Twenty-five years have elapsed since the DMK government, of M. Karunanidhi, decided to rename districts and transport corporations to make them sound caste-neutral. The decision was taken when parts of southern districts, especially those falling under the present limits of Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Theni and Virudhunagar districts, were rocked by caste clashes. Among the reasons for the violence were the installation of a statue of Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar at Kandamanur in Theni, and the government’s decision to name a transport corporation after Veeran Sundaralingam, an early rebel against the British Raj.
A look at the events, especially social dynamics over the years, reveals some bright spots. However, much remains to be done if the recent incident of refusal to sell snacks to children belonging to the Scheduled Castes at Panjankulam in Tenkasi district is any indication.
In one of the September 1997 issues of Economic and Political Weekly, K.A. Manikumar, former professor of history, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, highlighted the discrimination of the Scheduled Castes by an intermediary caste (Maravar, a constituent of the broader Mukklathor community). He had mentioned that in many villages, the Scheduled Castes had no access to “Maravar streets”. They were not permitted to use the cement benches at bus stops, apart from having no approach road to their cremation grounds.
‘Reconciled to the reality’
The historian concedes that the situation, as portrayed by him 25 years ago, does not exist now. “But I won’t call it an improvement, as the Maravars have reconciled themselves to the reality of co-existence.”
Arul Rajesh, president of the Muthukkapatti village panchayat in Namakkal district, is in his early 40s. He has vivid memories of how people of his community conducted themselves a quarter century ago. “The men were into illicit brewing until 2000. Thanks to the government’s strong measures against our traditional practice, they gave it up. However, the problem of addiction to drinking remains in my community,” says Mr. Rajesh, who belongs to Devendra Kula Vellalar, a Scheduled Caste.
For him, the government has to pay more attention to changing the social profile of students of the government schools. “In many of these schools in rural areas, a major chunk of the students belongs to the Scheduled Castes. To certain extent, children of the MBCs are there. Upper castes do not send their children to these schools. This has to change. At least, the government can direct its officials to admit their children to these schools.”
G. Balasubramanian, Tiruvarur district panchayat chairperson, who belongs to the Mukkulathor community (Kallar), believes rural local bodies can play a crucial role in tackling the problem of discrimination and ensuring social cohesion. “Village panchayat presidents need to be imaginative and enterprising. Such persons can make a qualitative difference at the grass-roots.”
As leader of the Talayamangalam village panchayat (about 8 km from Mannargudi) in 1988, Mr. Balasubramanian had set up a burial ground, which was used by people of all castes. “During 2006 when Kalaignar [Karunanidhi] was the Chief Minister, this was identified as Samathuva Sudukadu (a caste-free burial ground) and allocated ₹1 lakh for its renovation. Now, after Thalapathi [M.K.Stalin] became the Chief Minister, it has been sanctioned ₹10 lakh under the same scheme.”
Apart from emphasising the role of local bodies in removing social inequalities, G. Palanithurai, former professor in the Department of Political Science and Development Administration at Gandhigram Rural Institute, says it is for political parties to democratise society. “I am aware that the parties are not doing this. But they will have to do that. They will have to be pushed to do that.”
Those elected to various positions in the rural local bodies should be made aware of their responsibilities. “A retired school teacher, on becoming a panchayat leader, does his or her job well as he or she possesses certain amount of knowledge of the affairs of a local body. But this may not be the case with all those who have no such background or exposure,” he contends. The government should tone up its body for training rural local body representatives and entrust an IAS officer with the task. But better education and greater livelihood opportunities for the Scheduled Castes alone will remove social inequalities, he says.
