UNTOUCHABLES NEWS.15.04.2024.BY TEAM SIVAJI.UT NEWS.CHENNAI.26.
UP: Action taken against the principal who did obscene acts with a Dalit student, arrested
The victim’s mother had lodged a complaint on Saturday. The principal was arrested on Sunday evening. Sandeep Gupta has also been suspended and investigation is underway.
Edited By: Rituraj Tripathi
Bhadohi: The headmaster in-charge of the school was arrested on Sunday evening for committing obscene acts with a Dalit student in a government school in Suryawa police station area of Bhadohi district in Uttar Pradesh. Police gave this information. According to the police, the incident took place on Friday in a primary school under Suryawa police station and the victim’s mother had lodged an FIR in this regard on Saturday against the school’s in-charge headmaster Sandeep Gupta. time:0:24
CO’s statement came out
Area police officer (CO) Ajay Kumar Chauhan said that the school’s in-charge headmaster Sandeep Gupta stopped the student (12) in the class and did obscene acts with her and also threatened her not to disclose it to anyone. The student reached home and narrated her ordeal to her mother.
The police officer said that on Saturday, a case has been registered against Sandeep Gupta under sections 354 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, besides the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Caste and Tribe Atrocities Prevention Act, and the accused is being searched. Was staying.
Chauhan said that the accused teacher was arrested late on Sunday evening. Regarding this incident, Basic Education Officer of the district, Bhupendra Narayan Singh said that Sandeep Gupta has been suspended and the order for a departmental inquiry against him has been given to the Block Education Officer. (input language)
Chandauli News: Baba Saheb gave rights to Dalits and exploited
PDDU Nagar. The birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the creator of the country’s Constitution, was celebrated across the district on Sunday. His personality and contribution were discussed in the events held at various places. Speakers said that Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was a jurist, economist, historian, politician and social reformer.
Varanasi Bureau
He struggled throughout his life to provide the Dalits and backward classes their rights. On the birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar in Kudhkala village of the area, the speakers said that Baba Saheb was the pioneer of social justice. During this period, area Panchayat members Rani Devi, Pradhan Dheeraj Yadav, Virendra Kumar, Shravan Kumar etc. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Jayanti was celebrated in Patna on behalf of Samajwadi Mazdoor Sabha. On this occasion, District President Chandrabhanu Yadav, Satpal Gandhi, Sanjay Yadav, Dr. Krishna Kumar Yadav etc. were present. At the Samajwadi Party office in PDDU Nagar, a resolution was taken to follow the path shown by Baba Saheb. On this occasion, Dr. Kishan Yadav, former chief Babulal Yadav, Sanjay Bharti, Ram Mogra Yadav, Kailash Yadav etc. were present. City Congress Committee paid tribute by garlanding the statue of Dr. Ambedkar located in Chaturbhujpur.
During this period, Ramji Gupta, Anand Shukla, Dashrath Chauhan, Vijay Kumar Gupta etc. were present. Celebrated the birth anniversary at the office of Bharatvarshi Gond Tribal Mahasabha Committee located in Parshurampur. Aam Aadmi Party workers celebrated the birth anniversary of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar as Save Constitution, Remove Dictator. Activists fasted to protest against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. During this, District President Santosh Kumar Pathak, Gyan Pandey, Praveen Choubey, Gyan Pandey etc. were present. Members of Lal Bahadur Shastri Birth Place Seva Trust celebrated the birth anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar in Central Colony.
Union Minister Dr. Mahendranath Pandey garlanded the statue of Ambedkar in Mawai Khurd. On this occasion, MLA Ramesh Jaiswal, Chairman Sonu Kinnar, Shivchand Babu, Ajay Kumar were present. BJP workers celebrated the birth anniversary of Baba Saheb Ambedkar at the booth level in Chakia area. Cabinet Minister Anil Rajbhar garlanded the statue of Dr. Ambedkar in Sakaldiha. On the birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, a tableau was taken out from ward number one Ambedkar Nagar. This included District President Ghanshyam Pradhan, Vinod Kumar, Subhash Chand, Bijender Ram, Umapati etc.
At the same time, at Pandit Kamlapati Tripathi Joint District Hospital, in-charge CMS Dr. JP, Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Dr. Monica etc. garlanded the statue of Bhimrao Ambedkar. The seminar was organized by Bahujan Samaj Party. District President Satnarayan Rajbhar, Niranjan Kanojia, Ashok Tripathi etc. were also present at the birth anniversary celebration organized at the SP office. The birth anniversary was also celebrated in the Bar Auditorium of the Civil Bar Association. In this, Bar President Rakesh Ratan Tiwari, Ramjanm Bagi, Dr. Virendra Pratap Singh, Vinay Singh etc. were present.
AAP observes ‘Save Constitution’ day; ‘flop show’, says BJP
The BJP will abolish reservation benefits granted to the Dalits and other underprivileged sections if it returns to power in the Lok Sabha poll, Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh alleged as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held its “Save Constitution” stir on Sunday.
THE HINDU BUREAU
Party leaders and workers had gathered at AAP’s Rouse Avenue office to take part in the “Samvidhan Bachao, Tanashahi Hatao” (Save Constitution, Remove Dictatorship) programme, held to mark the birth anniversary of Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar. They read out the Preamble to the Constitution and took an oath to protect it.
BJP anti-Dalit
Addressing the party workers, Mr. Singh said, “The Constitution of India has provided reservation for the marginalised and oppressed sections, including Dalits and tribals. If the BJP returns to power, reservations for Dalits, tribals and other underprivileged sections will be abolished. That’s why we will fight against the BJP to save the Constitution.”
He also alleged that during the stone-laying ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, while all political dignitaries were invited, the then President Ram Nath Kovind was not extended an invitation as he was a Dalit.
“There is discrimination against the Dalits in the minds of BJP people. In January, when the inauguration of the Ram Temple took place, then again the President of India, Draupadi Murmu, who comes from the tribal society, was not invited,” he added.
Reacting to it, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed that the AAP’s programme has been a failure despite three weeks’ preparation for it.
Courtesy : The Hindu
Ambedkar Being Appropriated
In India, the abduction scenes that lure historical figures from the present and make them part of established interests are gaining strength day by day. This process strips individuals of their history and ideals, reducing to mere glorified faces and appropriating them. Through assimilation of Ambedkar, the architect of a secular constitution and the most powerful emancipatory capital of Dalit communities, into the body politic of hyper-nationalism also mark the beginning of a new epistemic process. The photoshopped politics of Brahmanism, where individuals are abducted from history and subjected to cosmetic surgery to become the faces of their ideological representatives, is completing a circle, by taking on Ambedkar.
