Baleshwar Pasi, 35, fired a volley of abuses at his wife last Thursday as he neared his rundown thatched roof hut, his feet unsteady from a bellyful of country-made liquor he had consumed.
"I hope, for your own sake, the food is ready, you *****," he shouted, as he had been doing every evening since he married Munni 15 years ago. But this day, he soon realised, was different.
Some women, part of a 150-member all women vigilante group constituted last Tuesday, pounced upon Pasi and gave him a sound thrashing with sweeping brooms and bamboo sticks, which left him begging for mercy.
Pasi then vowed never to touch alcohol again!
Christened "Durga vahini" after the goddess who slays evil and symbolises women's power, the group has banned consuming alcohol in the village as also the entry of anybody in a drunken state.
"They mean business," admitted Doma Ansari, 25, who, too, was a recipient of the broom treatment after he caused a ruckus at the village on Sunday, under the influence of liquor.
The new development is already changing the social dynamics of Banauli, a 150-house settlement. Inhabited by mahadalits, a special category created by the Nitish Kumar regime to pass on welfare schemes benefits to the poorest among Dalits, and some Muslims, its alcohol ban has had a 'ripple effect' in the area.
{{/usCountry}}The new development is already changing the social dynamics of Banauli, a 150-house settlement. Inhabited by mahadalits, a special category created by the Nitish Kumar regime to pass on welfare schemes benefits to the poorest among Dalits, and some Muslims, its alcohol ban has had a 'ripple effect' in the area.
{{/usCountry}}Rohtas district magistrate Sandeep Kumar R Pudakalkatti said the anti-alcohol campaign had his full backing. "The administration will take action if anybody tries to harass the crusading women."