Even as civil society is yet to recover from the shock over the recent burning down of 268 Dalit homes in Dharmapuri - as fallout of a marriage between a Dalit boy and a Caste Hindu girl - the Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK) has announced a campaign against “instigated” inter-caste marriages.
In a new twist, the party’s State organising secretary G K Nagaraj has claimed that inter-caste marriages were being instigated by some Dalit leaders.
The fledgling party which had risen to prominence when it managed to consolidate the Kongu Vellala Gounder (a Backward Community with strong presence in western districts) vote bank during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections is also seeking to rally other backward communities against Dalits in its campaign.
In a statement here on Thursday, Nagaraj said that though the party did not support the violence against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes it was opposed to some Dalit leaders advising their youth to marry girls belonging to Kongu Vellalar, Vanniyar, Thevar, Nadar, Naicker, Naidu, Mudaliar, Pillaimar, Udayar and Saiva Vellalar communities. “Inter-caste marriage should happen naturally and not by force to wreak vengeance against the dominant community. Enmity grows between two communities because of such inter-caste marriages, which lead to violence,” Nagaraj claimed.
Nagaraj alleged that forced inter-caste marriages were high in Namakkal district. “A survey undertaken by the Kongu Vellala Kavundargal Peravai had revealed that out of 955 inter-caste marriages last year, 712 ended in divorce. Besides, 12 girls committed suicide and 37 parents worried about their daughter’s pathetic condition after marriage ended their lives,” he claimed.
“Scheduled Caste youth follow girls belonging to majority community for months and the 18-year-old adolescent girls fall into the trap,” he contended.
The KMK has formed a 50-member women’s wing to create awareness among young Kongu Vellalar girls about the risks of such love marriages. “We are also talking to other community leaders on this. I will be writing to the Chief Minister drawing her attention to the issue,” he added.