Delhi minister offers job to Dalit cook who was removed from school after upper caste students refused food made by her
Dehradun: Reacting to the offer made by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and social welfare minister in the Delhi government, Rajendra Pal Gautam, who promised a job to Sunita Devi, the Dalit bhojanmata (cook), who was removed from the Government Inter College in Sukhidang village of Champawat after a few upper caste students refused to eat the food cooked by her, Devi said that she will move out of Uttarakhand only for a government job.
Speaking to TOI, the bhojanmata, who has studied uptill class 8, said that “nobody has approached me with a job proposal yet but if such an offer comes my way, I will only consider moving out of Uttarakhand if it is a permanent government position as I won’t be able to survive in Delhi or take care of my children with the meagre income of a bhojanmata.”
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Gautam had said, “Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami should have taken immediate cognisance of the matter and ensured justice to the woman. He should now issue an apology.” He had thereafter invited Devi to “come to Delhi where our government will provide her a job as a cook.”
When asked if she has filed a police complaint against the school authorities for sacking her, Devi said, “I have not yet approached police with a complaint but I might do so if justice is not delivered.”
She added that it was not the first time when she faced caste discrimination. “In our village, people from upper castes don’t come to our houses and don’t allow us in their houses as well. There is sharp division along caste lines.”
Notably, Devi had joined the school, which has a student strength of 230, as bhojanmata on December 13 but the very next day, several upper caste students refused to eat the meal cooked by her. Later, the chief education officer of the district, RC Purohit, after reviewing the matter, termed her appointment as illegal, and dismissed her.
However, on Saturday, 23 Dalit students of the school came out in support of Devi. To protest her removal, they boycotted the mid-day meal cooked by her replacement, a woman from upper caste, and instead got their own lunch from home. The same day, Prem Singh, principal of the school, wrote a letter to the block education officer, apprising him of the entire episode. Later in the day, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami constituted an inquiry in the matter.
The district magistrate of Champawat thereafter formed a panel headed by the chief education officer of the district to enquire into the matter. The panel’s members are expected to submit a report on the termination of Devi’s employment shortly.“A lot of people are reaching out to me now. They tell me I will get justice. As of now, I am just waiting for the inquiry to end,” added Devi.
Courtesy : TOI
Note: This news piece was originally published in timesofindia.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights objectives.