மதுரையில் மீண்டும் ஒரு தூய்மை தொழிலாளி கழிவு தொட்டியை சுத்தம் செய்யும் போது மின்சாரம் தாக்கி மரணம்.
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மதுரை கிழக்கு மண்டலத்தில் தூய்மை தொழிலாராக பணியாற்றி வந்த அவனியாபுரம் வெள்ளக்கல் பகுதியை சேர்ந்த தற்காலிக தூய்மை தொழிலாளி 29 வயது முத்து என்பவர் இன்று மதியம் 1.10 மணியளவில் மதுரை கணேஷ் திரையரங்கம் அருகில் குப்பைத்தொட்டியை சுத்தம் செய்து கொண்டிருந்த போது மின்சாரம் தாக்கி மரணமடைந்துள்ளார்.
மதுரை கிழக்கு மண்டலம்(3) முத்து(27) பெருமாள் வெள்ளகல்
இன்று மதியம் 1,10 மணிக்கு குப்பை பெட்டி சுத்தம் செய்து கொண்டிருந்த போது மின்சாரம் தாக்கி முத்து பரிதாபமாக உயிரிளந்தார்
இது சம்மந்தமாக அனைத்து தொழிலாளர்களும் ஒன்று சேர்ந்து அரசு அதிகாரிகலிடம் மூன்று அம்ச கோரிக்கை முன்வைத்தனர்
1) இறந்த முத்து அவர்களின் குடும்பத்தில் ஒருவருக்கு அரசு வேலை 2) 10 லட்சம் நிவாரண நிதி 3) இறுதி சடங்கு செய்ய 20 ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் உடனே வழங்கவேண்டும் என கோரிக்கை வைக்கப்பட்டது
மேலும் மாநகராட்சியில் தற்காலிக பணியாளர்கள் அனைவரும் 3 வது மண்டலத்தில் உள்ளிருப்பு போராட்டம்.
தூய்மை தொழிலாளி முத்துவின் மரணத்திற்கு நீதிகேட்டு மூன்று அம்ச கோரிக்கைகளை வலியுருத்தி ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை மதுரை தெற்கு மாவட்ட செயலாளர் இரா.செல்வம் அவர்கள் தொழிலாளர்கள் மற்றும் உறவினர்களுடன் இணைந்து உள்ளிருப்பு போராட்டத்தை நடத்தி கொண்டிருக்கின்றார்.
கோரிக்கைகள்
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1) இறந்தவரின் குடும்பத்திற்கு உச்சநீதிமன்ற தீர்ப்பின்படி வழங்க வேண்டிய இழப்பீட்டு தொகை 10 லட்சத்தை உடனே வழங்க வேண்டும்.
2) இறந்தவரின் குடும்பத்தில் ஒருவருக்கு கல்வித்தகுதியின் அடிப்படையில் அரசு வேலை உடனேவழங்க வேண்டும்.
3) இறந்தவரின் உடலை நல்லடக்கம் செய்ய அரசு வழங்கும் 20 ஆயிரம் ஈமசடங்கு தொகையை உடனே வழங்க வேண்டும்.
உள்ளிட்ட கோரிக்கைகளுடன் தற்போது 3 வது மண்டலத்தில் தோழர்கள் போராட்டத்தின் எதிரொலியாக...
கடந்த 16.10.2015 அன்று ஆரப்பளையத்தில் கழிவடைப்பை நீக்கும் போது உயிரிழந்த விஸ்வநாதன், முனியாண்டி குடும்பத்தாருக்கு அவசரம் அவசரமாக 10 லட்சம் இழப்பீட்டு தொகையை கொண்டு போய் கொடுக்கின்றது நிர்வாகம்.
இந்நிலையில் முத்துவின் மரணத்திற்கு நீதிகிடைக்கும் வரை போரட்டத்திலிருந்து பின்வாங்க போவதில்லை என்று ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவையினர் போராட்ட களத்தில் நிற்கின்றனர்.
==>தகவல்
இரா.செல்வம், செயலாளர்,
மதுரை தெற்கு மாவட்டம்.
ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை
ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை வண்மையாக கண்டிக்கிறது மற்றும் இப்போது போராட்ட களத்தில்
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நாமக்கல் ராமாவரம் நாகராட்சி அரசு நடுநிலைப் பள்ளியில் இரண்டாம் வகுப்பு படித்து வரும் அருந்ததியர் மாணவன் சசிதரனை, பிறசாதி மாணவன் கழித்த மலத்தை அள்ள வைத்து கட்டாயப்படுத்தியுள்ளார் கவுண்டர் சாதியை சேர்ந்த ஆசிரியை விஜயலட்சுமி.
இந்த சாதிவெறி ஆதிக்கத்தை கண்டித்து ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை மற்றும் தீண்டாமை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணி தோழர்கள் போராட்ட களத்தில் உள்ளனர்.
மற்றவன் கழித்த மலத்தை அருந்ததியர் மாணவனை அள்ள வைத்து ரசிக்கும் ஆசிரியரின் சாதிவெறிப் புத்தி, திண்ணியத்தில் வாயில் மலத்தை திணித்த சாதிவெறியர்களின் காட்டுத்தனத்தையும் மிஞ்சிவிட்டது.
இந்த வன்கொடுமைக்கு எதிராக ஆளும் அரசு நடவடிக்கை எடுக்குமா? இல்லை
எப்போதும் போல் ஆதிக்க சாதிகளின் பின்னால் நின்றுகொண்டு வன்கொடுமைகளை ஊக்கப்ப்டுத்துமா?
தீண்டாமை ஒரு பாவச்செயல்!
தீண்ட்டாமை ஒரு பெருங்குற்றம்!!
தீண்டாமை தண்டனைக்குறியது!! என
ஆண்டுக்கு ஒருமுறை உறுதியேற்கும் ஆசிரியரே இப்படி சாதிவெறிப் புத்தியோடு அலைந்தால் படிக்கும் மாணவர்கள் மத்தியில் எந்த அறிவு வளரும்.
தமிழக அரசே! காவல்துறையே!!
=>வன்கொடுமை தடுப்புச்சட்டப்படி சாதிவெறி விஜயலட்சுமி மீது நடவடிக்கை எடு! உடனே கைதுசெய்!
=>ஆசிரியை பதவியிலிருந்து உடனே! பணிநீக்கம் செய்!
=>ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை.
13.11.2015
https://www.facebook.com/veeraarunthathiyan
ஆசிரியை விஜயலட்சுமி கைது. """""""""""" நாமக்கல் ராமாவரம் நாகராட்சி அரசு நடுநிலைப் பள்ளியில் இரண்டாம் வகுப்பு படித்து வரும் அருந்ததியர் மாணவன் சசிதரனை, பிறசாதி மாணவன் கழித்த மலத்தை அள்ள வைத்த கவுண்டர் சாதியை சேர்ந்த ஆசிரியை விஜயலட்சுமி. ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை தோழர்களின் போராட்டத்தின் காரணமாக தற்போது கைது. பணியிடைநிக்கம் செய்யப்பட்டார்.
'அய்யா' அதியமான் அறிக்கை "'"''''''''''''''''’'"""'' அருந்ததியர் மக்கள் மீது தொடரும் பள்ளர்சாதி வெறியாட்டத்தை ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை வன்மையாக கண்டிக்கின்றது. """""""""""""""""""""""""""" மதுரை மாவட்டம் மேற்கு ஒன்றியத்திற்கு உட்பட்ட அலங்காநல்லூர் அதலை அருகில் உள்ள பட்டக்குறிச்சி கிராமத்தை சேர்ந்த புதியதமிழகம் கட்சியின் ஆதரவாளர் ராஜா என்பவர். பள்ளர்சாதி வெறியோடு பக்கத்து ஊர் புதூரை சேர்ந்த பள்ளர்களையும் ஒன்று திரட்டிக்கொண்டு அருந்ததியர் மக்கள் மீது வன்முறை கொலை வெறியாட்டம் நடத்தியுள்ளார். இந்த வன்செயலை ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை வன்மையாக கண்டிக்கின்றது.
