Atrocities in the name of caste are a staggering failure of not only the state but of the community as well. The ordeal of a Dalit woman to get a placement at her own village as a noon meal worker is a classic case of caste discrimination even in this era.
Atrocities in the name of caste are a staggering failure of not only the state but of the community as well. The ordeal of a Dalit woman to get a placement at her own village as a noon meal worker is a classic case of caste discrimination even in this era.
It all started for Paapal, a woman belonging to Arunthathiar community when she first got a job as a helper in the noon meal scheme at the government primary school at Kandhayipalayam in Avinashi Taluk, Tirupur, in 2006. She received her joining order on 20th February 2006.
Paapal was not allowed to work there, abused by the Kuttadam Panchayat president using the name of her community. The then Block development officer Shanmuga Sundaram transferred her to the Government middle school at her own village, Thirumalaigoundenpalayam and the order was issued on 14th March 2006. Within a matter of two days on 16th March she was transferred again to the Government primary school at Vaiyapurigoundenpalayam near Seyyur. She was humiliated there too and was not allowed to continue.
Paapal finally got a transfer on 24th March to Ochampalayam Panchayat union primary school. she continued to work there for 12 years till 30th June 2018. The only reason she was able to work, the school was in the Adi Dravidar colony.
After 12 long years, Paapal got a transfer order early this month to Thirumalaigoundenpalayam Primary school after nineteen Noon meal workers retired on 30th June 2018. She got oral orders initially from the BDO but she went to the school it was the same old scenario and she was not allowed to cook.On 16th July she got a written transfer order and was asked to take charge as a cook at Thirumalaigoundenpalayam High school as a cook.
Paapal joined duty at the school on 17th July and on the 18th a crowd consisting of about 75 to 80 people did not allow the school authorities to open the school. It was alleged that parents of 29 children threatened to withdraw their wards from school if Paapal continues to work as a cook.
The District educational officer and the Block development officer after negotiations with the crowd transferred Paapal to Ochampalayam again.
The reason stated by the BDO V. Meenakshi, “The parents were citing previous personal enmity as a reason and even said that they fear for their children’s lives. So I had no other option but to transfer her”.
According to the Headmistress M.Sasikala, the parents only cited the previous enmity as a reason for not allowing Paapal. She also said that out of 75 children studying in the school nearly 40 students are from the Gounder community and parents of 29 children opposed having Paapal as a cook. But the video footages show otherwise.
An official who does not want to be named confirmed that caste is an integral part of the village and the dominant caste will never allow her to cook for their children.
Around 400 families live in Thirumalaigoundenpalayam, where caste-based humiliations are very common. Of the 400 families, nearly 320 families belong to the Gounder community and the rest being Arunthathiyars. This incident is nothing but a showcase of caste-based discrimination.
After a number of pro-Dalit organizations jumped into protests, the district sub-collector Shravan Kumar intervened and gave orders directing Paapal to work in the same school. He further recommended departmental action against the BDO and the school headmistress M.Sasikala.
Action was also taken against the people who did not allow the school to be opened and made derogatory remarks against Paapal using her caste name. 87 people were booked under various sections including under Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015.
“I have been facing this right from the day I joined this job in 2006. Everywhere I go, the dominant caste people will create issues and I will get a transfer again. Only at Ochampalayam, I was allowed to work because the school was in the Adhi Dravidar colony. For me traveling 16km to reach Ochampalayam, spending nearly Rs.22 per day on my meager salary, it was extremely difficult. So when there was a vacancy in my own village I requested a transfer and the result is this. Every time the dominant caste people continue to use derogatory words. I get to listen to the same question, “ How can an Arunthathiyar woman cook for our kids” which is extremely disheartening” stated Paapal.
Though questions raise about the unruly and inhuman behavior of the accused, the most disturbing issue in this whole episode is the action taken by the officials. Official apathy to such sensitive issues has caused more damage. Instead of taking action against the people who locked the school the BDO chose to transfer the victim. The reason stated by the BDO was” we had to do this to avoid further problems”.
The atrocity met out to Paapal in the name of the case is nothing but a constitutional violation. According to the Article 17 of the Indian Constitution. Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of Untouchability shall be an offense punishable in accordance with law.
The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The Act is popularly known as POA, the SC/ST Act, the Prevention of Atrocities Act and The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 are landmark acts as far as protection of Dalits is concerned. The purpose of the original act was to help the social inclusion of Dalits into Indian society. The Supreme Court of India too reiterated the significance and importance of the act which said “The offenses of atrocities are committed to humiliate and subjugate the SCs and STs with a view to keep them in a state of servitude. Hence, they constitute a separate class of offenses and cannot be compared with offenses under the Indian Penal Code.”
But the ground level reality looks entirely different. Tamil Nadu has many such similar incidents where Dalit women were humiliated at the Anganwadis and in the Government schools where they were employed as noon meal workers as cooks or helpers.
Though such incidents are very common in many parts of the state only a few get reported or even come to this level.
Even in this case though the no. of accused booked under Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, seems to be large, 87 people were booked. The sections under which the accused are booked does not yield enough power to punish them.
“Though 87 people are booked under various sections including the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, the accused were booked under sec 3 (1) R and 3 (1) S. which only says the accused were booked for calling her by her caste name and difficulties faced by Sc STs at the work place. This either shows the ignorance of the concerned officials or they have done this intentionally. In a court of law, a question will rise, when there is a group of 87 people did everyone abuse her using her caste name and the case will be dismissed” stated Kathir, Executive chairman of Evidence, a nonprofit organization working for Dalits.
“The accused should have been booked under sections 3 (1) D & E under which no person belonging to SC/ ST community should be denied entry into a public building which includes a government school. And the other section says that no person belonging to SC/ST community can be denied opportunity to render a service or employment based on caste. These sections will render strength to the case and there are high probabilities of the accused getting punished.“ added Kathir.
The issue not only has highlighted the atrocities faced by Dalits at present but has other dimensions too. This happened in a school where 75 children from both the communities study. Now with the problem raised by their parents, the students will know what it means to belong to a particular community. Venom has been already passed on to the children to poison the minds.
“A progressive society will never tolerate indifferences in the name of caste. The way to tackle this issue is through stringent punishments for crimes committed in the name of caste. But the long-term solution is through education. Education starting from the primary level, teaching children the irrationality of inequality will go a long way. At least the next generation will be free from such discrimination. A country will progress only if Social justice prevails in all spheres”, said P.S.Krishnan, the architect of the most important act enacted to prevent atrocities against Dalits. , The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The IAS officer also worked extensively to bring in the amendments necessary to the act and thus was born The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)Amendment Act, 2015. P S.Krishnan was the Special Commissioner for SC and STs when the act was formulated. He retired as Secretary to the Government of India.
In the current issue, Krishnan opines that the officials are to be held accountable and should be punished at par with the offenders. "It’s the duty of every citizen and in particular the government officials to upheld and act according to the Indian constitution. What happened to the victim is unconstitutional and should be punished accordingly", added Krishnan.
As far as the action on officials are concerned, The National Commission for Scheduled Castes on Thursday has summoned Tirupur District collector, the Superintendent of Police and the Chief education officer along with the Avinashi DSP, the investigating officer in the case to appear before its vice chairman on 30th July at NCSC headquarters at New Delhi.
Paapal has joined the school and started cooking for the children there. Millions of Dalits continue to face atrocities in the name of case in this day and age. A stellar example to prove to us that we have a much ground to cover as a unified nation.