On September 22, a Gollarahatti—a Golla/Yadava settlement—in Pemmanahalli village of Pavagada taluk, Tumakuru, was witness to a spectacle. Pontiffs from various backward classes and dalit mutts took part in the ‘pura pravesha’, a grand reception organised by the villagers, to welcome the dalit MP who had been denied entry into the hamlet only a week before.
BJP MP from Chitradurga, Anekal Narayanaswamy, was stopped from entering the hamlet on September 16, for being a dalit. Narayanaswamy belongs to the marginalised Madiga community, who were considered untouchable in the caste-based hierarchy.
The existence of untouchability in Pemmanahalli, barely 160km from Bengaluru, evoked outrage across the state. The blatant caste discrimination and ostracisation was widely condemned, with many demanding the immediate arrest of the villagers under the Atrocities Act. Some wanted a public apology.
Narayanaswamy, who swallowed the humiliation, decided to “win hearts” rather than challenge the status quo using force. He chose not to file a complaint against the villagers. He blamed lack of education and poverty for their ignorance, and lamented that such practices still existed in the 21st century. The hamlet with 150 Golla/Yadava families suffered humiliation, too, as the incident went viral triggering huge backlash.
A stream of visitors—social activists, Yadava community leaders, pontiffs, police, politicians and the media—has made the locals wary. It took several icebreaker meetings, awareness sessions and intervention by community leaders and pontiffs to convince the villagers, as the hamlet was oscillating between anger and remorse. Finally, they decided to bid adieu to an age-old practice and embraced change.
Last week’s incident has exposed a long saga of neglect and hopelessness of a community of cowherds steeped in superstition. The Gollarahattis have always had the reputation of being hotbeds of superstitions and orthodoxy, as they are usually far away from other villages. The community is spread across nine districts in Karnataka. It is a similar story for a majority of the 1,000-odd Gollarahattis across Chitradurga Parliament constituency—one of poverty, lack of education, superstition and neglect.
Cast out: Women in the Gollarahatti are sent outside the hamlet during menstruation | Bhanu Prakash Chandra
The hamlet remains relatively untouched by civilisation as people live in mud houses with thatched roof, and toilets are a luxury. Underground drainage and paved roads are nonexistent, though they have electricity connections.
While many hattis in the state are slowly getting integrated into the mainstream, leaving behind superstition, many others are refusing to give up their regressive customs fearing a backlash from the gods.
Srikrishna Yadavananda Swami, the pontiff of Yadava Gurupeetha, Chitradurga, was the first to reach the hamlet. Calling the incident unfortunate, he said: “This is not a case of caste discrimination. Gollas are tribals who lived in the hills. So, they continue to live in hattis, isolated from the rest of the communities. In the past, the dalit castes used to enter the hattis. On one occasion, the fire lit by the dalits to warm up their drums gutted the hutments. This was construed as god’s curse for allowing the dalits into the hatti. So, many Gollarahattis continue to restrict the entry of dalits. Another reason to keep dalits away is because Gollas consider the cow to be sacred and dalits play drums made of cow skin.”
For the older generation and the women in the hamlet, tradition comes first. “None of the dalit politicians have insisted on entering our hatti till today. Why does this MP want to do it?” asks Nagamani, a housewife. Bommakkaa, an elderly woman, says whoever defies the norm will draw the ire of the gods.
Till recently, Gollas refused to wear leather footwear. They even refused electricity connections as they suspected that the wires were made of cow skin. Many have not travelled by bus or to the cities fearing they will get defiled. Women spend three days in a shack outside the hamlet during menstruation. The pregnant women are forced to deliver the babies in a shed far away way from the hamlet as the Gollas fear defilement. Menstruation and child birth are considered impure. They believe that god would punish them if they break traditions.
The temple is the hub for all social and religious activity in the settlement. The deities—Eeranna, Siddappa and Thimmappa—are heroes or warriors who sacrificed their lives fighting off enemies to keep the clan safe. Every hatti identifies their clan by the deity. It is a closed community that encourages inbreeding. “If we marry a girl from outside the hatti, we have to pay penalty of Rs2,000 to Rs5,000 to the temple,” says Muddanna, a youth.
N. Narsappa, headmaster of the primary school here, and from the Golla community, says: “Schools do not teach kids to discriminate. Only education can cure this problem. The hatti children get to mingle with other communities only after they join the higher primary school. The community will change its mindset only when more children pursue higher education and get exposure to the outside world.” A majority of families among the Gollas rear sheep and sell flowers for a living.
The Yadava seer feels the priests and village heads should be taken into confidence to end these superstitious beliefs. “Lord Krishna, who belongs to Gollas/Yadava clan married Jambavati, a dalit girl. We also have a sub sect named Karadi Golla, which endorses this fact. Discrimination is due to ignorance,” said the pontiff after trying to pacify the villagers.
Calling the incident as a “small misunderstanding”, Bettagowda, the village head, said, “No dalit MLA or MP has entered the hamlet or the temple. They usually hold meetings under the tamarind tree. This time, the MP came unannounced.” Narayanaswamy had come to the hamlet to share his plans to adopt and develop Pemmanahalli into a model village.
“We welcomed him and garlanded him, too,” said Bettagowda. “But when he asked if he could come to the temple, we told him he is free to do so. But his personal assistant insisted that we escort them. I told them I cannot as I am bound by tradition and need to consult the elders. Ajjayya (an old man) cautioned the MP that it was a tradition not to entertain Harijan in the temple. The MP felt offended. The incident was misreported in the media. We never meant to hurt the MP. All are welcome to our hamlet.”
Said D.S. Sudarshan, a Chitradurga-based lawyer from the Golla community: “My community is still superstitious. Dearth of education is a major factor. Dalit politicians fear losing votes and will not dare to enter these hamlets. Nobody opposed these evil traditions. They should not live in ghettos but in mixed localities, where people of all communities freely mingle with each other.” D.C. Nataraj, director of Yadava association Molkalmuru, cautioned the community against insulting an elected representative as it would further alienate the community.
According to Poojarappa, who lives outside the hatti in Pemmanahalli village, the Kaadu Golla population across 100 hattis is about 30,000. In Chitradurga, there are 1,150 Gollarahattis. In Karnataka, the community has a population of eight lakh. “But Gollarahattis are mere vote banks as there has been no development unlike the revenue villages,” said Poojarappa.
“This entire hatti is built on a private land (patta land) belonging to four brothers. So, we cannot build pukka houses. We want the government to declare this as a revenue village so that we can avail government schemes for housing and infrastructure,” said Dasanna, a local.
The Golla community, which is classified under other backward classes (OBC Category 1) is now pushing for their inclusion in the Schedule Tribe category. While Kaadu Gollas have no elected representatives from the community, the Ooru Gollas, a sub sect, is represented by a lone MLA from Hiriyur, Poornima Srinivas.
Even as the community stands on the threshold of change, continued political apathy would scuttle both development and a change of heart.