25 குடுப்பங்களே உள்ள அருந்ததியர் மக்களை பட்டக்குறிச்சி மற்றும் புதூரை சேர்ந்த பள்ளர்கள் கும்பலாக ஒன்று கூடி கொடிய ஆயுதங்களுடன் கொடூரத்தாக்குதல் நடத்தியதில் 3 பெண்கள் உட்பட 9 பேர் மண்டை, கை கால்கள் உடைபட்டு தற்போது மதுரை அரசு மருத்துவக்கல்லூரி மருத்துவமனையில் தீவிர சிகிச்சை பெற்று வருகின்றனர்.
நாடெங்கும் நடந்தேறும் ஆதிக்க சாதிவெறியர்களின் சாதிஆதிக்க வெறியாட்டங்களை கண்டித்து, தலித்மக்கள் ஒன்றுசேர்ந்து தொடர் போராட்டங்களை நடத்தி கொண்டிருக்கும் சூழலில், அருந்ததியர் மக்கள் மீது பள்ளர்களும் பறையர்களும் நடத்திடும் வன்முறை வெறியாட்டங்கள் மிகவும் ஆபத்தான விளைவுகளை ஏற்படுத்தி தலித் ஒற்றுமையை கேள்விக்குறியாக்கி கொண்டிருக்கின்றது.
பரமக்குடி துப்பாக்கி சூடு, தாமிரபரணி படுகொலை, கொடியங்குளம் சொத்துக்கள் சூறை, புளியங்குடி கழுத்தறுப்பு, என நடந்தேறிய பள்ளர்கள் மீதான வன்செயல்களுக்கு எதிரான போராட்ட களத்தில் பள்ளர்களுக்கு துணையாக நின்ற அருந்ததியர் மக்கள் மீது பள்ளர்கள் காட்டும் சாதிவெறி போக்கு மிகவும் வேதனையளிப்பதாக உள்ளது.
மத்தியில் ஆளும் மதவாத பாரதிய ஜனதா கட்சியின் மதவெறி, சாதிவெறி சதிக்கு வழு சேர்க்கின்ற விதமாக, தலித்துகளில் இருந்து விடுபட்டு பிற்பட்டோர் பட்டியலில் இணைக்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்ற, ஒரு சில பள்ளர்சாதி தலைவர்களின் முயற்சியின் காரணமாக பாஜக தலைவர் அமிக்சா பங்கேற்ற மதுரை மாநாட்டின் எதிரொளியாக இது போன்ற சம்பவங்கள் நடந்தேறுகிறதோ! என்ற சந்தேகம் நமக்குள் எழத்தான் செய்கின்றது.
மதவெறியும் சாதிவெறியும் மட்டுப்பட்டு கிடந்த பெரியார் பிறந்த தமிழக மண்ணில் ஆங்காங்கே தலைதூக்கும் ஆதிக்க சாதிவெறியர்களின் வன்கொடுமை கொலை வெறியாட்டங்களை போல் பள்ளர், பறையர் சாதியினரும் காட்டும் சாதி வெறியாட்டம் சங்பரிவார அமைப்புகளின் சதிக்கு துணை போவதாக அமைந்துவிடும்.
அருந்ததியர் மக்கள் மீது பள்ளர் சாதிவெறியர்கள் நடத்திய சாதிவெறியாட்டத்தை சமூகநீதி பார்வையுள்ள தலித் தலைவர்கள் கண்டிக்காமல்! கண்டும் காணாமல் விடுவது மதவாத சாதிய சக்திகளுக்கு சாதகமாக அமைந்து தலித் ஒற்றுமை சிதைத்து விடும் என்பதே நமது கவலை.
எனவே அருந்ததியர் மக்கள் மீது கொலைவெறி தாக்குதல் நடத்திய பள்ளர் சாதிவெறியர்களை தனிமைபடுத்தி அவர்களை தண்டணைக்கு உட்படுத்துவதற்கு தலித் இயக்க தலைவர்கள் முன்வரவேண்டும். அப்போதுதான் தலித் ஒற்றுமை வழுப்பட்டு சமூகநீதி கோரிக்கையை வென்றெக்கும் போராட்ட களத்தில் வெற்றி காணமுடியும், என தோழமையுடன் தலித் இயக்க தலைவர்களை கேட்டு கொள்கிறேன்.
அருந்ததியர் மக்கள் மீது கொலைவெறி தாக்குதல் நடத்திய ராஜா தலைமையிலான பள்ளர்சாதி வெறியர்கள் அனவரையும் உடனே கைது செய்ய வேண்டும் எனவும், அருந்ததியர் மக்களுக்கு உரிய பாதுகாப்பு வழங்கிட வேண்டுமெனவும் தமிழக அரசைக் கேட்டுக்கொள்வதோடு காவல்துறை உயர் அதிகாரிகளின் நேரடி விசாரணைக்கு உட்படுத்தி நடவடிக்கை மேற்கொள்ளவேண்டும் என ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறது.
திண்டுக்கல் வேடசந்தூரில் அருந்ததியர் இளைஞர் மீது பறையர் சாதிவெறியர்கள் நடத்திய கொலை வெறித்தாக்குதலை
ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை வன்மையாகக் கண்டிக்கின்றது.
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21.10.15 அன்று திண்டுக்கல் மாவட்டம் வேடசந்தூர் அருகில் உள்ள வெட்டல்நாயக்கன் பட்டியை சேர்ந்த அருந்ததியர் இளைஞர் பாலமுருகன் என்வருக்கும் பறையர் சாதிப்பெண் நதியா என்பவருக்கும் காதல் மணம் முடித்து வைத்த தமிழ்ப்புலிகள் அமைப்பின் மாவட்ட செயலாளர் போஸ் என்ற அருந்ததியர் இளைஞரை
வி.சி.கட்சியின் இளம்சிறுத்தைகள் எழுச்சி பாசறை மாவட்ட அமைப்பாளர் பிரபாகரன், புரட்சிப்பாரதம் மாவட்ட செயலாளர் கலைச்செல்வன், ஏர்போர்ட்.மூர்த்தியின் பறையர் பேரவை இயக்க பொறுப்பாளர் பாக்கியராஜ்,
மற்றும் விடுதலைச்சிறுத்தைகள் கட்சியை சார்ந்த அமல்ராஜ், பெரிய.பழனிச்சாமி, சின்ன.பழனிச்சாமி, எஸ்.பழனிசாமி, வேளாங்கண்ணி, முருகன், தன்ராஜ் ஆகிய பறையர் சாதி வெறியர்கள் ஒன்று சேர்ந்து கொலை செய்யும் நோக்கத்தோடு கொடூரமாக அரிவாளால் வெட்டி கொலைவெறித் தாக்குதல் நடத்தியுள்ளனர்.
இந்த வன்செயலை வன்மையாக கண்டிப்பதோடு அனைவரையும் கொலை முயற்சி வழக்கில் கைது செய்து சிறையில் அடைக்கவேண்டும், அருந்ததியர் மக்களுக்கு உரிய பாதுகாப்பு வழங்கிட வேண்டும் என தமிழக காவல்துறையை ஆதித்தமிழர் பேரவை கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறது.