By Naveen Prasad Alex
The Hindutva effort to present Ambedkar as a Hindu reformer gained strength through Golwalker. Asghar Ali Engineer observes that by the 1980s, Ambedkar and Phule had become symbols of anti-Muslim protests and Hindutva political agitation in Maharashtra. Situations like terrorism and Islamophobia, which emerged strongly in the 1990s, gave strength to the campaign. An attempt to cover up the history can be seen in these versions as well as in other Hindutva discourses. These versions forcefully open up the hitherto implicit argument that Ambedkar’s conversion was a return to the Hindu incarnation of the Buddha and to Hindu Dharma itself. Krishnakumar, a prominent leader of the RSS, introduces Ambedkar who declared, “I will never die a Hindu” and fulfilled it, as “a man who was proud to be a Hindu” (Organiser, 2015). Moreover, Organizer “finds” that Ambedkar was greatly impressed by the RSS, which was engaged in anti-caste struggle, and subsequently became an admirer of Hedgewar. It can be seen that what he aimed for through religious conversion was a well-equipped social modernization of the Dalit communities. A reading of his thoughts and writings from the 1930s onwards makes this point clear.
Ambedkar himself has made it clear that this speech was his declaration of struggle against hierarchical Hindu-scriptural premises and social attitudes. According to Sukumar Narayana, a prominent Ambedkar scholar, Ambedkar had been making slow and continuous efforts to convert the Dalit communities since the 1930s. Conversion can be seen to have made possible the recovery of Buddhism itself, which had been drawn into the Brahminic cultural world since the loss of political patronage and some revolutionary reminders to Dalit communities of their non-Hindu history. Another of the propaganda accompanying the abduction is that Ambedkar was anti-Muslim and anti-Christian, because of which he didn’t choose Christianity of Islam. Beyond this superficial argument, it can be seen that there were purely political and social reasons that led him to the choice of Buddhism. A strong indication can be gleaned from his writings that Ambedkar, believed that the social emancipation and material upliftment of DBA communities would not be easy to achieve with the visions of Islamic and Christian religions, where the limits of karmic science, general concepts of guilt-punishment-reward, fate-belief, heaven-hell govern all human activities.
He discusses in detail about a large Muslim community that could not give up its ancestral caste titles and traditional occupations and did not undergo any measurable material change even after conversion to Islam. Ambedkar’s writings make it clear that partition was a political trap for Muslim elites and that “Pakistan” would bring only defeat in every sense to the Indian Muslims, and believed that the kind of modernization and social reformation he envisioned will not be possible through conversion to Islam or chritianity. At the same time it can be seen that he did not oppose the conversion of individuals to Islam and Christianity. Ambedkar believes that the two basic states of Buddhism, love and wisdom, can be grasped quickly by the green minds of ordinary people. However, Hindutva is trying to make him anti-Muslim and anti-Christian by completely silencing such profound observations, studies and readings of history. It can be said that it was not the divinity of the Buddha but the sociability and practicality of the Buddhist ways that attracted Ambedkar to Buddhism. He thus constructed a new authorship to make Dalit communities part of modernity by reclaiming the Buddha from the existing social-political-knowledge premises.
Apart from using the emotional capital of Ambedkar as a political investment, it can be seen that Hindutva attitudes towards him and the Dalit community were always reactionary. Arun Shourie was the most forceful proponent of Hindutva’s position on Ambedkar, which was dismissive of anti-Dalit discourses emerging from post-colonial milieus. This is clear in Suri’s work “worshipping false gods” published in 1997. Ambedkar is described as a selfish, British agent and the seventh wage of modernity. The positions of Ambedkar, who reclaimed the Buddha from Brahmanical discourses, are incompatible. It is these realizations that put Ambedkar’s positions aside and Hinduism robs him of his face. This is done by sublimating Ambedkar’s symbol and socio-cultural capital into everyday political scenes. He clarifies that Hindutva parties have traditionally praised and criticized Ambedkar for failing to single out the Dalit community, which makes up a fifth of the population of North India. The latest example of this is the banning of the ‘Ambedkar-Periyar Students’ Circle’, at Madras IIT for ‘criticizing the Prime Minister’.
When Ambedkar is presented as anti-Muslim and Christian, we can read that independent DBA communities with Hindutva consciousness were becoming stronger, especially in places like Gujarat and Rajasthan. Anthropological studies of the communal riots in Rajasthan and Gujarat detail how these neo-communities are transformed into crucibles of supranationalism, and how subaltern and Dalit communities within Muslims become competing identities. Dalit leader Ramdas Athawale, Udit Raj and a section of the “Pulayar Mahasabha” in Kerala that supports the brahminic hindutva forces, beyond mere political ejaculates, it has to be said that it is a sign of the success of the Hindutva epistemology of making Ambedkar, other Dalit leaders, and Buddhism itself symbols and models of Hindutva.
Naveen Prasad Alex is a master’s student in biological sciences at the University of Turku, Finland. He is a Junior Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences and has authored two books in Malayalam. He is also passionate about Anti-caste movements, Anthropology and politics.
Courtesy : Counter Currents
VCK: A Dalit party that changed the political landscape of Tamil Nadu
Since its foray into electoral politics in 1999, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), led by Thol Thirumavalavan, has become a strategic force and the biggest Dalit party in Tamil Nadu.
Written by:Azeefa Fathima
Edited by:Sudipto Mondal
When a young Thol Thirumavalavan thundered ‘Adanga maru, Athu meeru, Thimiri Ezhu, Thiruppi Adi’ (‘Refuse to be subdued, Transgress, Rise vehemently, Retaliate’) standing on the south car street in Chidambaram in 1996, it was considered a pivotal moment in the political awakening of many Dalit youngsters, who had been conditioned to endure oppression. In the 25 years since its foray into electoral politics, Thirumavalavan’s party – the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) – has become a strategic and astute force and the biggest Dalit party in Tamil Nadu but has still failed to contest elections alone or wrest more number of seats to contest from in alliances. Despite the party expanding its political base to the five southern states and being considered an ideological nemesis to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), its current prospects and future trajectory hinges squarely on the persona of one person – Thol Thirumavalavan.
VCK emerged from the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) movement in Maharashtra, which drew inspiration from the revolutionary Black Panther Party in the United States. VCK also focuses on community organisation, grassroots activism, and challenging systemic injustices, similar to the Black Panthers. It amalgamates the ideologies of Ambedkar on social justice and empowerment for Dalits; Periyar on rationalism, social reform, and anti-caste movement; and Marx on capitalism and advocacy for proletarian liberation. The party believes that only by addressing the multifaceted dimensions of oppression and inequality can one attain liberation.
Though VCK has changed the political landscape of Tamil Nadu, it has a chequered past because of some of its alliances and has been accused of being patriarchal and a sub-caste Dalit party. However, Dalits and those from marginalised communities still feel that VCK is their only hope as it is the only anti-caste party in Tamil Nadu that is actively fighting Hindutva forces.
