--- On Tue, 8/19/08, Shiva Shankar > wrote:
Subject: Violent ways (fwd)
To:
Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2008, 10:58 AM
Violent ways - S.Vishwanathan (Frontline, August 16)
Social boycott is often used by predominant social groups in villages to
force Dalits into submission. The decision to boycott a person or a group
of people in respect of social and economic relations as a measure of
punishment or protest is generally taken by the oor panchayat, an informal
village panchayat, often a kangaroo court. Whenever Dalits attempt to
assert their rights or demand land or increased wages or press for changes
in village customs, this weapon comes in handy for oppressive forces. At
Ittikkal Agaram, caste Hindus have liberally used this weapon right from
the day the government approved of the plea of 62 Dalits of the village
for allotment of land and identified the land they could use for
cultivation in 1976.
The oor panchayat disapproved of the land allotment and announced a
boycott of the beneficiaries if they accepted it. When prospective Dalit
landholders were warned of dire consequences, 40 among the 62 declined to
take possession of the land and offered their services as agricultural
workers to their old masters. When the other 22 tried to cultivate the
land allotted to them, caste-Hindu landholders' musclemen physically
prevented them and damaged their agricultural implements. Those who
continued cultivation were ostracised. Their lands were destroyed and
crops damaged.
Another bout of social boycott was imposed on the Dalits in October 2004
following a land dispute. This remains in force to this day. Caste-Hindu
landholders have been barred from offering jobs to Dalits, and any
violation would attract a heavy fine. Non-Dalits are barred from speaking
to Dalits, and defiance would be punished. Many non-Dalits had to pay
fines for violations, said a Dalit youth. Dalits have been denied access
to the main village and public pathway. They cannot graze their cattle on
the common grazing land. Non-Dalit households have been barred from
selling milk to Dalits. (Children are badly affected by this.) The only
exemption in this four-year-old boycott is access to a couple of shops in
the village, according to a Dalit resident.
Social boycott is nothing but a cruel form of untouchability. Attempts by
Dalits to bring the offenders to book have not succeeded so far. An
interesting aspect of this struggle is the solid support two non-Dalits
have been extending to Dalits. One is a Muslim, J. Akbar, who runs a small
shop in the village, and the other is C. Venkatappan, who belongs to the
predominant caste Hindu social group, Vellala Gounder. Akbar has played a
major role in organising the litigation work for the petitioners. He said
he was the victim of a similar boycott imposed by the oor panchayat. His
mother had been attacked by non-Dalit musclemen. The caste oppressors had
started constructing a building for a "magalir manram" (Women's
Forum) in
violation of norms, blocking access to his house. "But all this will not
deter me," he said. Venkatappan is also a victim of social boycott. His
cultivation has suffered badly and his expensive motor pump-set was badly
damaged in an attack on his farm.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Green Youth Movement" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