காதல் திருமணத்திற்கு எதிராக சாதி இந்துக்களால் ஏவப்பட்ட குடிசைகள் எரிப்பு மற்றும் கோரப்படுகொலைகள்! இளவரசன் தொடங்கி கோகுல்ராஜ் வரை நீளும் அநாகரீகமான வன்செயல்களை கண்டித்து நாம் அனைவரும் ஒன்று சேர்ந்து ஒருபுறம் போராட்டங்களை நடத்திகொண்டிருக்கும் சூழலில்
விழுப்புரம் கச்சிராபாளயம் அருகே உள்ள கரடிச்சித்தூரில் பறையர் சாதிப்பெண் பரிமளா என்பவரை அருந்ததியர் இளைஞன் வீரன் என்பவர் காதலித்து இருவரும் ஊரைவிட்டு ஓடிப்போன காரணத்தால் பறையர் சாதிவெறியர்கள் அருந்ததியர் பெண்கள் நான்குபேரை மந்தையில் நிறுத்தி மனபங்கப்படுத்தி 19.வயது வெள்ளயம்மாள் என்பவரை படுகொலை செய்து 17.வயது நதியாவை மனநோயாளியாக்கியுள்ளது,
அதே விழுப்புரம் கண்டமங்கலம் அருகே உள்ள பள்ளிநேயனூரை சேர்ந்த பறையர் சாதிப்பெண் கோகிலா என்பவரை அருந்ததியர் சாதிஇளைஞன் கார்த்திகேயன் என்பவர் காதலித்து மணம் முடித்த காரணத்தால் சொந்த சாதி கோகிலாவை கௌரவப்படுகொலை செய்தது,
தேனி சின்னமனூர் ஒன்றியம் காமாட்சிபுரம் பகுதியை சேர்ந்த 11.வயது அருந்ததியர் சிறுமி நந்தினியை மூன்று பறையர் சாதி இளைஞர்கள் பாலியல் வன்புணர்ச்சிக்கு உள்ளாக்கி படுகொலை செய்து, தனது பறையர் சாதித்திமிரை காட்டியது,
என நமக்கு தெரிந்த வகையில் அருந்ததியர் மக்கள் மீது இதுவரை பத்துக்கும் மேற்பட்ட வன்செயல்களை பறையர் சாதி வெறியர்கள் அருந்ததியர் மக்கள் மீது கட்டவிழ்த்து விட்டுள்ளனர்.
அப்பேற்பட்ட வன்கொடுமைகளை கண்டிக்க வேண்டிய தலித் அமைப்பின் தலைவர்களும் பிற ஜனநாய சக்திகளும் தலித் ஒற்றுமை சிதையக்கூடாது என கண்டும் காணாமலும் விட்டதன் விளைவுதான் இப்போது வேடசந்தூர் அருந்ததியர் இளைஞர் மீதான பாய்ச்சல்
காதல் திருமணத்திற்கு எதிராகவும், தலித் மக்கள் மீது ஏவப்படும் சாதிஇந்துக்களின் வன்செயல்களையும் கண்டித்து நாம் அனைவரும் ஒருபுறம் போராடிக் கொண்டிருக்கையில், அம்பேத்கரின் கொள்கை வழியில் இயக்கம் நடத்தும் தலித் அமைப்புகளின் நிர்வாகிகளே இப்படிப்பட்ட வன்செயல்களில் ஈடுபடுவதுதான் நமக்கு மிகவும் கவலையளிக்கின்றது.
ஈழப்பிரச்சினையில் எவ்வளவோ அக்கரைகாட்டும் இவர்கள்! இதற்கு என்ன சொல்லப்போகிறார்கள்? அரியானா ஃபரிபாத் மாவட்டம் சன்பேத் கிராமத்தில் ராஜ்புத் என்ற சாதிவெறியர்களால் இரண்டு தலித் குழந்தைகள் வீட்டோடு பெட்ரோல் ஊற்றி எரித்து கொலை செய்யப்பட்ட சம்பவத்திற்கு
"நாய்கள்" மீது யாரோ கல்லெறிந்தால் அரசாங்கம் எப்படி பொறுப்பேற்க முடியும்! என திமிரோடு பேசிய மத்திய அமைச்சர் வி.கே.சிங் கூறியது போல, இவர்களும் சொல்லிவிட்டு ஒதுங்கிகொள்ள போகின்றார்களா? இல்லை சொந்த சாதி உணர்வை தாண்டி நடவடிக்கையில் இறங்க போகிறார்களா? என்ற கேள்விகள்தான் நமக்கு எழுகிறது.
அருந்ததியர் இளைஞர் மீது பறையர் சாதி வெறியோடு கொலைவெறித் தாக்குதல் நடத்திய விடுதலை சிறுத்தைகள் கட்சியின் பொறுப்பாளர்கள் மீது சட்டப்படியும், கட்சிக் கட்டுப்பாட்டின் அடிப்படையிலும் உரிய நடவடிக்கை எடுப்பார் தோழர் திருமாவளவன் என நம்புகின்றோம். அதன் மூலம் தலித் ஒற்றுமை சிதையக்கூடாது எனவும் எதிர்பார்க்கின்றோம்.
Duddu Prabhakar narrates the story of Tsundur dalit massacre.
8 dalits were massacres. Dead bodies were found after four days, in a gunny
back. Mandru Ramesh's brother Parshodrao died of heart attack seeing the dead
body and this was nineth death. Anil Babu a main witness to the Reddy's
massacre was shot dead by the police during the hunger strike. The 11th death, a vehicle ran over a women
protester in Delhi. Dr. Ravi who postmortem the body, spoke that do people kill
this horribly and he hanged himself. Dr.
Ravi died after weeping for two days over the killing dalits. Actually the
gunny back which was found after four days had number of maggot. The body in
the gunny back were chopped into pieces and once the back was open the maggot
started spreading across the postmortem room.
Police prepared charge sheet after a big movement, 219
members were charge sheeted. 20 members died during the trial, and dalits have
been pointing out 7 main accused in the massacre. Till now there is no charge
sheet on them or even arrested. The court showed some lame excuse, example the
calling name and the real name in the governmental record are different,
showing this the police removed the main accused from the charge sheet.
On 2004 December 1 the court hearing started on 189 accused.
89 witnesses were questioned and all dalits gave witness and clearly pointed
out each person in the court and told the role played by them in massacring
dalits. On 116 members there are witnesses, and all of us thought every one
will be punished. On the contrary the court sentenced on 89 members life
sentence and on 35 members one year imprisonment.
Hence Dalits appealed in High Court, while Government and
the accused also appealed. Dalits
appealed as the special court was set up under POA act, the court proceedings
were under POA act, but the Judgment was not given under this particular act.
And also dalits appealed to strengthened the sentences to the 35 members. Sixty nine were released stating there were no
witnesses, dalits argued we have witnesses for sixty nine members also.IPC 149 [3
02. Punishment for murder.—Whoever commits murder shall be
punished with death, or 1[imprisonment for life], and shall also be liable to
fine.] Totally 8 appeals were filed in AP High Court.
The appeal was taken on Feburary 13th 2014. There was no
argument in the case, it was only litigation. The accused side version was said
in 4 days, the prosecution told their views in another four days. Only 8 days the Judgment is delivered. We
thought the released would also get sentence but High Court 4th Bench Yella
Narashima Reddy bench along with Jaiswal.
The entire case was dealt by Yella Narashima Reddy.
When the case came to Yella Narashima Reddy, Special Public
Prosecutor Bojja Tharakam [recently was
under medication for brain tumor] The day the hearing started Tharakam said as
he is still recovering from illness, he needs a week to study the case. The
Judge said no and further stated that for how many years the accused should be
behind bars. He said there is no time for you, tomorrow the court will start
its proceedings.
The Public prosecutor said listen to all appeal and then
give judgment as all appeals are related to the same case. The Judge said we
will only listen to accused peoples appeal and give judgment then whatever you
want to do. Again the Judge said How many innocents are there as accused [in
Tsundur dalit massacre] should all these spend their life in Jail or even rust
in Jail. The witness, activists all got a sense that the Judge will not be fair
with the case, and the witness said they don’t have faith on the bench and we
feel you would give judgment in favor of reddys. The pleaders asked to transfer
the case to another bench.
Yella Narashima Reddy got angry immediately and said you
doubt the judiciary. At this moment it is important to know some more facts in
relation to Tsundur.
In Tsundur Trail court there were five Judges. The first
person Balayogi, Bhasavaiya, Prabhakar, Satyanarayana, and Hanis, Balayogi [Mala dalit]was the first person
appointed, and went to see the court. The accused claimed if he is the Judge we
wont get fair judgment and through political parties transferred him from the
court. Even not for a day Balayogi heard the case. Bhasavaiya from Kamma community came as Judge
to the special court and heard around 82 witnesses and left. Next D. Prabhakar
Rao was appointed as Judge, the accused party approached the AP High Court
stating Prabhakar Rao is a Mala and he would give Judgment in favor of Malas'
hence transfer him for the Special Court.
The High Court called Prabhakar Rao and asked, Prabhakar
said I Myself humiliated, if I am a mala cant I give judgment in a court. Cant
I hear Reddies case? You do whatever you want to do sir told the High Court and
the trial was going on in the Special Court. The accused party whatever gave in
High Court gave the same document stating him not to hear the case. And the
accused party asked him to leave the court. The letter was signed by 189
accused and produced through their lawyer.
