1995 Kodiyankulam violence

Last updated

The 1995 Kodiyankulam violence occurred on August 31, 1995 when a force of 600 policemen attacked the all-Dalit 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 Dalits.

Contents

Background

Kodiyankulam is a village located in the Thoothukudi district, with a majority of 287 households belonging to the dalit Pallar caste. Human Rights Watch reported that the Dalits of the village have benefited from the influx of financial resources from family members working in Kuwait, Dubai and the United States, since 1980. [1] The Parakirama Pandian Tank, built under British rule in the 1940s and subsequently renovated and restored by the Indian National Congress government in the 1960s, helped agriculture flourish and made Kodiyankulam prosper. The literacy rate in many Pallar villages in the region was better than the state and district average. Women were also educated in the village, with a large number of female graduates and postgraduates which made them assertive. The village gave leadership to the other Pallar villages in the area due to its comparatively higher wealth and higher level of education and awareness. [2]

Discrimination also prevailed against the Dalits in the region, they were prevented entry in many temples and wells in the village, Dalits were served separate glasses in tea shops, they were not allowed to travel in Maravar dominated streets and were made to sit on the floor during village council meetings. When the Dalits became assertive they started to resist the discrimination. [3]

Causes

On July 26, 1995, a quarrel started between a Dalit bus driver and some school students who belonged to the Maravar caste, the bus driver was beaten up by Maravars. The incident led to Dalits attacking the village of Veerasigamani which was dominated by the Maravars and damaged a statue of U. Muthuramalingam Thevar, a Thevar caste leader. [4] The Maravars put provocative posters abusing Pallars in government buses and all over the region. [3] Posters urging Thevars to murder Pallars and kidnap their women were also put up. The policemen were not only spectators but on some occasions they also took part in the attacks against the Pallars. [5] This led to violence against Dalits and their properties which lasted for a week. The violence left at least 18 people from both sides dead and crores of property damage apart from numerous government buses burnt or destroyed. [3] [6]

Police attack

In the presence of the district magistrate and the superintendent of police, 600 policemen raided Kodiyankulam at the instruction of Thevar officials [7] on August 31, 1995, destroying properties. Televisions, tape recorders, fans, sewing, motorcycles, machines, tractors, farm equipment and food grain storages. They burnt the passports of educated Dalit youth in bonfire along with clothes. The only well present in the village was reportedly poisoned by police. [1] They harassed the women and assaulted the elders. The attack began at 10:45 am and continued until 3:15 pm. [5] Cash and jewellery worth several lakhs of rupees were also taken by the policemen. The police raid was reported to target the material prosperity of the Pallars. [7] [8] [9]

Investigations

The raid in Kodiyankulam was reportedly intended to apprehend suspects in a murder investigation and recover explosives and deadly weapons suspected to be in the hands of Dalits. Observers said that the police accused the residents of this prosperous all-Dalit village of providing material and moral help to criminals in the region. According to observers, the police raid's objective was to destroy the village's economic base. [10]

People's Union for Civil Liberties

The People's Union for Civil Liberties's (PUCL) advocates made a visit to the Thoothukudi district. They said that the police assaulted the villagers with aruvals, iron rods, hammers and axes, causing property damage. The police used metal detectors to find gold jewellery, which they stole along with cash and valuables. The Thoothukudi district PUCL demanded that the President of India order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident and take action against the District magistrate, who they said was responsible for the violence. [11]

Gomathinayagam Commission

The Tamil Nadu government ordered the payment of around ₹ 17 lakh [12] in assistance to the affected people of the incident. The government named P. Gomathinayagam, a former district judge as a one-member commission of investigation. [13] Gomathinayagam paid a visit to the riot-affected areas. He investigated only one house in Kodiyankulam and then immediately left when the people told him that they were boycotting the Commission. [14] [10]

On March 12, 1996, the Commission delivered its report to the government. Since the Devendra Kula Vellalar Federation petitioned the High Court for a CBI investigation, Dalits from Kodiyankulam and other villages decided to boycott the commission. The Commission heard from 26 government witnesses, mostly police officers, including the Superintendent of Police, as well as 133 people. Since Dalits boycotted the Commission, the Thevars provided the majority of the public witnesses. [10]

