A fact-finding report on the murder of a 21-year-old Dalit woman by her husband’s family in Vithalapura village of Karnataka’s Koppal district found that she was subjected to ‘untouchability’ in her marital home. The victim was allegedly made to live in a shed outside the house, sleeping on muddy ground. She was also given another hut in which to cook, and her in-laws refused to eat what she cooked.
In the wake of the murder, Dalit residents of Vithalapura village, along with activists, have decided to take out a march against untouchability on September 19.
Mariyamma (21) was allegedly brutally assaulted and poisoned by her in-laws on August 27. Mariyamma, who is a Madiga (Scheduled Caste), married Hanumayya, who belongs to the Naika community (Scheduled Tribe) in April 2023. They had a registered marriage in Gangavathi after being in a relationship for two years.
According to a fact-finding report by Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation and All India Central Council of Trade Unions, things were fine for about four months. Hanumayya’s family had initially agreed to the couple’s marriage, but soon, they began ill-treating her because of her caste.
“She was supposed to be their daughter-in-law and they should have treated her with love. Instead, they treated her like an animal,” said Vijay, a member of the CPI(ML) Liberation in Koppal district.
Even as they treated her badly, they demanded dowry from her, Vijay said. Hanumayya’s family demanded gold earrings from Mariyamma and her family acquiesced.
“After this, the in-laws told Mariayamma’s family that they would make her a member of their caste, and so Mariyamma should not be in contact with her family anymore,” Vijay said. When asked how someone could be made a member of another caste, Vijay said that Hanumayya’s family had apparently reached out to a swami of their community for the purpose.
Vijay added, “During the fact-finding, we also found that Mariyamma’s in-laws actively prevented her from talking to her family by posting two people around her at all times to ensure that she was isolated.”
“Mariyamma’s maternal grandmother lives just 5 km away in Vithalapura, but they stopped her from visiting her. They did not allow the grandmother to visit Mariyamma either,” Vijay said.
If anyone from Mariyamma’s family tried to visit her, her in-laws allegedly abused them and forced them to leave. Her family even sought the help of the elders of the village to intervene but her in-laws allegedly threatened them too.
Kariyappa Gudimani, who heads the Karnataka Madiga Rakshana Vedike, said that incidents of violence against Dalits have been on the rise in Koppal district. “Violence has always been there, but it has increased in the past three years. We want it to stop,” he said.
Several communities, including Naikas, who are Scheduled Tribe, and certain Lingayat sub-castes, commit violence against Dalits in Koppal. “Of late, there has been a lot of violence from the barber community – which is a Lingayat subcaste – against Dalits,” Kariyappa said.
On August 19, an altercation over payment between a barber and a Dalit man ended with the former stabbing the latter.
“We’ve had enough of caste. We need friendship [between people of different castes],” Kariyappa said, adding that the Vedike has asked the Social Welfare Department for statistics on violence against Dalits in the last three years.
Kariyappa said that Madiga Rakshana Vedike plans to collaborate with other organisations in the district and take out a joint rally on September 19, from the location of the shed where Mariyamma was allegedly forced to live to the Deputy Superintendent of Police’s office in Gangavathi. “This rally is not against the (Naika) community. It is against untouchability, and for social equality.”
Police have arrested six of the 13 accused family members based on a complaint filed by Mariyamma’s father Galeppa Yamanappa Bevur. This includes Hanumayya, his parents, and sisters.