MP: Ostracised, Mhow family travels 25 km to buy goods

They have been suffering the ignominy of living a lonely life for the last two years. A small misunderstanding and Rannchhor Kushwaha's family has been ostracized by residents of Kamdadpur, a village of about 4,500 Kushwaha families in Mhow.

Updated on: Nov 12, 2014, 18:10:11 IST

Hindustan Times | By Ritesh Mishra, Indore

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

They have been suffering the ignominy of living a lonely life for the last two years. A small misunderstanding and Rannchhor Kushwaha's family has been ostracized by residents of Kamdadpur, a village of about 4,500 Kushwaha families in Mhow.

So much so that today the family has to go 25 km out of the village to Mhow to purchase commodities of daily needs like soap! The family is not allowed to purchase any good from the village shops and are even not allowed to attend any ceremony and their relatives are not allowed in the village.

It all started in 2012. "It all started because of a dharmshala of Kushwaha community," said Seema Kushwaha, daughter-in-law of Rannchhor Kushwaha.

"The dharmshala built by Kushwaha community is near our house. There was some alleged illegal encroachment of dharmshala on some other resident's land, who removed it. The community blamed that the encroachment was removed at our behest. Since then they started boycotting us," said Seema.

And now they are being asked to cough up Rs 5 lakh for coming back into the community fold. Peeved over these developments, the family finally mustered courage and represented their case at the collector's public hearing on Tuesday and demanded justice. Assuring action, the collector wrote to the concerned officer to look into the case.

The five members of the family are leading a life of oblivion. "If anyone in our family falls ill no one supports or helps us. We have to seek help from residents of other village. We don't have Rs 5 lakh to give compensation. Hence we knocked the door of the collector," said Seema.

Rannchhor lamented, "I am suffering from boycott for no reason. Two people Prahlad Kushwaha and Leeladhar Kushwaha (the office-bearers) called a meeting and outcast us. I cannot marry my daughter because they used to convey that we are boycotted."

If the boycott of Rannchhor family was not enough, two other members of Kushwaha community Ramdev Kushwaha and Om Prakash Kushwaha, who visited Rannchord family a few months back to express their sympathy towards them, have also been boycotted and asked to pay `1 lakh as compensation by the community office-bearers.

"About a year ago there was a delivery case in our family. The Asha worker had refused to help us because of the pressure of the community. We had to go to Mhow for delivery," said Seema.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ritesh Mishra
Ritesh Mishra is the State Correspondent for Chhattisgarh with Hindustan Times. He reports on Maoism, internal security, politics, mining, governance, and major developments shaping the state. Based in Raipur, he has covered Chhattisgarh since 2016, reporting extensively from the Bastar region and other conflict-affected areas. With nearly two decades of experience in journalism, Ritesh has built a reputation for ground reporting from some of India's most challenging terrains. His coverage spans Left-Wing Extremism, counter-insurgency operations, elections, tribal affairs, environmental issues, infrastructure, mining, and socio-economic developments. He has reported on major security operations, policy initiatives, wildlife crime, and the changing dynamics of conflict and development in Central India. Before moving to Chhattisgarh, Ritesh spent eight years reporting from Madhya Pradesh, covering politics, administration, crime, development, and social issues. Throughout his career, he has reported on various forms of extremism in Central India, combining field reporting with in-depth analysis to produce accurate, balanced, and impactful journalism. Prior to joining Hindustan Times, Ritesh worked with The Pioneer and The Free Press Journal, where he covered a wide range of beats and honed his skills in political, investigative, and field reporting. His reporting is marked by exclusive stories, extensive fieldwork, and a commitment to factual, on-the-ground journalism that brings complex issues to a wider audience.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.