‘Evidence’ Kathir, who leads the Dalit Human Rights Defender Network, met with CM Stalin to provide him a copy of the special Bill.
He highlighted the required for Tamil Nadu to establish a precedent for the country.
A Kathir, founder-director of the Madurai-based rights organisation Evidence, met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on September 27 at the Secretariat to submit a draft bill focusing to end ‘honour’ killings. The Bill, called ‘The Freedom of Marriage and Association and Prohibition of Crimes in the Name of Honour Act 2022’, has been drafted by the Dalit Human Rights Defender Network led by Kathir.
The 25-year-old was previously working with the Wellington Cantonment Board, a job that was provided to her as compensation by the govt, and one she left after she found it “restricted her activism work.” (Photo credit: Arun Veer Studio)
CHENNAI: On a Sunday morning in March 2016, the photograph of a young bride and her
groom looking unfalteringly into the camera became an overnight symbol of the country’s
gut-wrenching enmeshment with caste.
Earlier this week on September 25, Kowsalya, the survivor of the fatal assault by her family
on the newlywed couple in Udumalpet, just turned businesswoman, as she threw open the
doors to her new salon, ‘Zha’. She was cheered on and surrounded by anti-caste activists
including Vincent Raj of the Madurai human rights organisation ‘Evidence’, and
actor Parvathy Thiruvothu as she set out on this new journey.
Six years after this young woman made headlines lying in a pool of blood, alongside her
slain husband Shankar, a Dalit man – both assaulted in broad daylight by her family for
their intercaste marriage – Kowsalya, now short-haired with a ready smile, says it is a
milestone that years of life-altering lessons, lonely choices and the fire for justice has
culminated in.
The 25-year-old was previously working with the Wellington Cantonment Board, a job that
was provided to her as compensation by the government, and one she left after she found
it “restricted her activism work.”
“I did a beautician course with Naturals, saved up, mortgaged some jewellery and with the
tremendous support of friends in social justice – who are family now – opened this salon. I
wish to continue my fight for justice and help other young girls who find themselves at the
receiving end of caste-based crimes, by training them, employing them and whenever
possible empowering them to become entrepreneurs,” says Kowsalya, who currently has
two men and two women working at the salon.
“Just a day ago, a mother and daughter dropped into the salon. At the end of their service,
the mother came up to me and said she had wanted her daughter to meet me. This was
one of the numerous times I’m reminded of the fact that there’s a big family for you
outside of your home too. You just need the intent to connect with and transform lives.
A founder-director of the Madurai- based rights organisation ‘Evidence’, Kathir met the Tamil Nadu chief minister on 27 September and handed over a draft of a bill seeking to end honour killings. The bill was drafted by the Dalit Human Rights defender network headed by Kathir.
According to Khatir, the bill would be the first of its sort in the nation if it were to pass in Tamil Nadu. Even though the bill is meant to be implemented as a national statute, Kathir notes that simply creating a precedent in Tamil Nadu will have a significant impact.
“Tamil Nadu sees an alarming level of ‘honour’ killing incidents among the southern states, so the government must take urgent action in the matter,” Kathir said.
With regard to caste, faith, age, gender, sexual orientation, language, class, race, status, and tradition, the bill aims to “give justice, restitution, and rehabilitation in crimes perpetrated in the name of honour.” The bill goes into great length regarding the different types of victimisation that might take place in the name of honour, as well as the kinds of monitoring and compensating procedures that must be put in place.
These are aspects that are not covered in the only other ‘honour’ killing bill to have been passed in the country in 2019 by the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.
There are some elements that other honour killing legislation was not approved by the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly in 2019.
“Three-page measure that does not understand the topic in depth,” is how Kathir describes the Rajasthan bill. Activists had criticised several problems at the time, including the 2019 bill’s omission of the parents as intercommunity couples’ threats, according to the Indian Express.
Furthermore, there is no provision in the 2019 draught for couples to register a threat against them so that an injunction can be granted against the party making the threat. Both of these issues are explicitly addressed in the bill that the Dalit Human Rights Defenders Network has created.
In addition to the Prevention of Atrocities Against Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Act, Kathir emphasises the necessity for a similar bill. Since the victims of intercaste marriages are also members of a dominant caste, their slayings would only be reported under the IPC.
However, there must be a rule that recognises this when caste pride is the driving force behind the crime. Second, patriarchy denies women the freedom to select their partners or penalises them for doing so. Both of these things are taken into account in the bill. It’s interesting to note that the bill aims to safeguard anyone in a relationship, not just married couples, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, class, religion, or caste.
Kathir also says that the CM has assured them that he will consider the bill.
Kathir, Executive Director of Evidence, an NGO working for the upliftment for the welfare of downtrodden people, on Tuesday met Chief Minister M K Stalin and urged him to enact a special legislation against honour killing.
“Enacting a special law against honour killing is the first step towards eradication of castes and the ruling DMK government which claims to be functioning on Dravidian model can enact a law. The law, if enacted, will serve as a model for the entire country,” said Kathir, while addressing the media, after meeting the Chief Minister.
During the meeting, Kathir also presented a 17-page draft of the special law against honour killing. Kathir, for long, has been fighting against honour killing by supporting the victims of honour killings and taking up their case to the courts fighting a legal battle for them.
