02.08.2025.UT Daily Morning NewS.A collection of SC.ST.Buddhist,Adivasi,reservation atrocity news of India.by Team Sivaji.9444917060.asivaji1962@gmail.com
Tamilnadu.untouchable news.
SC/ST Commission reviews ‘caste killing’, hands over compensation to Kavin’s kin
Published - August 01, 2025 07:35 pm IST - TIRUNELVELI
Retired Madras High Court Judge and Chairman of Tamil Nadu State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes S. Tamilvanan chaired a meeting here on Friday in the wake of the murder of Scheduled Caste youth C. Kavin Selvaganesh on Sunday.
Justice Tamilvanan said caste killings, which triggered instant panic and tension among the public, should not be allowed and approved by civil society as every girl above the age of 18 and the 21-year-old boy could choose their life partner. Hence, this murder should not be treated as a fallout of ‘caste issue’.
“The official machinery, especially Revenue and Police departments, has played its part in a stupendous fashion as per law after this caste killing. While all real culprits should be brought before law, innocents should not be affected. Since an Act against caste killing is the need of the hour, the Commission will press the State and the Union governments to pass a suitable legislation,” Justice Tamilvanan said.
District Collector R. Sukumar, Deputy Commissioners of Police Vinodh Santharam and Vijayakumar and District Revenue Officer M. Suganya participated in the meeting.
Later, Justice Tamilvanan visited the family of Kavin Selvaganesh at Arumugamangalam in Thoothukudi district after the cremation and handed over a cheque for ₹6 lakh as the first instalment towards compensation being given to the SC families in case of the murder of its member by an upper caste or intermediate caste member.(He is a henchman to DMK)
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Karnataka untouchable news.
Protests staged seeking implementation of internal reservation
Published - August 01, 2025 06:41 pm IST - HUBBALLI
Seeking immediate implementation of internal reservation for scheduled castes various organisations took out protest marches and demonstration in Dharwad on Friday and few even tonsured their heads in protest.
Members of Madiga Internal Reservation Struggle Committee staged the protest before the statue of B.R. Ambedkar and accused the State government of neglecting social justice and following anti-Madiga policy.
As part of the protest few among the protesters tonsured their heads and intended to send the hair to the Chief Minister as mark of protest. However, police intervened and stopped more joining the protest, which consequently led to heated argument between the protesters and the police. When the tension escalated, the police took several of them into preventive custody, who were released later in the day.
The protesters alleged that while internal reservation in the States like Haryana, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had been implemented as per the direction of the apex court, the Karnataka government had failed to do so, resulting in members of Madiga community and its 29 sub-castes being left out from the sphere of employment.
They also alleged that the State government was not cooperating with the Nagamohan Das Commission by not providing the requisite data sought by the Commission from various departments. They said that the Socio-economic and Educational Survey Report by the Kantharaj Commission had been discarded by the Chief Minister and now confusion was being created around Justice Nagamohan Das’ report also. The protesters led by Chandrashekhar Naduvinemani, Manju Hosamani, S. Hegde, Manju Kondapalli, Ningappa Hanchinal, Pundalik Madar, Rakesh Dodmani, Parashuram Dodmani, and others urged the government to announce its decision before the start of legislature session on August 11.
In another protest led by Dharwad Dsitrict SC/ST Pourakarmika and Employees Association and Jai Bhim Yuva Shakti Sena, a motorcycle rally was held from Ambedkar’s statue in Hubballi to Kalabhavan in Dharwad. Subsequently a semi-naked protest was taken out, a mock funeral of the State government was held and few also tonsured their heads.
On reaching the Deputy Commissioner’s office, they submitted memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Divya Prabhu G.R.J. who assured them of forwarding their appeal to the government. Office bearers of the associations Vijay Guntral, Basavaraj Alapur, Harish Guntral, Vijay Mulimani, Basavaraj Chalageri and others led the protest.
