Tamil Nadu: Inter-caste marriage sparks riots

Inter-caste marriage sparks riot in Tamil Nadu district, 148 dalit houses torched
K A Shaji, V Senthil Kumaran & Karthick S, TNN | Nov 9, 2012, 05.06AM IST

DHARMAPURI: Outraged by the suicide of a man who felt humiliated after his daughter married a dalit boy in secret, a mob of non-dalits went on the rampage in three villages of Dharmapuri district, looting and burning houses of dalits late on Wednesday, police said.

The 2,500-strong mob set ablaze 148 houses in Natham, Anna Nagar and Kondampatti villages. They claimed that the "humiliation" caused by the marriage and the refusal of the dalits to send the woman back home had resulted in the suicide of G Nagarajan (48). The mob looted valuables before setting the houses on fire.

Though 300 policemen were present, they failed to control the mob after being grossly outnumbered. The arson and looting continued till 9.30pm when additional police forces arrived on the scene.

Talking to TOI on Thursday, IG (west zone) T P Sundaramoorthy said the situation was brought under control after an additional 1,000 personnel were deployed and more than 90 people arrested. Cases had been registered against 210 others, he said.

Nagarajan ended his life at his residence in Sellankottai, not far from the Natham dalit colony, on Wednesday evening. The autopsy was delayed because of frequent power cuts, and the body was handed over to his relatives only on Thursday evening. Later, police said, a group of dalits set fire to two houses belonging to non-dalits in Natham.

Govt announces compensation

Announcing compensation of 50,000 to each family that lost its house and belongings, chief minister J Jayalalithaa said on Thursday that severe action would be taken against those responsible for the violence. In a statement, she said police had rushed to the spot and were taking necessary measures. She instructed the district authorities to extend all help to the affected in the violence.

Police said Nagarajan's daughter Divya, 20, eloped with dalit youth Ilavarasan, 23, about a month ago, and they got married in a temple. As the non-dalits threatened them against entering Ilavarasan's house in the Natham dalit colony, the couple approached the Salem police, seeking protection.

Meanwhile, the non-dalits conducted a 'kangaroo' court and directed the dalit family to return the woman on Wednesday. But Divya refused to obey them and made it clear that she would continue to live with Ilavarasan. Dharmapuri SP Asra Garg said the kangaroo court was held at Nayakkankottai village last week and the police were searching for those who took part in it and orchestrated the violence.

Fire tenders were not able to reach the villages in time because huge trees had been cut down on the roads to block them. Services of the Rapid Action Force had been requested to maintain law and order, he said.Dharmapuri collector R Lilly said the homeless had been put up in three government schools.

Politics stoking caste fire

In a state that boasts of being progressive, caste divide is rearing its ugly head once again. The violence that rocked Natham in Dharmapuri district on Wednesday has reversed a recent positive trend in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, once a hotbed of simmering caste tension between Vanniyars and dalits.

Activists point out that this is the first big caste violence in the last two decades in Dharmapuri. The last decade had seen leaders of the dominant communities in the region, the Vanniyars and the dalits, campaigning together for communal harmony.

"Tamil Nadu is a land of reformation. Usually, political and social leaders of the state advocate inter-caste marriages and successive state governments have encouraged progressive development. But in recent months, this positive trend has changed and a few caste leaders have been openly campaigning against inter-caste marriages," said writer-politician D Ravikumar, state secertary of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, a dalit party with a presence in the north. "They have indirectly encouraged killings in the name of honour and even ignited violence. This should be stopped through progressive initiatives," he said.

Caste leaders have gone one regressive step further to warn activists against encouraging the union between couples of different castes and even issuing diktats against love marriages. PMK MLA J Guru, who heads the Vanniyar Sangam, the first avatar of the PMK, shocked progressive groups when he issued an open threat at a community meeting, forbidding inter-caste unions. Similarly, the Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai, which claims to represent the community, issued advertisements in newspapers calling a meeting of community members to oppose inter-caste marriages and launched a campaign against it.

Activists point out that the violence in Dhamrapuri had occurred in a hamlet which used to have a strong presence of the left movement. "The district was once the headquarters of the 'naxalbari' movement. Hence caste violence in such a place has come as a surprise," said a police officer.