Kathir said that there is no legislation against honour killing in the country and if Tamil Nadu enacts such a law it will be the first time that such a law is enacted. “Only Rajasthan has passed a draft Bill against honour killing, but the Bill too has not been implemented. Tamil Nadu should pass a legislation against honour killing immediately,” added Kathir.
‘Evidence’ Kathir, who heads the Dalit Human Rights Defender Network, met with CM Stalin to give him a copy of the special Bill. He highlighted the need for Tamil Nadu to set a precedent for the country.
A Kathir, founder-director of the Madurai-based rights organisation Evidence, met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday, September 27 at the Secretariat to submit a draft bill aiming to end ‘honour’ killings. The Bill, titled ‘The Freedom of Marriage and Association and Prohibition of Crimes in the Name of Honour Act 2022’, has been drafted by the Dalit Human Rights Defender Network headed by Kathir. Speaking to TNM, Kathir says, “If the Bill is passed in Tamil Nadu, it will be the first of its kind in the country.” Though the Bill is intended to be brought in as a central law, Kathir points out that even setting a precedent in Tamil Nadu will go a long way. “Tamil Nadu sees an alarming level of ‘honour’ killing incidents among the southern states, so it is critical that it takes urgent action in the matter.”
The Bill seeks to “provide justice, compensation and rehabilitation in crimes committed in the name of honour vis-a-vis caste, faith, age, gender, sexual orientation, language, class, race, status and tradition”. The Bill also extensively details the forms of victimisation that can occur in the name of honour, and the type of compensation and monitoring mechanisms that need to be implemented.
These are aspects that are not covered in the only other ‘honour’ killing bill to have been passed in the country – in 2019 by the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. Kathir terms the Rajasthan bill, “…a vague, three-page bill that does not understand the issue in-depth.” At the time, activists had pointed out several flaws, including the concern that the 2019 bill does not include the parents as threats to inter-community couples, the Indian Express had reported. It was further reported by IE that the 2019 bill has no provision for couples to declare a threat to them so that an injunction can be issued against those presenting the threat. The Bill drafted by the Dalit Human Rights Defenders Network clearly covers both these concerns.
Kathir highlights the need for such a Bill to exist alongside the Prevention of Atrocities Against Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Act. “In the case of inter-caste marriages, the victims are also from a dominant caste, so their murders will only be registered under IPC. But where caste-pride is the motivator for the crime, there has to be a law that acknowledges this. Secondly, patriarchy robs women of their right to choose a partner or punishes them for their choices. The Bill takes both these factors into consideration.” Interestingly, the Bill seeks to protect any person in a relationship, not just married couples, across genders, sexuality, class, religion and caste.
Read: Anti-caste coalition has drafted a Bill to end ‘honour’ killings: Here’s what it says
Emphasising the need for Tamil Nadu to set a precedent by passing the Bill, the activist recalls how in 2014, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court had said that district-wise protection cells for inter-caste couples need to be formed. The cells are supposed to be formed by members from the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, Social Welfare and Police Departments. “When Evidence recently filed RTIs to see if these cells have been formed, we found that barely three districts, such as Tiruppur, have properly functioning cells. In most cases, even the register to record the number of inter-caste couples seeking protection is not properly maintained,” Kathir says.
Kathir also says that the CM has assured that he will take the Bill into consideration. “I believe that the CM will go through the bill and take the required action. He himself has spoken about the issue of ‘honour’ killings many times while in Opposition. So has Kalaignar before him. Several DMK MPs like Tiruchi Siva have emphasised the need for separate legislature against ‘honour’ killings,” he adds.
TENKASI/MADURAI: The police arrested one more person on Tuesday in the case of a caste Hindu refusing to sell snacks to school children from the SC community. Karivalamvanthanallur police had already arrested Maheswaran and Ramachandran alias Moorthy under various sections of SC/ST Act and IPC and were on look out for Kumar, Sutha and Murugan. They had arrested Kumar from Coimbatore.
Meantime, a field visit by a team from NGO Evidence, headed by Kathir, conducted a field visit to Panjankulam village in Tenkasi district and ascertained that the caste atrocity was deep rooted in the village from school to graveyard. The team found that a kangaroo court headed by village chief Maheswaran, a caste Hindu, recently had decided to stop all transactions with the SC community, including preventing them from using streets in which caste Hindus reside.
The report says around 142 families including 50 people from Scheduled Caste live in the village. “Ever since Maheswaran took over as the village chief, caste division among people has increased in the community. Two caste Hindus married SC women, but no men from SC community have married caste Hindu women in the locality,” Kathir said.
Initially there were two cricket teams consisting players from both caste Hindus and SC communities. Maheshwaran allegedly created division among the players and now the teams are based on communities.
In 2020, the SC community team won during a cricket series and a dispute broke out between the players. Later on in the day, caste Hindus abused and beat up SC people. On a complaint from a person from SC community, a case was registered against four people including government school teacher R Karuppasamy and Ramachandran. In retaliation, they filed a complaint and police registered a case, but no one was arrested as the police were aware the people from SC were innocent.
The caste Hindus came for a peace talk to withdraw the case as Ramachandran was likely to be selected under Agnipath recruitment scheme. As both sides refused to withdraw cases, the caste Hindus led by Maheshwaran passed the resolutions in the kangaroo court