Technoglitch
Core Member
The suspected honour killing of a Dalit man near Coimbatore on Sunday may have caused a nationwide uproar, but this is only the latest case of caste-based violence in a state with a brutal history of Dalit oppression.
A group of unidentified men armed with hatchets and sickles hacked 22-year-old Shankar to death in the town of Udumalaipettai Tiruppur, allegedly for marrying his wife Kausalya, an upper caste Hindu.
Kausalya told police she believed the attackers were hired by her family as she was threatened by them in the past for marrying against their wishes.
Violent clashes between OBCs and Dalits have increased in northern Tamil Nadu because of its changing political climate; specifically, the formation of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (Working People’s Party) in the late 1980s by Dr S Ramadoss. The PMK was predicated on the Vanniyars’ sense of identity, and aggressively employed a political rhetoric that framed the demands of the community in terms of caste.
The PMK was born largely due to the absence of a strong anti-caste policy from the two main inheritors of Periyar’s legacy, the DMK and the AIADMK. This space was not just used by OBCs however; Dalits too formed parties to counter the rise of caste politics, with the most notable being the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (Liberation Panther Party).
Caste and violence in Tamil Nadu: A state of honour killings | india | Hindustan Times
The woman's father has surrendered in court, say the police. He has denied any role in the attack and claims he turned himself in because the police were looking for him.
23-year-old V Sankar, a Dalit, and 19-year-old Kausalya, who is from the politically powerful Thevar caste, married just eight months ago after meeting in college. On Sunday, they were on a shopping trip for their college annual day when they were attacked.
In CCTV visuals, they are seen walking and chatting when three men on a bike stop behind them and suddenly attack Sankar with sickles and sharp weapons.
Tamil Nadu Dalit Student Hacked On Crowded Road, Father-In-Law Surrenders
A group of unidentified men armed with hatchets and sickles hacked 22-year-old Shankar to death in the town of Udumalaipettai Tiruppur, allegedly for marrying his wife Kausalya, an upper caste Hindu.
Kausalya told police she believed the attackers were hired by her family as she was threatened by them in the past for marrying against their wishes.
Violent clashes between OBCs and Dalits have increased in northern Tamil Nadu because of its changing political climate; specifically, the formation of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (Working People’s Party) in the late 1980s by Dr S Ramadoss. The PMK was predicated on the Vanniyars’ sense of identity, and aggressively employed a political rhetoric that framed the demands of the community in terms of caste.
The PMK was born largely due to the absence of a strong anti-caste policy from the two main inheritors of Periyar’s legacy, the DMK and the AIADMK. This space was not just used by OBCs however; Dalits too formed parties to counter the rise of caste politics, with the most notable being the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (Liberation Panther Party).
Caste and violence in Tamil Nadu: A state of honour killings | india | Hindustan Times
The woman's father has surrendered in court, say the police. He has denied any role in the attack and claims he turned himself in because the police were looking for him.
23-year-old V Sankar, a Dalit, and 19-year-old Kausalya, who is from the politically powerful Thevar caste, married just eight months ago after meeting in college. On Sunday, they were on a shopping trip for their college annual day when they were attacked.
In CCTV visuals, they are seen walking and chatting when three men on a bike stop behind them and suddenly attack Sankar with sickles and sharp weapons.
Tamil Nadu Dalit Student Hacked On Crowded Road, Father-In-Law Surrenders
