Community boycotts woman who was touched by and outsider

One more case of bizarre superstition which is still existing in rural India.

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Want to see just how deeply superstition remains rooted even in today’s society? Visit Mangrul Chavala village, around 50km from Amravati, where a woman from the Pardhi community was ostracized from the community.

The reason: she was allegedly touched by a person from other community. The victim Parsanta Pawar lives in Pardhi Beda in Mangrul Chavala village, which is located in Nandgaon Khandeshwar tehsil. The tehsil faces acute water shortage. Due to the problem, some youngsters in the community dug a borewell in the school on the premises of zilla parishad, which was used by the Pardhi community and the school’s students.

Sources said that on January 28, group education officer Ram Halde had visited the school for an inspection. He objected to the Pardhi women taking water from the borewell and a heated exchange took place between the women, including Parsanta, and the officer. The women lodged a complaint at the Nandgaon police station where a non cognisable offence was registered against Halde.

However, what happened next was even more bizarre. Instead of rallying behind the 38-year-old Parsanta who has four children, the community held that she had become untouchable as Halde, who belonged to a different community, had touched her during the altercation. Even her husband is supporting the boycott decision taken by the community.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 05 Feb 2009