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87 years of service to the nation × Login Subscribe ASSAM Assam govt to table report on ST status for six communities in Assembly session: Sarma If the Assembly gives its approval, the govt will present the report to New Delhi, Sarma added By The Assam Tribune - 1 Aug 2025 2:38 PM A file image of the first day of the Budget session of the Assam Legislative Assembly, with the Governor's address in Kokrajhar (Photo: @himantabiswa/ X) The Assam Tribune is now on Whatsapp. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest headlines. Guwahati, Aug 1: The government will present a detailed report in the upcoming Assembly session (October-November) concerning the demand for granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six indigenous communities — Tai Ahom, Moran, Matak, Koch Rajbongshi, Chutia, and Adivasis (Tea Tribes). Also Read - Thousands block NH-315 over land rights to 6 communities in Tirap tribal belt & block The statement was made by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday during a press briefing at the Lok Sewa Bhawan in Dispur. Announcing the move, CM said the report is the culmination of extensive discussions held over the past four years. Also Read - After 75 years, rare Gopinath Bordoloi tribute gets Assamese edition Advertisement “The government and the Council of Ministers have held consultations with various community representatives. We have now reached a consensus. This report will be laid before the Assembly, and after its approval, we will forward it to New Delhi,” the Chief Minister stated. Also Read - 'Don’t shelter evictees or we'll lose ground again,' says Assam CM in Baksa This development marks a significant step in the long-standing demand by the six communities seeking constitutional recognition as Scheduled Tribes. The Chief Minister highlighted that the process had begun through a proposal made earlier at the Assembly. Also Read - 'Minorities under attack’: AIUDF meets IGP over vigilante threats in Upper Assam The Centre, too, has been engaging with the matter. Earlier, on Thursday, the Centre highlighted that a reconstituted committee comprising a group of ministers in Assam will discuss the issues of granting ST status with the community representatives and leaders. The committee, according to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, will determine quantum of reservation for the six communities. The committee will further suggest the quantum of reservation for the communities and revisions in OBC quotas, while ensuring that the rights of existing STs remain protected. The announcement comes amid renewed calls and demands by the communities. On Wednesday, members of the Tai Ahom community, led by the All Tai Ahom Students’ Union (ATASU), staged a “Dispur Gherao” rally demanding immediate action on the issue. In June 2025, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram stated that the Centre is seriously considering the proposal. “We are examining all aspects and awaiting inputs from the Registrar General of India (RGI),” Oram told the Assam Tribune, adding that suggestions from the Assam government are also under review. Assam The Assam Tribune Recommended Stories Thousands block NH-315 over land rights to 6 communities in Tirap... After 75 years, rare Gopinath Bordoloi tribute gets Assamese edition 'Don’t shelter evictees or we'll lose ground again,' says Assam CM in... Similar Posts Thousands block NH-315 over land rights to 6 communities in Tirap tribal belt & block - The Assam Tribune After 75 years, rare Gopinath Bordoloi tribute gets Assamese edition - Abdul Gani 'Don’t shelter evictees or we'll lose ground again,' says Assam CM in Baksa - The Assam Tribune 'Minorities under attack’: AIUDF meets IGP over vigilante threats in Upper Assam - The Assam Tribune Guwahati couple held over unlawful adoption after FIR in Dhakuakhana - The Assam Tribune OIL employee killed in rig accident in Naharkatia; MLA demands magisterial probe - The Assam Tribune Congress urges Centre to address Assam’s downstream concerns on Dibang Project - The Assam Tribune Assam MBBS students set record with 91.88% first-attempt pass rate in 2024 - Sanjoy Ray Zilla parishad quota row: Mixed response to ATASU bandh in Sivasagar; several detained - The Assam Tribune Drought relief programme launched to support farmers in 5 districts of BTR - The Assam Tribune Post-eviction, Uriamghat locals fear fresh land grab by Naga claimants - The Assam Tribune BJP in BTC will plug gaps, align region with Delhi & Dispur: CM Sarma in Baksa - The Assam Tribune The Assam Tribune The Premier English Daily of the North East. Our motto is to provide authentic news to our readers. Our publications are The Assam Tribune, Dainik Asam, Asom Bani, Gariasi and Sahitya Prakash. Navigation HOME E-PAPER CLASSIFIED ASSAM NORTH EAST NATIONAL BUSINESS SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT PHOTO GALLERY CAREERS Follow Us Powered by Hocalwire Copyright © 2025 The Assam Tribune - All right Reserved. Privacy Terms About Contact X
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Eurasia Review
A Journal of Analysis and News
Dalit women in India. Photo Credit: Swasti Desai, Wikipedia Commons
Time To Rethink The Caste System In India – OpEd
India today stands at a defining juncture—poised between a modern future and the pull of its deeply entrenched past. Among the most pressing symbols of this tension is the caste-based reservation system: a policy designed to redress historical wrongs that now finds itself mired in politics, legal battles, and social division.
