Maharashtra is the birthplace of great men like Shivaji, Gopalakrishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Tukaram, and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Their contribution, sacrifice and spiritual thoughts enriched the State and India in all aspects. It is unfortunate that a Dalit woman should have been beaten and paraded naked in Mulgaon by persons belonging to an upper caste. The incident is a black mark on humanity. All progressive and civilised people should condemn it in one voice.
K. Mallikarjuna Reddy,
Anantapur
The atrocities against Dalits in Maharashtra reminded me of an incident that took place in my friend's village. Some of us were visiting him and we were astonished to see that his house was at the end of the village, deprived of all basic amenities and cut off from other houses. When we asked him why it was so, he said he belonged to the Scheduled Tribes, and his community was supposed to live in a corner of the village. We were shocked to hear this because we had not known until then that such practices existed even in the modern days. The dangerous trend, common in rural India, will only serve to sow the seeds of hatred in the younger generation.
A. Siddiq,
Vijayawada
