1957 Ramnad riots

Last updated

The Ramnad riots or the Mudukulathur riots were a series of violent clashes that occurred between July and September 1957 in the Ramnad district and in southern Tamil Nadu, India. The violence was between Thevars supporting the Forward Bloc, and pro-Congress Dalit Devendrakula Velalar, and was triggered by a by-election held in the aftermath of the Madras Legislative Assembly elections of earlier that year. 42 Dalits were killed during the riots. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

Treatment of Dalits

Ramanathapuram district was deemed to be infamous for its brutal caste based discrimination during the colonial era of the 1930s. Dalits were denied any type of symbols linked with superior social position. In his book, J. H. Hutton, the then Census Commissioner, explained the eight restrictions enforced on Dalits by Upper castes, including a ban on the use of jewelry, ornaments and education. This system was subsequently re-established with a stricter collection of 11 restrictions. [3]

Rise of Dalits

In the 1930s,Dalits became educated and economically strengthened. As Dalits gained access to jobs and education, they started to assert themselves. But at the other side, the Thevars stayed disadvantaged in education and, as reported in the Government Order in 1957, they were unable to "align themselves with the present democratic reality and could not accept that the feudal system was rapidly disappearing." [2]

Due to the rise of Immanuel Sekaran, there was a huge change in society in the form of resistance to caste exploitation by low-caste and Dalit workers, particularly in the southern districts as well as from left-wing movements in the Thanjavur district. This led to increased awareness amongst Dalits, who used the opportunities available in the government through the policy of reservations. The Social Scientist M. S. S. Pandian described that migrating to greener pastures and later returning to their villages and investing in agriculture enhanced their financial base, which ultimately led to Dalits, starting to assert themselves. [3] [2]

Elections

The Congress Reform Committee (CRC) was formed one month before the 1957 elections to the Lok Sabha and the Madras Legislative Assembly, and soon began cooperation with the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) of U. Muthuramalingam Thevar. The CRC-AIFB combined contested 59 seats in the assembly election, 54 candidates from CRC, and five candidates from AIFB. There was also an informal agreement with the Communist Party of India, which did not oppose the CRC.

In the 1957 general elections, U. Muthuramalingam Thevar had contested both the Srivilliputhur parliamentary seat and the Mudukulathur seat in the Madras legislative assembly. He won both, defeating the Congress candidates. The combined CRC-AIFB formulated a 12-point election manifesto and emerged as the major opposition alliance in these elections, but could not defeat the Congress government. CRC won 14 seats and AIFB won three. Half of the seats won were from the Ramnad and Madurai districts. Following the election, a joint 'CRC opposition' group was formed in the legislative assembly, to counter the bid of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (which had 16 seats) to hold the post of Leader of the Opposition. Soon five independent assembly members joined the CRC opposition group, and V.K. Ramaswamy Mudaliar was elected leader. After the election, Thevar chose to retain his parliamentary seat, and a by-election was called for the Mudukulathur assembly constituency.

The by-election was held on 1 July, and when the results were released on 4 July, the situation in the area grew tense. The Forward Bloc candidate T.L. Sasivarna Thevar won the election. Gradually, incidents of violent clashes between Thevars (who generally supported the Forward Bloc) and pro-Congress Devendrakula Velalar began to occur. Initially these clashes were limited to a handful of villages, but after some time the violence spread throughout the constituency. In order to offer sacrifices to the Badrakali temple, the Maravars kidnapped 9 Dalit men from the Katamangalam village and took them.

Events during the riots

A 'peace conference' was held on 10 September, attended by U. Muthuramalinga Thevar (who had returned day before from Delhi), T.L. Sasivarna Thevar and Velu Kudumbar from the Forward Bloc party, a delegation of six representatives from Devendrakula Velalar from the Congress party and Veluchamy Nadar and Soundara Pandian of Kamuthi (a representative from the Nadar caste). The conference was convened by the Ramnad district collector. The peace meeting was held in a nearby village called Mudukulathur. Initially all delegates, including Immanuvel Sekaran and the district collector, appealed to Thevar to campaign for peace in all riot affected areas but Veluchamy Nadar did not agree. The conference delegates finally decided to give statements independently.

