CHENNAI: Dalits of Uthapuram village near Madurai, where the demolition of a ‘caste wall’ one year back has not helped them regain dignity, have once again turned to the CPM for succour. On May Day, when CPM general secretary, Prakash Karat,visited Madurai, they handed over a memorandum to him.
While the Dalits of the village will overwhelmingly vote for the CPM candidate Mohan, who is contesting against DMK’s M K Azhagiri, they feel that only the CPM, which was instrumental in pulling down a part of the 600 metre long ‘discriminatory wall’ that ran between the settlements of the Dalits and the Pillaimars, can put an end to the discrimination.
Though the demolition of the wall on May 6, 2008, was seen as symbolic victory for Dalits, it did not bring about any change in the attitude of the Pillaimar people. Instead it only made things worse with the village witnessing caste clashes.
“Though the district administration laid a temporary gravel road to link our colony to the common area, the Pillaimars are not allowing us to use it,” said Shankarlingam (56), a Pallar community leader, who was part of the group that met Prakash Karat.
The then district collector, S S Jawahar, had given them a few promises but none of them were honoured during the year. Now, the present collector P Seetharaman has only one answer to their repeated pleas: “We will fulfil the demands after the elections.”
The Dalits were assured a cement road, a bus shelter - the Pillaimar community has raised a parapet wall near the bus stop to prevent Dalits sitting in front of the them - and a drainage.
The wall was built by the Pillaimars in 1989 as per an agreement reached between the two communities during talks that followed a caste clash. “Even now, if you visit the village, you will find the Pillaimar community maintaining their dominance and control over the social relations. Not a single vehicle is allowed in the newly laid road,” Rajan, a Dalit activist said, adding that when the Dalits staged the protest for attacking the convoy of Puthiya Tamilagam leader K Krishnasamy, the police shot the Dalit protestors. “Now our only hope is the CPM, which on coming to know of the wall, termed it a ‘discriminatory Wall’ and issued an ultimatum to the State government to demolish it,” he added.