Therefore two times a dalit judge was removed from hearing
the Reddies atrocities. Then no judge in the AP High Court said this is
contempt of court or didn’t anyone see this has a humiliation to a dalit judge.
None spoke anything.
But in present case the innocent dalits are not saying the
you are Reddy therefore you might give a judgment in favor of them. They said
you are not hearing all the appeals rather focusing one appeal will not give
justice to us. For this Dalits received 'contempt of court'. The appeal was
made by the witness who lost two of his family members in front of his eyes,
and he felt he would get justice in lower court, then he felt higher court.
Yella Narashima Reddy wrote a contempt of court as though removing the public
prosecutor from the profession.
Later Yella Narashima Reddy wrote four page judgment in a
hurry and gave a judgment and released all of them immediately. In the history
of AP High Court if a affected party says they don’t have confidence in the
bench, they were usually changed to another bench.
The judgment is so vague, that the Judge has added four
names, when it was only three people committed the crime. He [yella Narashima
Reddy] wrote Jagadhi Jallaiya, D1, D2, and D3. D1: Jalathi Immanuel, D2:
Jalathi Mathaiya, D3: Malli Subbharao, But he wrote four names…..
He has been associted with the case since the beginning, and
he was there in the entire case in the lower court, assisting the witness etc. At
present leading the Lakshmipeta massacre case.
In the early 2000's, your movies were very popular while
those of mainstream heroes were flops. At that time, the government places
several restrictions on your movies. What is your response to that?
Even I have watched the movies of these big stars. They have
the just as much "glamour" scenes. However, they have termed only my
movies as soft porn, A-film, Shakeela movies, bit movies, etc. That is because
Kerala, in particular, is a male dominated society. Therefore, their domination
is very evident. Men are given preference. Even if girls study well, they are
never encouraged. In such a place, can they accept a woman from another state
achieving such high status? Yes, it true. There were several problems.
Do you see any change in laws and regulations after your
entry into cinema?
Nothing like that. After I came out, people started saying
there are no such movies and that the Censor Board won't allow such movies.
However, I still see them running. So, it is not that I changed anything.
Even in the older movies, there were scenes which were
sexually explicit. However, after a point, the government started certifying
certain movies as B-grade. How can we make sense of this differentiation?
I'll tell you something... The reason is what I told you earlier.
It is a male dominated place. And it is the same dominant male audience which
watched my movies. That's where I first gained fame and stardom. But for the
outer world, they appear to be progressive and educated. So if you think about
it deeply, you understand that it is there that I became popular. But if you
want to differentiate, I could only say
that in whatever I do, I want to be number one. Whatever it may be.
ABOUT BEING INVITED FOR FILM AWARDS AND PUBLIC FUNCTIONS
For these events, everyone comes. But I have to stand alone.
By alone I mean, I have my own world, and I stand as the star in that world.
For this reason, or for some other, no one ever invited me to any function or
film festivals. I was never considered for any awards.
How are you represented in TV channels, tabloids and film
magazines? How do you think the society views you?
Everybody has both good and bad sides. Like that, a person
who rejects me would certainly have enjoyed watching my movies. Any person who
pretends not to know me at all would have been eyeing me for some time. First
of all, I am not a person who socialized much. I just stick to my house, my
family and my job. I do not go out much, and so do not know much about how
people approach me.
In an interview with Times of India, you mentioned that, in
the2000's when you were a star, you never knew how much profit your films made.
By the time you found this out, it was already too late. How do you view this
in retrospect?
People usually claim that I didn't have proper
guidance to select the right movies, and unwittingly ended up taking these
movies. But, if everyone wants to act in "good" movies, who will act
in these kind of movies? They had written all this, but I don't subscribe to
that. Of course, there is a lot I have to learn. I still identify myself as one
among you. I do not like to show off my star value as a celebrity. That I still
have not learnt.
What is the current position of women in the film industry?
It is just as usual. Nothing has changed. There is something
I appreciate about present-day actresses. They just come for a short time, mint
money and walk out. They get settled with their family, and they plan it all
out properly. In my time, all these were not there. There was so much of
responsibility. Looking after my parents, taking care of my siblings, this and
that. Now, there is nothing like that. "See, you are educated. I have come
to act in cinemas to make money and get settled." They are very clear.
During the 2000's, a lot of political parties attempted to
ban your movies. The state government implemented rules and regulations to curb
their circulation. Who stood by you during this period? Did any women's
organization support you?
No one stood by me. Neither women's organizations, nor men's
organizations. No one supported me. You have to understand one thing. Tickets...
Tax... When my movies were running house-full, there were taxes for even Rs. 10
tickets. So, the government was actually making money out of me again. Even the
government. When they were demanding
that my movies be banned, that may be because of pressure from other mainstream
movie stars. But I heard about this just the same way you did. No single hero
called and informed me personally. That's the only truth. Now there are a
thousand versions of that story. But, that is all that happened in 2000. I got
to know things by hearsay. No one approached me directly.
Next, from the government's side, there are lots of faults
in censorship. So, even while shooting, when I get one-hours breaks, I would
listen to stories. Depending on these stories, I would accept the roles. The
shooting will be based on these stories themselves. To speak frankly, I was at
a shooting near the airport, at Jyothi theatre. I took a lot of effort to play
that character. I played the role of a priestess. So when the posters came out,
I asked the make-up man to go watch the
movie as I had taken a lot of effort in playing the role. After the movie, he
seemed quite disturbed. He wouldn't speak to me till evening. When I asked him,
he told me, "It's nothing. There is only one scene in which you shown in
that dress. After that, there are merely women appearing naked."
That day, everything in my life changed. There was a shoot
in the morning. After packing up and leaving by 6 in the evening, I called the
press myself. I told them that I will not act in Malayalam films any longer. I
returned the advance for 23 upcoming movies the next day itself. It is just
that I do not have time to watch my movies. If I had, I would surely watch all
of them. It was only later that I heard that bit reels with visuals of naked
women were inserted into my films.
Who should I blame now? Should I blame the government? The
heroes? The directors who made the movies? Or the people who watched them? Everyone
is responsible for this.
Adult films were marketed in Kerala using your face. You
were heavily exploited. However, you were never aware of your payscale. By the
time you figured this out, everything was over.
Those days, I had a manager to took care of my appointments.
I hardly had time to visit home even. It was a big thing to meet my mother once
a week. After I left the Malayalam film industry, I asked my mother how much
money she had left. She told me that my sister had taken all the money, and
there was nothing left. What can one do after that? It was only then that I
checked how much I earned each day and how much my callsheet was. Only then did
I realize that night shift was paid separately. I realized it only six years
back. It was my fault that I didn't save anything.
Looking back, how do you find your life?
Everyone asks me a question: "Do you regret doing such
movies?" In any magazine, that would be the first question. I certainly do
not feel any regret at all. You might remember any other artist by a certain
role they played in certain movies. But who doesn't know Shakeela? So no
regret. They were all happy moments. I got fooled out of my money purely by my
fault. I trusted them, that's all. Apart from that, my experience and the work
I did was all fun for me. It all worked out happily for me.
There is this case against me. Someone had watched a movie
in a theatre in Tirunelveli. I told them that I have acted in
"glamourous" roles in all my movies, not this alone. So why is there
a Censor Board? A movie is released only after it is passed by the Censor
Board. Why should a case be filed on me? I agree that I act in
"glamourous" roles. That case lasted for eight years. I had to go to
Tirunelveli twice a year. I plan it out as a trip. There was one hour's work at
the Court. After that, I would drop by to Kodaikanal. Otherwise, I would go to Ooty. It was like a jolly trip. At that
time, I had wear a burqa. The first I went to Court, I didn't wear a burqa or anything.
I was just wearing some dress. But there was a big crowd. So the next time, so
that people would not recognize me, I went wearing a burqa. Now, there is a problem.
They said that I reveal my body in movies, but come to court wearing a burqa. All
of us - Shakeela, Roja, Bhuvaneswari... To that, I answered that Roja and
Bhuvaneswari are Hindus. You can oppose them wearing burqas. But I, being a
Muslim, wear a burqa, and so does my family. How can it be a problem when I
wear a burqa? I am not involved in money laundering or any other business. But
now I am forced to go and come just because some jobless guy filed a case for time-pass.
