Letter From Chennai: Ramdoss rejects PMK's downfall as media myth

The Pattali Makkal Katchi founder-leader, Dr S. Ramadoss's proposal for the bifurcation of Tamil Nadu and creation of a separate state comprising the Vanniyar-dominated northern areas has been rejected outright by almost every other party and is now not being talked about except by the doctor himself.

The general feeling is that the doctor floated the proposal mainly to bolster the sagging popularity of his party. He still claims that the Vanniyar community that the party represents is a big enough vote bank to win at least 80 seats out of the total of 234 Assembly seats.

He boasts that with 20 seats in the Assembly, five members in Parliament, including two Central ministers, "it is a media myth that the PMK is on the decline".

The fact is that the PMK, which was formed by Ramadoss as the political front of the Vanniyar Sangham in time for the 1989 elections, has managed to win seats by cleverly allying with one of the two 'Dravidian' Parties, the DMK or the AIADMK. He has also played his cards cleverly to secure berths in the Union Cabinet.

But observers believe that if the PMK stands alone, boasts not withstanding, the party will not be able to win more than single digit seats in any state election.

The Vanniyar community, which Ramadoss whipped into a militant organisation, and secured favours from the past governments of Tamil Nadu, is today not a united front. The community is spread across different parties, including the Dravidian ones, which themselves were the end result of a movement against a Brahmin bias in the British days and immediately thereafter.

The Vanniyars sought to be in the upper half of the caste table after the Brahmins were pushed off their high pedestal. And because they managed to succeed under the leadership of Dr Ramadoss in the late Seventies, they have lost the fighting spirit.

But worst of all is the emergence of the lowest category in the caste table, the Dalits. According to some population figures, the Dalits formed 22 per cent of the total population of Tamil Nadu of 62 million. The Vanniyars formed just over 12 per cent.

According to these figures, the Dalits and Vanniyars together accounted for over a third of the total population.

The role of the downtrodden that the Vanniyars occupied is now contested by the Dalits.

Elections are still fought on caste considerations. The Dalits in Tamil Nadu look as if they (and not the Vanniyars) are the most oppressed community. Attempts to organise and lead this vast mass have to fight the centuries old caste system.

Leaders like Dr Krishnaswamy of the Puthiya Thamizhagam or Thirumavala-van of the Dalit Panthers of India have so far failed to mobilise the Dalits and fight oppression. Not a day passes without reports of incidents of upper caste victimisation of and inhuman treatment of the Dalits.

Almost exactly seven years ago on August 31, 1995, the more 'forward' caste Thevars ravaged the Dalits of Kodiyankulam near Trichy during Jayalalithaa's first term in office. The village wells were poisoned. Property was destroyed. Hundreds of Dalits left the village as the Thevars, led by Thevar police, ransacked the village systematically.

More recently, these columns narrated the treatment meted out to some Dalits of Thinniyam village in Tiruchi district last May for protesting the actions of the upper caste Thevars against one Dalit. Five dalits were forced to eat human excreta for the crime. Horrified public intervention made the government take action against the criminals. But to no avail.

Today the upper castes have ostracised the Dalits of the village. The latter are not allotted work or employment. Several Dalit families are starving. One Dalit woman told a reporter that the Dalit families were reduced to one meal a day to survive.

Forty-five Dalit families have left the Sankaragoundanpalayam village near Bhavani following objections by upper castes to the Dalits conducting religious rites in temples. The difference of opinion deteriorated into group clashes in June. Normalcy has still not returned to the village.

The 'two tumbler' culture still persists in several southern districts of Tamil Nadu. Last week the Alangulam police arrested the resident of a locality for adopting the 'two tumbler system' to serve tea to the scheduled castes.

The culprit, Arumugasamy Thevar, according to the police, used glass tumblers for the Dalits and steel glasses for others. That Thevar has been arrested. But such action is rare.

One report said: "In the caste riven state, tea shops in several villages do not serve just hot beverages but also trade untouchability in two tumblers – cheap glass gumblers for the Dalits and stainless steel glasses for the caste Hindus……. although the two and three tumbler system is a brazen violation of the SC/ST (Scheduled castes, scheduled tribes) (Prevention of Attrocities) Act, it is an accepted practice in Southern Tamil Nadu. If the tea shops do not discriminate against the Dalits, the caste Hindus will throw the shop owners out".

At a children's home at Poovani near Srivilliputhur, Dalit children are served meals in separate plates.

Under such treatment, it is not surprising that for years there have been instances of whole Dalit communities converting to other religions.

DPI's Thirumavalavan recently objected to Dr Ramadoss's allegation that the Prevention of SC/ST Attrocities Act and Protection of Civil Rights Act were being misused against non-Dalits.

On the other hand, he said: "While the police are very reluctant to register complaints pertaining to harassment of Dalits and non implementation of the acts in a majority of cases, Ramadoss wants to put obstacles in the implementation of the Acts even at a minimal level". Ramadoss's statement "only exposes his intentions and show his anti-Dalit attitude".

A social scientist recently commented: "Given the centuries of oppression by the upper castes and the persistence of extreme forms of discriminatory and exclusionary practices, the Dalits still have a long way to go in their social and political advancement.

"The leaders of their political outfits….. are 'nowhere men' in the existing political set up". As for the Vanniyar community, he added, "the PMK seems to have begun its downhill journey".

And, in the current political set up, it is advantage Jayalalithaa's AIADMK which boasts of having over 20 Vanniyar MLAs.

The failure of the Vanniyars and the inability of the Dalits to fight unitedly, even as she is steadily decimating the MDMK and wearing down the DMK ensures her smooth governance at least for the full term. Others like the Congress, BJP and Communists do not matter.