Bad hair days after caste bar (The Telegraph (Calcutta))
“Price of caste arrogance: an unkempt look with crumpled clothes and overgrown beards and hair.
“All because the majority Thevars of Irunjirai, located 80km from Madurai, had warned the village’s lone dhobi not to press Dalits’ clothes.
“The dhobi has shut shop and fled the village of 130 families and so has the barber, fearing the same diktat from the Thevars.
“‘Now we have no choice but to travel by bus to the nearest town to get a haircut or shave. Almost no one here bothers to get his clothes ironed any more,’ rued K. Paandi, a Thevar.
“A. Periasamy, the dhobi, said: ‘The Thevars had asked me not to iron Dalits’ clothes or else they would boycott my shop.’
“When he still went ahead and ironed a Dalit farmer’s shirt, the matter was dragged to the village panchayat which issued Periasamy a warning last January ‘to respect the majority sentiment.’
That scared barber Maarimuthu too into turning away his Dalit customers.
“‘Since the Thevars outnumber all other communities put together in the village, I could not afford to antagonise them,’ Maarimuthu said. [...]
“Village headman V. Murugesan, a Thevar, blamed the Dalits for ‘blowing the issue up’ and complaining to the district administration.
“‘The panchayat was ready to resolve the issue amicably but once the district authorities started arm-twisting our barber and dhobi, they moved out. And our villagers refused to support outsiders plying their trades here.’”
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