What actually happened in Paramakudi and how it happened
Monday, 26 September 2011 14:26 Written by Karthik Navayan
[Karthik Navayan was a member of a fact-finding team that visited
Paramakudi town on 19th and 20th September, 2011, and interacted with
the victims and also with the district officials in Ramanathapuram.
This article contains his observations and analysis- Round Table
India]pkudi_13_copy
On September 11th the police killed six among the several Dalits who
had assembled in Paramakudi to observe the 54th death anniversary of
their leader, Immanuel Sekaran. Another 30 were seriously injured and
are undergoing treatment in various hospitals.
Among those killed were 1) R. Ganesan (65), 2) T. Panneerselvam (50)
and S. Vellaichamy (65). It is the argument of the police and the
revenue officials that these three old people had attacked the police
and burnt their vehicle and were hence shot at and killed! Three
youngsters called P. Jayapal (20), Theerthakani (25) and Muthukumar
(26) were also killed. Among the older persons, 65 year old
Vellaichamy was not killed by any bullets but died from the severe
lathi blows the policemen had inflicted on him. Therefore around forty
policemen accompanied his body to his village and threatened his
family that his last rites should be completed within fifteen minutes
and left the village only after the rites were completed, as ordered.
R. Ganesan, also 65, who had gone to Paramakudi on that particular day
with the intention of distributing his son's wedding invitation cards
as he thought he would get to meet a lot of relatives and
acquaintances on Immanuel Sekaran's death anniversary, was shot dead
before he even realized that trouble was brewing in Paramakudi.
All those who died in the firing were daily wage labourers.
They'd all gone to Paramakudi to pay respects to their leader,
Immanuel Sekaran, and not with any plans to create trouble or clash
with the police. On the other hand, it is the police who are now busy
conducting raids on several villages and are arresting many Dalits.
The victims are being harassed and implicated in false cases! This
can't happen without any political motives—it seems like the police
firing and the subsequent repression let loose on Dalit villages are
all part of a deliberate strategy to further marginalize the Dalits of
this region economically, politically.pkudi_11
According to Chandra Bose, leader of the Immanuel Peravai, the
immediate cause for the police firing was the Rasta Roko held by the
protesters on that day. On the 11th, the police had arrested the Dalit
leader, John Pandian, near a village called Vallanaadu and had taken
him away to an unknown destination. When the Dalits gathered in
Paramakudi learnt about this arrest, around two hundred of them
started holding a Rasta Roka demonstration. They demanded to know the
whereabouts of the arrested leader John Pandian and sought his
immediate release. They also expressed doubts that Pandian's arrest
was the result of a plan hatched by his political adversaries and that
he could be killed in a fake encounter. John Pandian's arrest and the
subsequent demonstrations were the immediate causes for the police
firing, but when you carefully examine the events that have been
unfolding since the first week of September in Ramanathapuram, you'll
realize that the killing of the Dalits wasn't an unplanned event.
The police and the Collector are trying to justify John Pandian's
arrest by saying that they had received some information that he was
going to create unrest at the Immanuel Sekaran memorial event. A
collector has to examine all aspects of a situation before arriving at
a decision based on such information. But who's responsible for the
decision taken to detain John Pandian, the resultant unrest and the
subsequent loss of lives? The officials thought that John Pandian's
presence at the event could cause a law and order situation. But it
was the detention of John Pandian that actually created the law and
order situation and led to the killing of the Dalits. The full
responsibility for this massacre lies on the shoulders of the police
and revenue officials whose inept handling of the situation caused
this tragedy.pkudi_1
The following three incidents make it very plain that the police and
revenue officials had acted in a very partisan manner since the
beginning of September. The first incident was the stabbing to death
of sixteen year old Dalit youth, Palani Kumar, in Pallapacheri. The
second was the removal of the banners erected by the Dalits, by the
police. The third was John Pandian's arrest. The fourth event, the
police firing, was the logical culmination of the first three
incidents. It was something the police had anticipated. There is clear
evidence for this conclusion. It seems to be a matter of common
agreement among lower cadre policemen, government employees and common
citizens discussing the event that the police firing happened as a
result of instructions received from 'above'. Common people seem to
veer toward the view that it was on the orders of Sasikala, Chief
Minister Jayalalithaa's companion and Thevar political leader. Who
should verify the degree of truth in these charges? Can CBI do that?
