SOCIAL ISSUES
Rally for justice
S. DORAIRAJ
The State conference of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication
Front gives a call to fight the atrocities against Dalits on various
fronts.
M. MOORTHY
The rally held by the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front in
Pudukottai on May 29.
THEY thronged Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu, in their thousands on May 29 to
participate in a State-level rally against untouchability. Among them
were sanitary workers, footwear makers, farmhands, manual labourers
and washermen belonging to the Scheduled Castes. They marched shoulder
to shoulder with functionaries of trade unions, activists belonging to
the associations of State and Central government employees and
federations of public sector undertakings, and human rights activists,
calling for effective steps to curb all forms of social oppression and
atrocities against Dalits.
The rally was held to mark the conclusion of the first State
conference of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF),
a broad front of trade unions, organisations of peasants, students,
youth and women, Dalit outfits, and human rights fora, to spearhead
the struggle against caste oppression and untouchability.
For the front, founded in 2007, it was an occasion to conduct a review
of its experience so far in bringing together Dalits and non-Dalits in
the fight against caste oppression. The discussions centred on
evolving a strategy to consolidate the gains it had made through
sustained struggles and chalking out its future course of action.
Setting the tone for the discussions, P. Sampath, convener of the
TNUEF, stressed in his report the need to carry on the struggles
against economic exploitation and social oppression concomitantly and
even to combine them given the situation in Tamil Nadu where attacks
on Dalits were intertwined with class oppression. "It is on this basis
that the TNUEF seeks to bring under its umbrella Dalits and non-Dalits
in the fight against untouchability," he pointed out.
The composition of the conference revealed that the front had achieved
a breakthrough in cementing unity between the oppressed people and the
progressive and democratic sections among non-Dalits. While 70 per
cent of the 425 delegates were Dalits, the remaining came from
non-Dalit communities.
The conference, through discussions, resolutions, a declaration and a
pledge, brought to light the attacks launched against Dalits on
political, economic and social fronts. In its assessment of the
political situation, the conference noted that oppressive forces were
challenging the efforts to empower Dalits even in the local bodies,
either by scuttling the elections in some reserved panchayats or by
ensuring that people who were subservient to them got elected so that
the panchayat administration would be under their control.
In many cases, elected Dalit panchayat presidents were not allowed to
occupy their seats in their offices, it said. According to Evidence, a
Madurai-based NGO, such forms of oppression prevail in 600 village
panchayats. The government has "terribly shirked its responsibility"
in checking such violations of law, the TNUEF alleged.
In the economic sphere, Dalits by and large face the problem of denial
of ownership rights to land and property. The meet pointed out that as
most of the Dalits in the State were landless, they had to depend on
caste Hindus for employment.
So if they dared to seek police intervention against harassment or
atrocities, they would be denied work in all the farms owned by
dominant groups and forced to starve.
Land reforms
The TNUEF has urged the Tamil Nadu government to implement radical
land reform in the State. In 1972, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
government announced that 20.23 lakh acres (one acre is 0.4 hectare)
of surplus land would be redistributed to the landless, but until now
not even 10 per cent of the land has been acquired. Similarly, there
are about 50 lakh acres of poramboke land and wastelands suitable for
cultivation, large stretches of which the government has leased out to
big industries, multinational corporations, colleges, hospitals and
commercial complexes for meagre amounts. But the government was
reluctant to distribute these lands to the landless poor at the rate
of two acres for cultivation and five cents as house sites for each
family, it said.
The front alleged that panchami lands distributed to Dalits during
British rule were under "illegal occupation" by non-Dalits. Contrary
to the government's claim that only 12,000 acres of panchami lands had
been acquired by non-Dalits, the actual extent could be around 2.5
lakh acres, it noted. Several multi-storey commercial complexes had
come up on these lands, it alleged.
The meet called upon the government to verify the title transfers on
the basis of the 1924 and 1954 records pertaining to panchami lands
and take necessary legal measures to redeem the lands and redistribute
them to Dalits. Transfer of title deeds of the panchami lands should
have taken place during the updated survey conducted in 1986, it said.
The conference decided to carry on a sustained campaign to redeem the
panchami lands and to hold a special convention in Kancheepuram in
this connection.
The TNUEF meet discussed the impact of globalisation and neoliberal
policies on the living conditions of Dalits against the backdrop of
shrinking job opportunities in the public sector and the absence of
reservation in the private sector. The White Paper presented by the
State government in the Assembly in 2000 had revealed that even five
decades after Independence, there were only 13 per cent Scheduled
Caste employees in the A, B, C and D groups though 18 per cent of the
jobs were reserved for them.
Even while admitting that reservation was no panacea for the problems
of caste oppression and class exploitation, the conference pleaded for
the extension of the benefit to Dalit Christians as it would provide
some limited and necessary relief to them within the existing order.
It also demanded that reservation for Dalits be implemented in the
private sector.
Scheduled Castes Sub Plan
The conference spent a fairly good amount of time discussing issues
related to the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP). Accusing the State
government of being "nonchalant" about making allocations for the plan
proportionate to the population of Dalits, it said that even the
allotted funds were not spent properly. From 1997 to 2005, the
government should have allotted Rs.9,401 crore for the SCSP, but the
actual allocation was only Rs.2,226 crore. It added that in the past
eight years, Rs.7,135 crore ought to have been spent on the welfare of
Dalits.
C. VENKATACHALAPTHY
This entrance on the southern side of the Nataraja temple in
Chidambaram was closed many years ago because Nandanar, a Dalit, used
it in the 11th-12th century. Ironically, he became a saint later and
entered the temple. The TNUEF has urged the State government to reopen
the entrance.