In the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, VCK is contesting in just two seats. While the party demanded four seats from the DMK-led alliance, including one general constituency, only two seats were given to them – both reserved. Dalit politicians and parties are most often relegated to reserved constituencies. They have often, in alliances such as this, demanded a greater share in political power by pointing to the contradiction that general seats are not only for oppressor castes.
The Chidambaram constituency will see a direct fight between VCK and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – Thol Thirumavalavan, who is the sitting MP contesting again under the party’s ‘pot’ symbol, will face off against P Karthiyayini. D Ravikumar of the VCK is recontesting in Villupuram under the same symbol.
In the 2019 elections, the two parties tried an interesting strategy by having VCK adopt the ‘rising sun’ symbol of the DMK in the Villupuram constituency. A section of Dalit supporters, however, were unhappy with the move. This didn’t dent Ravikumar’s prospects; he won by securing more than five lakh votes over Pattali Makkal Katchi’s (PMK) Vadivel Ravanan. The PMK’s base consists largely of the Vanniyar caste, which is a dominant caste group but belonging to the most backward class (MBC). This strategy allowed the DMK and the VCK to tide over the consolidation of Vanniyar votes towards the PMK. The PMK is often seen as an anti-Dalit party and has been responsible for several Dalit-Vanniyar riots in the region, including the 1978 Villupuram massacre that left 12 Dalits dead and more than hundred of their huts burnt.
Predictions are that in this election too Ravikumar will easily sail over his PMK rival, 34-year-old Murali Shankar. Murali, who is also from the Paraiyar community like Ravikumar, is one of the youngest candidates to compete in this election.
Professor Karthikeyan Damodaran from the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) points out that the VCK is yet to develop in the electoral landscape.
“Twenty years ago, VCK got two seats to contest from and that remains the same today. They are forced to make compromises for the sake of the larger good. Right now, the threat of Hindutva is used to put them in a compromising position. But you can’t just be a cog in the wheel. This onus is not only on the VCK but on DMK and other parties that believe in democracy. VCK remaining in the same place is not only bad for their own political party and ideology, but also for democracy in a larger sense.”
Professor Karthikeyan Damodaran
DPI to VCK: The transformation
In the 20th century, Dalit youths who started entering higher education in Maharashtra started a literary movement known as the ‘Little Magazine Movement’. In the 1960s, this movement vehemently criticised the government’s stance on caste discrimination. In 1972, inspired by the Black Panther Party, Dalit writers from this movement formed the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) in Bombay. It was led by JV Pawar, Namdeo Dhasal, and Raja Dhale.
However, ideological rifts led to a split in the DPI, with some leaders, including Ramdas Athawale, forming the Bharatiya Dalit Panthers (BDP) in 1977. Athawale was expanding BDP to other states, when A Malaichamy emerged as a man who could lead Dalits in Tamil Nadu in 1982. The Tamil Nadu branch of the BDP was called Dalit Panther Iyakkam (DPI), though on paper its name was BDP.
During the late 1980s, when Malaichamy was actively building the DPI movement, Thirumavalavan, who was a young government Forensic Officer back then, joined hands with him. A powerful orator, Thirumavalavan started addressing meetings where he was able to deliver stirring speeches. Soon, the youngster became a close associate of Malaichamy.
In 1989, after Malaichamy passed away, Thirumavalavan took over the reins of DPI. In 1990, the Madurai-based political movement was transformed into a political party and rechristened Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). The name was chosen because of the impact of the ethnic violence that was happening in Sri Lanka and the impact of Tamil identity and Viduthalai Puligal (LTTE) on Thirumavalavan.
Until 1999, VCK was considered a sociopolitical movement that boycotted elections and directly questioned caste inequities and discrimination without mincing words.
T Vellaiyan (76), a retired headmaster in Chidambaram, says that initially the party did not focus its energy and attention on gaining support but were keen on creating awareness among Dalits about caste discrimination and empowering them to question things. “Basically, VCK was focused on making people say that they will not bow down because of their caste,” he adds.
Since 1999, the party has evolved into a well-oiled electoral machine. It has been in alliances not only with the state’s two Dravidian parties, but also joined hands with a party seen as anti-Dalit – the PMK. This unlikely political relationship with the PMK is still a puzzle to many VCK cadre and is part of every biographical conversation about the party. VCK’s political stance after entering electoral politics is both criticised bitterly and supported by party sympathisers who defend it as a ‘strategic choice’.
Maxim Gorky, a young party worker from Koliyanur in Villupuram, was doing campaign work in his locality in the sweltering heat on April 3 when we met him. He says his father named him after the Russian-Soviet writer. He soon adds that he hasn’t read Gorky but grew up listening to speeches about leaders, especially Ambedkar. Although he is a grassroots worker, he sees the need for pragmatism in politics and takes the party’s contradictions in his stride.
He says, “Annan [Thirumavalavan] clearly said that it was a decision made for the common cause of Tamil nationalism and freedom for Sri Lankan Tamils. But when the Dharmapuri violence happened, we were very clear that allying with the PMK was impossible.” He refers to the violence that took place in Dharmapuri in 2012 after a woman from the Vanniyar community went away with a Dalit man she was in a relationship with. After her father died by suicide, a Vanniyar mob rampaged Dalit settlements burning hundreds of their huts.
Why Dalit parties need alliances
In 1999, VCK forayed into electoral politics and contested the 13th Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) headed by GK Moopanar. The alliance also included the Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) party, which was headed by K Krishnasamy, another Dalit leader belonging to the Pallar community, and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). The alliance promised to break the Dravidian binary created by the DMK and AIADMK in the state. They said that they would provide a government free of “communalism and corruption”. Moopanar had broken ties with the DMK after it formed an alliance with the BJP and called the AIADMK a “corrupt” party before floating the third front. The alliance, however, drew a blank in the elections.
Things have come full circle now. TMC has joined hands with the BJP and PT is in alliance with the AIADMK this election.
Though Thirumavalavan lost in Chidambaram in the 1999 elections, he got 30.8% of the total votes polled. The SC population of the constituency was 22.65%. That result allowed the VCK to assert that it was not merely a Paraiyar party but an anti-caste party with a much wider social base. It also bolstered their Tamil nationalist credentials.
Siva Dinesh (43), who is an assistant professor and coordinator of the Thiruma Payilagam in Chidambaram non-municipal area, recalls that gaining votes in 1999 was a herculean task as the dominant caste groups were angry with the Dalit mobilisation in the area. “Nobody would even give us water to drink when we went campaigning. Only Dalits would give us water and refreshments, and assure us that they would vote for VCK. Back then, we were a group of youngsters, we had no money. We used to go on bicycles for campaigning. Dalits would contribute Rs 2 per household for the campaign works and we would buy limestone and blue dye (neelam) with that money and paint across Dalit areas. We could not do that in non-Dalit areas though. We did all of this for Annan,” he says. He also adds that it was the first election in which the Dalit population of Chidambaram had an option and the conviction to vote for a leader of their choice.