If these issues are investigated without political interference, the
common people's perceptions will be proven true.
The police and other public officials are trying to justify the firing
and the subsequent deaths, to the media and to the rights' activists,
by saying that the protestors had attacked the police and destroyed
public property. But it wasn't the intention of the Dalits, who had
come in lakhs to Paramakudi on that day, to destroy public property,
or to attack anyone. They had only gathered to observe the death
anniversary of their leader, Immanuel Sekaran.pkudi_12
Killings of Pallar/Mallar/Devendrakular Dalits have been happening for
over a half a century in southern Tamil Nadu. A short list of the
first killings:
• Immanuel Sekaran was killed on 11th September, 1957.
• On 13th September, five Dalits, including one woman, were burnt
alive in Arumkulam by a band of Thevar killers.
• On September 16th, Thevar groups killed sixty Dalits in Veerambal,
Arumbakan, Arunlandakatti, Samdakottai villages.
• On September 17th, police shot dead dead a Dalit in keeraMtai village.
• On September 18th, in Tamdikudi village, homes belonging to Dalits
of the Devendrakular community were burnt down. Similar attacks have
continued since then.
Who is Immanuel Sekaran?
Immanuel Sekaran was a prominent social reformer and freedom fighter.
A contemporary of Dr. Ambedkar, he was a Dalit leader who fought
against caste discrimination and untouchability in southern Tamil
Nadu. On 11/9/1957, this Dalit leader was killed by people owing
allegiance to the Forward Bloc leader Muthuramalinga Thevar, of the
Thevar community.
Immanuel Sekaran, who was martyred at the very young age of 33, has
attained demigod like status among the Dalits in the region. That's
why lakhs turn up on his death anniversary to pay tributes to him.
According to some estimates, over a million ordinary Dalits, apart
from many leaders, participate in the Immanuel Sekaran Memorial day
events. This has been happening regularly since 1988 but was never
reported in the mainstream media.
This year's anniversary marks the 54th since his death. This year too,
like every year, the Dalits started making earnest preparations for
the Memorial Day. But the Government and the officials of various
departments, like every year, started imposing many strictures and
placed many hurdles, and made all efforts to scuttle the event. They
did not permit the installation of food and water stalls. The Dalits
endured all that and remained immersed in their preparations.pkudi_2
The pre-September 11th series of events are part of a conspiracy
If we carefully examine all the events unfolding since the beginning
of September, we realize that the killings of Dalits in Paramakudi
were part of a meticulous plan orchestrated by the police and the
political leaders of the local Thevar community. It can't be said that
all the government officials and all the Thevar political leaders were
a part of this conspiracy, but one has to recognize that this plan
couldn't have been executed without the participation of some
political leaders, police officers and revenue officials. The fact
that the Dalit leader John Pandian (TMMK) was arrested in Vallanaadu
to prevent him from attending the memorial reinforces the impression
that a deliberate strategy was at work. Pandian's arrest resulted in
his supporters, around two hundred of them, sitting on a dharna near
the five road junction. The police could have easily rounded up these
two hundred Dalits conducting an impromptu Rasta Roko agitation, but
they resorted to firing instead, which clearly shows that the police
had no intention of arresting them. According to the District
Collector, two thousand policemen had been mobilised in Paramakudi on
that day. It is difficult to believe that those two thousand policemen
could not have controlled two hundred, unarmed Dalits.
Moreover, the Dalits were conducting Rasta Roko on only one road. The
police also diverted the traffic moving towards this road because it
would gradually be filled with people arriving for the Immanuel
Sekaran anniversary. So why did the police conduct a lathi charge and
then open fire on the Dalits in a street from which all traffic had
been diverted? It seems quite clear that John Pandian's arrest led to
the firing incident. Did the police have no inkling that John
Pandian's arrest could lead to a law and order problem? It needs to be
investigated whether such a tense situation was deliberately created.
