PaRCha - JNU - All Organisations - 2008 ID-48691
.
=~il .
.Of.
UALITY.
13.10.08 .
'Humankind cannot bear too much reality', T.S. Eliot observed in an immortal line. Tbc political establishmems along h:.
YO_UT FO E .
)f( .
Jr .
perpetrators of these atrocities on dalit. Many in the political establishment and in the mainstream journalism activt"ly twisted n.
with the elite intellectuals have behaved as if their constituents and audiences cannot bear the reality on atrocity and thr narrative so that the identity of the aggressors remains in obscurity. .
I) .
)I.
Yesterday's communal violence in Andhra Pradesh and Caste Violence in Patna were the testimony of T.S. Eliot's saying. The so called 'backward class movements' in Tamil Nadu had a narrow social base, and was led by an elite Since the 1990s, India has witnessed a spurt in violence against dalits. This physical violence is perpetrated largely by ' ( .
orgcmiz(Jtion of Rajas, zamindars, industrialists, lawyers, and doctors1, from families with gcnercllions of involvcmrnt in the .
J.
government services and the professions behind them2 .
the 'backward ' castes, who claim victim hood under Brahmins but also tum oppressors of dalits. Tamil Nadu, home to the non-I· .
Brahmin movement, has been projected by the political class, social scientists and policy-makers as fertile soil for social .
..( ( .
justice. However, the Dravidian movement'5 empowerment agenda left the dalits -nineteen percent of the population-almost .
heing murdered for contesting local body elections. More than being a consequence of the accumulation of power in the hands untouched. In fact, dalits have been subjected to the worst forms of violence, from being forced to consume human excreta to .
The 'Backward' castes that inmct violence against dalits-especially physical violence -do not possess full-fledged .
of the intermediary castes, such violence would be better understood as an attempt by the 'backward' caste Hindus to test their .
authority in Indian society. Since the parliamentary form of democracy introduced in post-independence India .favored the new found authority on those below them. .
the Brahmins, Maulavis and other priestly class and the Backward Castes were no longer bound to be subservient to these \'lirlding of power by those who are in a majority in society, these backward castes have, over the years, come to comrol .
political power. The ..constitution of 1950 and the introduction of the concept of secularism curtailed the religious authority of .
If we examine the violence against dalits in this context, we will have to come to a different conclusiou alrogerher. .
priestly class. It was only subsequently that economic, administrative and political power devolved to rhe Backward Castes. .
Rather than seemg it a consequence of such accumulation of power among lhe Backward Castes, the violence against dalirs would be better understood as an attempt by Backward Caste Hindus to test thtlir newfound authority on those below them. .
This not to say that the Dalits are not asst!rting their rights3 Since Brahmins have been a n~rnerical minority in Hindu society, their violence has mostly been · symbolic; whereas .
the violence unleashed by the castes which are in a numerical majority is physical in nature. Earlier, the authority to decide Shivaji, the Maratha ruler, in the face of such Brahmin authority is· recent in our collective memory. Toclily. the Brahmins wield .
whether a king could be bestowed with recognition and legitimacy was vested with the Brahmins. The dilemma f'!ced by .
no such authority. The authority that has been concentratedJn the hands of the numerically strong castes has led to their power .
becoming unlimited in scope. .
The Vanniyar Sangam was constituted in 1980 and evolved into the Paauali Mak':al Katchi (PMK) under the districts of TamU Nadu. In 1987, they staged a weeklong roadblock to demand 20 percent reservation for Vanniyars. During this struggle they torched more than a thousand dalit homes. The agitation and its success led to the subsequent political leadership of S. Ramadoss, a medical doctor. Today, the PMK wields tremendous influence in the Vanniar belt-the northem .
.
October 4, 1998 was a black Sunday for th~ people of the coastal Ramanathapuram district in southern Tamil Nadu. .
consolidation of the Vanniyars". Just two days after the nation celebrated the 129th birth annivc!rsary of Ma~ata Gandhi, caste-related violence rocked the .
villages and·towns on either side of the national highway that links this economically backward district with the city of .
Madurai. Eleven persons were killed and several were injured in the violence and the police action that followed. Six of the .
dead were dalits; the five others belonged to the thevar communi:y, a Most Backward Class group. All the victims were from The immediate causP of the violence was provided by a district-level rally at Ramanathapurarn, organized by the .
