Caste assertion, clashes in Tamil Nadu forcing Dravidian parties to recalibrate their politics
In the background of growing caste related violence in Tamil Nadu, FirstPost travels to the southernmost part of the country to find out how caste dictates life and how the rationalist Dravidian movement has morphed to tackle a resurgent caste identity in the state. This is the first part of the Caste Chronicles series.
M Subbaiah wears a forlorn look on his face. All of 36 years of age, married and with a child, he is now a farmer, despite having a Diploma in Engineering. The problem, says Subbaiah, has nothing to do with his credentials or skills. The problem is that he hails from a village called Gopalasamudram, about 25 kilometres from the bustling Tirunelveli town in southern Tamil Nadu.
“I was working as a tower supervisor in a telecom company earning Rs 25,000 a month,” explained Subbaiah. “In 2013, after the incident, my manager called me and asked casually where I was from. I told him my home was in Gopalasamudram. He then told me the company was laying off people and sacked me. I found out later that I was the only one that got sacked. It is all due to the bad name our village has now got,” he rued.
Since 2013, Gopalasamudram has seen bloodshed – an eye for an eye, one murder to avenge another. This has pitted the formidable Backward Class caste, the Thevars, against the Scheduled Caste Pallars in this village of 15,000.
Image courtesy: Sandhya Ravishankar and Devang Dave/ Firstpost
In 2013, a row began over celebrations of Thevar Jayanthi (a festival marking the birthday of Muthuramalinga Thevar, an eminent leader belonging to the Thevar caste) in a private school where children of both castes studied.
In the background of growing caste related violence in Tamil Nadu, FirstPost travels to the southernmost part of the country to find out how caste dictates life and how the rationalist Dravidian movement has morphed to tackle a resurgent caste identity in the state. This is the first part of the Caste Chronicles series.
M Subbaiah wears a forlorn look on his face. All of 36 years of age, married and with a child, he is now a farmer, despite having a Diploma in Engineering. The problem, says Subbaiah, has nothing to do with his credentials or skills. The problem is that he hails from a village called Gopalasamudram, about 25 kilometres from the bustling Tirunelveli town in southern Tamil Nadu.
“I was working as a tower supervisor in a telecom company earning Rs 25,000 a month,” explained Subbaiah. “In 2013, after the incident, my manager called me and asked casually where I was from. I told him my home was in Gopalasamudram. He then told me the company was laying off people and sacked me. I found out later that I was the only one that got sacked. It is all due to the bad name our village has now got,” he rued.
Since 2013, Gopalasamudram has seen bloodshed – an eye for an eye, one murder to avenge another. This has pitted the formidable Backward Class caste, the Thevars, against the Scheduled Caste Pallars in this village of 15,000.
Image courtesy: Sandhya Ravishankar and Devang Dave/ Firstpost
In 2013, a row began over celebrations of Thevar Jayanthi (a festival marking the birthday of Muthuramalinga Thevar, an eminent leader belonging to the Thevar caste) in a private school where children of both castes studied.
The headmistress of the Pannai Venkatarama Iyer High School (PVI School) in Gopalasamudram organised Thevar Jayanthi celebrations in the school and handed a chocolate and a new pencil to all students. Dalit students took affront and refused to take these gifts. They were beaten and bruised for their stand. Anger over caste snowballed over the next few months, culminating in the murder of 21-year-old Dharmaraj on the banks of the Tamirabharani river that flows quietly behind the village. One year later, the Dalits struck back, hacking 21-year-old Karthi to death in the marketplace in 2014. Tensions are barely under the surface now but neither side feels like the victor.
“There are so many young boys of marriageable age in Gopalasamudram,” said Subbaiah, a member of the Thevar caste. “Now no one wants to give brides in marriage to our boys. They tell us openly that we are trouble makers and murderers. It is shameful,” he added.
Tucked away in a corner of the village is the area where the Scheduled Caste population has resided for decades. These people, numerically equal to the “upper caste” Thevars, belong to the Pallar sub-section of Dalits and are known as Devendrakula Vellalars.
In this area, 14-year-old Muthu Palpandi, silent and with big solemn eyes, follows his mother to the fields. Muthu has not been to school in a year. This too is a fallout of the caste related violence in the village.
“We want to give our children good education so that they at least don’t end up like us,” said a plaintive Velankanni Palpandi, Muthu’s mother. “Please help us reopen the school. We don’t want our children to suffer a fate like ours,” said the 36-year-old agricultural landless labourer as she headed out to the paddy fields.
The mood in Gopalasamudram is grim. Since the incident in 2013, all 130 Pallar students dropped out of the PVI School. With the help of NGOs and with their own contributions, the Pallars of Gopalasamudram managed to raise Rs 8 lakhs to build a school within their own area. Teachers were brought in and these 130 students managed to continue their education for a year. Funds dried up subsequently and the district administration refused permission to allow the school to run. One whole academic year has now gone by with these Pallar children running amok with little to do but play.
“We want a school now, we are desperate,” said S Jayakumar, a 47-year-old resident of the Pallar part of Gopalasamudram. “As a result of this clash, everyone here has understood the importance of education. The only way to get rid of this scourge of caste is to educate everyone. That awareness has come to our people,” he said.