On the Kodiyankulam incident, the Commission claimed that there was no police excess. The Puthiya Tamilagam, Dravidar Kazhagam, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the Communist Parties opposed to the inquiry of the commission. [10]

Aftermath

The incident created widespread outrage, and villagers publicly protested against the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). They were successful in electing K. Krishnaswamy, president of the Federation of Devendrakula Vellalar Sangam, to the state legislative assembly. [15]

The storyline of the movie Karnan (2021 film) is loosely influenced by this incident. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Nadu Police</span> Indian law enforcement agency

Tamil Nadu Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is over 150 years old and is the fifth largest state police force in India. Tamil Nadu has a police-population ratio of 1:632. The Director General of the Tamil Nadu police is Shankar Jiwal.

<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 politician,Independence Activist,Freedom Fighter, patriarch of Thevar community. 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 and Sri Lanka. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maravar</span> Tamil community in Tamil Nadu

Maravar are a Tamil community in the state of Tamil Nadu. These people are one of the three branches of the Mukkulathor confederacy. Members of the Maravar community often use the honorific title Thevar. They are classified as an Other Backward Class or a Denotified Tribe in Tamil Nadu, depending on the district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agamudayar</span> Tamil community

Agamudayar are a Tamil community found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In Southern parts of Tamil Nadu, they are considered as one of the three castes which make up the Thevar or Mukkulathor community. According to the anthropologist Zoe E Headley, the three communities are the "numerically dominant rural backward castes of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu". Agamudayars are listed in the national commission of backward caste lists for Tamil Nadu as "Agamudayar”. Agamudayar was derived from maravar community. Mukkulathore is DNC community.

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.

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 Pallars, 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.

The 1981 Meenakshipuram Conversion was a mass religious conversion that took place in the Indian village of Meenakshipuram, Tamil Nadu, in which hundreds of "oppressed" caste Hindus converted to Islam. This incident sparked debate over freedom of religion in India and the government decided to introduce anti-conversion legislation. Later, many converts converted back to Hinduism, citing the lack of fulfillment of promises made during the conversions.

<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, a revolutionary leader from the Pallar caste.

In the 2012 Dharmapuri violence, a Vanniyar caste mob set fire to about 268 Dalit houses in Natham, old and new Kondampatti and Annanagar Dalit colonies in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu on 8 November 2012. The violence occurred after a Vanniyar girl from Sellankottai village, and a Dalit boy, from the neighbouring Dalit colony of Natham, fled due to parental opposition to get married. A caste panchayat held on the morning of 7 November by leaders from both communities ruled that the girl be returned to her family. Distraught at her decision to stay with her husband, her father allegedly committed suicide. The discovery of his body later that day is said to have provoked a 1,500-strong mob to rampage through Natham and two smaller Dalit settlements, Kondampatti and Anna Nagar, where it set ablaze over 200 houses, damaged at least 50 others, and allegedly looted valuables and cash worth lakhs of rupees. The mob rampaged for four hours and was brought under control after arrest of 90 men and an additional deployment of 1000 policemen.

Uthapuram is a village in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for a wall which segregated Dalits from the village for two decades.

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.

Samathuvapuram officially Periyar Ninaivu Samathuvapuram is a social equality scheme of the Government of Tamil Nadu to improve social harmony and to reduce caste discrimination. Under the scheme, villages of 100 houses each are being created to accommodate the various castes, with one community hall and burial ground to be shared by all. The scheme is named after the social reformer Periyar E. V. Ramasamy.

Kausalya is an Indian anti-caste activist. She became a cause célèbre after her former husband V. Shankar was hacked to death in 2016 in an honour killing by killers hired by her family. Her case, known as Udumalai Shankar murder case, became emblematic of the endemic issue of honour killings of inter-caste couples, as well as the enduring issues of caste violence in Tamil Nadu. Her family were opposed to her inter-caste marriage. She is a Thevar, while Shankar belonged to the Pallar caste. On 9 December 2018, she wedded Sakthi in Coimbatore. Her decision to get remarried was received well with wishes pouring in from many sections.

