Dalits devised several methods to survive, one of them was fishing. This has declined particularly after 1990 when they began to move to cities
In the eastern Uttar Pradesh countryside, there were occupations, styles, actions and mannerisms that could indicate a person’s caste. I have explained in the last two articles how field rats were eaten by Dalits and how they raided rats’ ‘homes’ to look for food grains they had gathered. Today, these practices have almost disappeared. As I look at eastern Uttar Pradesh more closely, I find a few more practices associated with Dalits of the region.
In this part of the country, barring Brahmin, Koeri, and probably Mali, people of other communities ate fish. Koeri is a caste in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar identifies as Maurya, Kushwaha, Saini, etc. In Maharashtra, the caste is known as Mali. A hard-working people, Koeris grow vegetables. The caste identified as Mali grows flowers and is part of the Jajmani system where they supply flowers on occasions such as wedding and religious rituals.
A caveat needs to be prefixed that barring Mallah — that also double as fisherman in this part of India — OBCs are generally not a meat- or fish-eating people. They do eat but not as aggressively as Dalits. Among Dalit sub-groups too, there are many small subcastes that are not fond of non-vegetarian food.
Circa 1975, most Dalits hardly had surpluses to buy meat/chicken or fish. They were often short of cash and there was no way non-vegetarian food would be bought. Sure, whenever a guest arrived, the host would do everything to procure meat/ chicken or fish. Not serving non-vegetarian was taken as an offence by the guest.
Often, Dalits ate wild fish that they hunted. Fish hunting had its cycle. The fish-hunting cycle would begin with the first rain in the third week of June. During rains, a series of nallahs — natural waterways — would come alive in the entire eastern Uttar Pradesh countryside. Rainwater would reach low-lying areas of villages and finally join nallahs, which would eventually join rivers and large lakes around.
The fish living in rivers and lakes would then start swimming against the current. Once in the nallah, fish would find even stronger currents as water from villages would pour into it. Their journey from a nallah to the high-lying landmass would be full of dangers and some of them could get trapped in open fields. That’s the moment Dalits would wait for. Dalit women, too, would join male members to catch the fish. Now, in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Dalit women have stopped fishing this way.
The second fish-hunting season would start when paddy, planted in July, would mature and there would be plenty of water in the field. There would be tiny fish around. Often, young Dalits would go around paddy fields looking for fish. Young Dalit girls, too, would join them. This practice has stopped, too.
The third cycle of fish hunting would begin in October when monsoon retreated. This time, fish would return to their original homes in rivers and lakes. They now went with water currents. This hunting was mostly male-centric.
The fourth cycle of fish hunting would take place during the winter season when water in nallahs would start drying up. Dalit youth would catch fish trapped in the dry areas of the nallah. This, too, would be a male-centric exercise. The fifth cycle of fish hunting would be fishing rod-based; this too was male-centric.
The sixth and final fish hunting season would begin in May and June when village ponds would start drying up. Villagers would raid ponds collectively. They would jump in ponds with whatever tools they had. This practice has also stopped today.
Both underpaid and overworked, Dalits devised several methods to survive. Many of the practices they followed built a particular stereotype around the community. With the passage of time, they became Dalit marker. These markers have been declining over the years, particularly after 1990, when Dalits began to move to cities. Dalits’ migration to cities is their greatest march to freedom in their known history. Dalit women out of fish ponds mean they are out of caste bondage.