In a tragic incident, a 16-year-old boy hailing from the Dalit community took his own life in Koppampatti village, Pudukottai district. The reason behind this was the alleged assault and harassment he endured from students belonging to a dominant caste. This torment was apparently due to his interaction with a girl from their community.
The young victim, V. Vishnukumar, was a student in Class XI at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Keeranur. His involvement with a girl from the OBC community had drawn the ire of several dominant caste students, some of whom were his classmates. The Hindu reported that Vishnukumar had been physically attacked, ridiculed, and continually victimised by his peers because of his association with the girl.
A few weeks ago, as reported by News9Live, he was once again subjected to physical violence and subjected to derogatory comments based on his caste. This relentless persecution took a heavy toll on him, leading to his tragic decision to end his own life. His grieving mother, Uma, lodged a police complaint, pointing to caste-based discrimination as a significant factor in her son’s suicide.
Initially, the local police registered a case under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which was later modified to include provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act) and IPC Section 306, relating to abetment of suicide. An autopsy was conducted, and Vishnukumar’s remains were handed over to his family for the final rites.
A 16 year old #Dalit student was seen talking to his classmate who was from the dominant caste near Pudukkottai #Tamilnadu. He was attacked in public by more than ten dominant caste villagers for talking to her .They also humiliated him with caste slurs . At night he committed… https://t.co/nKhvihJHQb
— Shalin Maria Lawrence (@TheBluePen25) November 5, 2023
In the wake of this devastating incident, Vishnukumar’s parents are demanding justice for their son’s untimely death. The case is currently under investigation by the Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Keeranur sub-division.
One of his relative can be heard lamenting “They hit him in the bus, bus stand. They committed caste atrocity. They beat my Krishnakumar. A boy who went to school, they hit him in a government school. They hit him in the school, in the bus stand. Because of caste atrocity, he hanged himself.”
The Pudukottai district unit of the CPI(M) expressed deep distress and dismay regarding the situation. They stated that the young boy fell victim to “caste-based animosity” instigated by his fellow students. They called for a thorough investigation into the matter and the apprehension of the individuals responsible. The CPI(M) urged the state government to provide appropriate compensation to the victim’s family and offer a government job to one of the family members.
This tragic event has elicited widespread outrage, with many seeing it as a product of deeply ingrained caste-based discrimination and animosity. The irony lies in the fact that despite the claims of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government about establishing “social justice” through the Dravidian ideology, caste-based atrocities persist, revealing a failure in achieving the intended social justice goals.
Just a few days ago, a gang of six physically assaulted, stripped, and subjected two Dalit youths to public humiliation as they were returning home after a bath in the Thamirabarani River.
In October 2023, a family belonging to the Scheduled Caste residing in the Vidathilampatti hills within the Manapparai municipality was reported to have been facing threats from a dominant Urali Gounder family. They were subjected to verbal abuse (casteist slurs), urine poured on the son, the house was stoned, assaulted, etc.
How can one forget the Vengaivayal incident, where human waste was discovered dumped in a water tank used by the Dalits in Vengaivayal village of Pudukottai district, or the Nanguneri incident in August 2023 when a Class 12 Scheduled Caste student and his younger sister were brutally assaulted with sickles in their own home.
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