Odisha boy carries dead mother on bicycle after villagers refuse to help because of caste

[manlion]

As young Saroj pushed the cycle carrying his mother's body down a crumbling lane, there was little to distract him from his thoughts but the sound of his own feet scraping against the loose gravel.

Covered from head to toe, Janki Sinhania's corpse was laid out across the seat on she might once have ridden pillion, and kept in balance by a stiff makeshift bunk.

When it was time to conduct her last rites, not even one of her neighbours in Karpabahal, a village in Odisha, wanted to help Saroj carry her body to the cremation ground.

Their reason: she belonged to a lower caste.

So Saroj, 17, carried her body on the bicycle for four to five kilometres.

He is said to have buried his mother in a forest.

Janki Sinhania, who was 45, died when she went to fetch water and fell on the ground.

Her husband -- a man from Sundergarh district whom she married ten years ago -- is also dead. She stayed in her paternal village with her son and daughter after his death.

During Janki Sinhania's final journey, Saroj stood and answered questions in an unpaved village street, his head covered in a dirty towel.

When he was asked whom the body belonged to, he spoke in a quiet voice.

"My mother."

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/odisha-boy-carries-dead-mother-on-cycle-1432636-2019-01-17

 

[Goenitz]

How illiterate we are.. if we can't bury these petty differences then how can we make peace between cities, regions and countries

 

[Viny]

Sad and very sorry state of humanity.
Death is final destination, if the neighborhood cannot respect a death and support the grieved, then neighborhood and society at large had failed the being human and being social.

We as a country still need to do a lot to clear the myths, divisions and raise the education and health services across the country, specially the remote and underprivileged areas.

I also blame the reporter and media, who where there to cover the story but did nothing to support the boy in grieved state to perform final rites. For them its just been a story to get eyes of readers.

 

[manlion]

Dalits, tribals are a discriminated lot

Adivasi Lives Don't Matter
A child drinks insecticide to quell hunger. This is part of a pattern, not an isolated incident.

Last week, The Quint reported that an Adivasi child in Ratlam district in northwest Madhya Pradesh had been hospitalised after drinking insecticide in order to quell a desperate hunger. The child had reportedly asked for grains from the local ration shop several times, but had been turned away. Little else is known or has been reported about the incident, which took place on December 31 and is being investigated by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

One thing, however, should be very clear – this is not an isolated incident. On the contrary, it is symptomatic of a systematic pattern, which tells us loudly and clearly, that in India today, Adivasi lives don’t matter.

Hunger and malnutrition is widespread in rural Madhya Pradesh. Indeed, child mortality rates in the state rank among the highest in the world, and levels of malnutrition among children surpass the levels found in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. This takes a particularly harsh toll on the state’s Adivasi population.

Disproportionate levels of malnutrition and disproportionate levels of child mortality are indexes of disproportionate poverty. At the national level, it has been estimated that 44.7% of India’s Adivasi population lives below the poverty line, and while constituting only 8% of India’s total population, they make up as much as 25% of the poorest decile of this population. Conversely, altogether 30% of India’s Adivasis are located in the poorest decile of the country’s population.

https://thewire.in/rights/adivasi-lives-dont-matter

 

[Samlee]

And This Still Happens In The 21st Century

 

[Crystal-Clear]

incredible india

 

[manlion]

 

[Sully3]

This is so sad.

regardless of how india sponsors terrorism in my country, i can look past it and feel sorry for the needy. we dont need a world so cruel. And the worst thing is this boy is only 17 years old and dealing with this.

 

[faithfulguy]

This is so sad.

regardless of how india sponsors terrorism in my country, i can look past it and feel sorry for the needy. we dont need a world so cruel. And the worst thing is this boy is only 17 years old and dealing with this.

This happens when India spending funds to terrorize its neighbors instead of taking care of its poor.

 

[manlion]

This happens when India spending funds to terrorize its neighbors instead of taking care of its poor.

Nothing to do with poverty, its inherent to Indian social-religious system, which is based on inequality and discrimination based on caste, occupation (ashrama) and skin color (varna)

the 2 nation theory is incomplete ,t here should have few more nations for
1) Upper caste and Brahmins s
2) Lower caste , dalits/tribals
3) others etc

 

[samv]

Nothing to do with poverty, its inherent to Indian social-religious system, which is based on inequality and discrimination based on caste, occupation (ashrama) and skin color (varna)

the 2 nation theory is incomplete ,t here should have few more nations for
1) Upper caste and Brahmins s
2) Lower caste , dalits/tribals
3) others etc

LOL That is Tamil society in a nutshell.

 

[Cookie Monster]

How illiterate we are.. if we can't bury these petty differences then how can we make peace between cities, regions and countries

It's so saddening that ppl think about things like caste. The poor woman had an untimely accidental death...the son and daughter must've been extremely grief stricken...and it infuriates me that the asshole villagers didn't help. Have some humanity!!!

 

[Sully3]

LOL That is Tamil society in a nutshell.

Tamils are some of the nicest and most educated indians i have ever come across. Never had any ill feelings from them or vice versa compared to the rest of indians.

maybe because they are proscuited community in india thats why they come accross like that.

 

[Godman]

maybe because they are proscuited community in india thats why they come accross like that.

Really?

 

[Sully3]

Really?

I know there is a history of war between tamils and sri lankans but my comment was genreally about south indians. they seem to be the most likeable indians. maybe becuase they feel discriminated for being dark etc compared to the rest of india.