So it became a huge problem - wearing a burqa. Let them say what they want. I
shall continue wearing a burqa and take things as they come.
There are several women's groups in Tamil Nadu. How are your
interactions with them? Also, what was your reaction to the recent Delhi rape?
All these feminist groups who talk about women's
issues are a bunch of jobless people. You first claim your rights at home, from
your husband. You have 100 percent right for that. If you go and ask some
random man for your rights, where is the sense in that? First you prove
yourself. Look at Kalpana Chawla. She achieved something. First, do something
of that sort. Instead of that, you keep clamouring for your rights. I do not
understand why they do this. It is all our choice. "If you have a problem
with your husband, you are leaving him and going away." It is like that. You
marry someone within a "patriarchal" society and ask him to change, why
would he agree? When it came to the problems I faced as a woman, no one helped
me. I won't ask for help either. I did not face any such issues myself.
They didn't come. It is not that they avoided me, it is just
that I kept to myself. Even if I approached them, what could they have done?
The average woman is oppressed by her husband in her
household...
Why is it so..?
Most f the women you had seen are so...?
It is not like that. All the women I have known are earning,
independent and live according to their wishes. I do not understand who are the
people who claim for these rights. Not for whom, but who is asking rights. Take
me for example, my co-actresses, their mothers, sisters and family are all
living comfortably on their own. Then why are these organizations wasting their
time? When it comes to rape and such matters, they are grave criminal offences.
Why should one waste time with endless litigations. I recently saw on the
Internet how rape cases were more swiftly and seriously dealt with in (I
suppose) UAE. If that's the case, no one
would ever commit rape. Instead, here you know who committed the rape, and
still waste time with filing cases and court hearings. What is the need for all
this?
They say that the film industry has a lot to do with
violence on women.
Why is it so? Otherwise, you won't marry and have a family?
Why do you have to exploit cinema along these lines? As though, you have to
watch a movie to get married. As though, you have to watch a movie before your
first night. So why target movies? How many good messages are there in movies?
You leave all that aside, and say "he raped", "he raped",
and it is all because of cinema.
What are the prospects for aspiring young actresses in the
film industry? Are they extremely vulnerable to exploitation?
It is nothing like that. Compared to Silk Smitha, I never
had her body shape or her beauty. It is a matter of time. You need not have a
great figure. It is all about the time. You need some luck and a bit of talent.
That's all. Apart from that, you can only reach your target if you go through
the right channels. A lot of people,
unwittingly pay money to small companies, who in turn run away with it. Some
companies often ask young actresses to "adjust" with some people. All
that is not required. In my time, how did I enter the film industry? I failed
in tenth standard. What adjustment did I make? Nothing. So you have to go by
the right channels. You should not approach cheap brokers and all.
From Silk Smitha's time to yours, there was a change in the
representation of the female body within films. How did this affect film as a
genre?
That is not what had happened. It is the dress which has
shortened in length and has reached bikini level now.
Why won't these movies be termed B-grade by the Censor
Board?
That is something you should ask. This is something the
general public should ask. Let us, for now, just assume that my films are
indeed B-grade. If someone wears a miniskirt in it, it is considered wrong. It
is marked out by the Censor Board, who would refuse to pass it unless it is
edited out. I think, in the movie Billa, the actresses wear two-piece bikinis. Is
that OK?
What is the reason behind this? Why do they selectively
offer Censor Certificates?
I do not know the reason why.
Even in old MGR movies, you can find clothes which are more
revealing than in recent films.
There was some beauty in it. Even those are clothes worn for
girls. It was beautifully narrated and beautifully shot. It was just revealing
enough to make it sexy by their aesthetic standards. Then my movies came out,
in the middle of which they showed women in the nude. That was one fault. What
I mainly wanted to ask is, when mainstream actresses appear in two-piece bikinis,
how can the Censor Board pass the movie? In so many Hindi and Tamil item songs,
actresses simply wear a bikini and dance along to songs. How are Certificates
given to these movies? You have to ask this. Who am I to ask? Just for this,
you can form an association and ask.
Will you support us?
Sure. I will ask why you discredited my movies while you
allowed these movies to be passed.
So many people might have come to interview you. What do you
think is their main intention in interviewing you?
To sell books about me. That's all. What will you learn
after writing about me? What will you do after knowing me? It is just a
timepass for them. It is timepass for my fans. Unnecessary questions repeated
time and again. How many times I have to answer how I entered the industry!
Even I got bored! You just take another book and check and you will know how I
came. You just take last week's Diwali edition of Kumkumam. You will find how I
entered the industry.
Do they just ask about the industry alone?
They start with that. Then they ask about other women in the
industry. I do not enter into any discussion about other women. For example, I
just talked about women wearing two-piece bikinis. I had decided not to mention
any names, but I ended up dropping them. I am telling you. This is the problem.
They asked me Khushboo said so and so, what is your response. She said what she
wished. What should I say about it? I do not avoid controversies because I am
afraid of them. I will say the truth according to me. I will answer whatever
comes to my mind when you ask a question. Afterwards, if they say I said this
and that, let them do whatever they want.
Murugeshan, of Segudenthali village near Somanur, was a
porter and returning to his village by bus from Somanur to Segundhenthali.
There was a seat vacant and he went to sit, the neighour being a gownder (upper
caste) of the village, sarcastically said "chakkiliyan sits next to me,
the time is changing for worst', Murugeshan replied it’s a government bus and I
am traveling with a ticket. The Gownder replied we will teach you a lesson
after reaching the village.
6 pm after reaching home. Upper Caste Gownders mobilize
their caste and reach Murugeshan’s house and beat him and his pregnant wife,
Karupathaal. A complaint was lodged in Karumanthampati police station, at the beginning
the police did not take the complaint. Murugeshan was sent to Avinashi
government hospital and Karupathal was
sent to Thirupur hospital. The police delayed in registering the case, the
dalit movement protested to arrest the culprit. Around 650 people were
protesting in the main junction. The police arrives to the spot and arrests
482, after taking them to different places they settle them in Thirupur
Anuparpalayam police station. Among them 243 were remanded at 3.a.m. As the
protest continued FIR was lodged and preparation was being made to arrest the
culprit. After four days all those culprits arrested were released on bail.
On 17th November 1999,
After the upper caste violence on dalits, all the villagers have
fled the village for almost two months. All the villagers were ‘rehabilitated’
expect Murugeshan. In a conversation Murugeshan says “what happened to me
should not repeat to any chakkiliyars in western district, and I am not a
coward and I can be happy only if I live in Segundanthali village” and he goes
to his village. As a party we demanded protection to Murugeshan stating the
police did not arrest the main culprit and anytime Murugeshan’s life is in
threat.
On November 16th in the evening around 6.30 P. M
Murugeshan was attacked brutally by Gownders and Police or the ambulance or
rented vehicle did not want to reach the place. No vehicles came to take him to
hospital. However one of the party member take Murugeshan to Police station and
record his statement and was sent to Thirupur government hospital. The next day
around 12 P.M he was confirmed dead. The police immediately conducted post
mortem and buried his body. Then the police arrested only 3 of those who physically
manhandled Murugeshan. After 8 months the court found these 3 guilty, during the
trail the Gownders would thrown the court and that was really intimidating the
victims, and as victims could not gather the support Gownders did with their
money. Many of the activists of Dalit viduthalai Katchi was brided many lakhs
and even the victims family, however none yielded to their wishes. In one
instance these Gownders offered me 15 lakhs only to be away from the court
during the trail. At one time the witness were kidnapped however we got them
back on time to the court. The high court confirmed the judgement of the lower
court. Now they have appealed in the Supreme Court. It was a life sentences. The
main culprits were never arrested, they are santhasing, chinnaswamy,
soundararajan all these are crorepathy. They are the natamay of the village.
Soundarajan is from Congress Party and santhasing is a big businessman and his
brother belongs to congress party
the DU programmes are quite mediocre, for instance please read the article by Thane Richard that appeared in the Hindu which I forwarded. The primary reason of course is that the faculty, I am very sorry to say, are in the large, mediocre (so much for the 'merit' argument of the 'upper' castes - DU faculty are in the large very 'upper' caste, and they are in the large very mediocre!). Students learn very little.