The reasons cited by Arun Roy, the District Collector of
Ramanathapuram, for John Pandian's arrest seem implausible. The
District Collector's response to our fact finding team's query on the
issue was that John Pandian's arrival in Paramakudi would have sparked
off a law and order problem and hence he had to issue orders to detain
Pandian. But the law and order problem that arose out of Pandian's
arrest doesn't seem to have appeared as a problem to the police and
the authorities. Probably, whatever the problems that Dalits pose, in
those authorities' view, can be suppressed easily, without being
questioned. But why do problems of the upper castes or the problems of
the castes like the Thevars become problems of the police and the
authorities?pkudi_4
Similarly, the police removed the banners that the Dalits had erected,
on the Collector's orders, citing the reason that the local Thevars
found the text on the banners ('daiva tirumagaanar immanuyaal
saekaraN') objectionable. The collector ordered their removal after
the Thevars met him to complain. The Collector is very cleverly trying
to justify that decision by saying that it's the Dalits who have been
suffering the most in the continued conflict between the Pallars and
the Thevars over the last half century, hence he had ordered the
removal of the banners that angered the Thevars to prevent any new
loss of Dalit lives. The Collector seems to have great sympathy for
the Dalits and their lives, but there is no need for it now. Dalits
who are not lowering their raised heads even when their throats are
being slit don't need any sympathy. It would have been enough if the
Collector had respected his constitutional duties and performed them.
What the Dalits expect from a District Collector is not sympathy at
all.
Senthilvelan, an I.P.S officer, was appointed as in-charge of the
bandobast arrangements for the Immanuel Sekaran memorial event. It was
under his charge that a laathi charge and firing were conducted on the
Dalits. But the police started firing a mere five minutes after the
laathi charge had begun. No warning shots were fired into the air, no
precautionary shots aimed below the knees were fired, no rubber
bullets and no water cannons were used. The fact that none of those
regular precautionary measures were adopted, makes it very plain that
the police and the authorities were acting with the clear objective of
launching a lethal assault on the Dalits and their struggle for
self-respect.
Who are the Thevars?
The Thevar community is recognized as a Most Backward Class in Tamil
Nadu and its members are responsible for all kinds of oppression
practiced against the Dalits in southern Tamil Nadu. The goons who
attacked the Dalit students in the Ambedkar Law College in Chennai a
few years ago belonged to the 'Mukkulathor Manavar Peravai', a
students' organization also associated with the Thevars.
The SC/ST employees association of Tamil Nadu's transport department
had installed a banner at Immanuel Sekaran memorial day venue. On it
was written: 'Deshiya Thalaivar, Daiva Tirumaganaar, Immanuel
Sekaran'. Which means: 'National Leader, Son of God, Immanuel
Sekaran'. One Prabhakaran, belonging to the Thevar (Maravar) community
and leader of the 'Mara Tamilar Senai', unable to digest such high
praise being showered on Sekaran, a Dalit leader being eulogized as a
national leader, lodged a complaint with the local police station
demanding that the banner be removed. He also lodged a complaint with
the District Collector. It is their argument that only Muthuramalinga
Thevar of their community (Thevars), and no one else, could be
referred to as 'daiva tirumagaanar'. Makes one shiver thinking of the
kind of democracy we live in. Earlier, a Tamil film by the name of
'daiva tirumagaanar' also faced protests and the producer was forced
to change the title to 'daiva tirumagaan'.pkudi_5
This community, whose members act in such a barbaric, unconstitutional
and undemocratic manner, is even now recognized as a Most Backward
Class and avails itself of reservations. In the current Tamil Nadu
assembly, 90 MLAs belonging to different parties are from this
community (Maravar). This community, which has a prominent presence in
the fields of cinema, education, industry and politics, is indulging
in atrocities and killings in southern Tamil Nadu every day. Now that
Jayalalithaa has become the Chief Minister, they have become more
emboldened because Jayalalithaa's closest companion, Sasikala, also
belongs to the Thevar community. There exists a public perception,
based on information yet to be verified, that it's Sasikala's hidden
hand that's behind the killings in Paramakudi and a lot of atrocities
before that. The Dalits opposed the threats issued by Thevar leaders
and the police to remove the banners. Some Dalits working in
government removed the banners they had erected in deference to the
threats of the police and revenue officials. But rest of the Dalit
associations refused to oblige and their banners remained, and caused
annoyance among the police. It also made the police react in this
fashion: 'Because the Dalits are not co-operating with the police, the
police shall also not co-operate with the Dalits'. This reaction
signaled the tone of events, including the firing, to come.
