Mysuru: Despite years of progress, a barber who gave a hair cut to a man from a Scheduled Tribe has been ostracised by his fellow villagers.
The incident occurred in the Hallare village of the Nanjangu taluk in Mysuru three months ago, but it came to light only recently.
Mallikarjuna Shetty, the barber, was confronted by the upper caste members of the village after he cut the hair of the lower caste man and took him to task for “violating the norms”.
When Shetty replied that he doesn’t believe in caste-based discrimination, it raged the upper caste villagers who then directed him to charge Dalits Rs 300 for a hair cut and Rs 100 for a shave. He said that he would apply the same charges to everyone, regardless of caste or community.
His refusal angering the villagers further and they proceeded to force other villagers to boycott his services.
Shetty is now in a quandary as he wants to file a complaint with the police, however, the upper caste community of his village have been threatening him and his family.
He even alleged that they have harassed his son.
Nanjangud Tahsildar Mahesh Kumar, upon being informed of the issue, has assured that he will visit the village soon and investigate the matter. He will also direct the police to file an FIR.