VCK and PMK, who have always been up against each other due to their ideological differences, remained on the same side when in alliance with the DMK. The duo joined hands in 2004, for the sake of Tamil nationalism, and formed the Tamil Paathugappu Iyakkam.
C Lakshmanan, who heads Dalit Intellectual Collective, a group of Dalit scholars and activists, says, “The PMK-VCK coming together is a very complex issue. During that period of time, Tamil nationalism was a widely shared sentiment and served as the binding principle between both the parties. Otherwise, if we consider their alliance, they are stronger together numerically. VCK has consolidated the Dalit population to some extent and the PMK has done the same with the Vanniyars. These two coming together could have become the ruling alliance. But it was not managed well by both sides.”
Apart from this, the question of deradicalisation also lingers among the VCK’s cadres. Several people working on the ground feel that the party has become so deradicalised and leaders are not as ferocious in registering their views as they were during the activist days.
Professor Karthikeyan explains that this is only expected of any political party, especially smaller ones, when they enter electoral politics. “A party like the VCK or any other party within Tamil Nadu, if it’s not a national party or a party in power, elections will be a very difficult environment, particularly with regard to finances. You need money for everything, starting from campaigning to providing food for your cadres. For parties like VCK, it is very difficult to survive elections alone, they have to align with one of the bigger parties, but there is always this question of being co-opted into an alliance. So, ultimately what happens is that any autonomy the party has gets lost whenever in an alliance. When the VCK was with the DMK, there was a lot of criticism that VCK became an extension of the DMK. They were even called the SC/ST wing of the DMK.”
He adds that when parties enter electoral politics, they get deradicalised because of the machinations of electoral politics.
“When a party enters electoral politics, the first and foremost thing is compromise. Leaders cannot be very rigid or adamant in terms of ideology or practice when it comes to elections. But one has to think rationally about what extent one can compromise and what is the price we can pay for compromising. VCK’s compromise has come at the cost of Dalits,” says Lakshmanan. However, he emphasises that the party has given some kind of moral support, courage, and assertiveness to Dalits.
He also points out that despite being a political party for 35 years and contesting elections for 25 years, and despite being one of the most influential Dalit parties in the state, VCK is unable to get ECI recognition. “They should have contested alone and proven their strength. PMK, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), and other smaller parties, first contest alone and then negotiate. But VCK didn’t do that, which has proven to be a mistake,” he says.
Education needed before organisation
Raja Desingh (33), a resident of Villupuram, says that VCK empowered the Dalit community to question the atrocities happening against them. “We were oppressed for decades but now we have the strength to walk upright with our heads held high. It’s from the ideologies that Thirumavalavan spread through his speeches that we learnt about our rights. He was the first person to tell us that our lives matter and that we have been systemically oppressed by dominant caste and political forces. From learning how to fight against our oppressors, we are now in a place to defy against anyone who tries to oppress us, be it the ruling party too,” he says.
Echoing this sentiment, Neelam Kalai (27), a party sympathiser, says that the sole reason for standing behind Thirumavalavan is his ideology, which he learnt through his speeches. He also adds that Thirumavalavan is carefully building the movement and party on the foundations of education. “Firstly, he taught us that more than weapons, education is important. He was aware of the issues we face and knew that the community could rise up in the social hierarchy only through education. His most important contribution to Tamil Nadu politics and to Dalits is that he politicised us,” he adds.
Siva Dinesh says that sometimes VCK regrets entering electoral politics as it could have fought more vigorously and hit back when atrocities happen. “But we also know that ultimately it might not be a victory for the community, as our aim is not just hitting back but socioeconomic mobility in society. It was Thirumavalavan who pushed us in the right direction and said – repeatedly in his speeches – that we have to get educated and get to a position of power to bring in a change. If we had continued to be a radical movement, it wouldn’t have brought about the societal change that we have now. At one point, talking about DPI or Thirumavalavan was a scary affair as we were seen as anti-social elements. But now we are in a place where VCK has become the most influential Dalit party here and Thirumavalavan is considered one of the most important Dalit leaders in India. And we are supporting him after getting educated. We will never forget what he did for us and will support him no matter what,” he says.
Inclusivity in the VCK: The sub-caste conundrum
In 2007, the VCK general committee passed the ‘Velachery resolution’ or ‘Velachery declaration’, through which leadership positions in the party were opened up to non-Dalits. Stating that the party was considered to be a Dalit party when they entered electoral politics, Thirumavalavan – during his 2016 election campaign – said, “In 2007, we passed the Velachery Resolution, opening up all positions from top to bottom in the party to show that we are inclusive.”
A VCK worker explains that when entering electoral politics, it becomes essential to secure votes from a diverse range of voters, instead of solely relying on the Dalit vote bank. “There was also the projection that it was a Paraiyar party and not for all Dalits. This resolution was much-needed at the time. But what we have to consider is its implications on Dalits. Now, with non-Dalits in leadership posts and many non-Dalit members, they are the ones reaping the benefits when the party wins. Dalits do not have the economic background or strong social support to sustain in the party,” he says.
Lakshmanan, while admitting that the Velachery resolution was a good political move, says that it was not a sound decision with regard to Dalits. “Who is raising their voice for Dalits in the Assembly and Lok Sabha? Does the DMK raise Dalits’ issue? It is only the Dalits who do that. The reason VCK decided to contest elections was that mainstream parties did not adequately address the issues of Dalits. The situation even today is that only Dalits speak up for Dalits.”
He further alleges that VCK’s statement about being ‘a party for all’ is just rhetoric to avoid questions about why the party is not giving Dalits a strong voice. “When there is a problem for Dalits, it is not a law and order issue to be dealt with by the police but can usually be solved through political conversations and dialogue. And we need people in power who will drive these conversations,” Lakshmanan adds.
There is also the question about whether the party is inclusive of different Dalit castes. DPI brought under it the three major Dalit caste groups – its organiser Malaichamy belonged to the Devendra Kula Vellalar community (earlier called Pallars), president D David belonged to the Adi Dravidar (also called Paraiyars) community, and secretary Sengottaiyan to the Arundhathiyar community.
Raees Mohammed, founder of Dalit Camera, a platform used to document the lives of Dalits, Adivasis, Bahujans, as well as other minorities in India, says, “DPI grew with the blood and sweat of the Arunthathiyars in Madurai district. Those days, Adi Dravidars were largely not supporting the movement, and the party was also not caste-based. But when Thirumavalavan took over and shifted the party base to Chennai, the ground here belonged to Adi Dravidars and it became a party in which not only the district secretary but even the local secretary posts were given to Paraiyars. I am not saying it is an anti-Arunthathiyar party but that it is a pro-Paraiyar party.”
