Days before the final celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on Independence Day, a 17-year-old Dalit student with exceptional academic record at Tamil Nadu’s Nanguneri was compelled to stand at forked roads to choose between quitting his school and village to run away to safety or confronting schoolmates baying for his blood.
Chinnadurai had decided to escape the threats by boarding a train to Chennai on August 9. But as he stood in front of the waiting train at Nanguneri railway station, the teenager gave in to his cousin’s pleadings to not leave. The same night, Chinnadurai, his 13-year-old sister and mother were reportedly attacked by seven of his savarna classmates at their house in Perundheru neighbourhood in Nanguneri.