In the photo: Velankanni Palpandi (in orange saree) with other women in the Dalit area of Gopalasamudram say their kids have missed out on one academic year. Check out other photos of the series here.
While the Pallars have lost out on education, the Thevars have lost jobs and prospective brides for their young men. Other castes in the village include Chettiars, Brahmins, Nadars, Pillais and Konars (Yadavs). Many of these residents, although not directly involved in the clash, have suffered due to it.
“There are so many young boys of marriageable age in Gopalasamudram,” said Subbaiah, a member of the Thevar caste. “Now no one wants to give brides in marriage to our boys. They tell us openly that we are trouble makers and murderers. It is shameful,” he added.
Tucked away in a corner of the village is the area where the Scheduled Caste population has resided for decades. These people, numerically equal to the “upper caste” Thevars, belong to the Pallar sub-section of Dalits and are known as Devendrakula Vellalars.
In this area, 14-year-old Muthu Palpandi, silent and with big solemn eyes, follows his mother to the fields. Muthu has not been to school in a year. This too is a fallout of the caste related violence in the village.
“We want to give our children good education so that they at least don’t end up like us,” said a plaintive Velankanni Palpandi, Muthu’s mother. “Please help us reopen the school. We don’t want our children to suffer a fate like ours,” said the 36-year-old agricultural landless labourer as she headed out to the paddy fields.
The mood in Gopalasamudram is grim. Since the incident in 2013, all 130 Pallar students dropped out of the PVI School. With the help of NGOs and with their own contributions, the Pallars of Gopalasamudram managed to raise Rs 8 lakhs to build a school within their own area. Teachers were brought in and these 130 students managed to continue their education for a year. Funds dried up subsequently and the district administration refused permission to allow the school to run. One whole academic year has now gone by with these Pallar children running amok with little to do but play.
“We want a school now, we are desperate,” said S Jayakumar, a 47-year-old resident of the Pallar part of Gopalasamudram. “As a result of this clash, everyone here has understood the importance of education. The only way to get rid of this scourge of caste is to educate everyone. That awareness has come to our people,” he said.
In the photo: Velankanni Palpandi (in orange saree) with other women in the Dalit area of Gopalasamudram say their kids have missed out on one academic year. Check out other photos of the series here.
While the Pallars have lost out on education, the Thevars have lost jobs and prospective brides for their young men. Other castes in the village include Chettiars, Brahmins, Nadars, Pillais and Konars (Yadavs). Many of these residents, although not directly involved in the clash, have suffered due to it.
A number of long time residents have moved out of the village fearing a reprisal of 2013. Many others have sent their children to boarding schools far from home so that their studies may not be interrupted. Most villagers agree that the caste related violence has destroyed much more than peace in Gopalasamudram.
While the two murders were of residents of Gopalasamudram itself, the violence had a cascading effect on villages surrounding Gopalasamudram. In 2014, another Pallar man was hacked to death while traveling by bus in the neighbouring Kothankulam village. A spate of almost copycat murders followed, at least six such killings according to Dalit activists, as caste became a talking point once again. Rifts deepened along caste lines in neighbouring villages, say activists in the area.
“In Suthamani village, about a kilometer from here, 20 Thevar boys moved out of the government school so that they did not have to study with Pallar boys,” said Rajavel Paramasivan, a social activist in Gopalasamudram. “They moved to a private school just because of this issue in our village,” he said.
Tamil Nadu stands second in the country currently in terms of caste clashes, pipped only by Maharashtra, according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau. 211 caste related riots have taken place in the state in 2014. The southern districts of the state record more violence and caste related murders and honour killings than the other regions of the state. Dalit experts say that this is likely due to the fact that the Pallars who abound in the southern districts are largely a land-owning community and therefore more aware and willing to fight for their rights.
John Pandian, leader of Dalit political party Tamilaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK or Tamil People’s Progressive Party) says that despite caste related murders and riots reducing in numbers in Tirunelveli district in the past 10 years, the reasons behind such murders are much more mundane.
“Feelings of caste have increased across the state,” said Pandian. “The problem is that there are not enough industries here. There is no way for all castes to work together. If they all work together in the same factory, there will be no issues. Our youth are unemployed in the villages,” he said.
Subbaiah and Jayakumar of Gopalasamudram, on either side of the caste divide, agree. “Our youth have nothing to do, they are educated but unemployed,” said Subbaiah, of the Thevar caste. “They go around in groups, get drunk and then pick fights. Even a small remark or a glance can turn into an issue and ends in murder,” he said.
Pallar resident Jayakumar says that unemployed Pallar youth too consume liquor and speak of caste amongst themselves as an identity and therefore situations get out of hand. “There is no proper education for our boys, no access to higher studies for any of the youngsters here, be it Thevar or Pallar,” he said. “Without education and jobs, they sit under trees and discuss small issues and blow them out of proportion. Only education can resolve this caste issue,” he said.
