manjolai massacre – The Commune

“These Are Citizens, Not Squatters”: Puthiya Tamilagam Chief Krishnasamy Slams DMK Govt For Forcing Out Manjolai Workers Despite Lease Till 2028

The Commune — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 06:51:13 +0000

Puthiya Tamilagam Party leader Dr. K. Krishnasamy has accused the Tamil Nadu government of pressuring tea estate workers in Manjolai to vacate their homes by cutting off essential services. He claimed that over 350 families still live in the area and commute to the plains for work. Dr. Krishnasamy made these remarks while attending the 26th anniversary of the Manjolai labor massacre, where he paid tribute to the victims by offering flowers in the Thamirabarani River.

தேயிலை தோட்டத் தொழிலாளர்களின் உரிமைகளுக்காக போராடி உயிர்நீத்த 17 போராளிகளின் 26-ஆம் ஆண்டு நினைவு நாளை முன்னிட்டு தாமிரபரணி ஆற்றில் வீரவணக்கம் செலுத்திய போது.#தாமிரபரணி_படுகொலை pic.twitter.com/FKmrmeqqns

— Dr K Krishnasamy (@DrKrishnasamy) July 23, 2025

Addressing the media, he condemned the alleged violence against those protesting for land and human rights in Tirunelveli. He also revealed that a formal request had been made to allocate land near the river to build a memorial for those who lost their lives during the protest. “We are willing to construct the memorial with our own resources, but the government has yet to grant permission,” he said.

Dr. K. Krishnasamy claimed that the state is pushing out Manjolai residents prematurely despite their right to remain until 2028 by denying them essential amenities such as clean drinking water. In response, his party has taken the matter to the Supreme Court, where the case is currently pending.

Dr. K. Krishnasamy said, “They are entitled to rights under the 2006 Forest Rights Act, but the Tamil Nadu government is blindly claiming the act doesn’t apply to them. However, according to the 2006 Forest Rights Act, if a person has lived in a hilly area for over 25-30 years, that’s enough. They could even be a government employee working 100 kilometers away; as long as they’ve lived within the forest area, the law mandates they be granted residence there under the Forest Rights Act. But this government is turning a blind eye. I’ve argued this point at the High Court over ten times, and we even went to the Supreme Court, where the case is still pending. In the interim, we’ve lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission.”

He added, “These people deserve basic rights, even setting aside land allocation for a moment. First and foremost, they are citizens of this state, and it’s the government’s responsibility to provide them with drinking water. This government was elected by these very people; you are not separate from them. While air comes naturally, the government has a responsibility to provide drinking water, electricity, transportation, and telecommunication facilities. Similarly, they should provide education and healthcare. Instead, they have slowly dismantled all these facilities, demolishing schools and closing hospitals. Furthermore, there is no legal provision in any law to evict the workers here before the 2028 agreement with BBTC expires.”

Dr. K. Krishnasamy accused Chief Minister M.K. Stalin of perpetuating injustice and warned that history will not forget such actions. He said, “They have every right to live there and every right to access all necessary facilities. Despite this, the son of the person who committed such an injustice against them in ’99 is now there (holds a position of power) harbors resentment and is trying to inflict another injustice upon them. History is filled with those who have committed such atrocities, and my plea is that Stalin should not be on that list. This government might use the police to forcibly evict the workers by cutting off their water, electricity, and transportation. However, history will never forgive them. We, as the Puthiya Thamizhagam party, will not accept such forced evictions. Millions of people are ready to do whatever it takes for this cause.”

Calling for the proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act of 2006, he demanded that each eligible family in Manjolai be allotted two acres of land. He pointed out that Parliament has acknowledged the allocation of 1.73 lakh hectares of forest land for other uses, arguing that Tamil Nadu should follow suit.

He strongly criticized the Chief Minister, accusing him of betrayal and warning that such actions would not be forgotten. “If the government insists on writing the final chapter for Manjolai, then the people will write the final chapter for this administration in the next assembly elections,” Dr. Krishnasamy declared.

(With inputs from Hindu Tamil)

Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally

The post “These Are Citizens, Not Squatters”: Puthiya Tamilagam Chief Krishnasamy Slams DMK Govt For Forcing Out Manjolai Workers Despite Lease Till 2028 appeared first on The Commune.

When police pelted stones and killed people for asking a wage rise of ₹30: Know about the Manjolai Massacre, TN’s Jallianwala Bagh

The Commune — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 08:01:39 +0000

The plight of the tea estate plantation workers at the Manjolai Hills near Tirunelveli was nothing less than distressing. They were paid a meagre daily wage of ₹70 with backbreaking working conditions. The estate owners forced them to stay in sheds with poor facilities. They were denied the right to rear cattle or even raise a garden. Various protests were organized demand better wages and working conditions and many estate workers were arrested.

To protest against the administration’s apathy towards the inhumane conditions, a large number of tea estate workers from Manjolai congregated in Tirunelveli and marched towards the Collectorate on 23^rd July 1999 to submit a memorandum demanding better wages and for the release of 652 workers arrested earlier for staging a demonstration on June 8, 1999. Around 5000 people reportedly participated in the procession. They had also obtained police permission for the protest. The procession was led by S. Balakrishnan of Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), President of Puthiya Tamizhagam Dr. Krishnaswamy, and a few leaders from the Communist parties (CPI and CPI-M). What followed was a massacre.

TN’s Jallianwala Bagh

The procession was stopped 50 metres away from the main gate of the collectorate by the police officers. The leaders had tried to negotiate with the police officers to let them submit the petition. But the Deputy Commissioner of Police Shylesh Kumar Yadav rejected their protest. Meanwhile, a section of the crowd tried to enter the premises through another entry point via the Tamirabarani river bank. Noticing this, the police unleashed violence on the protestors from all sides. Apart from lathi charging and shooting in the air, the police pelted stones and bricks on the crowd.

Like how the helpless crowd jumped into the well at Jallianwala Bagh when General Dyer opened fire, the panic stricken men and women ran and towards the river bank and jumped into the Tamirabarani river. The police too jumped into the water and gave severe blows. Some of the police attacked even those who were trying to rescue people from drowning while a few other policemen crossed the bank to continue their attack. Seventeen people lost their lives including two women and a 2 year old child.

DMK’s sins

The bodies of the victims were buried in a hurry under tight security on July 28.

Concerned about their fate in the next elections that was to be held in September and October 1999, the DMK government under M. Karunanidhi sought to placate the public anger by immediately appointing a single member commission under retired district judge K. Karthikeyan. Cases against the 652 workers who were kept in Tiruchirapalli Central Prison arrested were withdrawn and were released on July 28.

On the previous day (July 27), Karunanidhi in a statement blamed the workers for instigating violence. He belittled their demands saying that all problems have been solved except the demand related to “half a day’s wage”. The worker had demanded the withdrawal of 50% cut in their daily wages which the management had imposed over the past four years.

They had also demanded for the suspension of police officers and a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court. The DMK government appointed a retired Supreme Court judge S. Mohan to probe the incident. However, the demand for suspension of officers and a new post-mortem on the victims were rejected.

Families of those who died were given compensation in monetary terms while a few others were provided with jobs. However, last year the V Palani, the then CPM district secretary had told TOI that the victims got compensation and not justice.

Even today this incident evokes the tragic memories amongst the Manjolai tea estate workers.

The post When police pelted stones and killed people for asking a wage rise of ₹30: Know about the Manjolai Massacre, TN’s Jallianwala Bagh appeared first on The Commune.