In rural Haryana, the conundrum of Dalits goes beyond classification

In Kharkhoda, Dalits face challenges amid political promises ahead of October 5 polls, with subclassification stirring mixed feelings and hopes for change.

On its best day, Kharkhoda is a shadow of its bigger cousin Sonepat. The hamlet of 40,000-odd people is a frustrating mess of cratered lanes where overloaded auto-rickshaws manoeuvre at unimaginable speeds round impossible corners, sometimes grazing the wares and vegetables displayed on either side of the road. The cacophony has only gotten sharper over the past month as street-corner canvassing has taken up whatever little space was left in this dense hamlet, and motorbike rallies are zipping through its

Terrorised by the violence perpetrated by Jat mobs, scores of Dalit families spent the better part of the next decade on the streets. (HT achives)