‘Caste camps’
rise of caste-based outfits in the State. Dharmapuri, for instance, was once a stronghold of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–leninist). When the radical movement was active, an amiable social environment existed, a former activist said. Once the movement was decimated, he and other radical activists found refuge in caste-based movements and organisations. These gave way to the caste-based outfits of today. Their rise was aided by the failure of other progressive political movements to fill the vacuum created by the fall of the radical movement.
G. Palanithurai, former professor at the Gandhigram Rural Institute and an expert on Panchayati Raj, said: “The Left’s political isolation started when it began concentrating on electoral rather than social politics. Unlike in the past, the [leftist] parties today are not visible in the people’s movements, small or big, which are taking place across the State on various issues.”
The rise of caste-based outfits and the attempts by a few Dalit groups to lean on right-wing ideology have made life worse for couples who marry out of caste.
Consider the case of a small-time caste leader like Yuvaraj. Accused in the murder of Gokulraj of Omalur in
A FEW caste outfits in Tamil Nadu apparently run clandestine “caste camps” in parts of the western region of the State, especially in districts such as Erode, according to independent reports. The aim is to “discourage and dissuade” girls of a particular backward caste from entering into inter-caste marriages, especially with Dalits.
A few years back, Naveena, who took refuge in the office of the Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK) in Erode, brought to its notice the presence of “shame camps”. DVK founderleader Kolathur Mani said that these camps conducted counselling sessions for girls to dissuade them from marrying outside their caste. The expenditure to run these camps, Mani said, was borne by caste outfits and parents.
He said that the girls were brought to the camps by their parents and sometimes a few local caste-based outfits. “Naveena, who belonged to the Vellala Gounder caste, which gives equal rights to their women in ancestral property, married Periyannan, a Nadar by caste, on July 11, 2016. Soon after, she was abducted and taken to one such camp where she was tortured and asked to respect the principles of purity and honour. She claimed that she was taken to a few other such camps where she saw more girls. She escaped. We dealt with many such cases. The police have to find out whether these caste-based institutions are still operating,” Mani said.
Ilangovan Rajasekaran
Salem for falling in love with a girl from the Vellala Gounder backward caste, he received a rousing welcome in Namakkal town when he came to surrender in a magistrate court in 2011. “Since 2007, around 30 honour crimes have taken place in the western region of Tamil Nadu alone,” Kadir of Evidence said.
On Gokulraj’s murder, Samuel Raj of the TNUEF said: “Neither the girl’s parents nor her relatives were said to be involved in the crime. It was an obscure smalltime caste outfit that usurped the issue and allegedly murdered Gokulraj for the sake of caste honour. It is a very dangerous trend that strikes a parallel with the extrajudicial executions sanctioned by khap panchayats in the northern States.”
The murder prompted the TNUEF to padayatra across Tamil Nadu to spread among the people against such crimes.
Samuel Raj said that the communities the victims belong to played a dangerous role in deciding their fate. For instance, in the murders of Nandish and Swathi, Swathi’s father had told the police that his family was subjected to ridicule in the village because his daughter had married a Dalit. “Nandish was reluctant to marry Swathi. But on the insistence of the girl, the youth’s father, Narayanappa, approached Srinivasan to seek his permission for the marriage. But he was turned away. Swathi left her house and stayed at Nandish’s house. Although the family wished to keep away from the couple, society chose not to,” Samuel Raj said.
The State government has set up a high-powered vigilance committee to look into issues relating to Dalits and tribal people, but the clout that caste groups enjoy has ensured that the committee is virtually irrelevant.
There is also a separate social justice wing of the Tamil Nadu Police headed by an officer in the rank of Additional Director General of Police that monitors acts of atrocities and discrimination against Dalits and tribal people. But Dalit activists are not happy with its performance either.
Activists also accused the State government of placing procedural hurdles before inter-caste couples who apply for the Central government assistance of Rs.2.5 lakh under the Dr Ambedkar Scheme for Social Integration of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. take out a awareness