Food untouchability.. From “Cricket” to “Agnibad”! “Casteist” background surpassing “Monster” film | Panchankulam untouchably – Evidence Kathir exposed shock background of casteism
September 20, 2022, 22:06 [IST] | india.postsen.com
On Father Periyar’s birthday, in Panjankulam village next to Shankaran temple in Tenkasi district, when the shop refused to provide snacks to Dalit children, Kathir from Evidence organization visited the area and gave a detailed explanation.
In his explanation, he said, “It is not a shopping mall at all. It is a small box shop, about 5 feet wide and 5 feet long. Six Dalit boys in school uniform go and ask for snacks. The owner of that shop says that you do not have snacks. You are not allowed to give things because there is a town restriction.
Are those kids out of control? What does it mean? The children turn away disappointed and confused to say that you are not to be given any goods and that you are being kept aside.
What is control? It can be called social exclusion and economic exclusion. But gang untouchability is what it means. You have no job in our land. You shall not walk through our street through our land. Dominant castes have imposed many restrictions on Dalits that you don’t have goods in our shops.
Box shop, school untouchability: Tenkasi Panchakulam VAO transfer.. Kotaksior orderBox shop, school untouchability: Tenkasi Panchakulam VAO transfer.. Kotaksior order
Why was this gang untouchability notification issued in the name of control? The Evidence Agency was involved in the investigation. Panjankulam is about 6 km from Shankaran temple. Around 80 families of backward community, 50 families of Dalit community and 12 families of other communities live in this village. The people of Dalit community are living as 25 families in Colony area and 25 families are living in Keezalatheru area near the residential area of backward community.
Agricultural wages
Dalits in this area have only a small amount of land of 2 cents, 4 cents. For the last 20 years, Dalit youths are well educated and making some progress. 23 students including 9 dalit students are studying in the government primary school in this village. Dalits are mostly employed as laborers by the dominant castes there. They are agricultural laborers on their land.
Cricket team
Dalit youths here are very skilled in the game of cricket. There were two cricket teams in this village. Dalits and dominant castes will be present in both the teams. Last 2 years ago suddenly some of the dominant caste youths told the Dalit youths that from now on only your community people be a separate cricket team. Dalit youths have also agreed to say that we are a separate cricket team.
Dalits won
A cricket match has taken place between the Dalit youth and the dominant caste youth. In this Dalit youth to win has created rage for the dominant caste youth. A 28-year-old Dalit youth was slandered by a 21-year-old Dominant Caste youth, saying, “Ale, don’t go.” The elders there have called both parties and made peace.
attack
In this case, on 27.11.2020, while some Dalit youths were standing and talking with a Dalit youth named Ponraj (A) Ruban, there was a verbal dispute between the two parties, who had come there and said, “What are you doing here?” At around 11.30 pm that night, a Dalit youth named Ratinaraj was going to his stepfather’s house through the upper caste street, when they attacked him saying how can he walk through the street. Ponraj (A) Ruban who went to block was also injured.
Government school teacher
A case was registered against 4 persons involved in this brutality namely Karuppasamy TP Ravi, Karuppasamy TP Iswaran, Ramachandran (A) Murthy and Vellapandi. Easwaran’s son Karuppasamy is the only one who is arrested and remanded. The first accused, government school teacher Karuppasamy, and the other 3 were not arrested. Arrested Karuppasamy’s mother, Rajeshwari, filed a complaint against the Dalit youths during the police investigation and it is revealed that it was a false complaint. So no Dalit youth was arrested.
Project Agnipath
Ramachandran has asked the Dalit people to withdraw the case because the third accused, Ramachandran, will get a job based on the Agnibad scheme. Apart from that, the case is scheduled to come up for hearing on 20 October 2022. So Ramachandran has taken this decision because he can go to work only if he cancels it within that time.
Threatened to kill
Raju, who belongs to the Dalit community, has firmly told the Dalits that if we want to get justice, we should not compromise on the case. Ramachandran came to know about this on 14 September 2022 at 8.30 pm and went to Raju’s house and said, Ramachandran, it is because of you that I am not getting a job. He has threatened that no one will be alive if the case is not respectfully withdrawn and has also spoken caste-based insults. Dalits have said that if you are talking so arrogantly before withdrawing the case, how can you talk down all of us if you withdraw the case.
village chief
Ramachandran’s mother Sudha went from there and brought Adhikasadi Nattam Maheswaran. Around 30 people led by Maheswaran have come to the Dalit area. Maheswaran came there if you don’t withdraw the case you have no job in our land. Don’t walk down our street. Out of stock in our stores. He has said that if someone dies you should not take the dead body through our street or land.
Food inviolability
The next day on 15th September 2022, when 6 boys went to Nathamai Maheswaran shop to buy snacks, this atrocity took place. The dominant caste has married 3 Dalit women in this village. When the Dalits were asked if any of the youths had married a dominant caste girl, they said that if that had happened, they would have burnt down the village.
Caste cruelty
Dalits were not allowed to ride in vehicles through the dominant caste streets, the dominant castes were not allowed to sit equally in buses, separate crematoriums, discrimination in schools, etc. Dalits did not protest against it on a large scale. In the last few years, the education and political knowledge of the Dalit youth has started to question such untouchability. If you speak respectfully, we will speak respectfully. It started to become a situation where if you talk bad, we will talk bad too.
Intensified untouchability
In the meantime Maheswaran, who is extremely religious and casteist, started putting up caste banners and pasting caste posters to declare the town uninhabited. At the same time Dalit youths were also determined not to withdraw the atrocity case as they were getting stronger politically. It is in the background of this that the announcement of untouchability of this gang has been issued.
Untouchability in school
I met the 6 affected boys. Not only did the town impose restrictions and they refused to give us snacks in the shop, they also made us sit on the floor in our school hall. They make the Basangalas (dominant castes) sit on the bench. They have a plate in the school for lunch. They told us to take the plate from home and eat.
Dominant caste children
Dominant caste children there have said in a TV show that we will sit on the bench and they will sit on the floor. Taking your argument that our children will lie, the dominant caste children have also expressed the same opinion. Children don’t always lie. The minister should directly meet the affected school children and explain the facts of the incident. That is justice.
firewood
Dalit children told me that they were made to sit in a circle painted on the floor for social distancing during Corona. There is no toilet in this school. No drinking water. Moreover, not a single Dalit is included in the school management committee. If the Dalits here die, one of the dominant castes has to carry the body through the settlement. Otherwise the upper castes have to carry the corpse through the field. For 20 years, Dalits have been fighting for their own crematorium.
Kudos to IG
The worst thing about this is that in the year 2003, 72 cents of land has been allotted to Dalits. This information has come to light only now. How can we take the fact that even the allotted land is not shown for 20 years?
I highly appreciate Azra Garg, Chief of Police, Southern Zone. Sections 11 – 13 of the Prevention of Violence Act 1989 Rules 1995 to evict violent gangs from the area. Using it, Maheswaran, who was involved in such brutality for the first time in Tamil Nadu, is also engaged in the process of evicting Ramachandran.
Religion
Those who have been saying that sectarianism is creeping into Dalits should remember one thing. Annal and Periyar live in a Dalit residence in Panjankulam area. It is in the dominant caste residence that the sectarian mob has infiltrated. So care should be taken to prevent the middle castes from falling prey to sectarian gangs.
Dravidian model
Our Tamil Nadu is a model state for India as Dravidian model, Periyar soil. There is no denying it. At the same time, the middle caste-dominant mentality cannot allow the gang untouchability that prevails here. Panjankulam is waiting for justice in the midst of all these dangers,” he said.