Thevarkula Kottamaippu (Thevar Federation). According to a senior politician from a neighboring district, the Koottamaippu is among the economically weaker sections. Scores of houses were torched and hundreds of people rendered homeless. Thevar Peravai". The Thevar Peravai is said to have been behind the many instances of violence involving thevars and dalits .
"a conglomeration of unorganized groups of young thevar extremists who have joined the power struggle in the Tamil Nadu .
that have racked the southern disuicts in [he past five years. Its leadership, perceived to be close to AIJ India Anna Dravida .
p.t.o. .
Mennetra Kazhagam general secretary and former Chief Minister 1. Jayalalitha, is now caught up in litigation 1nd has been .
rendered inactive5 .
I Betl'llle, Andre, 1969, Castes Old and New: Essays In «;ocJal Structure and Social Stratification, Bombay: Asia Publishing Housl.', pg. 176. j S. Vlswanathan, Dallt In Dravlclland(2005) this book 11 tomplltd ..·om the repons of Human Rl&ht Watch ami Frontllnl.', Navayana Pub.. l'undiclwrry,J'"· xl-xli. .
Washbrook, D.A., 1977, The Emer1ence of Provincial Politics: The Madru Presidency, 1870-1920, New Delhi: Vlkas Publishing HouSt', I'R· 279. .
.
~ S. Vlsw.tmnhan, Dallt In Dravlclland(200S), thll book 11 complied iron. tht repons of Human.Rlaht Watch anti Fromllnt', Nav;tya'"' Pub.. l'undklu.rry. I'K· xxiii-xX.''CVil. .
S. V"wtRillaan, Dalltln Dravldlll1d(2005), Ibis book II CO~DR.~ICI from rht rwporca of Hum.ut Rlaht Watch and f-rontline, Navayana J»ub., Pundidu'ITy. PI-101. .
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o\iticisation.
wdid uda'f .
,\ tnough. ne .
n ac\i\/is\s ot .
jen\s o\ JNU .
:n ac\i\1\s\s as .
.
sh nad ear\\er .
\at\er witn the .
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npro\1\ise wh\ch tneir de,ea\is a .
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· \a·, pS\J, JNU .
.
PaRCha - JNU - All Organisations - 2008 ID-48691
.
=~il .
.Of.
UALITY.
13.10.08 .
'Humankind cannot bear too much reality', T.S. Eliot observed in an immortal line. Tbc political establishmems along h:.
YO_UT FO E .
)f( .
Jr .
perpetrators of these atrocities on dalit. Many in the political establishment and in the mainstream journalism activt"ly twisted n.
with the elite intellectuals have behaved as if their constituents and audiences cannot bear the reality on atrocity and thr narrative so that the identity of the aggressors remains in obscurity. .
I) .
)I.
Yesterday's communal violence in Andhra Pradesh and Caste Violence in Patna were the testimony of T.S. Eliot's saying. The so called 'backward class movements' in Tamil Nadu had a narrow social base, and was led by an elite Since the 1990s, India has witnessed a spurt in violence against dalits. This physical violence is perpetrated largely by ' ( .
orgcmiz(Jtion of Rajas, zamindars, industrialists, lawyers, and doctors1, from families with gcnercllions of involvcmrnt in the .
J.
government services and the professions behind them2 .
the 'backward ' castes, who claim victim hood under Brahmins but also tum oppressors of dalits. Tamil Nadu, home to the non-I· .
Brahmin movement, has been projected by the political class, social scientists and policy-makers as fertile soil for social .
..( ( .
justice. However, the Dravidian movement'5 empowerment agenda left the dalits -nineteen percent of the population-almost .
heing murdered for contesting local body elections. More than being a consequence of the accumulation of power in the hands untouched. In fact, dalits have been subjected to the worst forms of violence, from being forced to consume human excreta to .
The 'Backward' castes that inmct violence against dalits-especially physical violence -do not possess full-fledged .
of the intermediary castes, such violence would be better understood as an attempt by the 'backward' caste Hindus to test their .
authority in Indian society. Since the parliamentary form of democracy introduced in post-independence India .favored the new found authority on those below them. .
the Brahmins, Maulavis and other priestly class and the Backward Castes were no longer bound to be subservient to these \'lirlding of power by those who are in a majority in society, these backward castes have, over the years, come to comrol .
political power. The ..constitution of 1950 and the introduction of the concept of secularism curtailed the religious authority of .
If we examine the violence against dalits in this context, we will have to come to a different conclusiou alrogerher. .
priestly class. It was only subsequently that economic, administrative and political power devolved to rhe Backward Castes. .