On 11 September, Emmanuel Sekaran, a member of the Congress delegation at the peace conference, was murdered in Paramakudi by Maravars. [1]

On 13 September, clashes erupted at Arumkulam. Five Devendrakula Velalar and three Thevars were killed, and their bodies were thrown into a fire. Two of the Thevars and one of the Devendrakula Velalar were women.[ citation needed ]

On 14 September, a group of armed police entered the village of Keelathooval in order to arrest suspects in the Emmanuel Sekaran murder case. Five Thevars were killed in police gunfire. According to Forward Bloc sources, the five were blindfolded and executed. A police inquiry commission later refuted that claim.

On 16 September, clashes erupted in villages including Veerambal, Arumbakkan, Irulandapatti and Sandakottai. In the two latter places sixteen Devendrakula Velalar, including one woman, were killed by Kallars. On the same day, the Thevar village of Ilanchambol was attacked by a Devendrakula Velalar mob; the village had been deserted by the police two days earlier. Two Thevars were killed in the attack. The attack was interrupted as Thevars from the neighbouring village of Keelapanayur arrived, driving off the Devendrakula Velalar and killing four people.

On 17 September, police opened fire on Forward Bloc cadres in the village of Keeranthai. Five of those killed was Thevars and one was a Devendrakula Velalar. On 18 September, Devendrakula Velalar houses were torched in Thandikudi. On 19 September, hundreds of houses, belonging to both Thevars and Devendrakula Velalar, were torched in the villages of Piramanur, Vadi, Tiruppuvanam, Nallur and Tiruppachatti. On the following day police opened fire on a Thevar mob, but with no casualties.

On 20 September, gunfire by police killed five thevars, four in Uluthumadi and one in Malavavanenthall. In Veerambal, Kallar and Maravar stormed a church where a group of Devendrakula Velalar had sought refuge. Two Devendrakula Velalar were killed and a further 32 were injured. On 21 September, more clashes occurred, but from the following day onward there were no reported incidents.

On 28–29 September 1957, CRC held a state conference and reconstituted itself as the Indian National Democratic Congress. U. Muthuralinga Thevar, one of the inaugural speakers of the event, was arrested just after having delivered his speech. Later, a court in Pudukottai acquitted Thevar of all charges. The Judge who handled the case called Muthuramalinga "a lookalike of Vallalar".

On September 10, 1957, Dalits, Maravars, and Nadars met for negotiations set up by the district collector CVR Panikkar at the time. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All India Forward Bloc</span> Political party in India

The All India Forward Bloc (abbr.AIFB) is a left-wing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. The party re-established as an independent political party after the independence of India. During the 1951–1952 and 1957 Indian general election, the party was known as Forward Bloc (Marxist). It has its main stronghold in West Bengal. The party's current Secretary-General is G. Devarajan. Veteran Indian politicians Sarat Chandra Bose (brother of Subhas Chandra Bose) and Chitta Basu had been the stalwarts of the party in independent India.

Revolutionary Forward Bloc was a political party in Tamil Nadu, India. The party was founded in 1968 by S. Andi Thevar and Velayudham Nayar, following a split from the All India Forward Bloc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar</span> Indian politician (1908- 1963)

Ukkirapandi Muthuramalinga Thevar, also known as Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, was a farmer, politician, freedom fighter and a spritualist from the Thevar community.He is revered as a demigod in southern Tamil Nadu. He was elected three times to the national Parliamentary Constituency. The birth anniversary of Muthuramalinga Thevar on October 30 is celebrated annually by the Thevar community in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu as Thevar Jayanthi.

The Pallar, who prefer to be called Mallar, are an agricultural community from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pallars traditionally inhabited the fertile wetland area referred to as Marutham in the literary devices of the Sangam landscape. Today, they are the dominant Dalit community of southern Tamil Nadu and have developed a reputation for being assertive about their rights. Due to the demand of the pallar community to classify them under a more dignified generic name Devendrakula Velalar, recently they together with six other related castes have been given the name Devendrakula Velalar; however their original caste name remains valid and they are still part of the Scheduled Caste list.

The Mukkulathor people, who are also collectively known as Thevar, are a community or group of communities native to the central and southern districts of Tamil Nadu, India. They comprise the Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar communities that share a common myth of origin and claim to have once been members of various ancient South Indian dynasties.

K. Velayudham Nayar was an Indian politician. He was born in Kerala, but was politically active in Tamil Nadu. He belonged to the All India Forward Bloc. After the demise of the AIFB stalwart and Lok Sabha member U. Muthuramalingam Thevar, Nayar contested the Lok Sabha bye-election for Thevar's seat from the Aruppukottai constituency in 1964. His candidature was supported by the Swatantra Party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Indian Union Muslim League. Nayar was, however, defeated by the Congress candidate R.K. Dorai.

