Medak: Two PG Dalit brothers, family ostracized for not playing Dappu at funeral; 19 booked

Hyderabad: Two post-graduate Dalit brothers’ refusal to follow their traditional occupation of playing Dappu (drum) at marriages and funerals in a village in Medak district has led to a social boycott of the entire family.

Panchami Chandram, an M.Com from Osmania University, and his brother Arjun, who did MSc from JNTU, and their family have also been externed from the Gouthojiguda village of Manoharabad Mandal in Medak district. The village is about 45 km from Hyderabad.

The social boycott was announced after the Dalit brothers did not play Dappu at a funeral in the village due to their job preoccupation.

Furious, the village ex-Sarpanch Boddu Venkateshwarulu, Upa Sarpanch Renu Kumar, and other villagers from Mudiraj, Padmashali castes, besides a few Dalits, convened a meeting in the village and passed a resolution for a social boycott of an entire family.

The SC Madiga community family comprises Chandram, his wife, two children, younger brother Arjun, and mother Narasamma. The family owns three acres of land in the village and used to play Dappu, the musical instrument on different occasions.

The incident took place on September 10 and came to light after Manoharabad police registered a case under SC, ST atrocities act on the direction of Medak SP.

Shockingly, the villagers also passed a resolution imposing a fine of Rs 5000 and 25 Cheppu debbalu (25 slipper blows) if they disobeyed the order. The family has been denied access to groceries and other essential commodities from village stores.

The incident brings to light the continued oppression of Dalits in some of the Telangana villages even in this modern era.

Panchami Chandram, MSc who is married and has two children told NewsMeter that the family had been facing a social onslaught after the death of their father a couple of years ago.

“Our forefathers, our father Shankaraiah and other family members belonging to the Madiga SC community used to play Dappu on all the occasions in the village. But father was keen that we should not follow the tradition and instead wanted us to study well and get good jobs. We studied hard and completed post-graduate degrees, which was the dream of our father. After the passing of our father, we focused on employment and got private jobs,” says Arjun.

In the last four years, the family including their mother occasionally played Dappu but subsequently, due to job pressure, they expressed their inability to perform.

“I played Dappu occasionally after the death of my husband. My sons are busy with their jobs. However, I am not in a position to continue the tradition due to the age factor. I am shocked at the behavior of the villagers. It’s a torture for us. What wrong have we done? Should not our children be educated and do good jobs,” Narasamma asks.

The brothers' refusal to play Dappu at a funeral angered former village Sarpanch Boddu Venkateshwarulu and ex-Upa Sarpanch Renu Kumar. “Venkateshwarulu summoned us one day and told us in no uncertain terms that if we wanted to live in the village, we had to play Dappu at any cost. Or else, we will be banished from the village. `Just because you are educated you cannot refuse to play Dappu,’ they said. We told them we are focused on our jobs and we will not be able to perform anymore,” Arjun disclosed.

A war of words ensued and subsequently the ex-Sarpanch summoned village elders meeting. They warned us that the entire family would face a social boycott and if needed extended from the village if they refused to play the Dappu. But the brothers were firm on their decision.

According to Arjun, their post-graduate qualification has become a curse for them. “Some villagers are jealous of our education and make fun of us. But we avoided confrontation. When we played Dappu at funerals and other functions we were paid Rs 300 and sometimes more. We never demanded,” he said.

”We came to know that the resolution had been tampered with after the police case. The punishment aspect has been removed. We expect justice from police, High Court, and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.”

After the village elders announced a social boycott, the brothers tweeted the matter to Medak SP, and police arrived in the village and booked SC, and ST atrocity cases against 19 persons.

“We are still living in the village but no one talks to us nor do grocery stores sell us goods. We buy essentials from a nearby village. It’s a living hell for us all. Police have booked a case, and counseled some villagers, but there has been no change in the attitude of the village elders. We want to live and die in this village. It’s our village,” asserted Arjun.

Following a petition in the High Court, the HC directed the Medak SP to provide police protection to the family and the District Collector to provide relief and rehabilitation to the Dalit family.