Originally intended as a mechanism to uplift historically marginalized communities, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs)—the reservation system has evolved into a tool that often appears to serve political arithmetic more than social equity. This isn’t to question the legitimacy of affirmative action itself, nor have the suffering generations endured due to the rigidities of caste. But when the system begins to reward backwardness as a qualification rather than remedy it, the time has come for critical reflection.
A Flawed Meritocracy
In everyday India, the consequences are increasingly visible. In university admissions and public sector employment, eligibility and merit appear to operate on parallel tracks. The question lingering silently across boardrooms and interview panels is no longer just about capability, it is often about classification.
One is reminded of a moment in urban India when caste census officials knocked on a door and asked a single question: “What is your caste?” The resident, in patriotic zeal, replied, “We’re Indians.” The officials were confused, and the apartment’s security guard promptly revealed the family’s caste. A sticker was affixed to the door. The census had what it came for—one more label in a data-driven system that doesn’t know how to look past it.
Caste Census and the Domino Effect
The idea is not as satirical as it might sound. With the caste census gaining momentum nationwide, the political and legal implications are rapidly taking shape. In April 2025, the Government of India, through its Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, approved the inclusion of caste in the upcoming national census for the first time since 1931. Announced by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the decision marks a historic shift in India’s demographic data collection process.
The nationwide census—delayed from its original 2021 timeline due to the COVID-19 pandemic—is expected to begin between 2026 and 2027. It will be India’s first digital census and will enumerate castes systematically and officially. According to a government statement, the exercise will conclude by February 28, 2027, with the data referencing 12:00 a.m. on March 1, 2027. A formal notification of its phases and scope was issued in June 2025.
While some states such as Bihar and Karnataka had already conducted caste-based surveys, this national initiative aims to create uniform, standardized, and legally supported caste data to aid in welfare policies and reservation decisions.
But what will this data actually lead to?
The Race to Redraw Quotas
One immediate outcome of the caste census is likely to be a sharp increase in demand for proportional representation. Updated data will likely show that OBCs and other marginalized groups form a much larger portion of the population than current quotas account for. Political leaders across party lines are already using this to advocate for reservation hikes based on population share.
Take Karnataka, for example. The state’s caste census report recommended raising OBC reservation from 32% to 51%. When combined with existing quotas for SCs, STs, and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), this would take the total reservation in the state to nearly 85%. The government was actively considering the proposal as of mid-2025, triggering spirited public debate and legal scrutiny.
The traditional 50% ceiling on reservations, laid down by the Supreme Court of India, is now under serious threat. Tamil Nadu has long exceeded this limit (with 69%), and more states may follow suit. Whether these expanded quotas can withstand constitutional and judicial tests is still unclear, but the momentum is unmistakable.
Another key implication could be the extension of reservations to the private sector. Since a majority of India’s workforce is now employed outside of government institutions—and since underrepresentation of lower castes remains stark in corporate boardrooms and private firms—several political parties are already floating the idea of private-sector quotas.
Intra-category quotas, or sub-categorization within the SC, ST, and OBC brackets, may also emerge. More granular data could reveal disparities even within these groups, prompting demands for refined quotas to ensure benefits reach the most deprived among the “backward.”
Politics of Backwardness
While proponents argue that the caste census is an instrument of social justice, critics suggest it has evolved into a strategic political instrument. The timing of state-level surveys and reservation promises frequently coincides with upcoming elections. Caste-based vote banks are now central to campaign planning, and data is increasingly seen as a resource not just for governance, but for vote maximization.
Instead of focusing on the evolving socio-economic conditions of various communities and exploring alternative models of support—such as income-based or location-based affirmative action—many political actors have embraced a narrative where caste alone defines disadvantage. This leaves out large swaths of poor and underprivileged citizens from “forward” castes who struggle without institutional support.
In this scenario, backwardness becomes a political asset—ironically incentivizing underdevelopment. It is this distortion that has prompted some observers to advocate a radical overhaul: not to abolish affirmative action, but to reorient it away from legacy-based entitlements toward performance-based incentives.
Reimagining Affirmative Action
The road forward requires nuance, not negation. India remains a deeply unequal society, and caste continues to play a powerful role in shaping access to opportunity. Denying this would be both naïve and unjust. But acknowledging the problem does not mean institutionalizing it further.
Instead, policymakers must ask: What should affirmative action look like in 21st-century India? Should it be frozen in historical classification, or should it evolve with present realities?
