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The Madras High Court criticised discrimination against Dalits, urging Tamil Nadu to ensure temple access to the community and address the issue of violence in Pudukkottai district.
Chennai:
The continued discrimination against Dalits, 80 years after independence, is painful to see, the Madras High Court said Thursday as it heard a plea demanding the Tamil Nadu government intervene to ensure the community can enter temples, such as one in Pudukkottai district and two others in Karur.
The plea also seeks identification of the arsonists and individuals who attacked Dalit-owned homes and vehicles on May 5 in Pudukottai, as well as damage assessment and financial compensation.
The Madurai bench of the court rebuked the Collectors and Superintendent of Police for the Puddukkottai and Karur districts, reminding them theirs aren’t “only white collar jobs” and that it was unfair to only take action – when faced with caste-based violence – if a complaint is filed.
“In some villages Dalits can’t wear a shirt… walk in the street. If the Collector had gone, in disguise, to inspect the situation, the truth would have emerged,” the court said.
“Why didn’t they (the Collector and senior police officers) visit the area?” the court asked, as it also directed submission of CCTV footage – from May 4 to May 7 – from the Pudukottai village.
The petitioners had also alleged the police did not file cases against mob leaders.
The Tamil Nadu government earlier told the court it had received no complaints of discrimination – despite videos of the violence at Vadakadu village on the night of May 5.
Houses of Dalits were vandalised and set on fire, and a police constable was injured.
Over a dozen individuals from the so-called upper castes and five Dalits were charged under the stringent SC/ST Act and with carrying weapons. Many were arrested, local reports said.
Nearly two dozen others were admitted to local hospitals for treatment.
The violence and the arson took place last week after Dalits were reportedly denied entry to the sate-run Mariamman Temple. One house, two cars, and six two-wheelers were set on fire.
In Karur, besides being denied entry to temples, Dalits alleged temple chariots bypass their homes.
They also said the practice of untouchability – expressly illegal – continues in some tea shops in the form of the ‘two tumbler system’, which sees different mugs served to Dalits and the so-called upper castes.
The state government said yesterday Dalits had been let into the temple after a peace committee meeting at the village in Pudukottai, and that control over government land was the real issue.
Meanwhile, predictably, each side has given different accounts of the how the violence began.
However it did, the trigger was a temple festival at which Dalits were reportedly carrying ceremonial umbrellas. This led to a verbal argument that snowballed into violence.
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