Casteism is often not what you think it is. All communities seem to make women the keepers of community honor.
When an Adivasi woman from Rayagada district in Odisha married a Dalit man from neighboring village, the Adivasi village ostracized the woman’s family for bringing dishonor to the community.
They were taken back only after 40 members of the family tonsured their heads in penance. Both communities are considered traditionally underprivileged and oppressed, yet seem to maintain their own societal structures of exclusion.
It is 2025 and this must end.