A potential model could combine caste-based data with socio-economic indicators—like income, education level, geographic disadvantage, or family background. Rather than replacing the current system overnight, this approach could refine and supplement it, ensuring that benefits reach those most in need, regardless of surname or social label.
Another reform worth exploring is time-bound or generational quotas—affirmative action benefits that expire after one generation, unless a family continues to meet specific criteria of disadvantage. This would prevent the concentration of benefits within the relatively better-off segments of reserved communities.
Towards a Sincere Framework
It is also essential to rebuild trust in the system. The question—”Are you here because of your skills, or your caste certificate?”—is corrosive. It undermines the dignity of all candidates, regardless of their background. Restoring a merit-respecting but inclusion-oriented system will require depoliticizing caste discourse and putting transparency, accountability, and equity back at the center of policy.
In sum, the data from both central and state held caste census will ultimately lead to pressure on governments to increase the job reservation from 50 percent to over 65 percent. If this happens, merit will take a backseat. India risks becoming trapped in electoral opportunism—a dramatic loop where caste is not reformed but repackaged every five years, depending on which party needs whose votes.
One wonders if backwardness is the qualification for opportunity, shouldn’t we all be declared backward? The goal of affirmative action was always to make itself obsolete, to build a society where opportunity wasn’t rationed by birth.
For India to truly move forward, it should extend economic benefits not only to people belonging to the marginalized groups but also to those who belong to various other castes and religious denominations. Moreover, India should phase out job reservations and, instead, give opportunities based on merit. Until then, the country may find itself caught in an endless loop of caste-based politicking—a drama without resolution, playing out every five years. Unfortunately, what started as a noble effort to correct historic injustices has become a political Rubik’s Cube. Everyone’s twisting it, but no one’s solving it.
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Raising a crucial and long-pending issue, Member of Parliament from Sikkim, Indra Hang Subba, addressed the Lok Sabha on Monday, urging the central government to take immediate steps for the reservation of seats for the Limboo and Tamang communities in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly.
Dr. Subba reminded the House that although the Limboo and Tamang communities were recognized as Scheduled Tribes (STs) in 2003, they are yet to receive their due political representation in the state legislature. Despite over two decades of constitutional recognition, reserved seats for these communities remain unallocated, depriving them of legislative participation.
Citing constitutional provisions under Article 371F and Article 332, Dr. Subba emphasized that the reservation of seats for STs in state assemblies is a constitutional obligation. While the Limboo and Tamang communities have been formally included in the ST list, the requisite amendments under the Representation of the People Act have yet to be enacted to provide for their seat reservation in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly.
Highlighting the urgency of the matter, Dr. Subba pointed out that the next delimitation exercise is scheduled to take place after 2026. He called on the Government of India to amend the Representation of the People Act in advance, ensuring that the Limboo and Tamang STs are granted their rightful seats during the upcoming delimitation.
“This is not merely a legal formality—it is a matter of justice, representation, and constitutional integrity. The aspirations of the Limboo and Tamang people have remained unheard for far too long,” Dr. Subba asserted.
He urged the Centre to honour its commitment to the Scheduled Tribe communities and uphold the constitutional mandate by enabling adequate representation in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly without further delay.
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Beyond Statues - Annihilation of Caste is the Key to End Honor Killings
— ✍️Deepan Chakravarthy P.
Kavin Selvaganesh, a 27-year-old Dalit youngster from Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, was man-slaughtered by one Surjith S., for allegedly being in love with the latter’s sister. The victim was a software engineer and also a university gold medalist, but was hacked to death for loving beyond the barriers of the caste. This brutality caused shock waves across the state and is echoing back as a renewed demand for the state government to enact a special statute to impose stricter penalties for honor killings. Enabling severe statutes on penalizing such caste-brutality may seem to satisfy the agony the victims have gone through. Still, a parallel question arises, whether such statutes can put an end to these recurring honor killings.
The caste patriarchy, corroding the Indian society for several centuries, has been the sole cause for all the miseries faced by the deprived classes. While no living statute is aimed at extricating such barbaric social divisions, practices like untouchability and honor killings persist as manifestations of this root cause. Focusing on severe punishments for these mere effects of the caste system may offer a temporary illusion, but it risks diverting our attention towards temporary fixations rather than uprooting the sole fundamental cause.
