Badami Devi became the first Dalit sarpanch to hoist the Tri-colour in Morena's Puravas Kalan village
Puravas Kalan village, Morena:
If it is a "tribute to Indian democracy that a person from a poor family" could address the nation today from the ramparts of the Red Fort, in Puravas Kalan village of Madhya Pradesh, 34-year-old Badami Devi breached a bastion no less formidable.
Today, 67 years after Independence, Badami Devi became the first Dalit sarpanch to hoist the Tri-colour in this remote village of Morena - with some help from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Caste discrimination is acute in this village, so much so, that despite getting government land for a school building, no school has been built for four years. The land happens to be close to a Dalit settlement, and people from the upper castes apparently don't want their children to go anywhere near it.
Badami Devi, who has been a sarpanch for four years, was never allowed to hoist the national flag. It was former sarpanch Nathu Singh Tomar, an upper caste man, who had that privilege. Badamai Devi, in fact, was not even allowed to attend the Independence Day function.
"Finally, I met the Chief Minister on August 12 and requested him to end his discrimination," Badami Devi told NDTV. "He ordered that I be allowed to hoist the flag on Independence Day."
"The woman met me and her problem has been resolved. She will definitely hoist the flag in her village this year," Mr Chouhan said.
His word alone, though, was not enough. The Chief Minister also had to send officials to the village to enforce the order.
Nathu Singh Tomar, though, remains defiant. "Badami is lying. I have not been hoisting the flags, she has been doing it," he told NDTV. As for the unfinished school building, he said, "Caste discrimination is not the reason. The location is remote and secluded, so it would be unsafe for our daughters to attend it."
Today, 67 years after Independence, Badami Devi became the first Dalit sarpanch to hoist the Tri-colour in this remote village of Morena - with some help from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Caste discrimination is acute in this village, so much so, that despite getting government land for a school building, no school has been built for four years. The land happens to be close to a Dalit settlement, and people from the upper castes apparently don't want their children to go anywhere near it.
Badami Devi, who has been a sarpanch for four years, was never allowed to hoist the national flag. It was former sarpanch Nathu Singh Tomar, an upper caste man, who had that privilege. Badamai Devi, in fact, was not even allowed to attend the Independence Day function.
"Finally, I met the Chief Minister on August 12 and requested him to end his discrimination," Badami Devi told NDTV. "He ordered that I be allowed to hoist the flag on Independence Day."
"The woman met me and her problem has been resolved. She will definitely hoist the flag in her village this year," Mr Chouhan said.
His word alone, though, was not enough. The Chief Minister also had to send officials to the village to enforce the order.
Nathu Singh Tomar, though, remains defiant. "Badami is lying. I have not been hoisting the flags, she has been doing it," he told NDTV. As for the unfinished school building, he said, "Caste discrimination is not the reason. The location is remote and secluded, so it would be unsafe for our daughters to attend it."
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