Published: May 20, 2010 00:46 IST | Updated: May 20, 2010 02:58 IST
THIRUMARUGAL (NAGAPATTINAM), May 20, 2010
Public humiliation drives Dalit girl to commit suicide
P. V. Srividya
Feudal retribution and public humiliation have snapped short the life
of an 18-year-old Dalit girl at Thiruchenkaatankudi in Nagapattinam.
Her 'crime'? 'Abetment' of a love affair that led to the elopement of
a friend with a boy of the same Dalit caste.
Devi, a Dalit, was driven to self-immolation following a public
inquiry by the samudaya panchayat (caste panchayat) headed by a
32-year-old community head (naatamai). She was subjected to lashes
with a tamarind stick that was delivered by the Odum Pillai
(traditional news carrier) of the caste panchayat.
The humiliation drove her to self-immolation within minutes after the
meeting. After a ten-day battle, Devi succumbed to the burns at
Government Hospital here on Monday.
At Thiruchenkaatankudi, her family stands wronged by their own community.
"We lost our mother when Devi was three-years-old and I brought her
up. The day she was publicly whipped and humiliated was also her
birthday," recalls Usha, the 26-year-old eldest of the five daughters
of the family.
Devi was the fourth daughter and migrant worker in a garment factory
at Tirupur, where the girl from the same village married the boy of
the same caste.
Following this, Devi was 'summoned' back to the village for a
community 'inquiry' for transgression.
"Usually, lashes are delivered below the knees. But, my sister was
whipped with the stick on her chest, stomach and thighs over six
times. I noticed the bruises only later and this worsened her chances
of recovering from the burn injuries as well," says Pushpalatha, the
youngest sister.
Almost all villages in East Thanjavur region are said to host such
samudaya panchayats. These are extra-legal community panchayats, where
women are not allowed to participate.
According to information gathered by Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO,
the tamarind stick (puliankucchi) was kept immersed in water for three
days to add weight to it so as to cause bruises.
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