AHMEDABAD, India: A young farmer from India’s lowest Dalit community has been beaten to death for owning a horse, which is seen as a symbol of power and wealth, police said Saturday.
Police have detained three upper caste men for questioning after the body of 21-year-old Pradeep Rathod was found in a pool of blood near Timbi village in Gujarat state late Thursday night.
Dalits, formerly known as “untouchables,” are among the most marginalized groups in India, where caste discrimination is outlawed but remains widespread.
Rathod’s father, who found the body, “has alleged that his son was killed by people of upper caste community of his village because he owned a horse despite being a Dalit,” deputy police superintendent A.M. Saiyed told AFP.
“We have detained three persons named in the complaint filed by Pradeep Rathod’s father for questioning.”
In his complaint, seen by AFP, Rathod’s father stated his son loved horses and he had bought him one eight months ago.
“My son’s love for horses led to his murder,” the father said.
“About a week ago, when I was riding the horse with my son, one of the persons from the upper caste Kshatriya (warrior) community warned us not to ride the horse in the village.
“He said that people of Dalit community cannot ride horses, only Kshatriyas can ride horses. He also threatened to kill us if we did not sell the horse,” the complaint read.
Rathod, a high school drop-out, worked on land owned by his father.
Dalits, who lie at the bottom of India’s deeply entrenched social hierarchy system, have long faced attacks.
Last October, a Dalit man was killed by a group of men for attending a traditional Hindu dance performance also in Gujarat, the western home state of Hindu nationalist premier Narendra Modi.
Protests erupted among the community in 2016 after vigilantes wrongly accused four Dalit villagers of killing a cow — considered sacred by Hindus. They were stripped and publicly thrashed.
Modi has urged a halt to attacks on Dalits, who make up about 200 million of the population of 1.25 billion, and an end to caste discrimination.
Low-caste Indian Dalit killed for owning horse
Low-caste Indian Dalit killed for owning horse
Egypt’s grand museum begins live restoration of King Khufu’s ancient boat
- The 4,600-year-old boat was built during the reign of King Khufu, the pharaoh who also commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza
CAIRO: Egypt began a public live restoration of King Khufu’s ancient solar boat at the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, more than 4,000 years after the vessel was first built.
Egyptian conservators used a small crane to carefully lift a fragile, decayed plank into the Solar Boats Museum hall — the first of 1,650 wooden pieces that make up the ceremonial boat of the Old Kingdom pharaoh.
The 4,600-year-old boat was built during the reign of King Khufu, the pharaoh who also commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza. The vessel was discovered in 1954 in a sealed pit near the pyramids, but its excavation did not begin until 2011 due to the fragile condition of the wood.
“You are witnessing today one of the most important restoration projects in the 21st century,” Egyptian Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy said.
“It is important for the museum, and it is important for humanity and the history and the heritage.”
The restoration will take place in full view of visitors to the Grand Egyptian Museum over the coming four years.
