What happened: Upper caste students at a government school in Jharkhand refused to eat a midday school meal prepared by a Dalit woman, named Sunita Devi. Details: Sunita Devi, a Dalit woman was hired as a midday meal cook ‘Bhojan mata’ in Jaul village at a government school. She was assigned to prepare meals for students in grades 6 to 8. All students in government schools receive mid-day meals to ensure their nutrition and to encourage attendance. The principal reported that on Sunita’s first day, all the students ate the meal she prepared. But when they came the next day, they boycotted against the food prepared by her. More: “For the position of Bhojan-mata, we received 11 applications,” the principal added. She said that Sunita was chosen at an open meeting of the parent-teacher association and school management committee. The meeting was held in the first week of this month. However, the parents allege that another upper-caste woman who recently got separated from her husband was more deserving for the position. The investigation: “The education department has set up an inquiry to look into the matter,” said RC Purohit, Chief Education Officer of Champawat. Anshul Bisht, the deputy education officer has been tasked with leading the investigation. What you need to know: Dalit is a word for the lower-caste of Hindus, who were previously referred to as “untouchables.” In India, there are 200 million Dalits out of a total population of 1.3 billion. When India became a republic in 1950, ‘untouchability’ was legally abolished, but to this date the Dalits are still discriminated against.