A ray of hope though finds its way in the maturity of some decisions taken by middle aged members of both castes in Gopalasamudram. A peace committee comprising all castes in the village, formed in the aftermath of the two murders, came up with some positive resolutions. One resolution was to push for a government school in the village where all students would study together. The second was that no caste-affiliated political parties would be allowed to come in and campaign in the village. The third was that no flags would be raised anywhere in the village which symbolised a caste. The flagpoles of Gopalasamudram until today stand bereft of yellow, red or green, an indication of the sanity that its people are trying desperately to keep.
In the next edition of Tamil Nadu's Caste Chronicles:
Firstpost finds out how caste is taking on a newer, more aggressive form in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, as a resurgent Dalit takes on the aggressive Thevar, the all powerful Nadar and the other so-called higher castes. We also delve into how caste identity has become crucial for Tamilians down south.
Pride and Prejudice: Resurgent caste identities breed clashes, polarisation amongst youth of Tamil Nadu
The Muthalamman temple stands grand and tall in the main square of Uthapuram village, around 55 kilometres from Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu. The deity’s gates have been shut for the past two weeks and a posse of police personnel guards the ornate wooden doors. A recurring battle for equal rights between the Scheduled Caste Pallars, known as Devendrakula Vellalars, and the Backward Class Pillais, called Vellalars, in Uthapuram since the late 1980s continues to be fought in Goddess Muthalamman’s name.
Tensions began in 1987, when Scheduled Caste Pallars began to demand equal rights to worship in the temple, which was until then closed to them. In 1989, riots broke out with the ‘upper caste’ Pillais turning on the Dalits. 40 villages surrounding Uthapuram joined hands and approved the construction of a wall cutting off entry to the Pillai side of Uthapuram from Devendra Nagar, the Pallar part of the village. “The trigger was eve-teasing of our Pillai girls,” said SP Murugesan, a chartered accountant in Uthapuram belonging to the Pillai community. “There were terrible clashes and many of our homes got looted too. That is why we decided to construct the wall. It is on patta land. Don’t I have the right to build a wall on my own land and protect my home from unwelcome visitors? Is this not allowed in a democracy?” he asked.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court turned battleground in the early 2000s, as political parties jumped headlong into the issue of the ‘Untouchability Wall’ in Uthapuram. Protests by Left parties forced Pillais to bring a portion of the wall down in 2008. By 2010, a peace agreement was negotiated between the Pallars and Pillais, which was endorsed by the court.
While the two murders were of residents of Gopalasamudram itself, the violence had a cascading effect on villages surrounding Gopalasamudram. In 2014, another Pallar man was hacked to death while traveling by bus in the neighbouring Kothankulam village. A spate of almost copycat murders followed, at least six such killings according to Dalit activists, as caste became a talking point once again. Rifts deepened along caste lines in neighbouring villages, say activists in the area.
“In Suthamani village, about a kilometer from here, 20 Thevar boys moved out of the government school so that they did not have to study with Pallar boys,” said Rajavel Paramasivan, a social activist in Gopalasamudram. “They moved to a private school just because of this issue in our village,” he said.
Tamil Nadu stands second in the country currently in terms of caste clashes, pipped only by Maharashtra, according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau. 211 caste related riots have taken place in the state in 2014. The southern districts of the state record more violence and caste related murders and honour killings than the other regions of the state. Dalit experts say that this is likely due to the fact that the Pallars who abound in the southern districts are largely a land-owning community and therefore more aware and willing to fight for their rights.
John Pandian, leader of Dalit political party Tamilaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK or Tamil People’s Progressive Party) says that despite caste related murders and riots reducing in numbers in Tirunelveli district in the past 10 years, the reasons behind such murders are much more mundane.
“Feelings of caste have increased across the state,” said Pandian. “The problem is that there are not enough industries here. There is no way for all castes to work together. If they all work together in the same factory, there will be no issues. Our youth are unemployed in the villages,” he said.
Subbaiah and Jayakumar of Gopalasamudram, on either side of the caste divide, agree. “Our youth have nothing to do, they are educated but unemployed,” said Subbaiah, of the Thevar caste. “They go around in groups, get drunk and then pick fights. Even a small remark or a glance can turn into an issue and ends in murder,” he said.
Pallar resident Jayakumar says that unemployed Pallar youth too consume liquor and speak of caste amongst themselves as an identity and therefore situations get out of hand. “There is no proper education for our boys, no access to higher studies for any of the youngsters here, be it Thevar or Pallar,” he said. “Without education and jobs, they sit under trees and discuss small issues and blow them out of proportion. Only education can resolve this caste issue,” he said.
A ray of hope though finds its way in the maturity of some decisions taken by middle aged members of both castes in Gopalasamudram. A peace committee comprising all castes in the village, formed in the aftermath of the two murders, came up with some positive resolutions. One resolution was to push for a government school in the village where all students would study together. The second was that no caste-affiliated political parties would be allowed to come in and campaign in the village. The third was that no flags would be raised anywhere in the village which symbolised a caste. The flagpoles of Gopalasamudram until today stand bereft of yellow, red or green, an indication of the sanity that its people are trying desperately to keep.
In the next edition of Tamil Nadu's Caste Chronicles:
Firstpost finds out how caste is taking on a newer, more aggressive form in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, as a resurgent Dalit takes on the aggressive Thevar, the all powerful Nadar and the other so-called higher castes. We also delve into how caste identity has become crucial for Tamilians down south.
