Despite being led by Dravidian parties, TN offers little hope to Dalits

Chennai, Aug 13 (IANS) Time and again leaders from both the ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK have boasted about the rich legacy of Dravidian blood in their veins but in real picture, the state is turning more into one where the Dalit rights are crushed or the state turning a blind eye to it.

The recent incidents of Dalit violence took place in Tirunelvelli district in South Tamil Nadu where a group of school boys were charged for having barged into the residence of a Dalit schoolmate and hacking him with a sickle. The sister of the Dalit boy, who tried to prevent the intermediate caste students from attacking the boy, was also injured in the attack.

The mother of the children told the media persons that they were planning to leave the place and start a life afresh in Chennai or some other metro towns of Tamil Nadu and mingle in the crowd so that they are not abused or assaulted as in their village where they were living for decades.

The mother also told the press about the gory incidents that her son had to face in school, including buying breakfast, tobacco products like cigarettes for his intermediate caste classmates and also verbal abuses regularly rebuking his caste. The boy was also regularly subjected to torture and was forced to part with his money by the upper caste boys.

Fed up with the regular abuse and assault, the child informed his mother and the family complained to the school. The Government school headmaster and teachers warned the intermediate caste students of stringent action if they further abused or tortured the Dalit boy. Taking offence to the warning , the gang of students barged into the residence of the Dalit boy and attacked him.

The assault on the Dalit boy was widely carried across the country and resulted in a major shame to the Tamil Nadu government. Stalin promptly send his industries minister, Thangam Thenarasu to the residence of the Dalit boy and assured help to the family. He even spoke to the mother of the boy on the phone of the minister. Seven boys were arrested and charged under Dalit atrocities.

In another incident that took place a couple of days ago in Tenkasi district, again in South Tamil Nadu, Dalits were not allowed to use a pathway near a temple citing that it was a government land and that there was a court order against it. Here also the culprits were from the intermediate caste.

These are not two incidents that can be given a slip off considering the huge population of Tamil Nadu and the giant progress the state has made in several spheres, including education and industries. However, the social reality in Tamil Nadu is that Dalits are being looked down upon and all tall talks of Dravidian equality is turning into a myth in the state.

Sadly, the small incidents like these turns into major catastrophes leading to killings and counter killings with decades long animosity and revenge. In August 2021 there were killings and counter killings in Madurai and Tirunelveli districts of the state wherein within a span of three days six people lost their lives. The culprits being the intermediate caste of Thevars and Dalits. The Dalits were forced to counter after they were regularly abused, bashed up and assaulted.

Dr. N. Aravidan, a retired professor in social sciences from a prominent college in Tamil Nadu while speaking to IANS said, “The Dravidian movement and ideology has nothing to do with Dalits and the Dalits are still suffering in the state. You can see several incidents of untouchability, violence and atrocities against Dalits and once or twice it becomes a big news. Its taking place on a day to day basis across Tamil Nadu with atrocities being more in South Tamil Nadu.”

He said that driven to the wall, the Dalits have also taken arms and retorted but that was after the maximum tolerance and shame they had undergone.

It is to be noted that in many tea shops in Salem, Erode, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Madurai areas of the state, there are separate tumblers for Dalits in local tea shops. The Dalits are not allowed to even carry the bodies of their dears and nears through areas where the upper castes and intermediate caste people live even if the cemetery is close by. The Dalits will have to walk miles taking circuitous route to reach the cemetery and this has also led to atrocities and assaults in many parts of the state.

In December 2022, an overhead water tank that supplies drinking water to a Dalit colony in Vengavayil in Pudukottai district was detected of human stool. The state police and the Crime branch police have been investigating the case since December 2022 but still the culprits are at large.

Several Dalit movements, including those headed by retired IAS officers from Dalit communities, took up the issue but nothing happened. This is the state of affairs even now in Tamil Nadu but the mainstream political parties of the state have been prophesying about the Dravidian ideology and the equality it has brought to the state.

Any society or for that matter a state or country will be judged by the way it treats the lowest rung of the society and if this can be considered as a factor to judge the state, it is clear that the state of Tamil Nadu lags way behind in this.

Disclaimer: This story has not been edited by the Sakshi Post team and is auto-generated from syndicated feed.