In a globalised world, it is important that students acquire a working knowledge of their subject. For Dalit students, this is even more important because it will be a potent weapon to fight caste discrimination, and also for self-esteem. Ambedkar was so effective because he was superbly competent.
To acquire such a working knowledge in engineering and in medicine, programmes in India, like much of the world, are 4 years long, or even 5. Why is it assumed that subjects such as history and sociology and mathematics and biology can do with 3? In my experience of many years of teaching in India, students are ill prepared after 3 years of a BA or BSc programme to be able to do anything useful.
In many countries 4 years is indeed the norm.
An honours programme is not for every student, but for the more scholarly ones, especially those who plan to do a Ph.D. and join academia. We need Dalit faculy in large numbers in academia, so it is very important that such students prepare themselves well so that they can go to the US or to Europe for a Ph.D.
Hopefully, the proposed 4 year honours programme at DU will better prepare students than the existing 3 year one. Besides, as Tharoor points out (and I hate to be quoting this man), students can finish with 3 years as they have been all these years. Just like students get first class and second class in a BA programme, or some number indicating grade point average, the honours programme is like a super-first class.
The above is about the quality of the programme. The hope is 4 years will have students better prepared.
Now for the issue of discrimination: this must be fought just like the discrimination that already exists in 3 year programmes. How will objecting to a 4 year programme remove the discrimination that in fact already exists?
We must go about fighting discrimination in a serious and structured way. Apart from legal address, which is often time consuming, we must form mentor groups to help Dalit students in many ways: help them settle down in Delhi and in DU, help them focus on their studies by providing a place where students can collectively study, run spoken English classes etc. etc. Insight Foundation already does some of this, such efforts should be strengthened and replicated in every university.
Finally, we must celebrate the fact that SC/ST/OBC students are doing better and better with each passing year, in spite of the tremendous hostility in the system (this hostility will finally decrease when there are enough SC/ST/OBC faculty). At CMI where I work, the highest marks in the entrance exam for the Ph.D. programme this year was obtained by an OBC student. At IIT Bombay, I understand that now there are large numbers of students from the Meena caste. Not long ago, the Meenas were educatonally backward, being ST, but now they are emerging as one of the most highly educated.
I can go on in this fashion, but I fear we keep talking at cross purposes. The article in the Hindu that you forwarded, how does it prove any point except to repeat statements which not I, nor any of the people I have talked to, agree with?
Best wishes. I must get back to work, to improve myself!
Copied and Pasted from Arunthathiyar@googlegroups.com
What is an Indipendent India, still i dont have a clue...
Caste and Gender:
If somebody would ask what are the serious protest was held on Gender, it would be Pub attack, Pink Chaddi Campign, Delhi student Rape etc. These all would only tell us that majority of the responses on issues were basically based in the city. Still it does not mean that all issues of Gender related to cities are addressed. For an example listen to the voice, about how even elite women respond to harassment in university sphere. In the other hand sanitation women cleaning the road at middle of the night, has so much to tell, but no one is ready to hear her. Or even dalit girls in the universities campuses have so much to tell about how general women dominate them and also men, including dalit men. Yes I am also a dalit men and part of that system.
....I dont have a clue of Independent India
If someone says that the problems faced by the elite women are at least addressed, its only dalit and marginalized sections problems are there to be addressed. Not all problems faced by elite women are addressed, and certainly our dalit women, are not even 1% addressed. Take a few minutes to watch about how dalit women is treated. Jogini system in AP. Or even the soni sori. This is what Ms. Asha Kowtal says that One point which differentiate Dalit women from other women? Is the caste system. In other words Ms. Sujatha Surapelly says that Dalit rape is consequences of caste and patriarchy, and on Haryana Rape the political parties openly said its’ consensual and not rape. It was not new in the past too that in a court proceedings in Andhra Pradesh High court one of the judges said its impossible to believe that a single man can rape a woman(tribal) because you as a tribal are well built and you could have stopped the rape but you did not hence its consensual. In other words when I see the present protest in Delhi rape, I am recalled by what Ms. Gogu Shyamala told me earlier that India represents only Brahmins and upper caste men/women, I quote “even if the middle class, upper caste, Brahmin women goes abroad but still she will have the mentality of her men, with caste, therefore she is comfortable with everything… in Karamchedu its Upper caste women who also killed madiga, and dalit women rape is only law and order problem to them”. Therefore keeping every past experiences I only like sumarise the argument as Ms. Anu Ramadass wrote No, we are not going to say why no outrage for the rape and murder of the 8 year old dalit girl in Bihar, and why no outcry for the series of horrifying gang rapes on dalit women by upper caste men in Haryana. Dalit and adivasi girls and women are raped, gang raped, mutilated and murdered all over the country by upper caste men, dominant caste men, men in uniform, and some of them, like women in all communities across castes and classes are raped by their own husbands and other relatives. Rape is not used just as an instrument of violence; it is used to perpetually define both the gender and caste vulnerability of dalit and adivasi women. You see, our battle appears to be different one.
In other words you are common/general people, which according to the state you all are upper caste. Still I support your protest not that because I believe in your utopian world that upper caste women will now have laws to support her. Yes it may for few upper caste women who are politically powerful, because I say this in the experience from the law SC/ST ACT, where its not even implemented. And everyone is asking a metal change in the men’s thought, which has to be in all levels. This one point I stand with you, because dalits have been saying the change of mental of a person on caste can only eradicate the discrimination. And you have been saying laws are there to empower dalit, therefore paid very little attention to think on changing the mental of a person. Now you are realizing it. But should I take it serious that you are going to bring a change in the way men think on women, I am dam sure, you will not, because you castism, hypocrcy, Hindu religious sanctioned discrimination will get hurt if you bring that change, which cannot avoid the debate on Caste, and the contribution of Hindu religion in suppressing the women is the most which you would be very least to touch upon.
None of you are going to address it in near future, it is only angering me day by day that all of your activities are making me separate and reminding me that the “India” is not for the marginalized.
Murugesan (Arunthathiyar Dalit) murdered by Gounders in Covai-Injustice&Atrocities in Tamilnadu 1999
by Mari Muthu on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 3:19pm •
Segudanthali Murugesan was a poor laborer who was killed brutally and unjustly by the upper caste called "Goundars" just because he and his "pregnant" wife sat near the seat where a "gounden" was seated in a public bus. This was regarded a disgrace and an excess by the gounden as an outcaste sat near him. On the same night the enraged "Gounden" went to the house of Murugesan with a mob and looted the house and tortured the family members by verbally and physically abusing them. Even his pregnant wife was not spared the atrocity. Like any other atrocities on out caste people, police were delinquent to take any action. Following the incident ATP took the issue and about 300 ATP members along with other Arunthathiyar organizations conducted a demonstration and were arrested demanding action against the culprits. Following the agitation a police case was registered and it was proceeding in favor of the affected Murugesan.
Segudan Thali Murugesan Veera Vaanakam
The Gounders threatened him to withdraw the case. But Murugesan was undeterred and said to them that it was a matter of the dignity of his people and his untouchable society and refused to withdraw the case. Finally he was brutally beaten and killed on 17th November, 1999 in Coimbatore district Tamil Nadu. Following the killing ATP took action which resulted in life imprisonment for two of the accused. Unfortunately the accused appealed in the high court and were released.
Thus Segudanthali Murugesan sacrificed his life in the fight for self respect of the Arunthathiyar community. This incident was unlike any other atrocity. The raw cruelty and the loss of life in the name of caste were unbearable for ATP. It was a turning point in their functions, as it reinforced the indispensability to the fight against the injustice and atrocities waged against the community. Even to date it reminds the divide and the evil that persists among society in the name of caste.
