ARIYALUR: A 29-year-old woman resident of Anandhavadi in the district has come in for praise from various quarters, including from Villupuram MP D Ravikumar, as her years-long persistence is credited for the local panchayat on Saturday installing a street sign identifying her locality – which was hitherto passed off as Adi Dravidar Street – as Indira Nagar.
Mentioning her locality of around 100 families as having been formed as Indira Nagar in 1998 after a majority of the residents secured houses under a government scheme, Anusuya Saravanamuthu said, “Outsiders, however, identified the street as Keezha Theru or Adi Dravidar Theru or Para Theru. Even government documents such as ration card, voter ID and Aadhaar bear the address as Adi Dravidar Street. Over time, the street’s original name slipped into oblivion.”
Blaming prevailing casteism for people continuing to colour her street and referring the residents by their caste, Anusuya said, “It is like taking away our self-respect. I realised this about 12 years ago and wanted to change it.” The civil engineering graduate who has worked with several private companies across the country referred to the incident in 2011 when she applied for an Aadhaar by giving her street name as Indira Nagar. To her shock, the card issued identified her locality as ‘Adi Dravidar Street’.
Several years later, putting her determination into action, Anusuya on August 8, 2022, submitted a petition, bearing the signatures of other residents, with the collectorate, urging to identify her street name as Indira Nagar. A similar petition was also submitted with the chief minister’s special cell on February 21, 2023. While the panchayat days later adopted a resolution over the street name, it on Saturday installed the street sign affirming Anusuya’s locality as named Indira Nagar.
While the street residents erupted in celebration over the move, Anusuya’s efforts also came in for appreciation from MP Ravikumar. He told TNIE, “In 1978, former chief minister MG Ramachandran issued an order directing for removal of caste names from roads and streets of Tamil Nadu. Following this, the caste names were removed from many roads and streets but the authorities failed to implement it in toto. We have already requested Chief Minister MK Stalin to reinforce it.”