Pride and Prejudice: Resurgent caste identities breed clashes, polarisation amongst youth of Tamil Nadu
The Muthalamman temple stands grand and tall in the main square of Uthapuram village, around 55 kilometres from Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu. The deity’s gates have been shut for the past two weeks and a posse of police personnel guards the ornate wooden doors. A recurring battle for equal rights between the Scheduled Caste Pallars, known as Devendrakula Vellalars, and the Backward Class Pillais, called Vellalars, in Uthapuram since the late 1980s continues to be fought in Goddess Muthalamman’s name.
Tensions began in 1987, when Scheduled Caste Pallars began to demand equal rights to worship in the temple, which was until then closed to them. In 1989, riots broke out with the ‘upper caste’ Pillais turning on the Dalits. 40 villages surrounding Uthapuram joined hands and approved the construction of a wall cutting off entry to the Pillai side of Uthapuram from Devendra Nagar, the Pallar part of the village. “The trigger was eve-teasing of our Pillai girls,” said SP Murugesan, a chartered accountant in Uthapuram belonging to the Pillai community. “There were terrible clashes and many of our homes got looted too. That is why we decided to construct the wall. It is on patta land. Don’t I have the right to build a wall on my own land and protect my home from unwelcome visitors? Is this not allowed in a democracy?” he asked.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court turned battleground in the early 2000s, as political parties jumped headlong into the issue of the ‘Untouchability Wall’ in Uthapuram. Protests by Left parties forced Pillais to bring a portion of the wall down in 2008. By 2010, a peace agreement was negotiated between the Pallars and Pillais, which was endorsed by the court.
The ownership, administration and maintenance of the Muthalamman would be by the Pillais, as it has traditionally been. Pillais agreed that they would not refuse any Pallar from worshipping in the temple. Peace reined briefly. Until the third week of October this year when the temple became a talking point once again, ahead of the Muthalamman festival. Negotiations and a court case later, the festival took place in the midst of inordinately heavy police protection.
This second part of the Caste Chronicles series focusses on southern Tamil Nadu. Sandhya Ravishankar/Firstpost
“Our main demand has always been that we be allowed to worship the Arasa maram (Peepul tree) which is inside the temple compound,” said K Ponnaiah, a resident of the Dalit colony of Devendra Nagar in Uthapuram. “When we went to the tree and began to pray, Pillais came up and started abusing us using our caste names. We retaliated and told them that we will not allow the ‘saami’ (deity) to be taken out as per the ritual. This led to anger again,” he said.
Police arrested 35 people under the Protection of Civil Rights Act for degrading the Dalit community. The Pillais say these were all false, foisted cases.
Caste affiliated tensions spread to neighbouring Elumalai, a few kilometers from Uthapuram. Another Muthalamman temple here was the battleground for clashes between Scheduled Caste Pallars and the Thevars, a Backward Class. Dalits from another neighbouring village, Athankaraipatti joined in the melee. Vehicles were burnt by both castes and stones were pelted. ‘Upper caste’ Naickers and Chettiars too joined hands with the Thevars against the Dalits, pitting both sides equally in terms of numbers in this village of 30,000 residents.
“Some Thevars and Pillais in the village created this issue for their own interests,” said Muthaiah Karuppaiah Thevar, better known as ‘Onriya’ Muthaiah, a local functionary of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and a former Panchayat Union president of Elumalai. “They got the SCs drunk and instigated them to cause trouble. We have never stopped SCs from worshipping in the temple,” he said.
The Pallars of Elumalai though say that they are insulted and abused often by the ‘upper castes’. Pallars here are not allowed to pay their share towards the maintenance of the Muthalamman temple, a prerogative of the ‘upper castes’. A common cremation ground has become solely for the ‘upper castes’ – Pallars have no place to cremate their dead and they say they use a vacant plot of land for this. “During Kamaraj’s (former Chief Minister) time we stopped tying our towels around our waists in from of the ‘upper castes’,” said Gurusamy Perumal, a resident of the Pallar area of Elumalai. “Now it looks like we will have to go back to that or worse. When we demand rights to the Goddess, these people ask us – what God does a Pallar have?” he fumed.
An uneasy calm prevails now over these villages, as police vans stand guard against further clashes.
The resurgent Dalit
Dalits of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu – Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Theni, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul and Kanyakumari – are predominantly of the Pallar sub-caste. Many of the Pallars own small plots of land and subsist on agriculture.
“The Pallars will hit back at discrimination against them,” said A Kathir, Executive Director of Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO working for Dalit rights. “They have a strong economic base since they own land and they have political power in the area,” he said. Other Dalit sub-castes like the Paraiyars of the northern districts and the Arundhatiyars of the western belt are not as vocal as the Pallars, perhaps due to the complex matrix of socio-economics, say experts. These two communities are dependent on the ‘upper castes’ in their areas as they work in their fields as agricultural labourers, reducing chances of opposition against discrimination.
