THOOTHUKUDI: Kombuthurai fishermen belonging to Kayalpattinam municipality have been staying onshore for the past 11 days condemning three Christian fishermen who allegedly embraced Islam recently and began using the old name of the hamlet.
The Kombuthurai fishermen said the fishermen who converted to Islam have been using the name ‘Kadaiyakudi’ to identify the Kombuthurai hamlet, which consists of Roman Catholics in the Muslim-dominated Kayalpattinam municipality. The newly converted Islam fishermen’s renaming of the village has irked the Roman Catholic fishermen in Kombuthurai, they added.
While some claim that ‘Kadaiya’ is the old name of the Kombuthurai hamlet, a case in this regard is pending in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. Recently, Anthony Frango alias Mohammed Frango (29), Jebastian alias Esa (32), and Wilfred alias Salim had embraced Islam. Salim had embraced Islam a decade ago and was forced to move out of the hamlet. The trio complained to the collector and tahsildar that the Kombuthurai fishermen association had stopped them from fishing and auctioning their catch at Kombuthurai beach, which the Christians refuted.
One of the converts told TNIE that the fishermen have restricted them from fishing activities for the past four months and that they have been supporting their families by working as fisher coolies. “They stopped providing the tractors belonging to the Kombuthurai fishermen welfare association, to push the boat into the sea. So the neighbouring Iykiya Muslim Peravai contributed one tractor for the trio. However, the local fishermen prevented them from using it,” he said.
A former village head of Kombuthurai told TNIE that they have not stopped the trio from carrying out fishing activities, but only voiced their objection to using the name ‘Kadayakudi’ for the hamlet since the matter is subjudice. Meanwhile, the district administration has arranged another peace meeting on October 3 to dissolve the issue between the converts and the village leaders and Christian fishers.