Days after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced that the state is witnessing no caste-related violence, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) ally Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) staged a protest in Krishnagiri and urged the government to take steps to prevent caste killings. The protest was staged in Krishnagiri on Saturday, April 22, a week after a Shanar (also known as Nadar, Other Backward Class) man Dhandapani killed his son Subhash for marrying Anushya, a Dalit woman, in Arunapathy village near Uthangarai.
The protest was chaired by VCK leader and MP Thol. Thirumavalavan. He alleged that the pressure on Dhandapani from the Vanniyar (Most Backward Class) community in Arunapathy was one of the reasons for the murder. "In Arunapathy, there are only 60 Nadar households, but Vanniyars make up 500 to 600 households. Members of the Vanniyar community pressured the Nadars to react against the inter-caste marriage of Subhash and Anushya. A few Vanniyars allegedly said that if Dhandapani failed to take any 'action', the village residents would ostracise the Nadars in the village" Thirumavalavan claimed.
What happened in the Divya-Ilavarasan case repeated here too, Thirumavalavan further added. Divya, who belonged to the Vanniyar community, married Ilavarasan, a Dalit man, in 2012. The insults over her marriage by the Vanniyar caste sangam and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), a political outfit, allegedly led to the death by suicide of Divya's father. The Vanniyars also set fire on the Natham Dalit colony, where Ilavarasan hailed from, following her father’s death
“Divya’s parents knew about her love for Ilavarasan, they were not against it. But PMK was the ones that politicised the matter,” he said, recalling the incidents that led to Dharmapuri violence in 2012 and Ilavarasan’s death in 2013. Ilavarasan was found dead the day after Divya stated in the Madras High Court that she did not wish to live with him. She had left Ilavarasan after the unrest between Vanniyars and Dalits.
The VCK leader called killings in the name of caste and religious pride gruesome, barbaric, and inhumane. "Across the globe, such killings have happened, but governments have enacted laws against such crimes and campaigned voraciously to end such killings. But India is yet to implement any laws against caste killings," he said at the protest. In his opinion, campaigns against caste crimes have made caste killings rare in West Bengal. "When compared to the central provinces of India, caste killings are lower in the southern states. But still, caste killings are happening," Thirumavalavan said.
“We create laws on so many subjects. What stops the government from enacting a law to prevent caste killings,” Thirumavalavan asked. “We have been demanding this law for years, but the Union and state governments are reluctant to legislate against caste killing,” he added.
Thirumavalavan thanked all those who contributed to the donation amount for the family of Anushya. VCK cadres demanded that the government enact the bill aimed to end caste killings in the state. At the protest, they also urged the government to ensure that justice is served to Anushya.
Several killings in the name of caste pride have occurred in Krishnagiri within the span of a few years, said Thirumavalavan. He then listed the victims of caste killings, including Nandesh and Swathi. Nandesh (SC) and Swathi (Vanniyar) from Chudagowndanahalli of Krishnagiri had married against Swathi's parents' wishes in 2018. Fearing threats from Swathi’s family, the couple had been hiding in Karnataka. However, her family traced them and allegedly killed them.
At the protest, Thirumavalavan also condemned the March 21 killing of C Jagan, who married Saranya against her parents’ wishes. Despite belonging to the same community of Vanniyars, Jagan was killed by Saranya’s father Sankar in broad daylight on the Krishnagiri-Bengaluru National Highway.
The most recent victims of caste crime, Anushya and Subhash had met in Tirupur where they were working at a garment factory. Subhash was from the Shanar (also known as Nadar, Other Backward Caste) community while Anushya was from the Paraiyar (Scheduled Caste) community. The couple had gotten married on March 31 despite the disapproval of Subash’s father Dhandapani.
The couple had gone to Subhash’s native village on April 14 to visit his grandmother Kannamma. Dhandapani came to Kannamma’s house and attacked the three of them with a machete. While Subhash and Kannamma died on the spot, Anushya was rescued by neighbours and admitted to the Krishnagiri Government Hospital.
தமிழகத்தில் தொடரும் #சாதி ஆணவப் படுகொலைகளைத் தடுத்திட சட்டம் இயற்ற வலியுறுத்தியும், கிருஷ்ணகிரி மாவட்டம் ஊத்தங்கரை அருகே அருணபதியில் நடந்த ஆணவக்கொலைகளை கண்டித்தும், உயிருக்குப் போராடும் அனுசுயாவுக்கு நீதி கிடைத்திட வேண்டும் என இன்று கிருஷ்ணகிரியில் எனது தலைமையில் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்… pic.twitter.com/yA44gfmuC8
— Thol. Thirumavalavan (@thirumaofficial) April 22, 2023