The 2004 Kalapatti violence refers to the violence against Dalits by dominant-caste villagers in the village of Kalapatti, Tamil Nadu on 16 May 2004. About 100 Dalit houses have been burned down by a mob of 200 villagers and Dalits who attempted to escape were attacked. The attacks lasted for 2 hours and 14 people were seriously injured in the violence including a man's arm reportedly hacked off.

Nankudi Vellalar, is a Tamil sub caste found in Tamil Nadu, India. These group of people are considered to be believers and followers of Shaivism. They come under the Suryakula Kshatriya Clan as per the ancient Indian Varna System. They also claim descent from the Velir hereditary of Irungovel Pandyas The hereditary headman of the caste was always invested with the title Irungovel. Their origination is from Melaselvanur in Ramanathapuram District. These group of people actually belong to Maravar Caste as they also follow the Kilai System just as Maravar, the rituals performed in the Marriage and Funeral ceremony of Nankudi Vellalars are almost the same as Maravars and there are a lot more similarities as well. The exactly sub caste that they come under is Kondaiyankottai Maravar, these group of people started using ‘Pillai’ as their title in recent years, but in earlier times they used ‘Thevar’ as their title. As per the documentations and proofs submitted by Dr. Chidambaram Naynar Pillai in 1920 to the High Court of Judicature at Madras, Madras Presidency, British India, it is considered that the Nankudi Vellalars are the direct descendants from lineage of 201st Pandya King “Poitidia Irungovel Pandya Thevar”, who ruled the Pandiya Kingdom with Korkai as its capital in 1600s. As they immigrated to Sivagalai they were highly involved in agriculture activities. Their original stronghold seems to have been southern districts of Tamil Nadu, viz. Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Korkai, Ambasamudram, etc. Some of them migrated to Srivaikuntam during the course of time and came to be known as Kottai Vellalar or "Kottai Pillaimar"as they built and lived in forts.

The 2019 Ponparappi violence happened on April 18, 2019, during the polling day for the 2019 Indian general election in the village of Ponparappi, Tamil Nadu. The violence reportedly started as scuffles and agitations between the supporters of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the members of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) together with the members of Hindu Munnani, which reportedly led to violence by the members of the PMK on a Dalit colony. 60 to115 Dalit houses were damaged and Dalits were assaulted.

<i>Karnan</i> (2021 film) 2021 film by Mari Selvaraj

Karnan is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Mari Selvaraj, and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu. The film stars Dhanush, Rajisha Vijayan, Lal, Yogi Babu, Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli and Natarajan Subramaniam. The film features music composed by Santhosh Narayanan, cinematography handled by Theni Eswar, and editing done by Selva R. K. The film features the titular character, hailing from a conservative background, fighting for the rights of his people.

References

  1. 1 2 Human Rights Watch 1999, p. 103.
  2. ↑ Manikumar 2017, p. 69.
  3. 1 2 3 Manikumar 1997, p. 2242.
  4. ↑ Pandian 2000, p. 503.
  5. 1 2 Salil, K. (2021-04-12). "Caste in Tamil cinema: Karnan raises the bar". The Federal. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  6. ↑ Pandian 2000, p. 506.
  7. 1 2 Pandian 2000, p. 507.
  8. ↑ "Rediff On The NeT: N Sathiya Moorthy on the caste clashes in southern Tamil Nadu". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  9. ↑ "Unwilling to act". Frontline. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  10. 1 2 3 4 VISWANATHAN, S. "A contentious report". Frontline. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  11. ↑ Manikumar 2017, p. 71.
  12. ↑ "'An inhuman act by the police'". Frontline. Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  13. ↑ Manikumar 2017, p. 77.
  14. ↑ Manikumar 2017, p. 78.
  15. ↑ Manikumar 2017, p. 64.
  16. ↑ "Karnan movie review: Dhanush's film is a powerful, bold portrait of caste-based riots and police brutality". Hindustan Times. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2021-04-13.

Bibliography

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.