The Congress Reform Committee (CRC) was formed by a group of dissidents that left the Indian National Congress in the Madras State. The CRC was led by C. Rajagopalachari, who had been defeated by Kamaraj in the inner-party disputes over leadership of the Congress in Tamil Nadu. CRC was formed just one month before the 1957 elections to the Lok Sabha and the Madras state legislative assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caste-related violence in India</span>

Caste-related violence in India has occurred and continues to occur in various forms.

T.V. Sasivarna Thevar was an Indian politician. He was a protégé of U. Muthuramalinga Thevar and a leader of the Forward Bloc.


K. Muthuvel was an Indian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly from the Mudukulathur constituency in the 1984 election.

Cooch Behar Uttar is an assembly constituency in Cooch Behar district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is reserved for scheduled castes.

Dubrajpur is an assembly constituency in Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is reserved for scheduled castes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immanuvel Devendrar</span> Indian freedom fighter (1924–1957)

Immanuvel Devendrar, who later took the name Immanuel Sekaran, was a, civil rights activist, former soldier and a party worker for the Indian National Congress in Tamil Nadu, India.

The Paramakudi riots were a series of riots that happened from 10 to 13 September 2011 in Paramakudi, in the Ramanathapuram district. The riots were held in response to the detention of Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) leader John Pandian who was detained while heading to Paramakudi to commemorate the 54th death anniversary of Immanuvel Devendrar, Pallar caste.

The Worli riots occurred in the chawl, or tenement, in the Worli neighborhood of Mumbai between January and April 1974. The riots began on 5 January 1974 after the police attempted to disperse a rally of the Dalit Panthers that had turned violent. Regular clashes between the Dalit Panthers, the Shiv Sena, and the police continued for several months. Six people were killed in the riots, and approximately 113 injured; widespread property damage also occurred in the tenements. The riots have been described as anti-Dalit violence by scholars.

The Kamuthi looting was an invasion of Kamuthi by Maravars from neighbouring villages on 17 September 1918. The looting ended with around 50 rioters being shot dead by the police and two policemen being killed. It also resulted in property losses estimated at Rupees 50,000.

Kalugumalai riots of 1895 was a violent conflict between Nadars who had recently converted to Roman Catholicism and Maravars who were traditional Tamil military caste during 1895 in Kalugumalai in Madras Presidency, British India. A total of ten people were killed and numerous people were injured. The temple chariot of Kalugasalamoorthy Temple was also burnt during the riots. The contention of the communities were over the usage of the Car streets round the temple by Nadars, which were opposed by the other communities quoting private ownership and religious sanctity.

Devendrar Jayanthi is a festival celebrated annually on 11 September. It is organised by various political parties, community organisations and civil societies in Southern Tamil Nadu to commemorate the memory of Immanuvel Devendrar, a freedom fighter and Indian National Congress leader who took part in the Quit India movement during the British Raj era. He worked in the Indian Army in independent India and later he fought for the rights of depressed class people of Southern Tamil Nadu, particularly for upliftment of Pallar caste. He was a close associate of chief minister K. Kamaraj.

The Kamudi Temple entry agitation was an agitation by the Nadar community to enter the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Kamudi or Kamuthi in 1897. On the night of May 14, 1897 the Nadars forcefully entered the temple and inside the Sanctum Sanctorum and made rituals. The Nadars were opposed as they were not considered as a high caste to enter the temple. Criminal cases were filed against the Nadars and they made to compensate for the purification rituals after their entry. The attempt to enter the temple represents an important step in the history of Kamudi.

The 1995 Kodiyankulam violence occurred on August 31, 1995 when a force of 600 policemen attacked the village of Kodiyankulam in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, India and destroyed property and took away cash and jewellery worth several lakhs of rupees. The police raid was on the instruction of the dominant caste officials. The raid was reportedly held to destroy the material prosperity of the villagers.

References

  1. 1 2 "Remembering Immanuel Sekaran: Brave Dalit leader who lost his life to savarna brutality". The news minute. September 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 RAJASEKARAN, ILANGOVAN (14 February 2018). "Memories of Mudukulathur". Frontline. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  3. 1 2 D.karthikeyan (11 September 2011). "Immanuel Sekaran in the vanguard of Dalit struggle". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "Remembering Immanuel Sekaran: Brave Dalit leader who lost his life to savarna brutality". September 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.