Date:29/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/29/stories/2008102954580600.htm

Tamil Nadu

Dalits leave village and stay at nearby hillock

Staff Reporter

They say their “security is under serious threat from caste Hindus”

Leaving home: A resident of Panthapuli trying to handover the ration cards to Sankarankovil Tahsildar Thangadurai on Tuesday.

TIRUNELVELI: Dalits of Panthapuli under Karivalamvanthanallur police station limits left their hamlet on Tuesday urging the police and revenue officials to ensure their safety. They were “under serious threat from caste Hindus,” the Dalits said.

Even after revenue officials assured them that immediate steps would be taken to guarantee everyone’s security, they preferred to stay in a nearby hillock with their children and cattle until their problems were permanently resolved.

District Collector G. Prakash has asked officials to convene a meeting at Sankarankovil taluk office on Wednesday to sort out the issue.

Relations between the Dalits and the caste Hindus became strained 10 years ago after the Dalits were not allowed to offer prayers at the Kannanallur Mariamman Temple in the village on the Tirunelveli-Rajapalayam highway.

Court order

Aggrieved, the Dalits approached the Sankarankovil sub-court, which ordered the Village Administrative Officer and the police to make sure that they were allowed inside the temple.

Subsequently, a peace committee meeting was conducted at the Sankarankovil taluk office on September 17, which decided that the Dalits be allowed inside the temple on September 23.

However, when the Dalits went to the temple on September 23, it remained closed, and the priest, who used to keep the temple keys with him, had left the village.

When the situation became volatile, the officials assured the Dalits that their temple entry would be on September 29, which also failed to take place. Following this development, the district administration decided to seal the temple, citing recurring law and order problems.

Against this backdrop, the Dalits complained that their houses were being stoned by unidentified persons.

Around 200 Dalits of 70 families left their houses on Tuesday morning and preferred to stay in the nearby Kaarisaaththaan hillock.

“Besides allowing us inside the temple to offer prayers, the district administration and police should ensure our security, which is under threat now,” villagers Manivelan and Rajeshwari said.

Mr. Prakash, who sent a detailed report on the incident, told The Hindu that the issue would be amicably resolved at the meeting scheduled for Wednesday.