Karnataka: Gritty Dalit woman overcomes caste hatred to head panchayat

Far away from the media spotlight, a gutsy Dalit woman in a remote corner of Karnataka has unleashed a social revolution.

Vanajakshi R, 40, a school dropout who is employed as a labourer in a coffee estate, has, through sheer willpower, overcome brazen caste hatred to get elected as a Gram Panchayat president in Hassan district.

After scripting the remarkable success story in Hongadahalla village in Sakleshpur taluk, some 220 km away from glitzy Bengaluru, Vanajakshi simply broke down both due to hurt and joy.

Sweet victory

“Now that I have been elected as president, I aim to work for the villagers to get good houses and drinking water under government schemes and to help them get official documents, including Aadhaar and ration cards,” she told The Federal.

But even in the victorious moments, Vanajakshi did not hide the pain of having been constantly discriminated by the upper castes. This really pains her, said the mother of two who is married to a labourer.

Vanajakshi has been a member of the Gram Panchayat since 2021, when, thanks to her popularity, she got more than 200 votes from the around 400 voters in her village, said her friend Lakshmi Attihalli, a social worker.

Bias against Dalits

The reservation for the president of that village was changed to the Scheduled Caste community from the Backward Class in February 2024.

Vanajakshi happened to be the only Dalit among the total six members in that Gram Panchayat. So, it was her term to become the President of the Gram Panchayat for the next 2.5 years.

The village, where discrimination against Dalits is not unknown, is an upper-caste Vokkaliga-dominated area. Many years ago, a Dalit was brutally killed for running a hotel in the village.

Brazen discrimination

Once the Gram Panchayat president's position in Hongadahalla was reserved for Dalits, Vanajakshi, the sole eligible woman from the community, submitted her nomination papers.

The election, originally scheduled for February 8, required a minimum quorum of three (excluding her) out of the six current members for the process to proceed. Four of them were Vokkaligas.

But only Vanajakshi and one other member were present at the meeting. Despite granting extra time for attendance, the remaining four members failed to show up. The meeting was postponed to February 12.

Caste apathy

It was clear that the upper castes were not ready to back a Dalit woman. Vanajakshi shed tears because she could not earn the support of others due to her caste. Fighting the tears, she told the electoral officer: "I was supposed to be officially announced as the Gram President but this was hindered by the non-cooperation of my fellow members."

She alleged that they were doing this because she was a Dalit woman. She underlined that she had always cooperated with everyone else in the panchayat.

Finally, victory

After the local Tahsildar intervened, the meeting was held again on February12, and her victory was announced in the presence of the other five members.

Such are the entrenched caste equations in the village that even then the Vokkaliga members did not congratulate her deserving victory made possible due to constitutional provisions.

"They could not see me elected as the president and did not come forward to congratulate me. This reflects their mindset. But I have given him full cooperation so far," she said.

Battling beasts

Vanajakshi reflected on her role as a Dalit woman and its potential impact on the other members. "Because I am a Dalit woman, they are treating me this way. I have faced discrimination, but I have overcome it with determination.

“The Gram Panchayat has seen three presidents from the Vokkaliga community during 2.5 years. Now the term for the SC community is for 2.5 years, and they cannot tolerate this,” she said.

Deserving win

Rame Gowda, a local leader, said her victory was a significant step towards upholding the principles of the constitution, emphasizing the commitment to the oppressed, poor and vulnerable sections of the society.

He expressed joy that Vanajakshi was now the president.