Well-known Tamil writer Manushaputhiran pointed out that political parties have been using caste as a tool to improve their prospects. "Caste feeling is not only a cultural issue now. Caste parties have been using it as a powerful political tool as well," he said.

While there is a lack of cooperation between dalit and non-dalit leaders in southern Tamil Nadu to end the divide, PMK leader S Ramadoss and Dalit leader Thol Tirumavalavan made some efforts for communal amity in the northern belt. Ramadoss unveiled dalit leader Ambedkar's statue in many places and the VCK in turn honoured him by awarding him the Ambedkar Award.

The caste tension between Vanniyars and dalits was seen to have ended in the early 2000 because of this truce between the two leaders, who came together under the umbrella of Tamil Protection Movement. But the bonhomie did not last and Ramadoss recently declared that his party would align only with caste parties for elections in the future.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Inter-caste-marriage-sparks-riot-in-Tamil-Nadu-district-148-dalit-houses-torched/articleshow/17151170.cms

When the rest of the country was looking at the caste division in the society from the Dalit Vs
Non Dalit perspective, Periyar and his followers made it Brahmin Vs Non Brahmin issue in
TN. Though the DK, DMK and other organizations used phrases like Social justice,
rationalism, etc they never addressed the Dalit Vs BC/OBC and instead blamed
"Brahminism" for all faults. In Kerala, Sri Narayana Guru uplifted the Eezhavas in a much
more harmonious manner. It is time this issue is solved in a more harmonious manner rather
than using rhetorical statements or militant hatred campaign against particular communities.
from: Rajan
Posted on: Nov 8, 2012 at 18:42 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/three-dalit-colonies-face-wrath-of-mob-fury-in-dharmapuri/article4076539.ece

MADURAI, July 12, 2012


Caste woes continue even after inter-caste marriage

Youth remains Dalit despite mother being a Brahmin due to patriarchal society

"My mother, a Brahmin, married my father belonging to a Scheduled Caste in 1983 without any problem. But when I, carrying a Dalit identity in this patriarchal society, married a Hindu Nadar girl in 2008, there was no dearth for problems. I was abused, assaulted, kidnapped, tonsured and made to live every second under constant threat to life,” rues V. Mahesh, a 26-year-old marketing executive hailing from Putheri village near Vadaseri in Kanyakumari district.

The only child to his parents, Mahesh fell in love with M. Divya, now 25, at Tuticorin where he was managing a centre to coach youngsters on obtaining online jobs.

But the girl’s mother did not agree to give her in marriage to a Dalit boy though the girl was very firm in her decision.

Despite protests, their marriage took place as per Hindu customs in the presence of the groom’s parents, friends and relatives at Putheri on October 8, 2008.

“Ever since our marriage, we received many anonymous phone calls threatening to do away with our lives, if I don’t return back to my mother. On April 9, 2009, a group of armed men barged into our house and tried to take me away. When Mahesh intervened, they inflicted a cut injury on his right arm and also hit him hard on his head with the lid of a pressure cooker. Immediately, the villagers gathered near our house and so the assailants fled away,” Ms. Divya recalls in horror. She claims to have lodged a complaint with the Vadaseri police on the same day. But a First Information Report was registered only four days later and that too at the instance of the then Superintendent of Police. Thereafter, the couple shifted their residence to Tiruchi.

Yet, the anonymous threatening calls continued to haunt them.

“Even now, when a car passes through us while walking on the road, we hold our hands tightly together. Such is the fear that has been instilled in our minds,” Mr. Mahesh adds.

He was also reportedly abducted from Tiruchi on September 8, 2009.

The abductors tonsured his head and forcibly obtained his signature in a fake suicide note. Thereafter, he was shifted from one vehicle to another.

“The gang leader in the second vehicle was under the impression that I was living with Divya without her consent. But when I explained to him that it was a love affair and she had married me willingly, he took sympathy and let me go off near Perambalur,” he recounts.

A complaint booked in this regard is still pending with the Tiruchi K.K. Nagar police station. It was only after this incident, Mr. Mahesh approached the Madras High Court Bench here seeking police protection.

Police protection

Passing interim orders in the case on September 24, 2009, Justice D. Hariparanthaman directed the police in Tiruchi and Kanyakumari districts to provide adequate security to the couple as well as the boy’s parents.

Black magic

“Apart from harassment through rowdies, my mother was also trying all sorts of black magic to get us separated.

