MADURAI: All 114 Dalit panchayat presidents from across the state, who were recently interviewed by Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO, said they were meted out blatant discrimination at civic body offices on the basis of their caste. On Saturday, 51 Dalit panchayat presidents from across Tamil Nadu took part in a conference organised by the NGO in Madurai and recounted the caste ordeals they had to face in their public life.
The event was conducted in three separate sessions, and around 15 panchayat presidents shared the administrative and social barriers existing in various districts. S Vidhya, from Palaiyur union in Madurai district, spoke on how she handled an issue regarding human excreta found in a bath water tank in a village.
Further, V Venkatesan, a family member of deceased panchayat president Narasimamoorthy, recalled how 11 people brutally murdered Narasimamoorthy for releasing an audit report of the panchayat expenditure. He belonged to the Daravendram union in Krishnagiri district. Activist Manjula Pradeep and other dignitaries also took part in the conference.
Earlier, the NGO had conducted a field study in 19 districts, including Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Tenkasi, Ariyalur, Sivaganga, Coimbatore, and Kallakuruchi. The team interviewed 114 Dalit panchayat presidents, including 79 women, and recorded their ordeals regarding the acts of prejudice against them. The civic body heads in 12 unions were not allowed to hoist the national flag, while 82% of the panchayat unions lacked common burial grounds.
"As many as 26 Dalit presidents have filed cases pertaining to caste atrocities. A copy of our study report has been sent to Chief Minister MK Stalin. We will also release it as a book soon, and move court with a PIL regarding the atrocities," said Evidence Executive Director A Kathir during the conference.
The NGO has also placed some recommendations to curb caste discrimination in civic bodies. The recommendations included the constitution of a team compromising district collector, superintendent of police, and Adi Dravidar welfare officer, in each district to tackle caste-based atrocities.
"In panchayats where president posts are reserved for SC members, the vice presidents, and secretaries also should be appointed from the same caste, so as to avoid conflicts among them with regard to administration works. Training classes should be conducted for the newly-appointed panchayat presidents and every Dalit panchayat president should be given a monthly salary of `10,000 and `5,000 as pension after retirement," the other recommendations read.