Feature Image Credits: Shalin Maria Lawrence Twitter
A family belonging to the Scheduled Caste residing in the Vidathilampatti hills within the Manapparai municipality has reportedly been facing threats from a dominant Urali Gounder family.
Ilango (42) and Rasathi E (29) relocated to Vidathilampatti with their six-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter a year back, being one of the two Scheduled Caste families in the area. Vadivel (45) and his family who live nearby have been accused of persistent and deliberate harassment.
Ilango’s family claimed that one of Vadivel’s eight dogs recently chased their son, causing him to fall and sustain injuries while attempting to escape. Furthermore, they alleged that Vadivel’s wife, Alagumani, directed caste-based slurs at Rasathi during a disagreement. On a separate occasion, the family contended that Vadivel’s 12-year-old son poured urine from a bottle onto their son.
According to Rasathi, on 4 October 2023 , while she was gathering firewood for cooking, Alagumani assaulted her with a water pipe and kicked her in the stomach. “I was pursued all the way to the bus stop and assaulted there. I was hospitalized at the Manapparai GH and discharged on 8 October 2023,” she added.
Ilango filed a complaint with the Manapparai police, but apparently no First Information Report (FIR) was registered. Subsequently, the family met with SP Varun Kumar on 11 October 2023, urging for appropriate action to be taken.
Later that same day, while they were indoors, their house was attacked with stones. The family promptly notified the police, who arrived at the scene, took photographs, but the family claimed that no formal case was registered. Following this unsettling incident, out of fear for their safety, the family relocated to a relative’s residence 15 km away. “An official from Manapparai station called us, suggesting we settle the matter with Vadivel’s family,” Ilango stated. Vadivel reportedly refuted the accusations.
However, Tamilselvi, a neighbor, acknowledged that stones were indeed thrown at their residence but asserted uncertainty regarding the culprits. Ranjith Kumar, the Village Administrative Officer for Sevalur panchayat, mentioned that he had not received any such complaint from either party and pledged to investigate.
When questioned about why an FIR was not lodged in this case, Manapparai inspector JK Gopi was quoted saying in The New Indian Express, “We filed a CSR (Community Service Register) and are currently investigating, but we haven’t been able to substantiate the allegations.”
P Muruganantham, an advocate from the People’s Rights Protection Centre, highlighted, “According to Section 4 of the Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act, the police should have promptly filed an FIR. The Act clearly states that failing to do so is an offense on par for the involved police.” Trichy SP Varun Kumar assured TNIE that he would investigate the matter.
‘Christian Dalit’ activist Shalin Maria Lawrence brought attention to this incident through her X post, stating, “This is the state of Dalit women and children in the state while Ms. Kanimozhi Karunaanidhi is successfully conducting the women’s rights conference today . A woman for them does not include the Dalit women. That’s the sad reality.”
#Dalit family shifts to Village in Trichy ,#Tamilnadu and becomes just one of the two SC households in a dominant caste neighbourhood . Dominant caste neighbours from the OBC oorali Gounder community uses caste slurs and attacks the family . The woman is kicked in the stomach and… https://t.co/4HRSJPVPJg pic.twitter.com/n1Hcq9I3Rf
— Shalin Maria Lawrence (@TheBluePen25) October 14, 2023
It’s noteworthy to highlight that earlier this year, Shalin Maria Lawrence, faced threats from RK Nagar DMK MLA J.J. Ebenezer. These threats were a response to a social media post by Shalin Maria Lawrence in which she accused the MLA of compelling a corporation worker to clean a sewer.
Recently in September 2023, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi delved into the issue of caste-based social discrimination that still persists in various parts of the state during a speech. The Governor highlighted various distressing incidents, including members of Scheduled castes being barred from entering temples, contamination of water tanks with human excreta, and discrimination faced by minority community children in schools. He stressed that these harmful practices could only be eliminated through social reform rather than exploiting them for political gains.
(With inputs from The New Indian Express)
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