State is trying to make Chennai "Dalit-less" city, say residents

The News Minute | September 5, 2014 | 08.30 am ISTTwo separate incidents in Tamil Nadu have highlighted the stigma of caste discrimination existing in the state.At a meeting held by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes in Chennai, members of the Dalit community alleged that the government was trying to make the city a “Dalit-less Chennai” city by moving them out of the city to Okkiyam Thoraipakkam on Old Mahabalipuram Road where facilities provided by the government were lacking said the Times of India.In the meeting attended by officials representing the Chennai Corporation, Slum Clearance Board and Police, attendees protested against the plan of moving hundreds of families living near water bodies to places further away, said the report. This would affect their earnings and education, they said. S K Siva of Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front told TOI, "It (eviction) is a sort of modern untouchability. Officials call us encroachers, but the contribution of dalits to this city's development is unmatchable."On Wednesday, a 16-year old dalit boy had his wrists slashed with knives by some students of another community because he wore a watch to school, said the Times of India. The school in which the boy studied, Thiruthangal higher secondary school has been facing problems relating to caste discrimination for over 15 years, said the report. Students often face oppression from students of other communities over issues like wearing chappals.