MP: Upper caste students allegedly boycott midday meal cooked by Dalit woman

Tikamgarh: In a shocking incident related to caste-based discrimination, the children of a government school in Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh, allegedly refused to consume mid-day meal cooked by a Dalit woman.

When asked, the children said the food is being prepared at home by a woman, who doesn't belong to their community.

"We don't eat the meal because it is prepared by the women from Banskar community. Only Banskar community people consumes the food," Muskan, a student said.

The Dalit woman, who is appointed to prepare mid-day for the school children, said: "Only 12 students came to my home and ate their meal. The others left and boycotted the meal allegedly saying 'we don't want to have food here as you hail from a lower caste'."

The school headmaster, however, attempted to downplay this report.

"The midday meal should be cooked inside the school's kitchen, not at cook's home. Secondly, kids avoid the meal just because the meal is prepared in someone else's home," he said.

However, the children belonging from the lower caste have no problem in consuming the mid-day meal and were seen having it with full delight.