SRED along with Tamilnadu Women’s Forum and Tamilnadu Dalit Women’s movement has been struggling to mainstream the issues and Rights of Dalits and Tribals. Here are few empowering stories for understanding.
The movements actively engage in issues of claiming Land Rights. In a village called Mulvoy near Arakonam three Irular families had built huts on the bank of a lake. A company from Chennai bought thousands of acres of lands in that area. They threatened the three Irular families, drove them out, demolished the huts and occupied the place as part of pathway to their newly purchased land. The aggrieved Irular families approached the movement. The movement leaders verified the revenue records after persuading the village administrative officer, and found that 53 cents of Puramboke (government) land is available at Mulvoy. On learning this the movement leaders approached the Panchayat leader and the revenue officials. With their support the Irular families occupied the 53 cents of land. The displaced Irular families and another Irular family have built houses on this land. Now they have applied for pattas (title of authority over the piece of land)
Out of the two hundred houses built under the Government Samathuvapuram housing program at Thalavedu village no house was allotted to the Dalit people. Movement leaders met the Thiruvallur collector and submitted a petition. Following which seven houses were allotted to the Dalits.
Thirty Dalit families of Ellapanaidu Pettai did not have access to burial ground through the common path way. Instead they had to use a path which was flooding during rainy season and the Dalits had to carry the dead bodies almost floating. The movement learnt this , they met the district collector and the district SC/ST Welfare Officer with the request for path way for the burial ground. After one month Taluk surveyor came to identify the way and gave the way for burial ground to the Dalits.
The movement leaders took forward to the Panchayat president the issue of R…… (name not disclosed here)(40) and S…. (name not disclosed here)(32) two unemployed Irualar tribal men, who are from Kaverirajapuram. They approached the president with the request of employment opportunity in the Panchayat for these men as manual workers. With much persuasion they succeeded in getting passed a resolution for appointing these two Irulars in the Grama Sabha held on August 15th 2016. On the basis of the resolution, they were appointed as daily workers for a pay of Rs.250 per day. It was informed that if they continue to work for three months, without dropping out, their employment would be made as permanent workers, and they would stand to get higher wage and all the benefits enjoyed by government employees.
There was a clash in the political rally and as a result twenty three houses of Dalits were burnt down with belongings, provisions, household items, jewels, money everything was turned in to ashes. After a representation from the movements the petition was accepted by the local police who have been favoring the perpetrators. The SC/ST commissioner from Chennai visited them and promised assistance from the Government. The movement supported the affected families with emergency relief kits.
The movement took up the issues of an untouchability practice occurred in Erode Anganwadi centre where in the upper caste community stopped their children eating food prepared by a Dalit staff at the centre. The movement with the collective efforts of local as well as state level groups demanded the Government to take immediate action on the issue. In response to the struggle the Government re appointed the Dalit staff and made the other community to accept the decision and to send their wards to the centres and to eat the food prepared by the Dalit staff.
P…. (name not disclosed here) an elected Dalit women Panchayat president from Jahirmangalam of Tiruvallur district, was not having any difficulty if she continued to listen to the other caste leaders for exercising her authority vested by the constitution. Initially the first two years she utilized it for learning from others. After that she started to assert her authority and as a result other community members started harassing her. She could not implement any of the welfare measures including providing the basic amenities. The other caste people destroyed the streetlights and removed the pipe lines put up by the president P…. Following the same they wanted to establish that P… had misappropriated the fund. They gave complaint to the district collector and succeeded in dismissing P….. from her office. A case was filed before the High Court of Chennai seeking direction for reinstating her.
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