Caste divides make scorching summers harder in a parched corner of India

In a parched region of India, the scorching summer heat exacerbates existing caste divisions, making access to water even more challenging. Mamta, a 40-year-old woman from the Dalit community, formerly known as "untouchables," describes how obtaining water in her village becomes increasingly difficult during the summer months.

A couple of months ago, just after sunrise, Mamta began what would be one of up to ten trips she would make that day. Carrying three empty plastic buckets, she walked several hundred meters to the nearest handpump in her village, located in the Jalaun district of the drought-prone Bundelkhand region in northern India. Temperatures in parts of the region were exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.

Mamta explained that the taps installed under a government drinking water scheme had been dry for two years, leaving most of the village's 1,000 residents reliant on a handful of handpumps. Collecting enough water for her 11-member family and their livestock took hours, she said, but the heat was not her only obstacle.

As a member of the Valmiki community, part of the Dalits—groups historically considered "untouchable" under India's centuries-old caste hierarchy and still facing widespread discrimination—Mamta stated that she waits until members of the village's dominant castes have finished using the handpump before approaching it. "If they are standing there, we cannot fill water. We have to wait until they leave," she said. Afterward, she added, some upper-caste residents pour water over the pump to "cleanse" it. "It has been happening for decades."

Bundelkhand, a semi-arid region spanning several districts in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, is notoriously prone to drought. It experienced several major droughts between 2002 and 2016, becoming almost a symbol of water scarcity in a country where many regions face similar hardships. The rocky terrain of the Bundelkhand plateau limits its capacity to store groundwater. Erratic rainfall and rising temperatures have made water access unpredictable, despite various government and community-led conservation efforts. A study of over a century of weather records revealed that temperatures have risen across nearly the entire region, with parts of Bundelkhand nearing 48 degrees Celsius in recent summers.

Residents and researchers indicate that worsening heat and water stress are intensifying an old social divide. As more families compete for scarce shared water, Dalits, who have long faced barriers in accessing it, are encountering these inequalities more frequently. "Conflict over water is not new," said Mitashi Singh of the Centre for Science and Environment. "What is changing is the role hotter summers are playing in making water scarcer and intensifying tensions that already existed."

Local officials deny claims of water shortages or caste discrimination at public water sources in the region. Dominant-caste residents interviewed by the BBC also denied discriminating against others, though they acknowledged increasing pressure on water supplies. Ram Gopal Singh, in his 50s, pointed to several abandoned village wells. "These wells have been dry for almost 20 years," he said. Other sources had dried up or become polluted, while unreliable tap connections had pushed more families toward handpumps. Everyone tries to collect water in the cooler morning hours, he said, leading to arguments over turns and how much each family can take. "But there is no caste-based dispute at these handpumps," he insisted.

However, Dalit residents interviewed by the BBC described a different reality. They stated that there is no formal queue at the pumps; instead, families try to collect water at different times to avoid confrontations. Mamta said she usually goes very early in the morning or late in the afternoon. "The fear of being targeted stays with me throughout," she said.

About 50 kilometers away in Shahjahanpur, Shiv recounted a similar experience. He said members of his community would not approach the handpump while dominant-caste families were using it. "No matter how hot it is, even if we have to wait for hours for one bucket of drinking water, we wait because we do not have a choice," he said. In summer, when his family needed more water, these waiting periods became more frequent. "Even if my parents are thirsty, we sometimes wait for hours before we can drink."

Three years ago, Shiv's mother, Parmi Devi, alleged she was assaulted after an argument with a member of a dominant caste at a village handpump. "I was thrashed and beaten up and thrown on the ground three times," she claimed. "It was not just about water. It was because of our caste." Devi filed a police complaint alleging assault, but no arrests have been made yet.

Such disputes have repeatedly surfaced in complaints documented by the Dalit Dignity and Justice Centre (DDJC), a non-profit organization in Uttar Pradesh. The group reported that police registered 113 cases under India's law against caste-based atrocities in the area in 2025. Kuldeep Singh Baudh of DDJC told BBC Hindi that a majority of the complaints tracked during the hottest months of May and June involved water, though the organization has not published a detailed breakdown. "To truly understand [the heat's] impact, you have to see it from the perspective of the communities that are the most excluded," he said.

The office of District Magistrate Rajesh Kumar Pandey rejected the allegations. "There is not even one instance wherein caste-based discrimination is being practised when it comes to access to water in the region," it stated. The statement also disputed claims of water shortages, citing the federal government's Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide piped drinking water to every rural household, and other local efforts to restore ponds and recharge groundwater.

Wider efforts have also been made to address Bundelkhand's water crisis. Traditional water bodies, including ponds and check dams, have been revived across the region, while women-led groups known as Jal Sahelis work in villages to monitor supplies and promote water conservation.

Mukul Sharma, a researcher on caste and environmental politics, noted that increasing water supplies is only part of the solution. Climate change is "not the origin of these injustices, but a threat multiplier," he added. More water alone will not solve the problem if caste still dictates who gets to use it, Sharma concluded.

That morning in May, Mamta waited beside the handpump as other families filled their buckets, three empty plastic containers at her feet. In cooler months, she said, she made the journey only a few times a day. In summer, it could be eight or ten, each trip partly determined by who was already at the pump. When her turn came, she filled her buckets and carried them home, knowing she would return later that day.