The Pallars of the south are in a much better position now than they were 15 years ago, say Dalit experts. “Today Dalits are able to compete in government tenders and able to run successful businesses,” said M Bharathan, Director of Human Rights Council, an NGO that works with Dalits in Tirunelveli. “They are still unable to open restaurants or tea stalls since people stop frequenting those when they find out the caste of the owner, but discrimination is much less now and what there is, is subtle,” he said.
Bharathan says that education and awareness has helped the Pallar community stand up and win battles against discrimination. “Now Pallars are saying we don’t want free goats,” he continued. “They say if you help us study, we will be able to buy a hundred goats. We don’t want a single room house from the government. They say help us study, we will build bungalows on our own,” he explained.
Dalit political leaders agree that education has played a key role in strengthening the Pallar community. “SCs began talking back around 15 years ago,” said John Pandian, leader of Dalit political party Tamilaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK or Tamil People’s Progressive Party). Pandian himself hails from a Pallar family that owned over 25 acres of land in the 1960s. “If anyone indulges in caste slurs, Pallars now ask them how they dare do so. This is all due to education,” he said.
This resurgent caste identity of not just the Pallars, but also ‘upper castes’ like Thevars, Nadars and Naickers, resonate in the use of symbolic motifs. Pride in caste identity can be seen from a young age. Pallar parents tie green and red threads around the wrists of their children before sending them off to school. Thevar parents prefer yellow and red. The wealthy business community of Nadars, which rules over the printing, fireworks, seafood and beach sand mining industries of the south, wear baniyans and lockets with pictures of former Chief Minister Kamaraj, who too was a Nadar. Different coloured ‘pottu’ – the designs of vermilion, sandalwood or holy ash on the forehead are prominent displays of pride in caste identity.
“People of the same caste wear threads to show a sense of unity,” explained Bharathan of Human Rights Council. “It is a show of identity and pride in being a member of that particular caste,” he said.
Politics over caste
As Tamil Nadu heads into state elections in 2016, severe polarisation is evident on the basis of caste. Parties for Thevars, for Nadars and for Dalits are vying with each other to find issues to publicise. ‘Gouravam’ or honour, is the key word amongst all of these players. “How can a Thevar bear it if someone working in his house wants to marry his daughter?” asked 32-year-old Bhavani Velmurugan, founder of a small Thevar outfit called the Akila India Mukkalathor Marumalarchi Kazhagam (All India Mukkalathor Revival Party) in Tirunelveli. “It is a question of Gouravam. If a Thevar man cannot protect his women, what kind of a man is he?” he said.
This second part of the Caste Chronicles series focusses on southern Tamil Nadu. Sandhya Ravishankar/Firstpost
“Our main demand has always been that we be allowed to worship the Arasa maram (Peepul tree) which is inside the temple compound,” said K Ponnaiah, a resident of the Dalit colony of Devendra Nagar in Uthapuram. “When we went to the tree and began to pray, Pillais came up and started abusing us using our caste names. We retaliated and told them that we will not allow the ‘saami’ (deity) to be taken out as per the ritual. This led to anger again,” he said.
Police arrested 35 people under the Protection of Civil Rights Act for degrading the Dalit community. The Pillais say these were all false, foisted cases.
Caste affiliated tensions spread to neighbouring Elumalai, a few kilometers from Uthapuram. Another Muthalamman temple here was the battleground for clashes between Scheduled Caste Pallars and the Thevars, a Backward Class. Dalits from another neighbouring village, Athankaraipatti joined in the melee. Vehicles were burnt by both castes and stones were pelted. ‘Upper caste’ Naickers and Chettiars too joined hands with the Thevars against the Dalits, pitting both sides equally in terms of numbers in this village of 30,000 residents.
“Some Thevars and Pillais in the village created this issue for their own interests,” said Muthaiah Karuppaiah Thevar, better known as ‘Onriya’ Muthaiah, a local functionary of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and a former Panchayat Union president of Elumalai. “They got the SCs drunk and instigated them to cause trouble. We have never stopped SCs from worshipping in the temple,” he said.
The Pallars of Elumalai though say that they are insulted and abused often by the ‘upper castes’. Pallars here are not allowed to pay their share towards the maintenance of the Muthalamman temple, a prerogative of the ‘upper castes’. A common cremation ground has become solely for the ‘upper castes’ – Pallars have no place to cremate their dead and they say they use a vacant plot of land for this. “During Kamaraj’s (former Chief Minister) time we stopped tying our towels around our waists in from of the ‘upper castes’,” said Gurusamy Perumal, a resident of the Pallar area of Elumalai. “Now it looks like we will have to go back to that or worse. When we demand rights to the Goddess, these people ask us – what God does a Pallar have?” he fumed.
An uneasy calm prevails now over these villages, as police vans stand guard against further clashes.
The resurgent Dalit
Dalits of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu – Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Theni, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul and Kanyakumari – are predominantly of the Pallar sub-caste. Many of the Pallars own small plots of land and subsist on agriculture.
“The Pallars will hit back at discrimination against them,” said A Kathir, Executive Director of Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO working for Dalit rights. “They have a strong economic base since they own land and they have political power in the area,” he said. Other Dalit sub-castes like the Paraiyars of the northern districts and the Arundhatiyars of the western belt are not as vocal as the Pallars, perhaps due to the complex matrix of socio-economics, say experts. These two communities are dependent on the ‘upper castes’ in their areas as they work in their fields as agricultural labourers, reducing chances of opposition against discrimination.
