Atrocities against Dalits in TN cause of concern

Fifty years of continuous rule in Tamil Nadu by Dravidian parties have been proved to be a total failure if the sufferings by people belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities in the State are any indication. Governance by Dravidian parties which commenced in 1967 has improved the lot of intermediate castes but the Dalits in the State remain oppressed, depressed and subjugated, according to chroniclers of Tamil Nadu politics.

Incidents which took place in various districts of Tamil Nadu during the last three days underscore the statement made by Ramdas Athawale, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment. Speaking to reporters during his recent visit to Chennai, the Minister pointed out that Tamil Nadu was one of the 10 States in the country which has high cases of atrocities against Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe communities.

This Monday saw two Dalits, getting murdered allegedly by a section of people belonging to the intermediate caste at Manamadurai in the district of Sivaganga.

A Shanmughanathan (31) who held a MBA degree and K Thirupuvanam alias Arumugham (65) were murdered by the intermediate caste people for not showing respect to the latter when they went to the village temple.

A caste Hindu youth by name Suman got furious when the group of Dalit youths did not get up when they saw him and the murders were in retaliation of the disrespect, according to the villagers.

They also said though there were 15 persons in the group which attacked them, only five have been arrested so far.

The victims who bore the brunt of the caste persons included a retired soldier of the Indian Army as well as a serving policeman.

“The number of atrocities committed against SC/ST communities in Tamil Nadu is big when compared to other States. This has to be brought down,” minister Athawale had told the officials of the Tamil Nadu government.

“Each district in the State should have a special court exclusively to attend to the atrocities against the SC/ST community members. But in Tamil Nadu there are only six such courts,” the Minister had pointed out.

In yet another development, a social activist by name S Sivasubramaniam has come out with a disclosure of how conservancy workers belonging to the Scheduled Caste community are being taken for a ride by the private labour contractors Nilgiri district of the State.

Sivasubramaniam, who heads the Centre for Consumer, Human Resources and Environment Protection in Gudalur has told the National Commission for Scheduled Caste that 50 conservancy workers who have been hired by the contractor at a monthly salary of Rs 13,000/ — were paid only Rs 8,000/ per month for their works and the rest was pocketed by the contractor himself.

“When the workers who felt cheated questioned the contractor, he laid them off  and they are without any work,” said Sivasubramanian.

He said there was no provision in the local body rules to appoint conservancy workers on a permanent basis though they too were part of essential services wing.

According to S Manoharan, an activist working among the conservancy workers in Ootty, the incidence at Gudalur was not an isolated one as exploitation of this kind was happening in all local bodies in the State, irrespective of who is in power. “Dravidian rule has benefited certain castes but not the Dalits.

Their woes have only increased,” said Rameshan, veteran scribe who headed a news agency in the State for more than three decades.