In the last four years since our marriage, all that we have been doing is only to visit courts, police stations and temples. It is going to be nearly four years since I got married. Yet, she is adamant and not ready to accept us,” the girl moans.

When the writ petition came up for final hearing last week, Mr. Justice Hariparanthaman attempted to persuade the girl’s mother to accept the couple.

But his efforts too went in vain.

At last, he closed the case on Monday after recording the mother’s statement that she would not create any trouble in the marital life of the couple who, in turn, agreed to withdraw the police complaints lodged against her in the hope of leading a peaceful life at least hereafter.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/article3629520.ece

Caste outfit to ‘teach’ against inter-caste marriages in schools

By Express News Service - COIMBATORE 15th October 2012 08:52 AM

At a time when framers of academic curriculum are seeking to reinforce lessons on the need for a casteless society, a little known outfit Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai (KVGP) has resolved to ensure that children unlearned poet Bharathiar’s famous verses ‘Jaathigal Illai Adi Paapa’ (there is no caste, oh child).

The outfit, which claims to represent a section of the backward Kongu Vellala Gounder community – one of the dominant castes in the western districts of Tamil Nadu, at its meeting on Sunday here, adopted a resolution to campaign in schools and colleges against inter-caste marriages.

“We will go from school to school and college to college to raise awareness against marrying someone belonging to another caste.

At the end of the campaign next year, we will organise an anti inter-caste marriage conference in Tirupur,” the Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai president R Manikandan said. The campaign will be conducted in Karur, Namakkal, Erode, Dindigul, Salem and Krishnagiri districts.

Members of the Peravai who attended the meeting also took a pledge against inter-caste marriages.

The pledge was taken even as cadres of another fringe group Dravidar Viduthalai Iyakkam protested the Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai’s narrow minded approach to the caste issue.

Manikandan claimed that inter-caste marriages were diluting the Kongu community’s individuality and identity.

“The Government must stop providing financial assistance for inter-caste marriage couples,” he demanded.

In a strange argument, he said inter-caste marriages as well as granting equal rights to women in sharing family property were affecting the “life style” of the Kongu Vellala Gounder people.

“To protect our community from such dilution, a separate law must be enacted. Besides, women of the community must be mandated to forsake their right to property.

We will also spread awareness on the richness of our lifestyle and tradition including our hospitality,” he added.

Claiming that the Kongu Vellala Gounders constituted a vote bank of 2.5 crore, he urged the Government to ban inter-caste marriages.

Meanwhile, police arrested 19 Dravidar Viduthalai Iyakkam cadres who tried to disrupt the meeting. The outfit’s Coimbatore secretary C Vijayan demanded that Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai should be banned for fostering enmity between communities. The detained cadres were later released in the evening.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article1300011.ece

Rashmun wrote:Caste outfit to ‘teach’ against inter-caste marriages in schools

By Express News Service - COIMBATORE 15th October 2012 08:52 AM

At a time when framers of academic curriculum are seeking to reinforce lessons on the need for a casteless society, a little known outfit Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai (KVGP) has resolved to ensure that children unlearned poet Bharathiar’s famous verses ‘Jaathigal Illai Adi Paapa’ (there is no caste, oh child).


At the end of the campaign next year, we will organise an anti inter-caste marriage conference in Tirupur,” the Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai president R Manikandan said. The campaign will be conducted in Karur, Namakkal, Erode, Dindigul, Salem and Krishnagiri districts.

Members of the Peravai who attended the meeting also took a pledge against inter-caste marriages.

The pledge was taken even as cadres of another fringe group Dravidar Viduthalai Iyakkam protested the Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai’s narrow minded approach to the caste issue.

Manikandan claimed that inter-caste marriages were diluting the Kongu community’s individuality and identity.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article1300011.ece

Alright...... I support this. We Goundars are naturally superior, and we are not like the Sissy Syrian Christians or tambrahm.

If all hindus become brave like us, no iSalami can mess with us.

Vellala Goundar Vaazhgha.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Rashmun wrote:Caste outfit to ‘teach’ against inter-caste marriages in schools

By Express News Service - COIMBATORE 15th October 2012 08:52 AM

At a time when framers of academic curriculum are seeking to reinforce lessons on the need for a casteless society, a little known outfit Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai (KVGP) has resolved to ensure that children unlearned poet Bharathiar’s famous verses ‘Jaathigal Illai Adi Paapa’ (there is no caste, oh child).


