodged a complaint with the police, who intervened and called the community elders to the police station for a discussion, that the problem was resolved.

When the woman, S Jyothi, was visited by her sister from Jagtial, the villagers stopped talking to her and avoided her. A shocked Jyothi said she was not allowed even to buy groceries and vegetables from shops in the village and was also not invited to any of the events in the village.

Jyothi said that in July last year  `1,500 was collected from all members of the community, including her, for Ganga Jatara.

However, when she was boarding a vehicle to go to the jatara,  some members of her community prevented her from getting into the vehicle.

The woman had to face the social boycott by the members of her community for almost six months.  She failed to understand the sudden resistance in the behaviour of the villagers.

The woman remained silent over the entire episode for around six months. It was only a few  days ago that she sought holding of a panchayat meeting to settle the issue. However, she was left aghast when the village elders asked her to pay `30,000 for holding the meeting. When she pleaded helplessness to pay the amount, they asked her for `5,000. Further, she was asked to pay `4,000 in penalty if the boycott of her were to be lifted.

Enraged by this unreasonable and vindictive attitude of the village and community elders, Jyothi lodged a complaint. Following this, police resolved the issue.