The Pallars of the south are in a much better position now than they were 15 years ago, say Dalit experts. “Today Dalits are able to compete in government tenders and able to run successful businesses,” said M Bharathan, Director of Human Rights Council, an NGO that works with Dalits in Tirunelveli. “They are still unable to open restaurants or tea stalls since people stop frequenting those when they find out the caste of the owner, but discrimination is much less now and what there is, is subtle,” he said.
Bharathan says that education and awareness has helped the Pallar community stand up and win battles against discrimination. “Now Pallars are saying we don’t want free goats,” he continued. “They say if you help us study, we will be able to buy a hundred goats. We don’t want a single room house from the government. They say help us study, we will build bungalows on our own,” he explained.
Dalit political leaders agree that education has played a key role in strengthening the Pallar community. “SCs began talking back around 15 years ago,” said John Pandian, leader of Dalit political party Tamilaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK or Tamil People’s Progressive Party). Pandian himself hails from a Pallar family that owned over 25 acres of land in the 1960s. “If anyone indulges in caste slurs, Pallars now ask them how they dare do so. This is all due to education,” he said.
This resurgent caste identity of not just the Pallars, but also ‘upper castes’ like Thevars, Nadars and Naickers, resonate in the use of symbolic motifs. Pride in caste identity can be seen from a young age. Pallar parents tie green and red threads around the wrists of their children before sending them off to school. Thevar parents prefer yellow and red. The wealthy business community of Nadars, which rules over the printing, fireworks, seafood and beach sand mining industries of the south, wear baniyans and lockets with pictures of former Chief Minister Kamaraj, who too was a Nadar. Different coloured ‘pottu’ – the designs of vermilion, sandalwood or holy ash on the forehead are prominent displays of pride in caste identity.
“People of the same caste wear threads to show a sense of unity,” explained Bharathan of Human Rights Council. “It is a show of identity and pride in being a member of that particular caste,” he said.
Politics over caste
As Tamil Nadu heads into state elections in 2016, severe polarisation is evident on the basis of caste. Parties for Thevars, for Nadars and for Dalits are vying with each other to find issues to publicise. ‘Gouravam’ or honour, is the key word amongst all of these players. “How can a Thevar bear it if someone working in his house wants to marry his daughter?” asked 32-year-old Bhavani Velmurugan, founder of a small Thevar outfit called the Akila India Mukkalathor Marumalarchi Kazhagam (All India Mukkalathor Revival Party) in Tirunelveli. “It is a question of Gouravam. If a Thevar man cannot protect his women, what kind of a man is he?” he said.
Velmurugan laughingly admits the volatile nature of the natives of the southern districts. “Most fights begin with a mere glance or a single utterance. It quickly degenerates into a caste clash or murder. It is in our blood, what can we say? For the ‘upper castes’ “maanam” (honour) is more important than anything else,” he said.
Gouravam is a running concept amongst the Pallar community as well. “We are fighting for the dignity and honour of the Dalits of Tamil Nadu,” said John Pandian of the TMMK. Rousing cries of ‘veeram’ (bravery) and ‘maanam’ (honour) are heard from Dalit parties across the state.
Dravidian parties in the state have traditionally had candidates from the dominant caste in the region as important party functionaries or candidates. The AIADMK is often referred to as a Thevar party due to a large number of leaders of that caste. In the south, most leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are either Nadars or Thevars.
As political voices ring more stridently in the run up to elections 2016, polarisation of people on the basis of caste has hit strident levels. The youth, especially, appear to be lured to the deep rooted biases against caste in villages of the south. “They (Pallars) started it and we simply hit back,” shrugs 28-year-old Deepan Chakravarthy, an autorickshaw driver in tense Elumalai. His friend, 18-year-old Raja Deepan, a daily wage labourer who dropped out of school a few years ago, agrees. “They (Pallars) should stay in their area. What are they doing coming to our part of the village?” he asked aggressively as he whiled away time near the Muthuramalinga Thevar statue at the centre of Elumalai.
Being Dravidian: 'The institutionalisation of caste in Tamil Nadu politics was solely due to DMK chief Karunanidhi'
Tho Paramasivan, better known as Tho Pa, smiles his withering smile despite the niggling pain of an amputated foot. The 65-year-old writer, retired Professor of Tamil at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, researcher of temples for three decades and a staunch Periyarist, is affable and concise. Conversational chitchat, like his home in Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli, is sparse. His only God, he says, are the writings and teachings of the founder of the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu, Periyar EV Ramasamy Naicker, whose picture is hung up on the wall.
“Karunanidhi (chief of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or DMK) is wholly responsible for caste issues in this state,” begins Tho Pa, mincing no words. “Periyar was against caste. The Dravidian movement was against caste. Anna(former Chief Minister Annadurai) compromised the Dravidian movement when he said – “ondrey kulam, oruvaney devan” (One humanity, one God). Karunanidhi diluted it further and turned it entirely into votebank politics,” he said.