Rather than seemg it a consequence of such accumulation of power among lhe Backward Castes, the violence against dalirs would be better understood as an attempt by Backward Caste Hindus to test thtlir newfound authority on those below them. .
This not to say that the Dalits are not asst!rting their rights3 Since Brahmins have been a n~rnerical minority in Hindu society, their violence has mostly been · symbolic; whereas .
the violence unleashed by the castes which are in a numerical majority is physical in nature. Earlier, the authority to decide Shivaji, the Maratha ruler, in the face of such Brahmin authority is· recent in our collective memory. Toclily. the Brahmins wield .
whether a king could be bestowed with recognition and legitimacy was vested with the Brahmins. The dilemma f'!ced by .
no such authority. The authority that has been concentratedJn the hands of the numerically strong castes has led to their power .
becoming unlimited in scope. .
The Vanniyar Sangam was constituted in 1980 and evolved into the Paauali Mak':al Katchi (PMK) under the districts of TamU Nadu. In 1987, they staged a weeklong roadblock to demand 20 percent reservation for Vanniyars. During this struggle they torched more than a thousand dalit homes. The agitation and its success led to the subsequent political leadership of S. Ramadoss, a medical doctor. Today, the PMK wields tremendous influence in the Vanniar belt-the northem .
.
October 4, 1998 was a black Sunday for th~ people of the coastal Ramanathapuram district in southern Tamil Nadu. .
consolidation of the Vanniyars". Just two days after the nation celebrated the 129th birth annivc!rsary of Ma~ata Gandhi, caste-related violence rocked the .
villages and·towns on either side of the national highway that links this economically backward district with the city of .
Madurai. Eleven persons were killed and several were injured in the violence and the police action that followed. Six of the .
dead were dalits; the five others belonged to the thevar communi:y, a Most Backward Class group. All the victims were from The immediate causP of the violence was provided by a district-level rally at Ramanathapurarn, organized by the .
Thevarkula Kottamaippu (Thevar Federation). According to a senior politician from a neighboring district, the Koottamaippu is among the economically weaker sections. Scores of houses were torched and hundreds of people rendered homeless. Thevar Peravai". The Thevar Peravai is said to have been behind the many instances of violence involving thevars and dalits .
"a conglomeration of unorganized groups of young thevar extremists who have joined the power struggle in the Tamil Nadu .
that have racked the southern disuicts in [he past five years. Its leadership, perceived to be close to AIJ India Anna Dravida .
p.t.o. .
Mennetra Kazhagam general secretary and former Chief Minister 1. Jayalalitha, is now caught up in litigation 1nd has been .
rendered inactive5 .
I Betl'llle, Andre, 1969, Castes Old and New: Essays In «;ocJal Structure and Social Stratification, Bombay: Asia Publishing Housl.', pg. 176. j S. Vlswanathan, Dallt In Dravlclland(2005) this book 11 tomplltd ..·om the repons of Human Rl&ht Watch ami Frontllnl.', Navayana Pub.. l'undiclwrry,J'"· xl-xli. .
Washbrook, D.A., 1977, The Emer1ence of Provincial Politics: The Madru Presidency, 1870-1920, New Delhi: Vlkas Publishing HouSt', I'R· 279. .
.
~ S. Vlsw.tmnhan, Dallt In Dravlclland(200S), thll book 11 complied iron. tht repons of Human.Rlaht Watch anti Fromllnt', Nav;tya'"' Pub.. l'undklu.rry. I'K· xxiii-xX.''CVil. .
S. V"wtRillaan, Dalltln Dravldlll1d(2005), Ibis book II CO~DR.~ICI from rht rwporca of Hum.ut Rlaht Watch and f-rontline, Navayana J»ub., Pundidu'ITy. PI-101. .
Jt-.
ess.
lndnd ve-.
.
) .
I .
,s .
)nS 1\CD .t\CS).
\ne'f \S notnand j does .
,obi\\sin9 .
1\ten hOW .
speaKing .
5 at\e('(\p\s .
o\iticisation.
wdid uda'f .
,\ tnough. ne .
n ac\i\/is\s ot .
jen\s o\ JNU .
:n ac\i\1\s\s as .
.
sh nad ear\\er .
\at\er witn the .
:s between \he .
npro\1\ise wh\ch tneir de,ea\is a .
i\ure in.
~n\ Goromun\\'j ;tic torces and .
· \a·, pS\J, JNU .
.