Tension prevails in two Bihar villages after what seems to be an ugly return of old caste-based rivalries, which led to the burning of a dozen homes of dalit and backward families allegedly by the upper castes after a Brahmin youth was forced to marry an OBC woman.
The adjoining villages of Harichanda and Panchobh, about 15 km off the north Bihar town of Darbhanga, witnessed a sudden outbreak of caste-fuelled enmities during a celebration of Ambedkar Yayanti on Thursday evening. Upper-caste villagers from Panchobh village, reportedly angry for the inter-caste marriage, demolished a statue of dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar and vandalised a temple before burning down at least a dozen thatched homes of the lower-caste families.
While 45 people from the upper castes have so far been arrested and the Darbhanga district administration has begun providing aide to the lower-caste families, the two villages continue to be in the grip of tension. Both the upper castes, mainly Brahmins, and the lower castes of dalits and OBCs feel persecuted by each other and the police fear a possibility of similar attacks by any one side on the other.
Sources said Navin Kumar of Panchobh, a Brahmin, was forced to marry Poonam Kumari of Harchanda, an OBC girl, after they were spotted in an objectionable situation on Wednesday.