MADURAI, October 15, 2011
Dalit candidates threaten to withdraw from contest
D. Karthikeyan
The four candidates who are contesting for the Keeripatti panchayat
president post. (from left) B.Chinnasamy, P. Palani, N. Subban and
A.Subban.
Photo: G. Moorthy The four candidates who are contesting for the
Keeripatti panchayat president post. (from left) B.Chinnasamy, P.
Palani, N. Subban and A.Subban.
Four candidates who are contesting for the post of panchayat president
in Keeripatti coming under Usilampatti taluk have threatened to
withdraw from the contest alleging undemocratic practices followed by
caste Hindus in the village.
Keeripatti is one among the four reserved panchayats, the others being
Pappapatti and Nattarmangalam in Madurai district and Kottakachiendal
in Virudhunagar district, which saw severe opposition from the
dominant castes to conduct elections, and when held the Dalits were
asked to resign, thus making a mockery of democracy.
However, concerted efforts during the previous DMK government saw the
restoration of a democratic setup in these panchayats.
The Hindu carried a news item on September 29 stating that the
situation is dicey in Keeripatti after dominant caste members called
for an 'oor (village) panchayat' (an assembly of elders, wealthy and
influential persons, mostly belonging to the predominant caste group)
and chose A. Mokkakaalai (33), a conservancy worker, as candidate.
For lineage god
This being the situation, on Friday, they again called for an 'oor
panchayat' meeting for which Mokkakaalai, the candidate chosen by the
Piramalai Kallars, was seen beating the 'thamukku' (traditional drum)
to announce the meeting.
The villagers said that the meeting which took place from 6.30 a.m.
till 7.00 a.m. saw the Piramalai Kallars make promises and take vows
on flames of camphor to their lineage god Vangaru Thevar Samy that
they will not vote for others but only Mokkakaalai.
It was also said that people who voted for others would be ostracised
from the village. The Dalit candidate Mokkakalai fielded by the
Kallars have been assured of three sovereigns of gold and Rs.1 lakh in
cash if he wins the election.
The Dalit candidates, B. Chinnasamy (35), N. Subban (50), P. Palani
(41) and A. Subban (55), told The Hindu that the administration was
biased towards caste Hindus. Higher officials, including the Collector
and Revenue Divisional Officer, did not visit the Dalit areas in the
village to hear their grievances but only met the caste Hindus.
They also alleged that the policemen who accompanied the candidate, M.
Baluchamy, during the campaign were the kinsmen of villagers and it
was nothing but mere tokenism on the part of the administration. The
other Dalit candidates have not been able to campaign at the caste
Hindu areas.
"Once the election is over, we all could be under threat as there is a
precedence of the entire village ostracising Dalits who disobey the
prevailing practices," said A. Subban. They urged the State Election
Commission (SEC) to either postpone the elections or ensure proper
security and allow them to campaign and conduct the elections in a
democratic manner.
A. Kathir, Executive Director, Evidence, said that there was no doubt
that there existed a kind of uncertainty in Keeripatti over the
realisation of empowerment of Dalits, which was one of the declared
objectives of decentralisation of power. The SEC should take stringent
measures to restore democracy in its fullest form.
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