Paramasivan refers to events that took place in the 1990s to prove his point. Renaming of districts in the state were on in full swing during the DMK regime with Karunanidhi as Chief Minister. Names for districts were those of prominent leaders belonging to different castes. Madurai, for instance, was named Pasumpon Thevar Thirumaganar district (referring to a prominent leader Muthuramalinga Thevar belonging to the Thevar caste belonging to the Backward Classes).
Villupuram district was called Villupuram Ramasamy Padayachiyar district, after another powerful leader of the Vanniyar (Most Backward Caste) caste. Many other districts had similar nomenclature. In 1997, caste riots broke out in southern Tamil Nadu when the State Transport Corporation in Virudhunagar was renamed as Veeran Sundaralingam Transport Corporation after a prominent Dalit leader. Thevars, an ‘upper caste’ refused to get into these buses named after a ‘lower caste’ leader. The state government led by Chief Minister Karunanidhi went into a huddle and hastily decided that names of caste leaders would not adorn districts or transport corporations.
Tho Paramasivan. Firstpost/Sandhya Ravishankar
“Periyar is still relevant,” explained Paramasivan. “The Dravidian parties have diluted the movement. Absolute power corrupts absolutely – that is the Dravidian movement. It is a sad history. But no movement can die. It will change its form, new parties will come. It will morph and stay relevant to the times,” he said.
Paramasivan scoffs at Karunanidhi’s son and DMK heir apparent MK Stalin visiting the Thirukoshtiyur Ramanujar temple last month and at Karunanidhi himself penning the script for a biopic on the Hindu saint which is being aired on the DMK mouthpiece Kalaignar TV. “In the 1950s, (Tamil film actor) Sivaji Ganesan joined the DMK,” reminisced Paramasivan. “He went to the Tirupati Balaji temple before the release of some film of his. DMK men stuck posters all over the state calling him ‘Tirupati Ganesha’, mocking him. Karunanidhi and Stalin have forgotten all of that. All of this scriptwriting and visiting temples is only for votebank politics,” he said.
Paramasivan says that caste is here to say, considering how deeply institutionalised it has become in mainstream state politics. “Destroying caste is not an easy thing,” he argued. “Caste is as real as it is cruel. We can only dilute it. That is why Periyar believed in inter-caste marriages,” he said.
Periyar and the Dravidian movement have come under severe criticism from Dalit thinkers for being a movement that uprooted the Brahmin and installed the OBCs (Other Backward Castes) in its place, leaving the Dalits still outside of the system. Paramasivan, the Periyarist, defends his ideology. “The OBC took maximum advantage of Periyar’s Dravidian movement,” he argued. “It is an objective ideology and it was used more by the intermediary castes. This is unavoidable in such caste hierarchy,” he said.
Paramasivan also feels that there is a vacuum in political leadership for the Dalits in Tamil Nadu. “There is no good leadership for Dalits,” he said. “Dalit writers are sowing the seeds of hatred amongst people. Hatred is more powerful, it catches fire instantly. When hatred is sown, there is a sense of revenge amongst the community. Dalits are opposing non-Dalits, many times, for no reason,” he added.
“There will be lots of violence,” said Paramasivan on the issue of whether caste would be history in a few generations. “There will be at least another 50 years of bloodshed before caste dissolves. Caste will go only after unprecedented bloodshed, which we are yet to witness. It will come,” he warned.
The morphing of the Dravidian movement and caste intolerance in Tamil Nadu are interlinked, according to Paramasivan. He believes though that the movement itself will spread to other parts of the country, in a time of great intolerance. “In India, nationality has become a big thing now,” he explained. “India is a prison of suppressed nationalities. Tamil Nadu was the forerunner at one point. This crisis of nationality will come again. The BJP will ensure that this nationality question will remain alive. The Dravidian ideology will fight this and it will need to change to fight it. I see other states picking the anti-Hindi and anti-Hindu propaganda soon. Rationalism will spread to other states,” he said.
Parts one and two of the Tamil Nadu Caste Chronicles series are available here.
The author tweets @sandhyaravishan
Gouravam is a running concept amongst the Pallar community as well. “We are fighting for the dignity and honour of the Dalits of Tamil Nadu,” said John Pandian of the TMMK. Rousing cries of ‘veeram’ (bravery) and ‘maanam’ (honour) are heard from Dalit parties across the state.
Dravidian parties in the state have traditionally had candidates from the dominant caste in the region as important party functionaries or candidates. The AIADMK is often referred to as a Thevar party due to a large number of leaders of that caste. In the south, most leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are either Nadars or Thevars.
As political voices ring more stridently in the run up to elections 2016, polarisation of people on the basis of caste has hit strident levels. The youth, especially, appear to be lured to the deep rooted biases against caste in villages of the south. “They (Pallars) started it and we simply hit back,” shrugs 28-year-old Deepan Chakravarthy, an autorickshaw driver in tense Elumalai. His friend, 18-year-old Raja Deepan, a daily wage labourer who dropped out of school a few years ago, agrees. “They (Pallars) should stay in their area. What are they doing coming to our part of the village?” he asked aggressively as he whiled away time near the Muthuramalinga Thevar statue at the centre of Elumalai.
