‘Denied marriage hall on rent’, Dalit farmer alleges discrimination

BAREILLY: A Dalit farmer from Budaun district has lodged a complaint against four marriage hall owners in Sahaswan area, alleging discrimination after they refused to rent out their venues for his daughter’s wedding.

In his complaint to SDM, Dalit farmer Achchan Lal mentioned that his 24-year-old daughter’s wedding is scheduled for Feb 4, 2025. Despite multiple attempts, he was unable to book at any of the four marriage halls in the area.

“No hall owner is willing to rent out his venue because we belong to the Dalit community,” he alleged, urging the SDM to intervene and help secure a place for the ceremony.

Achchan’s daughter is a teacher at a school in Sahaswan and is set to marry a banker from Delhi.

Circle officer Karam Vir Singh said an investigation had been initiated. “The marriage hall owners claimed they had hosted wedding functions for members of the Dalit community in the past and denied any discrimination. The owners said nobody would face any issue as long as dates are available. However, they have stipulated that no meat be prepared at the venue.”

Arun, the bride’s brother, said, “If they refuse to provide a hall, we will hold the wedding traditionally in our own neighbourhood. However, we are determined to pursue legal action against the hall owners, even if it means going to court.” He added that the owners are also suggesting that we postpone the wedding date.

One of the hall owners, Narayan Kumar, defended his decision, saying, “We have an event on Feb 3, and it would not be possible to clean and prepare the venue for any event the next day.”

This incident has sparked concerns of caste discrimination, drawing parallels to earlier such cases in the region. In neighbouring Sambhal district, a similar issue was reported in Feb 2023 when a Dalit family sought police protection for their daughter’s wedding due to resistance from upper-caste members. The local administration then deployed heavy security, including 60 police personnel, to ensure that the ceremony proceeded without any disruption.

Courtesy : TOI

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