Mudukulathur : Recalling Trying Times

Revisiting the panchayat of Mudukulathur after the infamous 1957 caste clashes between the Thevars and the Devendrakula Velalar

Bhuvanesh Chandar

(Originally written in January 2020 as a part of my ACJ curriculum)

The Mudukulathur panchayat in Ramanathapuram district has been known for all the wrong reasons ever since the caste clashes in 1957 that followed the assassination of Dalit leader Immanuel Sekaran by persons of the Thevar community, led by Muthuramalinga Thevar. So how did it all begin? What happened during the riots? P. Munisami, the President of Devendrakula Velalar Sangam, says, “Before the clashes, both the communities (Thevars and Devendrakula Velalars) were living in harmony. There were divisions and untouchability did exist but there weren’t any riots. In Sivakasi, however, the Nadars, who are also a dominant caste, were up and against the Thevars. But Nadars couldn’t fight against a powerful community like Thevars and hence they garnered the support of the Devendrakula Velalars and it gradually became an issue solely between the Devendrakula Velalars and Thevars. It’s ironic because, now both Thevars and Nadars are united in suppressing the Dalits. Later, the 1957 Legislative Assembly triggered a lot of riots between the two communities”

While further explaining the events that followed, K.Puthuvan, a former District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO), states, “In the election, Muthuramalinga Thevar (a revolutionary leader of the Thevar community) won the MP seat in Arupukottai constituency and Perumal Devendran won the MLA seat. However, Muthuramalinga Thevar vacated his Mudukulathur seat and a by-election was called for. A Thevar candidate once again won the by-elections and riots started all over the district. In a nearby village, the Thevars contaminated a common water source with human feces and violent clashes erupted.”

“A peace conference was called for on September 10th. During it, Immanuel Sekaran refused to stand up when Thevar entered the conference and angered Thevar by stating that he’s a leader only to the Thevars. Due to this, Immanuel Sekaran was killed the next day in Parmakudi by Thevars,” he added.

Puthuvan said that it was important for the Devendrakula Velalars to stand together and fight against an “oppressing power” like the Thevars. “If nobody questioned and opposed this dominant power, many minorities like the Arundhatiyaars and the Parayars wouldn’t be able to live here. They are powerless and hence the opposition was important.”

Situation Now :

So how are things now? Both Mr.Puthuvan and Mr. Munisami stated that caste clashes and violence went down drastically and that no major clashes happened after 1957 (in 2011, however, there were a series of caste clashes in Paramakudi due to the arrest of TMMK leader John Pandiyan who was heading to commemorate the 54th Death Anniversary of Immanuel Sekaran).

Puthuvan stated that what used to be a blatant, visible, caste discrimination has become a silent, subtler, form of discrimination. Especially in the fields of education and employment, caste-based discrimination seems to have become the norm here. “People say that we have reservation but the truth is that the system of reservation is abused by the dominant communities. Even if candidates are eligible for a seat, they lie that they are left vacant and we later realise that all those seats are being filled by candidates from the upper caste. In fact, no non-minority management school fills up the required percentage for the SC/ST quota. If we question them, then they would say that nobody has been found eligible for these seats and that is why they were being filled by other community candidates.”

Muniyasaami, a Dalit resident of Gandhinagar in Mudukulathur, reiterated this discrimination. While both of his children are graduates (his son is an M.Com graduate, while his daughter has finished M.Sc), they struggle to get placed in interviews. Muniyasaami cites economic backwardness and the larger community background as the reasons for this discrimination.

Puthuvan further explained as to how caste has infiltrated the political arena of the district. “For example, if there are two Thevars in a reserved constituency, both of them would support two different Devendrakula Velalars, spend money on them and help them win. But both of them would then have to become puppets who abide by whatever the Thevars order them to. Similarly, even at the top positions, if a person from the oppressed caste becomes an officer, then the sub-ordinate who is from a dominant caste wouldn’t follow orders. The officer would need to abide by this sub-ordinate or he would be transferred. This happens even at the IAS/IPS level.”

Honour killing seems to be another huge menace that exists in this district. “If a man from an upper caste wishes to marry a woman from the lower caste, nothing will happen. But things would turn entirely different if a man from the lower caste intends to marry a woman from an upper caste,” says Munisami.

Even though this seems to be a very dismal state, there is still hope. “The attitude of people has changed over the years. Education is a huge reason for that,” says Muniyasaami. However, Munisami contradicts him and states that education alone cannot solve the problem. “Education can earn you a lot of respect in the society, but education is not enough, Untouchability will always exist no matter how educated you are. If people begin to marry out of their castes, then that will definitely help in alleviating this caste-oppressive attitude. More inter-caste marriages should take place and discrimination will slowly fade away.”

Mudukulathur, like many other towns in India, is changing rapidly so far as the issue of caste discrimination is concerned. “The government is not doing anything. The just want the oppressed to stay oppressed. Whatever equality we’re getting now, it is solely due to the efforts of the members of the oppressed caste,” says Munisami.

Amirthavalli, a resident of Gandhinagar in Mudukulathur, says, “If my children also go to the same school as that of the upper caste people, they become friends and hence they begin to look at us equally.” All that people like Amirthavalli and Muniyasaami can hope for now is that this change becomes more pronounced and discrimination becomes a thing of the past.