The outburst calls for severe laws to eradicate honor killings, which often stem from different impetuses; from the victim’s family, it is because of emotional outbursts for the irreparable loss they suffered; from the general public, it often reflects a political immaturity and lack of understanding of the fundamental root cause; and for the politicians, such demands very often reflect nothing more than an electoral stunt which lacks any intentions for structural change. To understand this harsh reality, we must first recognize that all permanent political and societal transformations have occurred not because of emotional outbursts, but through intellectual implications.
Recent instances, especially in Tamil Nadu, solidify this contention. In January 2025, a special court for the trial cases in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, awarded a death sentence to the convict Vinothkumar, guilty of double murder in the name of honor. The very next month, Yuvaraj, an accused convicted of life imprisonment for murdering Gokul Raj, a Dalit, merely for his friendship with a girl from the accused’s caste, was released on a one-day parole for a family celebration. Certain people from Yuvaraj’s caste celebrated him as if he were a war hero. This is the ground reality that the social media revolutionaries do not tend to understand. If death sentences and life imprisonments, granted to these accused, were reflected in the ground society, we may not have lost Kavin Selvaganesh today. Hence, enhancing stricter statutes may never really change the perspectives of society, but rather be a mere compensatory provision.
Even if such statutes were to be enacted, to protect the interests of the deprived classes, they should be versatile and should penalize every killing in the name of honor, even those that are among Dalits. What many don’t seem to understand is that the communities within the Scheduled Castes are not homogeneous and are often subjected to practices like untouchability between themselves. This graded inequality between Dalits also expands to honor killings in the case of marriage between different Dalit sub-castes. In particular, the manslaughter of a couple, T. Solairaj and S. Petchiammal, in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, in the year 2019, stands out as a perfect example. While both the deceased were Dalits, Solairaj was from the Paraiyar community, while Petchiammal was from the Pallar community. Hence, in case a special statute is to be enacted against honor killings, it should also address and penalize honor killings between Dalits as well.
To put more clarity on this, The Scheduled Castes and The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, was explicitly enacted to address and penalize the atrocities against Dalits and Tribal Communities. But even such a provision fails to identify the atrocities within the Dalit themselves. Hence, even if a statute were to be enacted to control honor killings should address the complex reality of intra-caste violence and discrimination among Dalits too, to meet the ends of justice.
The brutal murder of Kavin Selvaganesh is a tight slap on this society, where even a techie with a high-paying job cannot escape the sin of his birth. Pressurizing the government to pass a statute for severe penalization may seem legitimate, but it wouldn't be fruitful without any social changes. From the puniest act of untouchability to brutal honor killings, they can be dismantled through the annihilation of caste only, while no legal measure for these punitive effects can ever challenge the complexity of the caste hierarchy. Keeping aside the emotional outbursts, intellectual analysis for a long-term result would be the need of the day, as it would decide whether Kavin Selvaganesh is one among many or whether he is the last of all.
- The author is currently pursuing LLB from Delhi University
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Chennai, Jul 31 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday distributed laptops to 136 Adi Dravidar and Tribal students who secured admissions to higher education institutions in the state.
He developed sudden giddiness during his morning walk and was admitted to a hospital here on July 21.
"Hearing about their educational journey - rising from extremely disadvantaged families that faced hardship - and their dedication to education moved my heart and brought tears to my eyes," he said in a post on the social media platform 'X' and wished them success.
State Health Minister Ma Subramanian, who inspected the preparations, said the scheme was a major initiative towards improving public health access in the state. "This programme has been designed to provide comprehensive health check-ups for the people, thus eliminating the need to visit hospitals for expensive full-body medical examinations," Subramanian told reporters here.
"I request the people in all districts to participate. About 1,256 camps will be held across Tamil Nadu every Saturday. The test results will be communicated to the people through SMS at the camps," Stalin said on 'X'.
Medical reports containing all the test results, including blood test, ECG, X-Ray, USG, and breast cancer screening, will be provided, he added.
The programme will offer a wide range of medical services for consultation and treatment, surgery, in specialisations such as orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, cardiology, neurology, dermatology, dentistry, ophthalmology, ENT, psychiatry, pulmonary medicine.
...............
Chief Editor Sivaji,the great Voice,
CM Hon.Stalin Sir,
After attaining elderly now you are doing excellent work for SC.ST community which consist of 20% in Tamilnadu.Thank you Sir..thank you..am not a DMK MAN,BUT A SCST MAN.
8.