Stating that there are multiple instances of harassment meted out to Arunthathiyars by Paraiyars, Raees says that though Thirumavalavan and VCK speak about social justice, they are demanding it for them from the castes above them and they are not giving it to those in the hierarchy below them. “In Sandaiyur in Madurai, Paraiyar community members are dominant and they have been living with the Arunthathiyar community for several years. In 2017, the Paraiyars built a 50-foot wall separating the two communities due to some issues between them. In this issue, the VCK supported the Paraiyars.” Discrimination in the form of caste walls is something that the Paraiyar community itself has faced in several parts of the state. “If the party leadership had wished, they could have gotten involved and resolved the issue. The Arundhathiyar community is being neglected by all the mainstream parties, including the Dalit parties,” Raees adds.
Nazir Ahamed, a 71-year-old resident of Tindivanam, says that the Velachery resolution enabled Muslims to enter the party as functionaries. “Several leaders came and went but Thirumavalavan stayed and grew along with us. If democracy should be saved, there should be equality, fraternity, and secularism. Thirumavalavan is one of the only leaders fighting to uphold the Constitution and the rights guaranteed under it,” he adds.
Another VCK sympathiser who is also a Muslim and part of the DMK says that though there are Muslim parties in Tamil Nadu and DMK has space for Muslims, it is only the VCK that is putting up a direct and face-to-face fight against the RSS-BJP.
“Nobody else, including the DMK, are as vocal and harsh against the Hindutva forces, who primarily consider Muslims enemies. So it is not a surprise that Muslims feel safer with the VCK and extend their support to the party.”
VCK sympathiser who is also a Muslim and part of the DMK
‘VCK has become patriarchal’
Siva Dinesh also expresses that the party has a long way to go in terms of mobilising its women supporters. In all the villages and towns that TNM visited, we did not encounter a single woman party worker in the field. When questioned, district functionaries said that the women are mostly based out of Chennai and will arrive for campaigning when elections are nearer.
“We know there is a vacuum in the party when it comes to women functionaries and women officeholders. There are some active women in the party, but we are still unable to bring more women into the party. This might be due to the societal conditioning that women need not participate in politics or because of family situations,” Siva Dinesh says.
Dalit woman activist and political commentator Shalin Maria Lawrence says though Chennai has many women VCK cadres at the grassroots level, they do not hold any organisational positions and remain subservient to the men in the party. “VCK has become a patriarchal party. They talk about Sanatana Dharma and inequality, but when we look at the party structure, we can understand that VCK is systematically patriarchal. Men make decisions and women are expected to execute that.”
The other major point of discontentment among some cadres in the party is the way the party handled the allegations of casteist harassment and financial abuse under the garb of a relationship by deputy spokesperson R Vikraman.
In May 2023, Vikraman was accused of casteist, financial, and misogynist abuse by a Dalit woman lawyer. She alleged that he exploited her caste vulnerabilities in a romantic relationship, causing her financial and emotional harm, and also accused him of intellectual theft. Though the party formed an internal inquiry committee to look into the allegations, the complainant alleged that a copy of the report was not given to her, despite asking for it multiple times. Also, she was able to approach Thirumavalavan mainly through a group of non-Dalits who had access to the party leadership.
“This issue has been pricking me like a thorn since it happened. I expected the party leadership to at least release a public statement. Though they said it was a personal issue and raised suspicion that it was politicised, at the end of the day it is a Dalit woman lawyer who has practised in the Supreme Court,” a party worker in Chidambaram tells TNM. However, his friend interrupts him to say, “Thalaivar [leader] would have a good reason for that. I heard that the issue was resolved and Vikraman is not active in the party also. Why dig up old things?”
Shalin says that VCK’s patriarchal mindset is reflected in the Vikraman case. “There was not even a condemnation from Thirumavalavan. He could have at least kept Vikraman away from the party till the case is over but Vikraman is still part of the party and participating in events. Instead of recognising that the survivor is a Dalit woman, male interest was prioritised over Dalit interest. You are still enabling him, then what is the point of demanding the eradication of Sanatana Dharma?” she asks.
Talking to multiple sources in Chidambaram, TNM found that the RSS and BJP have been actively campaigning against Thirumavalavan. VCK cadre say that the RSS groups surface in different forms – as civil society organisations, NGOs, etc – and advocate against Thirumavalavan and his party.
“This is because of his staunch anti-Hindutva stand. While other Dalit leaders like Ramdas Athawale and Mayawati went to the BJP, Thirumavalvan is the only one putting up a strong fight against the Sangh Parivar. Hindu belief is different from Sanatana Dharma and we are clear that our fight is against sanatanam,” says Kurinjivalavan, a VCK state functionary.
Looking at the past decade of Thirumavalavan’s politics, his stance against divisiveness and majoritarianism is clear. He is vocally against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), was vocal about the need for OBC reservation, and was very critical of the reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS). He had also taken strong exceptions to NEET, the Kudankulam nuclear power plant issues, abrogation of Article 370, and the Ayodhya verdict.
In 2020, a short video clip from a webinar on ‘Periyar and Indian Politics’ was widely circulated and several right-wing women outfits sought action against Thirumavalavan. In the video, Thirumavalavan was seen saying, “How are women, who form around half the population, treated in Sanatana Dharma? How are they oppressed and been taken advantage of for a long time? What does Sanatana Dharma say about women? Women were basically created by god as prostitutes. All women are prostitutes, as per Hindu dharma, Manu dharma.” Following this controversy, VCK staged statewide protests seeking a ban on the Manusmriti.
In 2022, VCK published a 32-page booklet with select verses from the Manusmriti and with a foreword explaining the reasons why the text, considered both misogynistic and casteist, must be read. The booklet also spoke about why VCK opposes the RSS, describing it as “a terrorist organisation” that divides society on the basis of “religion, varna and caste.”
In October 2022, opposing the RSS route march, it was VCK that led the ‘Communal Harmony’ human chain demonstration in Chennai. Several political outfits and individuals participated in the demonstration, including MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), and non-political outfits like Dravidar Kazhagam (DK).
Long before these developments, the VCK organised a conference called ‘Desam Kappom Maanaadu’ (Save the Nation Conference) in 2019 in Trichy where Thirumavalavan lashed out at the ruling BJP for letting Sanatana Dharma grow. “If the BJP comes to power again, nobody can save the country anymore. Leaders like Periyar and Dr Ambedkar worked hard to defeat and destroy Sanatana Dharma. We cannot let such an ideology become prominent again,” he said during the event.
“There is a serious and active attempt to portray Annan [Thirumavalavan] as the enemy of Hindus, when actually he is the enemy of Hindutva and oppressing forces. He is perhaps the only Dalit leader in India fighting against fascism and Sanatana Dharma, so of course the RSS wants to defeat him,” says a Dalit professor working at NIT Trichy.
Professor Karthikeyan agrees.