The killing of Palani Kumar
On September 9th, a sixteen year old Dalit Intermediate student,
Palani Kumar of Pallapacheri village, was stabbed to death by some
Thevars from Mandalamanickam village when he was returning home after
watching a play staged in the village. They say he was killed because
he wrote 'Muthuramalinga Thevar is a eunuch' on the wall of the fair
price shop in the village. Despite being erased, there are still
traces of what was written on the wall, but they're at a height quite
above what a sixteen year old could normally reach. So it doesn't seem
possible that the Dalit youth could have written that.pkudi_16
Another important fact to remember is: in reality, Dalit villagers
from Pallapacheri are too scared to ever visit the village of
Mandalamanickam because it is totally Thevar dominated. While there
are around two hundred Dalit (Pallar) families in Pallapacheri, the
number of Thevar households in Mandalamanickam is around a thousand.
That is the main reason why the Dalits of Pallapacheri have been
demanding a direct access road to the main road because they don't
wish to travel to the main road through Mandalamanickam village. That
is also the reason why 49 Dalit students from Pallapacheri prefer to
study in a high school eight kilometres away from home, rather than go
to the high school in Mandalamanickam which is only a kilometer away!
Under such circumstances, it is very difficult to believe that a Dalit
teenager from Pallapacheri could ever have written a comment abusing
Muthuramalinga Thevar on the walls of the fair price shop in the
Thevar village of Mandalamanickam.
The villagers in Pallapacheri say that the police have registered the
murder of Palani Kumar, who was killed by the Thevars, as having been
committed by 'unknown persons'. No one has been arrested so far. This
murder had caused a lot of fear among the Dalits of Pallapacheri, and
they had invited their leader John Pandian to the village. But the
local police and revenue officials barred John Pandian from visiting
the village. John Pandian's visit could cause a law and order problem,
they said. Therefore John Pandian canceled his visit to Pallapacheri
and promised to visit the village after the Immanuel Sekaran memorial
on the 11th. But the police who arrested him on the 11th didn't
release him until the 13th. He was released by the police only after a
Habeas Corpus petition was filed in the High Court.pkudi_20
The partisan attitude of the government officials
When Palani Kumar, the Dalit student from Pallapacheri, was killed by
the Thevars of Mandalamanickam the police registered the offence as
committed by 'unknown persons'. This reflects nothing but a partisan
attitude.
It was the Dalits' democratic right to erect banners in honour of
their leader Immanuel Sekaran. But the police action of summoning them
to the police station and pressurizing them to remove the banners,
definitely indicates the readiness of the officialdom to serve the
local Thevar interests, in order to secure the patronage of the Thevar
political leaders.
There are indications that the Thevar political leaders' hands were
also behind John Pandian's arrest. Were the police and revenue
officials not aware that it would cause anxiety among the Dalits if a
Dalit leader was arrested on Immanuel Sekaran's memorial day, an
important annual event for them? Even if they were aware, they had
decided to follow only their political masters' dictates; and hence
they arrested John Pandian and killed six Dalits during the Rasta Roko
demonstration which naturally followed it. This was perhaps their way
of killing two birds with one shot.pkudi_21
It is clearly evident that in Tamil Nadu, the police and all the wings
of the administration are controlled by the Thevar (Maravar) leaders.
This is against the law and the constitution.
Conclusion
The Paramakudi killings bring to light once again the pervasive lack
of democratic consciousness and respect for human rights among those
wielding power in the state apparatus. There is an urgent need to work
for the spread of more democratic values and norms in governance.
Paramakudi is a good place to begin this mission. Political and civil
society needs to fight for the Government to undertake the following
remedial measures as a first step:
The police officials who participated in the Paramakudi massacre
should be arrested and tried for murder.
Immanuel Sekaran's memorial should be allowed to be observed without
any hindrance every year.
Government and police officials should act in an impartial manner and
follow the constitution and not the dictates of Thevar leaders.
There is a lot of evidence to prove that Dalits are being hindered
from joining the police force. On the other hand, unemployed Thevar
youth, even if unqualified, are being recruited into the police in
large numbers. This has resulted in lopsided representation in the
Tamil Nadu police department with the Thevars claiming 30% of all
positions. How can Dalit victims expect justice under such
circumstances? The Thevar employees who obtained jobs in the
department through questionable means should be removed.
The Thevars should be removed from the Most Backward Classes category.
Karthik Navayan is a Dalit human rights activist.
[Translated from Telugu by Kuffir. Pictures courtesy: Karthik Navayan]
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