e n

A Dalit settlement in Jharkhand that votes but gets zilch in return

I asked a widow standing nearby whether she had a ration card. ‘No, babu,’ she said. Does she receive a widow pension? The answer was again no. ‘Do you have Aadhar and voter cards?’ ‘Yes,’ everyone answered in unison. “This means all of you vote?” “Yes we do,” they said. ‘Do you have Ayushman Bharat cards?’ was my next question. The answer was again an emphatic no. Vishad Kumar describes the plight of a Dom settlement in Bokaro district

Vishad Kumar June 30, 2022
Share on Like on Facebook Share on WhatsApp Share on Telegram

Badhadi is located on the four-lane Bokaro-Dhanbad National Highway 23 between Telgaria and Jharia, the coal belt of Jharkhand. The village, which falls under Nischintpur village panchayat, is just 5 kilometres from the district headquarters Bokaro and 4 kilometres from the block headquarters Chas. Dom Tola, a settlement in the village that adjoins the highway, is home to around 16 families of the Dom caste, who make a living by weaving baskets and working as daily-wage labourers.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: A Dalit settlement in Jharkhand that votes but gets zilch in return

About The Author

Vishad Kumar

Vishad Kumar, who penned stories and poems, bid goodbye to the world of literature about two decades back and took to journalism. He did reporting for newspapers like Aawaz, Prabhat Khabar, Bihar Observer, Dainik Jagran, Hindustan, Senior India and Itwar, among others. Besides, he also wrote articles for Amar Ujala, Dainik Bhaskar and Navbharat Times. Currently, he is a freelance journalist committed to bringing about socio-political change. His interests include painting and photography

Related Articles

Gadia Lohars: Still on the move, diminishing returns and no place to call home
Pramod Indaliya
The market for the products of Gadia Lohars is shrinking. Mechanization of farming has caused the demand for their hand-made implements to plummet. Savage...
Behold, the Light of the world!
Dr Silvia Kostka
This Christmas season, may we look beyond the twinkling lights and decorations, to the Light of the world who has entered our dark world...
Kant, Phule and Ambedkar, and the need for a collective struggle for the right to reason
Mihir
In societies that are unequal not incidentally but structurally, the issue is not simply 'immaturity', as Kant poses, but being deprived of a social...
Sohrai: An Adivasi festival that celebrates oneness with nature and coexistence with cattle
Devendra Kumar Nayan
‘Sohrai’ means ‘appreciating and caressing’. The festival is about caressing cattle, pampering them and expressing gratitude towards them; it is about the relationship between...
A day at Ekwari – the village of Rameshwar Ahir, Ram Naresh Ram and Jagdish Master
Nawal Kishore Kumar
Rameshwar Ahir’s son Bihari Yadav said that even after his father’s martyrdom, violence continued in the village. Feudal elements killed Rajendra Chaudhari, who was...