Last month, a women belonging to arunthathiyar was raped by paraiyar community, in dindugal. The Raped person was backed by Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi District secretary Arasu
Few of dalit dominant community not allowing to give inner reservation to poor dalit-arunthathiyar in tamilnadu, recently one community (thirumavalavan-viduthalai chiruthaigal katchi MP) leader said: I am working fighting for poor dalits- he came to divide the dalit politics apart from his community, he didn't allow anyother poor dalits in his politics, (Thirumavalavan who is the first person against inner reservation long before in tamilnadu). Who fighter for arunthathiyar reservation? Never I can't agree this word, When krishnasamy (another on dominant dalit community politician of puthiya thamilagam MLA) went to fast against reservation at the time, why he didn't raise his voice? what is the reason behind that after two month came to gave the voice???????????
Why this dominant dalit leader are using Ambedkar Photo & not giving equality to poor dalit arunthathiyars????????? Its showing their community face! Community politics! Etc... (its applicable dominant two dalit leaders of tamilnadu=Thirumavalavan MP & Krishansamy MLA.
In kovil patti, subaramaniyapuram area an arunthathiyar (scavenging caste) girl aged 10 was raped by a non Arunthathiyar but dalit (pallar) community
For some time I wanted to write about the Dalit politics in General, however while reading a recent article in EPW, forced me to write as a response to the article. Dalit Political Imagination and Replication in Contemporary Tamil Nadu (EPW, Sep 8,2012)The article generally focuses on the contemporary dalit movements, excluding Arunthathiyar movements in Tamil Nadu. While framing the politics of Dalit movement the article also keeps a strong critique over the Dravidian movements and it says Caste politics continues but because of the Dravidian parties. The article elaborates the way the mainstream parites (AIADMK, DMK) manipulates schemes to woo the voters in large and also it critiques these movement for going opposition to the Periyar’s ideology. The writes seems to have a soft corner to the left movement, however with a critique on the face value of their approach on caste questions. Later part of the article talks about an alliance with the left movement, who atleast have a common agenda. In between the article the writers also take a critical position of the Dalit movements. This point was only to show that they are aware of the critique on Dalit movements in Tamil Nadu.
Dalit movements in India and Tamil Nadu in particular have not seen a greater change of caste of approach of oppression in the contemporary by the Savarnas. Many talk about Melavalavu also the writer points out this and say after a major assertion of Dalit movement in this incident, as a result we don’t find such mass killings. I remember in recent discussion with Duddu Prabhakar of Kula Nirmulana Porata Samithi, that the upper caste or Caste hindus have been changing its way of approach in suppressing Dalit community. These days we would rarely find exclusively upper castes killing dalits rather they use dalits to kill or take their support or the state. The Paramagudi incident is an important factor to this context of using the state to kill Dalits.
Dalits have been historically taking few points of Dr. Ambedkar, which suits them here and there and justify their unjust activities through the same argument. In this the important point we come across the inter-caste marriage and the electoral power. Apart from this Dr.Ambedkar’s ideology prevails only in his books. Even the educated masses don’t care to take his other points seriously. The major problem in the article I find the caste question. We should remember that let it be Dalits, OBC, Adivasis, Muslims, whomever is dominant in that particular region or politics tries to suppress the other. In Tamil Nadu there are so many incidents where fellow Dalit (arunthathiyar) women are raped and the community is treated as untouchables by the fellow ‘dalits’. This I feel a serious blunder the educated dalits and its leaders have been avoiding off. There must be a serious debate on this topic. It is the same reason Caste which prevails among dalits. And we can understand more clearly in G.Aloysius writing that the upper caste, OBC’s movements were largely replicating the dominant rule of Varna system during the nationalist discourse, as a way towards domination. At present I would also argue that it continues to Dalit movements too. While Thirumavalavan is waiting for an alliance with Vanniyars (OBCs) but he may not expect or even the educated dalits may not try to bring the Sub-Caste dalits under one platform. The criticizim on OBC’s especially in Tamil Nadu politics is unjust in my understanding. Because I feel there is no serious engagement with OBC’s, academically. After so many years of education we still find a large number of Dalits used by Upper caste against dalits, it is an act of ignorance. The OBC’s have been recently provided reservation policy and a strong critical engagement with this community is needed rather just terming them as a dominant force.
I feel the educated Dalits are more ‘castists’, take the case of universities, in which universities that all sub-caste dalits see each other equally. When are the dalit academicians and activists going to address such issues.
Also electoral politics without an ideology is nothing but building a house at the seashore. The writers say that in recent clash between two dalit groups(pallar and Pariyar) near Madurai, CPM played the mediating role in the clash. I feel sorry state of dalit politics because its not only one place where different dalit sub-caste have fight there are many, which don’t come to our notices. And the way Arunthathiyars treated by Pallars, and Pariyars is as castist as those the Pariyars accuse off.
Why cant the leaders and educated class among the dalits go for a campaign of inner-caste marriages among dalits, and tell every sub caste that we are equal. But sadly every dalit movement wants to portray their own icon and discuss only theirs as the writers in the article did.
I only see why arunthathiyar politics is completely neglected by these writers.
It also became fashion for many to criticize Dravidian movement and Periyar, its true they deserve it. But if we look into the entire country, dalit movement in Tamil Nadu has a unique character, i.e you cannot find arunthathiyars, or any other dalit movement associated with hindutuva. Its because of Periyar’s legacy, however I don’t reject that Hindutva is present as in any other state.
At last I wanted to end it with saying that if Dr. Ambedkar Cartoon witnessed a massive dalit movement, its because every dalit saw him as their figure, but still dalits don’t see lakshmipeta victims one among them, or Bathani Thola victims or Soni Sori one among them. This is one of the serious challenges dalit movement, activist, academicians have to address.
The original video can be seen in the following link:
The following was translated by Keerti Azad.
You all know the incident that happened here. I do not have to speak much here. Just as pigs and cattle are chased after and killed, the kapus (forward caste) in Lakshmipeta killed 5 malas (dalits). There are about twenty of them in the hospital. You all know this. What should happen now?
We have 5 people.. (audio not clear). What is very surprising here is when you see a woman, you would think that she is a mother who gives birth and is an embodiment of kindness, but here when a mother pierced through the body of a dalit with a barsi (an iron rod with a sharp end) and remarks, “if this mala fellow is killed or not”, what should we say about such a thing! How could we even consider them as humans? We all came here (referring to the dais, where the protest meeting is happening) in such circumstances. What should we do to them? Even police also came here, they are sitting here and there are some more sitting there. As we came, they were asking us who we are. So we told them that there is a meeting and we are going there. But they are not satisfied with that answer. They want to know who we are. They are not capable of finding those people who are responsible for the incident, but they want to catch us and ask these questions. These police fellows who cannot catch Vasudeva Rao ask us who we are (the crowd clasps). Don’t these fellows know where Vasudeva Rao Naidu is? Ask them to tell us that they don’t know where he is. Anyone here, who is a responsible officer, ask him to come here and announce on this stage that they don’t know where this vasudeva rao naidu is and they are unable to trace him. The next morning after you make this announcement, we will find him and hand him over to you. Just tell us that you can’t find him. On 11th where did they meet, what was the conspiracy, in whose house did they meet, what was the plan, who got the bombs, who arranged things, look at their cell phones, you will find everything there. Can’t you even find his cell phone? If you cannot find his cell phone, just announce that you are so incompetent that you cannot find vasudeva rao’s cell phone. We will find his cell phone for you. We will uncover all the details of whom he talked to and who he planned this with.
There are some people who said after the loss of lives that we lost the lives and we will mourn over their death for two days and after three more days, the grief may disappear, but what is it that we want? We want the person who is responsible for this…the one who planned this.
What did they ask? We have our lands, just as you kapus are able to till the lands, we also want to till our lands. We have been tilling our lands for twelve years now. Now you are saying that we should not till the land. This land does not belong to kapus, it belongs to the government. Did those people know this or not, did these police people know this or not, did the revenue people know this or not, did your collector know this or not, did your joint collector know this or not, I don’t know…but that land belongs to the government. That belongs to the collector, that belongs to the reddy down there, but that does not belong to Kapus. Who are these kapus to tell them not to go to that land? What right do they have? They have no right. If they ever had any right that was before and later he sold it away. Now, let us say if anyone sells away his cow and then that cow gives birth to calf and now he comes back and says that both the cow and the calf are his, will we accept it? They sold away the land. Not just selling away the land, but they took some 40 jobs. There is no mala fellow in this village, who got a single job.