“Among all the parties based in Tamil Nadu, if there is one political party that has been fighting tooth and nail against Hindutva, it has to be the VCK. The fact that a smaller party like VCK is putting up an open fight against Hindutva forced even the DMK to act.”
Professor Karthikeyan Damodaran
He adds that Thirumavalavan is portrayed as anti-Hindu by the right-wing by editing and circulating his videos without providing any context. “It has been propagated that he is someone who is against Hinduism. Fighting against Hindutva is completely different from being anti-Hindu. Thirumavalavan is not anti-Hindu, he is just anti-Hindutva.”
He also says that Thirumavalavan poses an additional problem to the BJP as it is trying to make inroads in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu such as Chidambaram and Villupuram. “The party made TN BJP leader L Murugan, who is Dalit, a Union Minister. Whether there is a real sense of empowerment among Dalits is a question mark, but these things are just to score points in the state. But Thirumavalavan being seen as a strong Dalit leader is a stumbling block for the BJP. So the party has a very strong incentive to make Thirumavalavan politically null and void, and that’s why they are working against him getting elected,” says Karthikeyan.
In Chidambaram, Thirumavalavan faces M Chandrahasan of AIADMK and Karthiyayini of the BJP. VCK cadres say, “We don’t see this as a simple election but rather as a fight between anti-caste ideology and Hindutva forces. Thirumavalavan’s win will be a statement against Hindutva forces and the Sanatana Dharma they push. And we are sure aram [truth] always wins.”
Courtesy TNM
Union Education Minister does not accept a Dalit Vice Chancellor
After Professor Lella Karunyakkara assumed office, people who believed in the ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) started feeling stomach cramps. A major reason behind this was that Professor Karunyakara is a Dalit.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is not happy with a Dalit professor on the post of Vice Chancellor. Senior Professor Lella Karunyakkara got the opportunity to work on the post of Vice Chancellor in Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University in Wardha. Rajneesh Kumar Shukla resigned from the post of Vice Chancellor on August 14, 2023 and left the campus on the same day. Registrar Kader Nawaz Khan then issued an order that Karunyakara would serve as the acting vice-chancellor. Ever since the University was established, it has been the tradition that the senior most professor will assume the charge of the Vice-Chancellor until a permanent Vice-Chancellor is selected and appointed.
After Professor Lella Karunyakkara assumed office, people who believed in the ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) started feeling stomach cramps. A major reason behind this was that Professor Karunyakkara is a Dalit, who started appearing on the post of sole Vice Chancellor in the Central Government universities. Secondly, Professor Karunyakara is an Ambedkarite at the level of education and ideology from JNU.
After Professor Karunyakkara became the acting Vice Chancellor, a message of shock was sent to the Education Ministry. From the office of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on October 19, 2023, Prof. Information was given about the acceptance of Shukla’s resignation and on the same day the ministry issued a letter saying that the charge of Vice Chancellor should be handed over to Bhimrai Maitri, Director of IIM Nagpur.
Whereas there is no provision for such instruction of the Ministry in the Act of Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University. Not only this, in other institutions also there are rules for filling such posts by senior teachers after they become vacant. As per the law of the University, if the post of Vice-Chancellor falls vacant, the Pro-VC will take charge and in his absence, the senior most Professor will take charge. However, Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University has no Pro-VC and the senior most professor is Karunyakara, a Dalit scholar.
Professor Karunyakkara opposed the Education Ministry’s direction to hand over the charge of Vice Chancellor to Bhimrai Maitri and challenged it in the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. The hearing process continued in the court for about five months. And on March 28, 2024, Justice M.S. Jawalkar and Justice Anil S. A two-judge bench of Kilor quashed the education ministry’s order appointing Maitri.
The judgment dated March 28, 2024, said – “In view of the language of the above statute, we have no hesitation in saying that such an approach is not possible.”
The court said that “the Visitor (President of India) can proceed with the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor (permanent).” However, another order issued by the court on April 1, 2024 pointed out the typographical error in the earlier order and then amended it to say that “Respondent No. 1 (Visitor) is the Vice-Chancellor as per the provision of Act 2(7) “Can take a new decision regarding handing over the post.”
Professor Karunyakkara sent the notice to take charge as Vice Chancellor as per the rules of the university. But the Education Ministry is not ready to accept it. Rather, the Education Ministry considered these actions ‘arbitrary’ and wrote a letter on 5 April calling for an Executive Council meeting and taking action against Karunyakkara. The letter states that Karunyakara himself has issued several arbitrary correspondence/orders.
The letter states – “This is a violation of the aforesaid decision of the Honorable High Court. The above actions of Professor Karunyakkara are causing consternation and disruption, and are seriously hampering the proper and smooth functioning of the University.”
The Registrar in the University called a meeting of the Executive Council of the University and issued a show cause notice to Professor Karunyakkara. The Registrar, in his capacity as the President of the Teachers Association and as the Registrar, has faced severe reactions and has had to undergo suspension proceedings for putting the University in an embarrassing position several times by his orders and decisions. An investigation committee was also formed against him.
If the ministry is not accepting Professor Karunyakkara as the Vice-Chancellor, it means that the Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University will be without a Vice-Chancellor since April 1 after the Nagpur bench of the Mumbai High Court removed the candidate appointed by the Central Government. Its going on.
Let us tell you that the Visitor of the University is the President of India, who gets the support of the Ministry of Education in the administrative matters of the University. Till now the Union Education Ministry has approved Prof. A letter was issued to take action against Karunyakkara and the university became proactive and started taking action against him. But the Education Ministry has not decided who should be appointed Vice Chancellor.
In this way Prof. The sword of action is hanging against Karunyakkara on the instructions of the Ministry.
Ambedkar Jayanti 2024: Inspirational memorial built at the birthplace of Baba Saheb
Ambedkar Jayanti 2024: Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956) was born on 14 April 1891 in Mhow Cantonment, Madhya Pradesh. He completed his primary education in Satara, Maharashtra and his secondary education from Elphinstone High School, Bombay.
Paying tribute to Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar on his birth anniversary and taking inspiration from him, let us take a tour of his birth place through words and pictures. Baba Saheb, the fourteenth child of Bhima Bai and Ramji Sakpal, was born in an army quarter located in Kali Paltan area of Mau Cantonment. In place of this very quarter, of which no trace remains now, there is today a magnificent two-storey Bhima Janmabhoomi. Ramji Sakpal retired as Subedar of the 107th Pioneers Regiment of the Bombay Army and also served as the headmaster of a regimental school at Mhow Cantonment, where he served from 1888 to 1893.
Baba Saheb Ambedkar received Bharat Ratna quite late.
