The true Face of casteism in Tamilnadu.
Southern Tamilnadu is witnessing a disturbing trend of adolescent boys resorting to caste-centered violence. In the past 20 days alone, three incidents have occurred where dalit boys were attacked by non-dalit boys. In two incidents, the non-dalit boys attacked the dalit boys with sickles, leaving them with severe bleeding injuries. Five non-dalit boys were arrested and sent to juvenile homes in two incidents in Madurai and Tirunelveli.
On March 5, class 12 students of a government higher secondary school at M Kallupatti near Usilampatti in Madurai clashed among themselves. Their friends fromk outside the school also joined the clash, leaving four injured.When police arrived the students pelted stones on the police and fled the spot.
On March 18, Gopinath 17, a dalit boy and son of a conservancy worker in Madurai Corporation from Boothakudi village near kulamangalam was sitting in the village yard when three youths, including a 17 year old school boy, picked up a quarrel with him for allegedly sitting in the place where dalits were prohibited. The 17 year old boy then attacked Gopinath with a sickle, leaving him with a deep cut near his left ear
On March 20, Vijay Ramesh, Vignesh and Kalathian all 17 year old dalits from Naduvakurichi village, were travelling in a bus when a 15 member gang of non-dalit boys assaulted them. Police said that the boys were assaulted because they played songs praising Ambedkar a few days ago in a hotel that led toa quarrel. Two non-dalit boys were arrested and sent to juvenile home.
Sri A.Kathir , executive director of Evidence, an NGO said “incidents of adolescent boys resorting to caste-based violence is on tahe rise in districts like Madurai, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Theni and Sivaganga districts. But use of weapons in the attacks is very disturbing. The boys get emboldened when elders in their villages who perpetrate such attacks go scot-free.
Samuel Asir Raja, professor of Sociaology MS University says that violence among adolescent boys is not new, but now it is acquiring aa new dimension. “These boys are moulded by caste identities and they are never allowed to think beyond those” he says. The incident mirror the caste relations in the society.
Friends,
What I have reproduced above is a news item from The Times of India, Chennai edition dated 26 March 2012. While this is the true face of casteism in Tamilnadu, we TBs in this forum repeatedly hear about the jAti attitude of clumsily attired, kachcham wearing, pundram wearing, non-violent wannabe/week-end brahmins. Are we not witnessing “barking up the wrong tree”? Cheers.
Southern Tamilnadu is witnessing a disturbing trend of adolescent boys resorting to caste-centered violence. In the past 20 days alone, three incidents have occurred where dalit boys were attacked by non-dalit boys. In two incidents, the non-dalit boys attacked the dalit boys with sickles, leaving them with severe bleeding injuries. Five non-dalit boys were arrested and sent to juvenile homes in two incidents in Madurai and Tirunelveli.
On March 5, class 12 students of a government higher secondary school at M Kallupatti near Usilampatti in Madurai clashed among themselves. Their friends fromk outside the school also joined the clash, leaving four injured.When police arrived the students pelted stones on the police and fled the spot.
On March 18, Gopinath 17, a dalit boy and son of a conservancy worker in Madurai Corporation from Boothakudi village near kulamangalam was sitting in the village yard when three youths, including a 17 year old school boy, picked up a quarrel with him for allegedly sitting in the place where dalits were prohibited. The 17 year old boy then attacked Gopinath with a sickle, leaving him with a deep cut near his left ear
On March 20, Vijay Ramesh, Vignesh and Kalathian all 17 year old dalits from Naduvakurichi village, were travelling in a bus when a 15 member gang of non-dalit boys assaulted them. Police said that the boys were assaulted because they played songs praising Ambedkar a few days ago in a hotel that led toa quarrel. Two non-dalit boys were arrested and sent to juvenile home.
Sri A.Kathir , executive director of Evidence, an NGO said “incidents of adolescent boys resorting to caste-based violence is on tahe rise in districts like Madurai, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Theni and Sivaganga districts. But use of weapons in the attacks is very disturbing. The boys get emboldened when elders in their villages who perpetrate such attacks go scot-free.
Samuel Asir Raja, professor of Sociaology MS University says that violence among adolescent boys is not new, but now it is acquiring aa new dimension. “These boys are moulded by caste identities and they are never allowed to think beyond those” he says. The incident mirror the caste relations in the society.
Friends,
What I have reproduced above is a news item from The Times of India, Chennai edition dated 26 March 2012. While this is the true face of casteism in Tamilnadu, we TBs in this forum repeatedly hear about the jAti attitude of clumsily attired, kachcham wearing, pundram wearing, non-violent wannabe/week-end brahmins. Are we not witnessing “barking up the wrong tree”? Cheers.
