SRED along with Tamil Nadu Dalit Women’s Movement has been addressing the issues of caste-based violence for four decades. There has been increase in the incidents of caste-based violence in schools of Tamil Nadu. Dalit children are discriminated and have been facing various forms of caste violences within the school campus. Children from dominant castes wear different colours of hand bands to denote their caste status. The classroom seating is given based on the caste status of the children. There have been fact finding studies which state about Dalit children are made to clean the toilets and school campus. Dalit children are discriminated and called out with their caste names which impact their academic performances. There are incidents in which portraits of Dr.Ambedkar are insulted.
On August 9,2023 a Dalit teenager and his sister were brutally hacked by schoolmates belonging to an intermediate dominant caste at Nanguneri, Thirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu. The attack was said to be a revenge for the Dalit boy daring to give a complaint against his classmates for being harassed as, “Dalit caste”. In the context of increasing caste violence, the state Government of Tamil Nadu established a one-man commission headed by retired Justice K. Chandru to examine the issue and bring out recommendations.
SRED along with Tamil Nadu Dalit Women’s Movement conducted a consultation meeting on 7th October 2023 in which students, parents from Dalit, Tribal and nomadic communities and teachers shared their experiences of caste discrimination and gave their recommendations. The recommendations were consolidated under the categories such as; reforms in school campus, syllabus, School Education Department and the State Government. The thirty seven recommendations were sent to the One-man Commission.
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