The arrest of the Periyar University Vice-Chancellor under the SC/ST Act points to a stark irony in the state’s approach to social justice, raising questions about the efficacy of the Dravidian model in curbing caste-based discrimination.
Chief Minister MK Stalin’s Dravidian Model government’s claim of striving for social justice and a casteless, discriminatory-free society is empty rhetoric diametrically differing from the ground reality, and the atrocities against the Schedule caste and Schedule tribes are going unabated. The attacks and urinating incidents, detention of Periyar University Vice Chancellor under SC/ST act, report revealing caste bias in TN schools, and even after one year, TN police are yet to book the culprits who mixed human faeces in the overhead tank that serves water to a Dalit colony in Vengaivayal.
Karuppur police of Salem district on Tuesday arrested R Jagannathan, Vice-Chancellor of state-run Periyar University, who is already facing a slew of allegations on charges of embezzling public funds and violating rules by setting up a private company in his name for threatening and abusing the legal adviser of the university employee union (PUEU). He under the cloud for the better part of his tenure, with several political parties and activists levelling allegations of corruption against him and his colleagues at the university established in 1997.
On October 4, legal adviser of PUEU Elangovan filed his complaint against Jaganathan, registrar (full additional charge) K Thangavel, computer science professor S Sathesh, and Trichy Bharathidasan University’s technical education professor E Ramganesh.
Acting on a complaint from Elangovan, the police arrested and questioned him and brought Salem government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and hospital before being remanded in judicial custody.
Elangovan, in his complaint, said “The VC, Registrar, and two professors started the Periyar University Technology Entrepreneurship (PUTER) Foundation on September 14 this year and registered the firm at RoC , Coimbatore under the company’s act. They had invested Rs1 lakh each in the new entity without getting permission from the state government and the syndicate, and they invested PU funds. He allocated a room on the university campus.” When he went to VC’s office to seek an explanation, he alleged, in a fit of rage, VC abused him in front of other employees. Police also registered a case under section of IPC 294, 506(1), 120B, 420,468 ,409and 511 based on Elangovan’s complaint.
A survey, ‘ Caste discrimination in Schools , conducted by Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Forum (TNUEF) found that students at schools in nearly 13 districts nurtured caste pride and indulged in caste-based talks. TNUEF state secretary K Samuel Raj after releasing the survey findings in Chennai, recently said that Cuddalore district tops the list wherein the majority of students follow caste discrimination ( a Vanniyar dominant district).
He said many schools refused to employ Scheduled Caste cooks as the parents and students declined to eat the food prepared by them. The survey was done in 36 districts of Tamil Nadu by posing 78 questions to students of 321 government schools, 58 government-aided schools, and 62 private schools. According to survey reports, there were caste conflicts among the students at over 25 schools, which were brought to the attention of schools concerned. “ In Theni district, Dalit students were not allowed to travel by bus to schools, while in North Chennai-based schools, students indulged in caste-based teasing, slurs, and talking ill of certain castes. Students of about 33 schools wore caste markers such as threads, wristbands, bindi, tokens, and phones to denote their caste” said Samuel Raj.
He said “many (films) were known to depict a particular actor’s character or the actor itself with castiest remarks on their shirts, undershirts, or vehicles. Women students in six districts felt threatened and unsafe in their classrooms, while students in three districts have been sexually harassed.”
The report also revealed that casteism was rampant among teachers in terms of salaries, classrooms, and playgrounds. The NGO suggested, “A comprehensive document on equality guidance has to be published by the government. Additionally, teachers and staff members must undergo training, and changes have to be made in the curriculum. We will publish school names if action is not taken.“
December 23 was an important day for the dalits of Rajavur village of Madathukulam in Tirupur district. On that day for the first time in their lives, a group of Dalit men and women walked the streets of the village with footwear, entered the HR and CE-managed Rajalakshmi Amman temple, and offered prayers to the goddess. The village has around 900 households ( Kamabala Nickers and Gounders) including 50 belonged to Dalits.
Meanwhile, there were memes on social media criticising the DMK government for not arresting the culprits with the incident had been completed for a year. A year has passed since human faeces were found inside an overhead tank that supplies water to Scheduled Caste residents of Vengaivayal in Pudukottai, yet the investigation has yielded no arrests or significant breakthroughs. Voicing displeasure with the public prosecutor fighting the cases alleging the prevalence of the two-tumbler system and the denial of entry to the temple in neighbouring Eraiyur for people from the SC community, residents of Vengaivayal in Pudukootai district submitted a petition with Collector IS Mercy Ramya on December 25 seeking a replacement.
In Tamil Nadu, Dalit parties mostly bank on the support of Dravidian parties. In the State schedule community represent one-fifth of population faces harassment and discrimination at the hands of caste Hindus despite stringent laws. While VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan, after aligning with AIADMK, left and has now settled with DMK since 2019, Puthiya Tamizhagam party led by Dr Krishnaswamy is siding with both the AIADMK and BJP-led NDA alliance.
In 1983, lawyer A Malaisamy floated Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) that gave a glimpse of hope for the community. It had the support of Ambedikar’s wife Savitha Ambedkar and late Ramadas Athawale and Krishnaswamy was part of it. VCK, which has been in the political arena for over 25 years, plans to contest under its own symbol in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. There have been and are smaller outfits for Dalits like { to name a few} Aruntamizhar Makkal Katchi, Aadhi Tamizhar Peravai, Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetera Kazhagam, Tamil Nadu Arudhathiyar Katchi, Tamil Nadu untouchability eradication forum , Puthiya Bharatam, Puratchi Bharatham which are not so active and have influence in some pockets. VCK is the new avatar of DPI in new name.
