On 30 July 2024, two students at the Government Higher Secondary School in Valliyoor, Tirunelveli, were injured in a caste-related altercation. The conflict was sparked by derogatory remarks about a specific caste that were found written on a toilet wall at the school.
According to reports, the clash involved students from the Backward Class and Scheduled Caste communities in the Valliyoor school. Members of one group made offensive comments about the other group by scrawling caste names on the toilet walls. This act provoked a heated argument, which escalated into physical violence between students from Classes 11th and 12th. The police, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police R Yogesh Kumar, swiftly arrived at the scene and began an investigation.
Investigations noted that ten students from each group involved in the clash would be presented to the Juvenile Justice Board for counselling and guidance.
This incident follows a previous case in which SC students from Nanguneri, enrolled in a government-aided school in Valliyoor, were attacked by students from a dominant caste last year after they reported caste-based discrimination to the school headmaster.
At least five government schools have experienced similar caste-related conflicts since the beginning of this academic year. In response, District Collector K P Karthikeyan recommended transferring teachers with casteist attitudes or criminal records. However, this recommendation was reportedly delayed after members of the All-Teachers Federation Organisation met with Assembly Speaker M Appavu, who intervened with School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi to oppose the transfers.
CPM district secretary K Sriram has called on the state government to establish district, taluk, and school-level committees involving activists, students, teachers, and parents to foster student social harmony. He also emphasised the need to implement the recommendations of the K Chandru committee and enforce strict penalties against casteist teachers, urging immediate action on Karthikeyan’s recommendations.
Previously, at the end of the academic year in 2023, Periyar Government Higher Secondary School students in Cheranmahadevi, Tirunelveli District, attacked students from a nearby private polytechnic college over caste issues. This conflict at Kalakadu school saw one student being stabbed and requiring medical attention. Additionally, the death of a prominent student at Pallakal Pudukkudi Government School near Pappakkudi left a profound impact. The ongoing caste-based violence at Gangai Kondan Government Higher Secondary School highlights the deep-rooted influence of caste prejudices among students.
This incident followed a tragic attack in August 2023, where three students from a dominant caste assaulted a Scheduled Caste teenager and his sister in Nanguneri. The recent violence has resulted in injuries and hospitalisations, further shocking the community.
Further, on 1 July 2024, another instance of caste-based pride sparked a clash among 12th-grade students at Rosalind Chelliah Government Higher Secondary School in Maruthakulam village, Nanguneri, Tirunelveli.
(With inputs from TNIE)
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