At the end of the campaign next year, we will organise an anti inter-caste marriage conference in Tirupur,” the Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai president R Manikandan said. The campaign will be conducted in Karur, Namakkal, Erode, Dindigul, Salem and Krishnagiri districts.

Members of the Peravai who attended the meeting also took a pledge against inter-caste marriages.

The pledge was taken even as cadres of another fringe group Dravidar Viduthalai Iyakkam protested the Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai’s narrow minded approach to the caste issue.

Manikandan claimed that inter-caste marriages were diluting the Kongu community’s individuality and identity.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article1300011.ece

Alright...... I support this. We Goundars are naturally superior, and we are not like the Sissy Syrian Christians or tambrahm.

If all hindus become brave like us, no iSalami can mess with us.

Vellala Goundar Vaazhgha.

The pig eating: Goundars conspiracy against Arunthathiyars
The file contains the narrative of a horrible ritual in which the Dalits are forced to eat raw pig with banana.


“Then these six pigs would be taken to the temple and they kill them in front of the idol, open its abdomen and insert bananas into it and make a paste out of it. All the people, of course only the Arunthathiyars, would then eat it. This is the festival. This is the conspiracy of the Goundars” said one of the inhabitant of Vizhuthugal Panchayat in Tamilnadu, who belongs to the Dalit community, Arunthathiyar.
History of the Aunthathiyar community

There are two theories about the history of Arunthathiars in Tamilnadu. The first theory tells that, these people were brought by Naickars from Andhrapradesh during the Vijayanagar Empire some 500 years ago to make shoes and other kinds of leather works. They are said to have come here from Kadappah District of A.P. and spread over Tamilnadu during the Naickar Rule.
The other theory is that, before the Indian States were linguistically re-organised in 1956, all the southern States were under one Presidency. The people would go from one place to another for their livelihood. When famine or severe atrocities were meted out to them or when a human sacrifice from their own fold was offered, they managed to learn Telugu or Kannarese and moved over to Andhra or Karnataka. The Arunthathiars speak three languages – Tamil, Telugu and Kannarese. Considering these factors, one can infer that they were living a nomadic life and learning Telugu and Kannarese was a necessity to cope up with the situation. Otherwise, they were originally the inhabitants of Tamilnadu.
The Cult and Rituals

The culture of the Arunthathiyar people is closely linked to Madurai Veeran who was a General in the army of Vijayanagar Empire. One of his legs and an arm were cut off because he had married a dancer in the Empire who belonged to the upper caste. As a token of revenge the Arunthathiar (Madhika) people rallied together in Madurai against the Empire. This was the first time when they came together seeking redressal of their grievances. They claimed Madurai Veeran as their God and started worshipping him. They also worshipped a female deity who was a woman leader of the Arunthathiar community. She gave them training in using weapons in war. All these stories are part of the oral tradition of the community.
The Goundars’ Plot

Apart from these two deities the Goundars introduced Annanmar Swamis (Brothers) in the western Districts to counter Madurai Veeran and the female deity of the Arunthathiyars. In order to belittle the social status of the Arunthathiyars these Big brothers invented a new ritual of raw pig eating. Several months before the festival, the Goundars would give two pigs to an Arunthathiyar family in the village. Each family following a routine would feed those two pigs. During the year, those two pigs would multiply into about six pigs. Then these six pigs would be taken to the temple where they would be killed by piercing a dagger in to the head. Then they would open the abdomen and insert bananas and make a paste out of it. All the people, of course the Arunthathiyars only, would then eat that disgusting substance. This is the festival. This is the conspiracy of the Goundars against the Dalits using a religious festival to cover up the heinous intention behind it.
The Goundars introduced this practice with an ulterior motive of debasing the Dalit people in public eye. Even today they follow this ritual. The people of the community refuse to abandon this practice because they think that it is god-given. They would say, “Don’t talk to us about this. Call us for an agitation. We will come. Don’t talk about the god”. They call this ritual Annanmar Nombi or Pig piercing Nombi.
This happens in almost all the Arunthathiyar villages. “My father and mother used to eat that. I brought them out of the temple and told that they should not eat that. Then I took them to a church and left them to worship there”. One of the social activists of the community said
The Arunthathiyars spend more for this festival than other festivals. Goundars collect Rs.10, 000/- to 15,000/- from each family towards the expenses of the festival. The Dalits generate this amount as a loan from persons of other communities. They have to repay that loan with interest or work as bonded labourers until the next Annanmar Nombi comes.
The original festival

