Dalits ,
traditionally regarded as the untouchables by the upper caste community have
been i against any improvements in their living conditions. They are even
relinquished from their right to access public provisions like education. These
kind of caste discrimination usually involves two comunities. In the case Tamil
Nadu these are the Thevars( a backward class) and Pallars(dalits). And as usual
the Dalits here also, have been the victims of economic and political
exploitation. But recently, reaping the benefits of reservation and better
public support, there have been a shift in this hegemonic dominance of the
uppercaste, the Thevars in this case.
According
to a report in 1996 by the Indian government for the ministry of Human Affairs,
there have been an increase of 34 percent, over the past years ,in the caste
clashes in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. In most case the clashes are
rooted to the increased political and economic autonomy of Dalit groups and the
resentment of the thevars against it.
There have been many incidents of clashes. One can be the unrest
provoked by the announcement of a new transport corporation (VSCTC) in
Virudhunagar district in the name of a Pallar community member. This happened
in late April 1997. There had been provoking
remarks from the thevar community regarding the incidents like “How do
you expect us to travel in a bus named after a Dalit? It is a personal affront
to our manhood.”(Ref.
A. S. Panneerselvan, “On the Violence Threshold,” Outlook, May 21, 1997). And following the incident
a dalit leade,Dr Krishnaswamy was
arrested being accused for his inflammatory speeches. These kind of clashes are a social crisis. It’s a
well known fact among them that there have been no cordial relationship between
the two groups. The first reported caste riot in the
state was the Mudakalathur riot of 1957 and the rift between the two groups
have been widening since then.
If you look at the links between the thevar community and the
state agents they had many influential state agents among them. J. Jayalalitha, the leader of
AIADMK is considered as a strong supporter of Thevars and with her help The
thevar community were able to extend their power base.
One of the most active Thevar organizations the Thevar Peravai (Thevar Front), was until
early 1998 led by retired Director General of Police (DGP) Pon Paramaguru and
even his successor was the general
secretary of a political party launched by the All India Thevar Peravai
in 1998. During his tenure as DGP he recruited many thevars in to the police
force. And there have been many incidents
of violent police raids in Dalit villages resulting in bloodshed between the two groups.
One of
the reasons for a recent shift in the
scenario may be attributed to the
increasing economic stability of the Pallars.
Like in many rural areas Dalits in these villages too were agricultural
labourers. But by the 1990’s some of them were able to own and farm their own
lands. They started looking for employment elsewhere. A research by the Madras
Institute of Development Studies attributes this change in colour of the
economic picture to two factors. First is the policy of reservation. Free
education has provided the Dalits with more opportunities and helped them to
come of the land based occupations. Second is attributed to more employment
opportunities in the gulf countries and money from this have helped them to
acquire lands of their own. This has
more affected none other than the thevars
who are themselves not advanced in terms of education. The unhappy Thevars reverted to caste
mobilizations to combat this change. But the Dalits themselves realized the
importance of political mobilization to come out of their grim situation. For
the first time Pallars replied to their traditional mistreatment by contesting
in elections.
The
case of Melavalavu massacre
It is
right that reservation has helped some people but at the same time it had been the cause of some
serious incidents, which is the case of Melavalavu murders. Melavalavu is a
village in the Madurai district. It was declared a reserved constituency in
September 1996. This meant Melavalavu panchayat, comprising of eight villages
with 1,000Dalit families, would have seats reserved for the scheduled castes.
The
elections which were scheduled to be held in October 1996 were cancelled due to
withdrawal of candidacy by the Dalit nominees for the fear of “economic
sanctions” against the whole scheduled caste electorate. Several incidents of
booth capturing led to the cancellation of the election when the polling
happened in February 2007. The third round of elections was won by Murugesan ,
a Dalit, even though the majority voters were Thevars. Thevars constrained by
the reservation law were unable to do anything.
After
the elections Murugesan was not allowed to enter his office by the Thevars.
After winning the presidency Murugesan got many letters threatening to kill
him. On June 30 1997, returning from a visit to the collectors office,
Murugesan and five other Dalits were
brutally killed by a gang of Thevars, as reported by the eye witnesses.
The
brutal murders of Melavalavu is an attack on the prestigious panchayati raj
system. It is a clear case of the fear of loss of power by the upper caste
people. Their hitherto enjoyment and exploitation of various resources was
threatened by the idea of reservation. Reservation made them helpless in the
elections (even though they were a majority) where Dalits came into power.
Melavalavu: An
unending story
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment