By Archana Sharma

Jaipur, Apr 28 (IANS): It has been over seven decades since India attained Independence, but the caste system still holds sway in many parts of rural India. On Tuesday a small village in Rajasthan -- Surajpura in Viratnagar town of Jaipur district -- turned into a virtual fortress during a Dalit wedding, it being the first ever marriage here where the groom rode a horse as per Hindu tradition which the high caste people had never allowed to happen earlier.

A large number of policemen walked along with the baraat (marriage procession) to stop interference from the high caste people -- a common occurrence in this village.

As per the villagers, this village has never seen any Dalit groom riding on a horse even after 73 years of Independence.

This time, groom Kailash Chand, son of Premchand Balai, sent a letter to MLA Indraj Gujjar and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urging them to provide strict security to the marriage party -- it being the first time after Independence that a Dalit groom will ride a horse in this village.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Kotputli, Ramkumar Kaswa said that the groom had given in writing that he wanted police protection as he wanted to ride on a horse at his wedding.

Hence, a huge police force was deployed to make history in this village.

The administration officials spoke to the villagers and convinced them to maintain peace during the wedding ceremony.

On Tuesday, the marriage was solemnised peacefully. However, what made it the talk of the town was that while relatives and guests were seen dancing in the 'baraat' a police team followed them everywhere to ensure their safety.