TODAY, society has reached the 21st century, but the upper caste people of Subhai village in Joshimath, a remote development block in Chamoli district, are still living in the 16th century. In this village, even today, if a person does not attend meetings, the powerful people of the village punish him by imposing hefty fines. In May 2024, during the Baisakhi fair, drummer, Pushkar Lal was ordered by these bullies to play the drums all night despite being ill. After playing for two hours, he expressed his inability to continue due to his illness, and they fined him Rs 5000.

On July 14, 2024, at 1 PM, in the Panchayati Chowk behind the Gauri Shankar temple of this village, these bullies ordered the “tadipar” (exile) of 10 dalit families for not playing dhol damau and not following the village orders. They were also instructed not to talk to upper caste people, not to buy goods from upper caste shopkeepers, not to access the village's rights and water streams, and not to sit in vehicles with upper caste people. These upper caste bullies, including women, used caste slurs and threatened them to "live within their limits (aukaat)," which angered dalits and progressive people across the district and state.

In response, on July 18, 2024, a mahapanchayat was organised by thousands of dalits and progressive people at the district headquarters of Joshimath block. Joshimath branch secretary of the Party, Manmohan Rautela, Party district committee member Basti Lal, and Devendra Khanera participated on behalf of the Party. Under the pressure of this mahapanchayat, the police station in Joshimath registered a case against 28 upper caste people under the Scheduled Caste-Tribe Act. However, due to the upper caste mentality of the BJP government in the state, not a single accused has been arrested so far.

The Party has intensified the movement across the state, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused. Protests and effigy-burning programmes are ongoing at Chamoli district headquarters, Gopeshwar, the state’s temporary capital, Dehradun, and other district headquarters. The Party has decided to conduct a massive protest in Dehradun if the Chamoli district administration does not arrest the accused soon.