Today is my Independence Day: Dalit chief of Athupakkam panchayat

CHENNAI: “Today is the real Independence Day for me,” said V Amrutham on Thursday as the dalit woman president of Athupakkam panchayat hoisted the Tricolour in the village in the presence of the district collector and superintendent of police.
Amrutham had not been allowed to hoist the flag on August 15, allegedly by the other panchayat members and its secretary, who belong to the dominant vanniyar caste. She has said they did not allow her to hoist the flag on Republic Day either and that the panchayat secretary did not brief her on official matters.
After TOI reported the incident, the district administration erected a new flag mast at the panchayat office and Collector Maheswari Ravikumar received Amrutham with a bouquet and district superintendent of police P Aravindhan assisted her to hoist the Tricolour. The collector organised the event acting on a TOI report that Amrutham was humiliated and prevented from hoisting the Tricolour at the panchayat union elementary school, abutting the panchayat office, by former panchayat president V Haridoss on Republic Day and that she was invited for the Independence Day function at the same school and later told not to attend it. She was getting ready to go to the school on August 15 morning when the call came from the school headmistress that she need not attend the function. Since there was no flag mast at the panchayat office, the panchayat president had been hoisting the Tricolour on Republic Day and Independence Day all these years at the school. Problems started after the recent local body polls. In the delimitation exercise which preceded the polls, Athupakkam panchayat president post was reserved for dalit women. Since Amrutham’s victory in the polls in January this year, she has been facing discrimination.
“Today is the real Independence Day for me. Words fail me in expressing my happiness,” Amrutham told TOI. The district authorities also got her a name board at the panchayat office. She was prevented from placing a name board all these months.
Amrutham vowed to live up to the expectations of her villagers and provide all basic amenities to them, starting from water supply to street lights. “I was scared about a few people and requested the collector to ensure my safety. She told me not to worry as the district administration is with me,” said Amrutham.
Collector has already initiated disciplinary action against panchayat secretary M Sasikumar, a vanniyar, for discriminating Amrutham on the basis of her caste. He has been suspended. Sasikumar and K Vijayakumar, husband of panchayat vice-president Revathy, have been arrested in connection with the assault on a journalist, who went to the village after the TOI report.
Thanking TOI for bringing the issue to the notice of the administration, Maheswari said, “I invited Amrutham to my office on Wednesday. We had a long chat and discussed the problems faced by her. We decided to honour her in front of the same villagers to send a strong message (against caste discrimination)”. Action has been taken to remove former panchayat president Haridoss as president of the parent-teachers’ association of the panchayat union elementary school in the village.
The district administration has appointed a new panchayat secretary to help Amrutham to carry out her duties effectively without anyone’s interference, said the collector. All the documents and records related to the panchayat have been handed over to Amrutham.
“Except a few, rest of the villagers are supporting Amrutham,” said the collector.