Still waiting in the wings: Why Karnataka has never had a Dalit chief minister; decades of dominance by powerful castes tell the real story
Manu Aiyappa has been with The Times of India for over two decades, currently serving as the Political Editor. His reporting focuses on politics, public policy, and in-depth features that aim to inform and engage a broad readership. Over the years, his work has been recognised by both the Press Club of Bangalore and the Karnataka Media Academy for its clarity, credibility, and relevance to public discourse.
— ✍️Deepan Chakravarthy P.
Kavin Selvaganesh, a 27-year-old Dalit youngster from Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, was man-slaughtered by one Surjith S., for allegedly being in love with the latter’s sister. The victim was a software engineer and also a university gold medalist, but was hacked to death for loving beyond the barriers of the caste. This brutality caused shock waves across the state and is echoing back as a renewed demand for the state government to enact a special statute to impose stricter penalties for honor killings. Enabling severe statutes on penalizing such caste-brutality may seem to satisfy the agony the victims have gone through. Still, a parallel question arises, whether such statutes can put an end to these recurring honor killings.
The caste patriarchy, corroding the Indian society for several centuries, has been the sole cause for all the miseries faced by the deprived classes. While no living statute is aimed at extricating such barbaric social divisions, practices like untouchability and honor killings persist as manifestations of this root cause. Focusing on severe punishments for these mere effects of the caste system may offer a temporary illusion, but it risks diverting our attention towards temporary fixations rather than uprooting the sole fundamental cause.
The outburst calls for severe laws to eradicate honor killings, which often stem from different impetuses; from the victim’s family, it is because of emotional outbursts for the irreparable loss they suffered; from the general public, it often reflects a political immaturity and lack of understanding of the fundamental root cause; and for the politicians, such demands very often reflect nothing more than an electoral stunt which lacks any intentions for structural change. To understand this harsh reality, we must first recognize that all permanent political and societal transformations have occurred not because of emotional outbursts, but through intellectual implications.
Recent instances, especially in Tamil Nadu, solidify this contention. In January 2025, a special court for the trial cases in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, awarded a death sentence to the convict Vinothkumar, guilty of double murder in the name of honor. The very next month, Yuvaraj, an accused convicted of life imprisonment for murdering Gokul Raj, a Dalit, merely for his friendship with a girl from the accused’s caste, was released on a one-day parole for a family celebration. Certain people from Yuvaraj’s caste celebrated him as if he were a war hero. This is the ground reality that the social media revolutionaries do not tend to understand. If death sentences and life imprisonments, granted to these accused, were reflected in the ground society, we may not have lost Kavin Selvaganesh today. Hence, enhancing stricter statutes may never really change the perspectives of society, but rather be a mere compensatory provision.
Even if such statutes were to be enacted, to protect the interests of the deprived classes, they should be versatile and should penalize every killing in the name of honor, even those that are among Dalits. What many don’t seem to understand is that the communities within the Scheduled Castes are not homogeneous and are often subjected to practices like untouchability between themselves. This graded inequality between Dalits also expands to honor killings in the case of marriage between different Dalit sub-castes. In particular, the manslaughter of a couple, T. Solairaj and S. Petchiammal, in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, in the year 2019, stands out as a perfect example. While both the deceased were Dalits, Solairaj was from the Paraiyar community, while Petchiammal was from the Pallar community. Hence, in case a special statute is to be enacted against honor killings, it should also address and penalize honor killings between Dalits as well.
To put more clarity on this, The Scheduled Castes and The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, was explicitly enacted to address and penalize the atrocities against Dalits and Tribal Communities. But even such a provision fails to identify the atrocities within the Dalit themselves. Hence, even if a statute were to be enacted to control honor killings should address the complex reality of intra-caste violence and discrimination among Dalits too, to meet the ends of justice.
The brutal murder of Kavin Selvaganesh is a tight slap on this society, where even a techie with a high-paying job cannot escape the sin of his birth. Pressurizing the government to pass a statute for severe penalization may seem legitimate, but it wouldn't be fruitful without any social changes. From the puniest act of untouchability to brutal honor killings, they can be dismantled through the annihilation of caste only, while no legal measure for these punitive effects can ever challenge the complexity of the caste hierarchy. Keeping aside the emotional outbursts, intellectual analysis for a long-term result would be the need of the day, as it would decide whether Kavin Selvaganesh is one among many or whether he is the last of all.
- The author is currently pursuing LLB from Delhi University
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