I don’t want to speak for more than two minutes. There are others who have to speak here. Why are we saying that we should have that vasu deva rao naidu caught? We are saying that because in the report that was stolen, it was written that he was the conspirator and also responsible for the crime. We call it First Investigation Report. It was there in that. His name was there. Ask these police people to tell us that his name is not there. The convict wrote 45 names and the 46th name was his. Why is it 46th name, why wasn’t it the first name? Why didn’t he write that name first? Who took off that name? Who gave instructions that the name be removed? There are eye witnesses here. It was the minister Kondru Murali, of this area, who called the police asking them why they included vasudeva rao naidu’s name in the report. What should we do to him? Some of you here might be getting angry that I am saying this, but that is the fact. He called personally and intervened to make sure that his name is removed from the list. Why did he do that? What is the relationship between him and Vasudeva Rao? What is the relationship between him and this land? What was the necessity for him to save him? I asked Kondru Murali to issue a statement in the news paper if he is not behind saving vasu deva rao from arrest or covering up his crime. Ask him to issue a statement that he will not prevent his arrest if the police catch him. If vasudeva rao is arrested, avula srinivasa rao will come, if not avula devi fellow will come, if not devi some or the other fellow will come. Why aren’t they coming? What we need today is Vasudeva Rao’s arrest and avula srinivasa rao’s arrest. The others will come automatically, but first arrest these two. Until these two are arrested, this movement will not stop in Srikakulam. Arrest them first. How many people will you stop? You may be police people and you may have pistols etc. But how many people can you stop? First arrest this avula srinivasa rao. He should be punished, if that cannot be done, these police people should resign. Apparently there are three officers who are transferred and those posts are kept in vacancy reserved. It is not about keeping them vacant. There is a law which is known as prevention of atrocities against SCs and STs. If there is an incident like this, one should come immediately and investigate the crime scene. What does the law tell you? It tells you that if such an incident happens, the collector and the SP should go there immediately. But has the collector come? No. Has the SP come? No. First dismiss those two people. It is not about transferring these people. First dismiss them or even suspend them. After suspending them, a case should be launched against them.
You studied law, you made the law. We did not make the law. Act according to that law. Why do you send these SIs and CIs? What happened to the SP and the collector? Whoever did not discharge their duties here…there was a police picketing here until the day. The picketing was withdrawn on 11th night and 12th morning. Why did you withdraw that and who gave those orders? Those fellows should come out. Who did it? Was it the minister? Botsa Satyanarayana (PCC Chief)? The collector? Ask them to tell us who asked them to withdraw and why? You should have an order right? Then tell us.
On that day morning, when they saw a group of people, some body anticipated the trouble and called up the police immediately seeking their help to safeguard their lives. But police did not move. No police fellow moved. Why did you first withdraw the police and after you were told, why did you not move? This should first come to light. You should remember that the movement should be very strong if we want his arrest. Vasudeva Rao is not an ordinary person. He is not just a mandal president. He has a lot of support. He has two horns. We think that only bulls have horns. Even people have horns. One horn is Kondru Murali and the other horn is Botsa Satyanarayana. Until we break those two horns, we will not stop the struggle. We should tell them that it is their responsibility. We should ask them if they will hand vasu to the police or will you step down. So we should just remember that they should be first arrested, the case should be continued and then they should be punished. Until then we should not stop here. After Karamchedu, people thought that nothing will happen, but the court continued, the miscreants were punished. 6 people were sentenced for life and 40-50 people were sentenced for 6-7 years of imprisonment. They went to high court and later to Supreme court also. Supreme court also upheld the orders of the high court. It took 20 years for the punishment, even then finally we made sure they were punished. A supreme court judge asked us why we are still fighting the case when some of them died and some of them became old. He asked us why we can’t leave it. I answered that our people became old and died for generations together facing injustice and this fellow is only one. What about all our people who died? Then the supreme court judge confirmed the punishment. Sundur is also the same. It may be 5 or 10 years. They appealed in the high court, it may go to supreme court. If it does, then we will see. We have our own weapons. We are not going to stop. How long will we stop? Who will stop? You will do this because you have police with you, money with you, courts with you, ministers with you, will you go on killing people like that? These people are all saying go ahead and kill them. Okay let them tell you to kill us, we will see how long this will go on. That is why I am saying until those punishments happen..I am also asking another thing. They took axes and barsis and killed people and one old mother pleaded asking them not to kill her son and they even broke her hands. There was a mother who got water hoping that there is some life in his son and these fellows also broke her hands. What can I say about such people? You killed them and on top of that when the mother is trying to keep the son alive, will you break her hands? Tell me what we should do to such people.
What I am asking is, wherever such ghastly incident took place we should hold a court right here not in the adjoining village. Right here. The blood is still there. Though it happened on 12th, the blood is still there. Blood is there on the doors, clothes, soil and everywhere. So these fellows who killed those people should be convicted right here. There is a third demand that I have and I will stop after that so the others can speak. I told you already, that it is the government land. They are saying that it is ours. You worked on it and now you give it back to us. That’s what they are saying. This 60 acres that the malas are cultivating, they are telling them. “This is not your land, why are you tilling this? This is our kapus land”. Actually 40 acres of those belongs to ….. They are not coming here and they are not claiming their land. Twenty acres of land belongs to Laxmipeta Kapus and they are no longer staying there. Since those kapus are not there, these people are cultivating it. All these 250 acres, according to rules, according to their own G.Os, according to the law, according to SC judgement should belong to the malas in this village. We are not talking about 60 acres. We are talking about all that 250 acres. There is an adjacent village kottipa. The malas and madigas of that village also do not have any lands. Just like the malas of this village, the mala madigas of that village also do not have any lands. Now whoever died here, we will put the biggest share aside for them. People who are injured, a little less, people who are less injured, we will set aside another small share. For those of you who did not get hurt and saved your lives, you will get some share…after all this, there is still some more…there are 250 acres there. If proper assessment is carried out, I don’t know how many hundreds of such acres will come. They will come. All those should come to laxmipeta malas and kottipa malas and madigas. Until that we will not stop anywhere. No one else can claim any rights over this land. They will come here and they will say that we will give you land else where. The CM, he comes here and he says that he will give the land some where far off. But who told you to give the land some where far off. Give us this land. Your courts, your G.Os and rules are all telling you that. But you are saying you will give it somewhere as if you have a huge estate of your father lying vacant there. This is government’s land and you are just a representative of the government. That’s all. Nothing more. Kiran Kumar Reddy, you are just a representative of the government. Today, you are there and tomorrow another CM will come. That fellow may say I will do something else. No nothing doing. The land remains here. CMs can come and go. Chandra babu came and stayed for 9 years and left. YS Rajashekar Reddy came and he went up (died). Kiran kumar came, we don’t even know where he will go tomorrow. But the land remains there. It does not go anywhere. That is why we should take those 250 acres. Just the way how you have divided the 60 acres land, in the same way, the 250 acres have to be divided amongst you by starting a cooperative society. We will all live with that land. Until then, we will have to keep the fight on. Please do not feel bad if I said something wrong. I am not a big leader like shivaji, venkatrao, pentaiah, manda Krishna madiga but Tarakam is an old man and I am older than most of them in age. I therefore tell you that we will work jointly towards the success of this movement. Today I am there and tomorrow, you all are there. We may go tomorrow. I might just die tomorrow, who knows? So what are we to do now? Our aim is to get those vasu and avula and the other criminals to be arrested and put in jail. Next thing is that the government should immediately distribute the 250 acres to all the malas and madigas here. I also request you not to have opinion differences and carry out this fight jointly. Only then, these people (pointing at the photos of the murdered farmers on the stage) who lost their lives for their right for the land will get their due. We will fight until we get all the 250 acres and that will be a fitting tribute to those people. I hope that we will achieve that and I have confidence too. When the dalit movement started in Andhra Pradesh, that may be kanchikacherla, karamchedu, vemparti, chnundur wherever it is and whatever the movement it is, we never lost our battle anywhere and this will be no different and I am very confident about this. So the pledge that we have to take today to pay the respects for these five people and B.R.Ambedkar is to strive until all the persons responsible are arrested and the 250 acres have to be vacated and redistributed. This is the oath that we have to take. Jaihind.
