They call the post “Bhojanmata”. This is the highest amount ever received by Sunita Devi. This went on for seven whole days, after which a Dalit cook of the late Shri Ram Chandra Rajkiya Inter College, a freedom fighter in Jaul village of Champawat district of Uttarakhand, fired himself after protesting.
Soon after Sunita filed a complaint under SC/ST Act and IPC section 506 (criminal intimidation) the district administration announced her reinstatement.
Champawat Chief Education Officer (CEO) RC Purohit said Sunita would start working from January 16 after the winter break. “Earlier he was removed as proper procedure was not followed for his appointment,” he said. “Now he has been reinstated after due process.”
Sunita, 32, said she had received information about her reinstatement. “I hope there will be no trouble this time,” she said, “I am both hopeful and unsure.”
A rule “violation” was cited by parents opposing Sunita’s appointment. However, the headmaster Prem Singh, himself a Dalit, pointed out that the school with a majority of upper-caste students has not had a single Dalit cook in 10 years, despite the official norm, holding a job. After giving preference to “a non-general (category) appointment”.
The hunt for a new cook began in October, when one of the two preparing mid-day meals for students of classes 6 to 8 (the school is up to 12th) retired. Singh said he had advertised at the local level on October 28 and six people applied, including five from the general category and one from the scheduled caste.
“The rule of appointment is that the person should be BPL. But none of the six met that criterion. I informed the school management committee (SMC, which includes parents) and the parent-teacher association that we need to invite more applications. The previous advertisement also did not mention that SC, ST and OBC candidates would be given preference. So, a new advertisement was issued on November 12, and we received five applications,” said Prem Singh.
The principal then said, the four-member committee selected Sunita Devi, out of whom two children study in the school, after finding that she met all the requirements.
But PTA president Narendra Joshi refused to sign off on the appointment. Principal Singh claimed that at a meeting where he was not present, Joshi was supported by some other parents, opposed to a Dalit cook. “Outraged by this, some others from the SC community walked out. Which remained in the name of Pushpa Bhatt, who belonged to the general category.
Singh said the rules required that if a Dalit is not selected for the job, an NOC has to be obtained from all applicants regarding the alternate name. While NOC was awaited, on December 4, Sunita’s name was sent to the Block Education Officer for approval. Since the school was in urgent need of a cook, Sunita started work on 13 December.
After about two-three days, the boycott started, with more than 40 general category students refusing to eat the food cooked by him. On December 20, Sunita was asked not to come.
A few days later, 21 Dalit students of the school refused to eat the food cooked by Vimlesh, another cook, saying he was a Brahmin.
Purohit said the children refused to eat food not because of caste prejudices but because of “arrogance” at the appointment. “Bhojanmata is appointed by the Principal and the SMC. Later, approval is given by the Deputy Education Officer,” Purohit said, adding that Principal Singh was wrong in demanding more names after the first round of selection.
Also, the CEO acknowledged that there is an inherent caste divide among the students. “It was not easy for us to convince them… In the end, they listen more to their parents.”
Located about 27 km from Tanakpur tehsil, Inter College has 66 students up to class 8, who are entitled to midday meal. Of these, 45 belong to the general category, while 21 are Dalits.
PTA president Joshi acknowledged caste bias in the region where Brahmins form a two-thirds majority. However, he insisted, the boycott started mainly because of Sunita’s appointment as the parents agreed on another name, Pushpa Bhatt. According to her, Bhatt had more claims of being a BPL as well as a single mother like Sunita in this position and therefore “worse”.
Sunita, a mother of boys in classes 6 and 8 respectively, says that her husband, who has lost income after the covid lockdown, along with her husband, as a school cook, gets a salary of Rs 3,000 per month as a lifesaver. had come. Alleging pressure on the administration, he says that on the second day of the job, local people including parents gathered in the school and protested.
“We had prepared dal and rice. About 20-25 of them arrived before the time of lunch. I heard him say that my cooking is an insult to him. When the lunch started, many upper caste children boycotted it. Some even convinced others to boycott them,” Sunita said, adding that the children were only doing what they were told.
Asked whether Sunita will now be accepted by the parents, Purohit said: “We cannot say this with full confidence.” He added: “Their main issue was illegal appointments and they should not be a problem now. If some people create ruckus then legal action should be taken against them.
Based on Sunita’s complaint, a case has been registered against 30 people. Champawat SP Devendra Pincha said that all the accused are from Sukhidang and nearby villages and no arrest has been made so far.
Sunita said, more than herself, she felt sorry for her two sons. He said, ‘They never knew about the division of these castes, but now, after my humiliation, they have started inquiring about these things. They must have felt bad. one would.”
,