Originally the Anaanmar Nombi was the festival of the Goundars. The Goundars left it to the Arunthathiar to celebrate it telling them that rain had started and so they had to go to take care of the sowing in the fields. Thus the Nombi was thrust upon the Arunthathiars. If the Dalits go to the Goundars and ask for coconuts and bananas for the Nombi, they would readily give them. They will be at the temple until the pig is caught hold of and brought to the temple. The Goundars are in charge of erecting the Pandal and all other arrangements for the festival. Only the priest of the Dalit community does the killing. When the killing is finished, the Goundars leave the temple. They would never take part in the eating of the pig-banana paste. They just accept the holy ash but do not receive it from the priest’s hands. The holy ash will be in a tray and the Goundars help themselves.
Another cast atrocity is that the Arunthathiar women are not allowed to enter the temple. Men and women of the Goundars caste can go, and so also the Arunthathiar men. They have maliciously thrust such a horrible ritual among these illiterate Dalit people. The village Goundar controls the finance of the festival and he operates by his own discretion. After the festival is over, the Goundar submits an account. But no one dares to ask questions or demand any clarification.
It takes time..

Now in some villages, people have become independent and operate the account by themselves. But in ¾ of the villages in the vicinity, it is the village Goundar who controls the finance of the festival. Attempts have been made from the part of a local NGO to educate people about this gruesome ritual and the injustices behind that.
Commentaire :

It is disgusting and painful.
Notes :

Goundar – One of the dominant castes in Tamilnadu, India

Arunthathiyar – One of the sub-castes or scheduled caste in Tamilnadu, India


http://www.irenees.net/fr/fiches/experience/fiche-experience-593.html

Rashmun wrote:
The pig eating: Goundars conspiracy against Arunthathiyars
The file contains the narrative of a horrible ritual in which the Dalits are forced to eat raw pig with banana.

http://www.irenees.net/fr/fiches/experience/fiche-experience-593.html

I should instruct that our people should use UP brahmins for this ritual instead of Arunthathiyaars. That way, hopefully the UP brahmins IQ will rise to that of the Pigs.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Rashmun wrote:
The pig eating: Goundars conspiracy against Arunthathiyars
The file contains the narrative of a horrible ritual in which the Dalits are forced to eat raw pig with banana.

http://www.irenees.net/fr/fiches/experience/fiche-experience-593.html

I should instruct that our people should use UP brahmins for this ritual instead of Arunthathiyaars. That way, hopefully the UP brahmins IQ will rise to that of the Pigs.

in hindu caste hierarchy, brahmins are above Gounders (just as Goundars are above Arunthathiyars). Maybe UP brahmins should come to the rescue of the Arunthathiyaars and teach the Goundars a lesson in good behavior and manners.

Rashmun wrote:
in hindu caste hierarchy, brahmins are above Gounders (just as Goundars are above Arunthathiyars). Maybe UP brahmins should come to the rescue of the Arunthathiyaars and teach the Goundars a lesson in good behavior and manners.

hahaha another UP Brahmin's fantasy after getting their ass kicked by Musalmans like pigs...

If the UP brahmins dont run and hide at the sight of a Goundar, it will be a brave act.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Rashmun wrote:
in hindu caste hierarchy, brahmins are above Gounders (just as Goundars are above Arunthathiyars). Maybe UP brahmins should come to the rescue of the Arunthathiyaars and teach the Goundars a lesson in good behavior and manners.

hahaha another UP Brahmin's fantasy after getting their ass kicked by Musalmans like pigs...

If the UP brahmins dont run and hide at the sight of a Goundar, it will be a brave act.

When a UP brahmin comes along chanting Vedic mantras in chaste sanskrit, will Goundars offer him food and shelter and wash his feet as a mark of respect? After all, Goundars are very religious and if they show disrespect to such a brahmin he might hurl a Vedic curse at them.

On another note, Goundars should start marrying Arunthathiyars, brahmins, and other castes. This will resolve inter-caste conflicts in TN to some extent.