Baba Saheb Ambedkar, one of the greatest personalities not only of India but of the entire world, received the Bharat Ratna very late in the year 1990, 34 years after his death. Similarly, the foundation stone for the construction of a memorial i.e. Bhim Janmabhoomi at his birth place was laid on his 100th birth anniversary in 1991 and this memorial was completed after 17 years in the year 2008. The area of Mau Cantonment is about 40 kilometers away from Indore, the famous city of Madhya Pradesh and the commercial capital of this state. It is well connected to Indore by road and rail. Now Mau City is also officially known as Dr. Ambedkar Nagar.
Huge statue of Baba Saheb right in front of the memorial
Just in front of this circular two-storey monument built in the style of Buddhist stupa, there is a huge statue of Baba Saheb. In the left hand of this statue, there is the Constitution of India in the familiar style and with the right hand Baba Saheb is seen inspiring to move forward. There are stairs on both sides of this statue to reach the second floor of the monument.
Life and works displayed in detail through large-sized photographs
Bhim Janmabhoomi is now no less than a pilgrimage site for the followers of Baba Saheb and those who take inspiration from him and people come here throughout the year to pay their respects to him. Crowds of people gather here on his birth anniversary, his death anniversary, Republic and Independence days.
BIHAR CASTE DALIT NEWS NEWS STATE
Story of struggle, Dalits of Bihar are progressing in industry and business also
Today is the birth anniversary of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, chairman of the Constitution Draft Committee and the country’s highest Dalit leader. He dedicated his life for the overall development of Dalits. Today the Dalits of Bihar are fulfilling their dreams. Prabhat Khabar has talked to some such Dalits.
Subodh Kumar Nandan, Patna. Today is the birthday of Constitution maker Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. Baba Saheb’s dream has been social and economic equality of Dalits. Many Dalit entrepreneurs of Bihar are trying to make their dreams come true, who have set an example with their entrepreneurship and struggle. Dalits are also progressing rapidly in industry and business. They are also making a place in the world of business and industry. Dalits, who are backward in terms of contacts and resources, are facing difficulties in penetrating the strong fortifications of business, but they are engaged in this work with enthusiasm and are also getting success.
How did you reach your destination?
In this sequence, apart from the Bihar chapter of Dalit Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), other organizations have been working in Bihar for the last several years. Prabhat Khabar talked to Dalit entrepreneurs and businessmen about their struggle and how they reached this stage of success and how they will make their industry and business famous in the country and the world in the future. On this, an attempt was made to talk to Dalit entrepreneurs and businessmen to know their experiences in their own words.
They progressed after facing difficulties and are getting respect
Rakesh Kumar- Discrimination still exists, but attitudes are changing
Entrepreneur Rakesh Kumar said that since childhood I thought that my parents were into pig farming business. Business is not bad, but from social point of view people look at it differently. Whenever I read Baba Saheb’s biography, a special energy started flowing within me. I used to dream big. But even today we have to face social discrimination, which shakes our mind. After a lot of struggle I started my business. I applied under the Chief Minister Udyami Yojana and got a loan of Rs 10 lakh. Then I formed a note book company and within no time it became a company with a turnover of Rs 70 lakh.
Mukesh Kumar Das- Success in business was not easy for me.
Mukesh Kumar Das, a clerk, said that after giving the exam in the bank, my result started coming, but I kept getting shortlisted in the merit list again and again. On the other hand, the financial condition of my family started weakening day by day. Seeing the condition of my house, I started a small business. I got a loan from Andhra Bank in 2017. Then I built Ellora Footwear Industry Shoe Factory. From then on I started running the business. However, during this period many problems had to be faced. After some time, I started incurring huge losses, yet I did not leave the business. Hard work has paid off and today the turnover of my company is Rs 60-70 lakh per year.
Payal Kumari- I am giving employment to many people today
Female Dalit entrepreneur Payal Kumari said that I was born in a Rajak family in Muzaffarpur district. I have been interested in sewing and cutting since childhood. Therefore, I got the energy to convert this desire of mine into a business when I got married after Inter. My husband cooperated a lot to establish it as a business. I joined Jeevika group. I had to set up my own business, so the Department of Livelihood and Industry played an important role in making it a reality. My unit is of 2000 thousand square feet, which has been given by the state government BIADA. There are 24 machines in our unit in which 16 women and eight men work. Today I am providing employment to many people.
Nitish Kumar- built his own business by working hard day and night
Dalit entrepreneur Nitish Kumar says that I was born in the Dalit community in Bhagalpur district. I always wanted to start my own business, but got frustrated with the bank and did not get success. Then I participated in an entrepreneur development program run by the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where I got information about the Chief Minister Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe Entrepreneur Scheme run by the Government of Bihar. Working hard day and night, he formed a firm named Vijay Traders and established his own aluminum fabrication business. Within no time my company became a firm with a turnover of Rs 1 crore.
Captain Satya Prakash- People of Dalit community are providing employment to others today.
State President of DICCI (Bihar Chapter) Captain Satya Prakash says that influenced by the thoughts of Baba Saheb and Padmashree Milind Kamble, people of Dalit community are providing employment to others today. Any government bank can give loan to SC-ST community through RBI.
Is not meeting the guidelines. Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DICCI) which helps the government in making policies for the benefit of lower class entrepreneurs. Still, DICCI has not been given representation in the committees of many industries departments of the state government, due to which the work of those departments is not reviewed.
Dr AK Mehra – Dalits are developing job giving mindset
IT head DICCI Dr AK Mehra says that Baba Saheb has laid a lot of emphasis on economic strengthening and with this mission, DICCI (Bihar Chapter) is developing the thinking of giving jobs to the Dalit community by changing the thinking of providing jobs to it. Dicky Dalits are not an economic burden for the development of the state and the country, but an economic resource.
Special on Ambedkar Jayanti: Rajendra became an industrialist, so that destiny does not hinder the dreams of Dalits.
Ranchi/Adityapur, Sanjeev Bhardwaj: Rajendra Kumar, the first Dalit industrialist of Eastern India, wanted to become an engineer. Also took enrollment in BIT Mesra, Ranchi. But, she was determined to change the lines of fate by drawing horizontal lines on the drawing seat. This call of Baba Saheb Ambeder started echoing in the ears that the decree of destiny should not become a hindrance in the aspirations of the Dalits. What was it then, as soon as I got my engineering degree, instead of standing in the queue to get a job, I decided to take up the torch of providing jobs. Overcoming many obstacles, he set an example in paving the way for entrepreneurship among the Dalit community.
Rajendra is passout from BIT Mesra
Rajendra Kumar says that he passed out from BIT Mesra in 1984 and opened an HP Gas agency in Ratu Road, Ranchi in 1986. Meanwhile, meeting Milind Kamle, Chairman of Dalit India Chamber of Commerce and Industries, further enhanced his path of entrepreneurship. Kamle told Rajendra Kumar that the respect that a manufacturer has in the society is not that of a trader. With the advice and guidance of Kamle and the support of A Bakshi and Malvika Chatterjee of Tata Steel, he stepped into the field of entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, he established Jivashiya Industries by acquiring the plot of the sick company in phase three of Adityapur industrial area in the auction. 60 people have got employment in his gas agency and about 125 people have got employment in Jivashiya Industries. His company also produces products for Tata Steel. It manufactures conveyor related products, which are sent to many units of Tata Steel and SAIL.
