In this border Dalit village, no girl attends school

School is taboo for girls in Dalit-dominated Trimohi village in Barmer.

Though uplift of SC/ST community finds a place in almost every poll manifesto of political parties, in Dalit-dominated Trimohi, the last village ahead of India Pakistan border in Barmer, education for girls seems a far-fetched dream.

Concrete roads have reached this village, situated 700 km from Barmer, but education and health facility are a far cry. The village with a population of 200 voters in 94 households, mostly scheduled caste (SC), still has no schooling facility and no primary health care centre. The villagers are a neglected lot even when election buzz is all over the country.

However, the village was featured in almost every newspaper and got nationwide attention three years ago when 17-year-old Delta Meghwal was found dead after being allegedly raped and killed in Nokha Bikaner. Her body was found in a water tank of the teachers’ training institute where she was studying. Even for the social workers, a visit to this village had become routine after the incident. But now no one visits the family or the village. Interestingly, when it comes to the education of girls the families are reluctant to send girls out of the village.

'Girls better at home'

Delta's father Mahendra Meghwal, a government teacher, is no different. Following Delta's mysterious death, he stopped his younger daughter Nathu from going to school. However, his two sons are studying - the elder is pursuing MBBS in Maharashtra and the younger is preparing for medical exams in Kota. "Her studies would have made no difference. There was a time when I believed girls must go out and study but I am not too sure now. Girls better be at home," Mahendra Meghawal told DH.

The village also caught eyeballs, especially after Congress president Rahul Gandhi was the first one to reach out along with deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot. But with elections a week away, the village fails to feature in the ongoing election campaign of BJP and Congress candidates even though the community's vote is one of the deciding factors.

In Barmer, both the parties recently organised back to back SC/ST conventions, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls due on April 29.

The Dalit community is considered the traditional vote bank of the Congress here and the party wants to keep it intact for winning the seat. Congress has fielded Manvendra Singh from Barmer, while BJP has fielded Kailash Chaudhry.