Being Dravidian: 'The institutionalisation of caste in Tamil Nadu politics was solely due to DMK chief Karunanidhi'
Tho Paramasivan, better known as Tho Pa, smiles his withering smile despite the niggling pain of an amputated foot. The 65-year-old writer, retired Professor of Tamil at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, researcher of temples for three decades and a staunch Periyarist, is affable and concise. Conversational chitchat, like his home in Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli, is sparse. His only God, he says, are the writings and teachings of the founder of the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu, Periyar EV Ramasamy Naicker, whose picture is hung up on the wall.
“Karunanidhi (chief of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or DMK) is wholly responsible for caste issues in this state,” begins Tho Pa, mincing no words. “Periyar was against caste. The Dravidian movement was against caste. Anna(former Chief Minister Annadurai) compromised the Dravidian movement when he said – “ondrey kulam, oruvaney devan” (One humanity, one God). Karunanidhi diluted it further and turned it entirely into votebank politics,” he said.
Paramasivan refers to events that took place in the 1990s to prove his point. Renaming of districts in the state were on in full swing during the DMK regime with Karunanidhi as Chief Minister. Names for districts were those of prominent leaders belonging to different castes. Madurai, for instance, was named Pasumpon Thevar Thirumaganar district (referring to a prominent leader Muthuramalinga Thevar belonging to the Thevar caste belonging to the Backward Classes).
Villupuram district was called Villupuram Ramasamy Padayachiyar district, after another powerful leader of the Vanniyar (Most Backward Caste) caste. Many other districts had similar nomenclature. In 1997, caste riots broke out in southern Tamil Nadu when the State Transport Corporation in Virudhunagar was renamed as Veeran Sundaralingam Transport Corporation after a prominent Dalit leader. Thevars, an ‘upper caste’ refused to get into these buses named after a ‘lower caste’ leader. The state government led by Chief Minister Karunanidhi went into a huddle and hastily decided that names of caste leaders would not adorn districts or transport corporations.
Tho Paramasivan. Firstpost/Sandhya Ravishankar
“Periyar is still relevant,” explained Paramasivan. “The Dravidian parties have diluted the movement. Absolute power corrupts absolutely – that is the Dravidian movement. It is a sad history. But no movement can die. It will change its form, new parties will come. It will morph and stay relevant to the times,” he said.
Paramasivan scoffs at Karunanidhi’s son and DMK heir apparent MK Stalin visiting the Thirukoshtiyur Ramanujar temple last month and at Karunanidhi himself penning the script for a biopic on the Hindu saint which is being aired on the DMK mouthpiece Kalaignar TV. “In the 1950s, (Tamil film actor) Sivaji Ganesan joined the DMK,” reminisced Paramasivan. “He went to the Tirupati Balaji temple before the release of some film of his. DMK men stuck posters all over the state calling him ‘Tirupati Ganesha’, mocking him. Karunanidhi and Stalin have forgotten all of that. All of this scriptwriting and visiting temples is only for votebank politics,” he said.
Paramasivan says that caste is here to say, considering how deeply institutionalised it has become in mainstream state politics. “Destroying caste is not an easy thing,” he argued. “Caste is as real as it is cruel. We can only dilute it. That is why Periyar believed in inter-caste marriages,” he said.
Periyar and the Dravidian movement have come under severe criticism from Dalit thinkers for being a movement that uprooted the Brahmin and installed the OBCs (Other Backward Castes) in its place, leaving the Dalits still outside of the system. Paramasivan, the Periyarist, defends his ideology. “The OBC took maximum advantage of Periyar’s Dravidian movement,” he argued. “It is an objective ideology and it was used more by the intermediary castes. This is unavoidable in such caste hierarchy,” he said.
Paramasivan also feels that there is a vacuum in political leadership for the Dalits in Tamil Nadu. “There is no good leadership for Dalits,” he said. “Dalit writers are sowing the seeds of hatred amongst people. Hatred is more powerful, it catches fire instantly. When hatred is sown, there is a sense of revenge amongst the community. Dalits are opposing non-Dalits, many times, for no reason,” he added.
“There will be lots of violence,” said Paramasivan on the issue of whether caste would be history in a few generations. “There will be at least another 50 years of bloodshed before caste dissolves. Caste will go only after unprecedented bloodshed, which we are yet to witness. It will come,” he warned.
The morphing of the Dravidian movement and caste intolerance in Tamil Nadu are interlinked, according to Paramasivan. He believes though that the movement itself will spread to other parts of the country, in a time of great intolerance. “In India, nationality has become a big thing now,” he explained. “India is a prison of suppressed nationalities. Tamil Nadu was the forerunner at one point. This crisis of nationality will come again. The BJP will ensure that this nationality question will remain alive. The Dravidian ideology will fight this and it will need to change to fight it. I see other states picking the anti-Hindi and anti-Hindu propaganda soon. Rationalism will spread to other states,” he said.
Parts one and two of the Tamil Nadu Caste Chronicles series are available here.
The author tweets @sandhyaravishan
http://www.firstpost.com/tag/castechronicles
