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Tamil Nadu campaign for change in Lanka loses face
Tamil Nadu, which has been at the forefront of the campaign against Sri Lanka for alleged discrimination against ethnic Tamils in the island nation, has been caught napping as hundreds of Hindu Dalits in the State come out in the open demanding equal rights in temples. The five-month long festival season which began in the Tamil month of Aadi (the period between July 15 and August 15) has been held up in various districts in the State as the Hindu Dalits, who were denied the rights to hold the festivals threatened that they would embrace Islam to escape the discrimination and humiliation meted out by upper caste Hindus.
The Hindu Dalits in Tamil Nadu have been facing discrimination of the worst kind in spite of the State being ruled by Dravidian parties which openly profess a casteless and religion-less society. Southern Tamil Nadu is home to untouchability though it has been described as a criminal offence as per the Indian Penal Code as well as the Constitution of the country.
Most tea shops in Tamil Nadu have the two-tumbler system where the Hindu Dalits and caste Hindus are served coffee and tea in different glasses. The Dalits are not allowed to sit on benches or chairs and they have to make do by sitting on the ground while the caste Hindus alone enjoy the privilege of sitting on benches and chairs.
Elsewhere in the State, Hindu Dalits and caste Hindus reside in separate settlements. The Dalits are not allowed to walk with footwear or ride bikes and bicycles in the areas where the caste Hindus live. When the discrimination touched its peak in 1981, 800 Hindu Dalits embraced Islam at Meenakshipuram, a village in the southern Tirunelveli district. “Once the Dalits convert to Islam, no caste Hindus could touch them. If the attack continues, hard core Islamist leaders and soldiers will teach the caste Hindus a lesson and hence the latter are afraid of the Islamists,” said a senior intelligence officer.
In mid-July, the Hindu Dalits of Vedaranyam in the Nagapattinam district in Southern Tamil Nadu were denied their rights to hold the annual festival at the Sree Bhadrakali Amman Temple by the caste Hindus. The Dalits declared that if they were not given the rights to hold the festival, they would convert en masse to Islam. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government led by Jayalalithaa deputed a minister O.S Manian to sort out the issue. While Manian, tried to find a solution, both the Dalits and caste Hindus were intransigent and a solution remained elusive. “We need a solution which will be binding on all once and forever. But the government is trying to soft pedal the issue by persuading us to call off the agitation. Enough is enough. If we are not given our Constitutional rights, there is no point in continuing as a Hindu. We are not asking for any special privileges. We should have the right to hold the temple festival,” said Ramani, a local Dalit leader who took part in the conciliatory talks convened by the government of Tamil Nadu.
Taking a cue from the Hindu Dalits of Vedaranyam, hundreds of thousands of community members have decided to boycott temples festivals elsewhere in the State. The State administration was forced to cancel or shut down many temples following the agitation launched by the Hindu Dalits. In districts like Madurai, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, Hindu Dalits who are elected as heads of local government bodies are not allowed to sit on chairs meant for them.
The State has been seeing hundreds of honour killings as a result of love marriages between Hindu Dalit boys and caste Hindu girls. The Thevar community which forms the backbone of the AIADMK enjoys government patronage. It is the Mudaliar and Nadar communities who form the majority of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and hence the party is reluctant to take any kind of stand against them when they unleash attacks on Hindu Dalits. The main reason for the conversion of Dalits to Islam and Christianity is to escape the wrath of caste Hindus who do not allow them basic human rights. The Tamil Nadu government, whether it be the AIADMK or the DMK, is incapable of taking strong action against the perpetrators of this crime.
It may sound strange that the same caste Hindu leaders in Tamil Nadu are at the forefront of agitations against Sri Lanka for alleged discrimination against the Tamils in the north.