Anti-caste activist Kowslaya was prevented from meeting the survivor of a caste crime in Salem Government Hospital on Friday, April 21. Anushya (25) a Dalit woman from the Paraiyar (Scheduled Caste) community, was attacked by her husband’s father Dhandapani, who belongs to Shanar (or Nadar, Other Backward Caste) caste, on April 14. Her husband Subhash (22) and his grandmother Kannamma were killed in the attack.
Anushya hails from Jayankondam in Ariyalur district. She met Subhash at a garment factory in Tirupur, and the couple got married on March 31, against the wishes of Dhandapani. Two weeks later, the couple had gone to Subhash’s village Arunapathy in Krishnagiri district to visit his grandmother Kannamma. Dhandapani attacked the three of them with a machete at Kannamma’s house. Subhash and his grandmother died instantly, while Anushya was rescued by neighbours. She sustained severe injuries and was first taken to the Krishnagiri Government Hospital from where she was taken to the Salem hospital.
Speaking to TNM, Kowsalya, who has been vocal against caste killings in Tamil Nadu, said that the hospital management did not allow her to meet Anushya as they thought that her visit would create issues. “I was made to run from pillar to post to get permission to meet her. Anushya’s mother was willing to let me see her, but it was the police officers deployed there who stopped me,” she said.
According to Kowsalya, she was asked to meet the dean of the hospital first. Later, the dean asked her to meet the resident medical officer (RMO). “At first, the RMO said that it is okay for me to meet Anushya. However, I was later denied the meeting,” she said.
“The first time I tried to meet Anushya at the hospital, there was only one police officer deployed at the spot. But after my meetings with the RMO and the dean, more than six police officers were stationed at the entrance of the Intensive Unit Care,” Kowsalya said. “It is understandable if they cite medical reasons to deny me a meeting with her. But the day before I went to meet her, several politicians and people from various organisations met her. Nobody stopped them,” she alleged.
TNM tried to reach the dean and the RMO of the Salem Government Hospital. They were not available for comment.
Kowsalya spoke to TNM about the Tamil Nadu government's reaction to the caste killing, and said that it should have taken strict action in the incident and protected those who married from different castes. "When my husband Shankar was killed, the then Opposition leader and current Chief Minister MK Stalin released a statement seeking justice for me. But, when they came to power, Stalin’s government took no action to control such caste crimes," she further added.
The anti-caste crusader Kowsalya is herself the survivor of a caste crime. Kowsalya, who belongs to the Kallar (Most Backward Class) community, a part of the powerful Thevar caste-cluster, married the Dalit man Shankar from the Pallar (SC) community in 2015. On March 13, 2016, the couple was brutally attacked by persons hired by Kowsalya’s family in broad daylight in Udumalpet of Tirupur district. While Shankar succumbed to his injuries, Kowsalya survived despite wounds.
After Shankar’s death, Kowsalya fought the legal battle to bring to book her husband’s killers, including her own family. This is not the first time that Kowsalya has extended her support to the victims of caste killing. She has been vocal against caste killing and is one of the important voices urging the government to enact the bill aiming to end the brutal caste-killings in the state. She founded the Shankar Social Justice Trust on his second death anniversary to help survivors of caste crimes.
In 2018, Kowsalya had extended her support to Amrutha Varshini, who lost her husband in a caste killing. Amrutha, a member of the Vaishya caste (categorised as Forward) from Miryalaguda of Telangana, married Pranay Perumalla, a Mala (SC) man. Pranay was brutally murdered by a professional killer hired by Amrutha's father T Maruthi Rao on September 14, 2018.
In another incident, on March 21, C Jagan (26) of Kittampatti, Krishnagiri, was killed by his father-in-law in broad daylight over his marriage to Saranya (21). Though the couple belonged to the same Vanniyar caste, Saranya's father C Sankar was opposed to the match.