Over 2,000 Dalits threaten to convert to Islam in UP

AGRA: More than 2,000 Dalits from Aligarh have threatened to give up Hinduism and convert to Islam, alleging constant persecution by members of the local Thakur community, identified as an “upper caste”.
On Sunday, they immersed pictures of Hindu deities in a rivulet close to their village, Keshopur Jhopri, as a symbolic farewell to the faith. The threat has of late found resonance among Dalits in other parts of Uttar Pradesh as well, with alleged harassment by the so-called upper castes driving members of the community in Moradabad and Sambhal to warn of mass conversion too.
What sparked the Aligarh protest was a clash last week over the construction of a Bhairav Baba temple at the site of an abandoned well after their Thakur neighbours objected to it.
Talking to TOI, local Dalit leader Bunty Singh said they had decided to convert to Islam on account of the continued “discrimination and harassment” they suffered at the hands of “upper caste” Hindus. “They don’t consider us a part of the Hindu community and use abusive language against us. It is better for Dalits to convert,” Bunty said.
Another Dalit, Jaiveer Singh, alleged that Thakurs had dug up drains that led from their toilets to the spot where they were planning to install a Bhairav Baba idol. Devendra Chauhan, the village pradhan’s husband, claimed the Thakurs had done no wrong. He admitted that the drains had been dug up, “but the matter was resolved after the intervention of the local administration”.
He alleged that some local Dalit leaders “are trying to create disharmony”.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rajesh Pandey said attempts were being made to defuse tension in the village.