In the 2010-11 Budget, the government allotted Rs.3,828 crore for the
SCSP, forming 19 per cent of the total plan outlay. However, the
government had announced that the funds would be spent on 117 other
schemes, the front said. "This is a gross violation of the prescribed
rules. It amounts to causing grave injustice to Dalits," it said.
The TNUEF meet demanded that the government implement the SCSP without
diluting it. It also called for the setting up of vigilance panels to
ensure its proper implementation.
On the social front, Dalits face untouchability throughout their life,
from cradle to the cremation ground, the conference pointed out. A
recent survey conducted by TNUEF activists in 1,845 villages in 22
districts in the State has brought out 82 forms of untouchability and
22 types of atrocities committed against Dalits.
Among the crude manifestations of untouchability are denial of access
to public pathways; denial of permission to walk wearing footwear, to
wear a "towel" on the shoulder, to sport a moustache, and to wear
polyester dhotis or headgear. Dalits are also not allowed to sit on
chairs in tea stalls and restaurants.
Apart from the notorious practice of serving tea to Dalits in separate
tumblers at tea stalls, separate chairs are kept for Dalits in barber
shops. They are prevented from bursting crackers during festivals.
They are not permitted to draw water from public taps, bathe in
village ponds or take part in temple festivals, village meetings and
auctions.
They are forced to stand in separate queues at public distribution
system (PDS) outlets, live in segregated colonies, use separate
cremation grounds, remove carcasses and night soil, and beat drums for
funerals. In some places, postal employees do not deliver letters to
Dalits.
Dalits are awarded inhuman punishments for supposed offences. In some
cases, they are forced to eat human faeces, drink urine and do
"sit-ups" a thousand times before members of the dominant communities.
They are subjected to physical attacks if they go against the wishes
of the dominant communities in local body elections – in certain
instances Dalits have been killed. And if they dare to intermarry,
they are poisoned to death in some places.
The administration's "failure to properly implement the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989" was
debated at the conference. Issues such as counter-complaints by the
oppressors and flawed investigations resulting in high rate of
acquittals in cases booked under the Act were discussed.
Despite the administration's failure to put an end to the caste-based
oppression, "there is an emerging trend in Dalit assertion and
fighting spirit" owing to the intervention of organisations such as
the TNUEF, the conference noted. But it expressed concern over the
fact that the growing awareness among Dalits and their readiness to
fight against casteist forces was sought to be met with inhuman
oppression and atrocities.
Some victories
The combined strength of the TNUEF's initiative and the awareness
among Dalits have resulted in significant victories in some recent
struggles.
The most important among them are the demolition of the walls of
hatred put up by casteist elements at places such as Uthapuram in
Madurai district, Periyar Nagar in Coimbatore district, and Thuraipadi
in Vellore district. Close on the heels of the success of the removal
of the "caste wall" in Uthapuram, the Dalits of the village embarked
on a struggle against certain other forms of untouchability. The front
has decided to intensify its agitation if the government fails to find
a solution to the unresolved issues in Uthapuram.
The TNUEF has added another feather to its cap by joining hands with
other democratic forces in rallying people to defeat the attempts of
the oppressive elements that scuttled the election process for 10
years in four reserved panchayats – Pappapatti, Keeripatti and
Nattarmangalam in Madurai district and Kottakachiyendal in
Virudhunagar district. Dalit panchayat presidents have been elected in
these places.
The temple entry struggle, spearheaded by the front at several places
including Chettipulam in Nagapattinam district, Panthapuli in
Tirunelveli district and Kangiyanoor in Villupuram district, where
access was denied to Dalits to places of worship for periods ranging
from 50 to 200 years, ended in a resounding success.
As part of its campaign to do away with untouchability in places of
worship, the TNUEF, through a resolution, urged the State government
to dismantle the wall that was built many years ago to block an
entrance on the southern side of the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram.
According to legend, this entrance was used by Nandanar, a Dalit farm
worker, in the 11th-12th century A.D. Ironically, Nandanar later
become one of the celebrated 63 Nayanmars (Saivaite saints) and
entered the temple. A different entrance is used by devotees in this
part of the temple complex even today. The TNUEF decided to resort to
direct action if the government failed to meet this demand within a
month.
Among the noteworthy achievements of the front is the 3 per cent
internal reservation it won for the Arunthathiar community, considered
the lowest rung of the caste ladder. In the western districts of Tamil
Nadu they work as farmhands, while in other areas they undertake all
menial jobs, from manual scavenging to removing carcasses.
A massive rally held in February 2008 enabled the front to extract
some promises from the government on ending manual scavenging. The
conference pleaded with the government to ensure that people belonging
to the Puthiraivannar community received community certificates
without hassles.
As Tamil Nadu is one of the six States with a high percentage of
Dalits – 19 per cent of the population – a large number of atrocities
against them are reported here. The conference urged the government to
constitute a State Commission for S.Cs and S.Ts to protect their
interests.
Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist), who addressed the conference, said people outside Tamil
Nadu also looked up to the TNUEF as a source of inspiration in their
own struggles against social oppression. "In our country, the struggle
against the caste system must go along with the struggle against
social, economic and class exploitation. Without that there can be no
revolution in our society," he said.
Karat said if annihilation of castes as perceived by B.R. Ambedkar was
the eventual goal, the first step to achieve it should be getting rid
of untouchability. He asked the front to bring into its fold all those
who wanted to end untouchability and caste discrimination. "Where the
communist movement is strong… we do not find today the forms of
untouchability that exist in Tamil Nadu and other States," he said.
G. Ramakrishnan, State secretary of the Communist Party of India, said
that after 'Periyar' E.V. Ramasamy, none of the Dravidian parties had
taken up the cause of Dalits.
These parties owed an explanation to the people as to why they had not
taken effective steps to end untouchability despite being in power for
over four decades, he added.
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