Has received the award twice
Rajendra Kumar’s company has received the award twice from Tata Steel. The products manufactured by Jivashiya Industries are also supplied by 100 other companies to Tata Steel. 20 of them are selected for the award on the basis of quality and other parameters. He has been receiving this award for two years. He said that at this time there is demand from producers.
Dalit entrepreneurs should remember the three P’s
Rajendra Kumar says that Dalit entrepreneurs need to remember the three ‘P’s’. First is money, second is personal contact and third is patience. He said that Tata Steel executives TV Narendran and Ranjan Sinha have a special focus on Dalit-tribal entrepreneurs producing for Tata Steel. Dalit entrepreneurs can take advantage of this by becoming manufacturers. For this they will have to remain dedicated to the quality of the products.
தொட்டி வழக்கில் மனித கழிவுகள்: தமிழகத்தில் உள்ள வேங்கைவாயல் தலித்துகள் மக்களவை தேர்தலை புறக்கணிக்க உள்ளனர்
கிராமத்தில் உள்ள மேல்நிலை குடிநீர் தொட்டியில் மனித மலத்தை கலப்பதில் ஈடுபட்டவர்களை மாநில காவல்துறையின் சிபி-சிஐடி கைது செய்யாததால், அப்பகுதி மக்கள் தேர்தலை புறக்கணிக்கப் போவதாக மிரட்டல் விடுத்தனர்.
இந்தோ-ஆசிய செய்தி சேவை ட்விட்டரில் பின்தொடரவும்| இடுகையிட்டவர் மர்சியா ஷெரீஃப் | வெளியிடப்பட்டது: 15 ஏப்ரல் 2024 இரவு 8:14 IST
சென்னை: தமிழகத்தின் புதுக்கோட்டை மாவட்டம் முட்டுக்காடு ஊராட்சியில் உள்ள வேங்கைவயல் தலித் காலனியில் தண்ணீர் தொட்டி விவகாரத்தில் மனித மலத்தை அகற்ற நடவடிக்கை எடுக்காததால், வரும் மக்களவைத் தேர்தலை புறக்கணிக்கப் போவதாக அப்பகுதி மக்கள் திங்கள்கிழமை அறிவித்துள்ளனர்.
புதுக்கோட்டை திருச்சிராப்பள்ளி லோக்சபா தொகுதியில், ம.தி.மு.க., தலைவர் வைகோவின் மகன் துரை வைகோ, இந்திய அணி வேட்பாளராக போட்டியிடுகிறார், அ.தி.மு.க., சார்பில் கருப்பையாவும், தே.மு.தி.க., வேட்பாளராக அமமுகவின் செந்தில்நாதனும் போட்டியிடுகின்றனர்.
கிராமத்தில் உள்ள மேல்நிலை குடிநீர் தொட்டியில் மனித மலத்தை கலப்பதில் ஈடுபட்டவர்களை மாநில காவல்துறையின் சிபி-சிஐடி கைது செய்யாததால், அப்பகுதி மக்கள் தேர்தலை புறக்கணிக்கப் போவதாக மிரட்டல் விடுத்தனர்.
டிசம்பர் 26, 2022 அன்று நடந்த இந்த சம்பவம் மாநிலத்தில் பெரும் சலசலப்பை ஏற்படுத்தியது, மேலும் இந்த குற்றத்தின் பின்னணியில் உயர் சாதியினர் அல்லது இடைத்தரகர்கள் இருப்பதாக குற்றச்சாட்டுகள் எழுந்தன.
சிபி-சிஐடி இந்த வழக்கை விசாரித்து வருகிறது, ஆனால் எந்த தடயமும் கிடைக்கவில்லை, இந்த வழக்கில் நேரடி ஆதாரம் இல்லாததால், அவர்கள் அறிவியல் ஆதாரங்களைக் கண்டுபிடிக்க முயன்றனர் மற்றும் சந்தேகத்திற்குரிய சிலரின் டிஎன்ஏ சோதனை மற்றும் குரல் பகுப்பாய்வு நடத்தினர்.
இருப்பினும், உள்ளூர் தலித்துகள் நம்பவில்லை.
IANS உடன் பேசுகிறேன். இதுகுறித்து வேங்கைவாயல் தலித் காலனியில் வசிக்கும் கே.ஷைலஜா கூறியதாவது: சம்பவம் நடந்து இரண்டு ஆண்டுகள் ஆகியும், இதுவரை எங்களுக்கு நீதி கிடைக்கவில்லை. நாங்கள் மன உளைச்சலுக்கு ஆளாகியுள்ளோம், பிரச்சினை தலைப்புச் செய்திகளில் வந்தபோது தீவிர விசாரணை நடத்தப்பட்டது, இப்போது எதுவும் நடக்கவில்லை. தேர்தல் நேரத்தில் மட்டுமே அரசியல்வாதிகள் எங்களிடம் வருவார்கள், அடுத்த லோக்சபா தேர்தலை புறக்கணிக்க முடிவு செய்துள்ளோம்.
"நாங்கள் போராட்டத்திற்குச் செல்லலாம் என்று போலீசார் சந்தேகிப்பதால், கிராம மக்கள் குடும்ப விழாவிற்கு கூட வேறு கிராமத்திற்கு பேருந்தில் செல்ல முடியவில்லை," என்று அவர் மேலும் கூறினார்.
மற்றொரு குடியிருப்பாளர் எம்.கே.வேலு கூறியதாவது: விழா நடத்த, துணை போலீஸ் சூப்பிரண்டு மற்றும் போலீஸ் சூப்பிரண்டுகளிடம் அனுமதி பெற வேண்டும். எங்களுக்கு வேறு வழியில்லை என்பதால் இந்த லோக்சபா தேர்தலை புறக்கணிக்கிறோம்” என்றார்.
தொடர்ந்து போலீஸ் பிரசன்னம் இருப்பதால், கிராமம் ஒரு திறந்தவெளி சிறையாக இருப்பதாகவும், இதுபோன்ற சித்திரவதைகளுக்கு முற்றுப்புள்ளி வைக்க விரும்புவதாகவும் அவர் கூறினார். தாங்கள் எண்ணிக்கையில் குறைவாக இருப்பதால், எந்த அரசியல்வாதியும் இந்தப் பிரச்னையை கையில் எடுக்கவில்லை என்றும், ஆனால் தேர்தலைப் புறக்கணிப்பதன் மூலம் தங்கள் போராட்டம் இந்த விஷயத்தை மீண்டும் வெளியுலகுக்குத் தெரியப்படுத்தும் என்றும் வேலு கூறினார்.
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