By Thamanna Sadique
A small cut, big change as described by Dalit, after what was once thought to be a far away dream, turn of events brought a Barber in Aslwada village of Gujarat cutting through caste discriminations created history. Kriti Chauhan, a 24 year old Dalit farm labourer became the first ever of his caste to enter a barber shop of the village on 7th of August for a haircut. This year brought the community another freedom, as the barbers welcomed them with open doors for the first time ever.
A village comprising 6500 villagers, a whopping count of 250 Dalit community citizens were denied grooming services by local barbers and were forced to travel miles away to a different village to get the same service, while keeping their caste identity a secret. This disparity had been pungent for generations until the first of August 2025, when elders from all the communities decided to cease the ban which never existed in papers.
Kriti Chauhan told the media about the emotional quotient he went through while being groomed in his village. He said, “I am the first Dalit to get a haircut here. Ever since I can remember, we had to go to other towns for basic grooming. In 24 years of my life, I finally felt free and accepted in my own village”
The process was backed by dedication and efforts in persuasion. With the help of local activist Chetan Dabhi, the campaign tried to make upper-caste residents understand the unconstitutional nature of the deed, but went in vain. With its failure, the administration and local police had to intervene. Suresh Choudhary, the Sarpanch of the village expressed the guilt he felt on the practice and was proud to ended it during his time in office.
The complaints of discrimination were resolved with crucial involvement of district administration headed by Mamlatdar Janak Mehta. Officials approached the village leaders and worked with them to bring a fruitful outcome. Barbers now welcome everyone regardless of their caste and are treated as nothing else but customers.