The Hindu : Meal scheme assumes casteist overtones

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 06, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Meal scheme assumes casteist overtones

By Our Staff Reporter

IDIKUDA (NALGONDA DT.) JAN. 5. "I was hurt by what they did. We served them for generations but today they threw away the food cooked by us,'' bemoans Yadamma, who cooks and serves food for students of the primary school of this village in Chandur mandal. This is the school where students of upper castes refused to take the mid-day meal as it was prepared by Yadamma and Muttamma, who belong to Scheduled Caste.

The parents of BC and OC students did not allow their wards to have lunch in the school as it was being prepared by the Indira Samabhavana Sangham, a 15-member self-help group consisting of SC women. Out of the total strength of 108, only 25 are SC students in the school.

On the first day of the programme, only 18 students had the meal under the scheme, while eight more joined them the next day. On January 3, 60 students went home for lunch. Some of the parents were seen taking away their children to home for lunch.

During the trial run on December 23 also, no student belonging to upper castes took part in the programme. Despite efforts by the district administration, the situation remained the same on the final trial run on December 30.

S. Murali Mohan, the panchayat secretary, is, however, hopeful that the situation will improve gradually.

``After this incident, we feel let down and realised that we are being belittled in the name of tradition for ages,'' says Harajaiah, an agriculturist belonging to SC. He said: "we are not being allowed into temples. We did not give much significance to the issue but, with the boycott of lunch by upper caste students, we decided to break the caste shackles for good,'' he says.

The SC families reportedly decided to `defy the tradition' and offer coconuts to lord Virabhadra Swamy in the village temple during the gram sabha slated for Monday.

The sarpanch of the village, Nakirekanti Sattaiah Goud, tries to play down the caste problem in the village and says that all parents have agreed to allow their wards to have lunch under the scheme. The headmaster of the school, M. Manmadha Mohan, says that the situation improved on January 4 with 70 students had their lunch under the programme.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

Stories in this Section

Three policemen, three naxals killed

Tales of discrimination at Asian Social Forum

Three-day State-level writers' conference from Jan. 10

Meal scheme assumes casteist overtones

Doubts over robbers' killing

Scattered movement by police paid off: DGP