Breaking with pre-independence tradition, 60 Dalits took to the streets wearing shoes

On December 24, 60 people from the Dalit community took to the streets for the first time wearing shoes in Rajawar village of Madathakalam taluk of Kotorpur district, where walking was prohibited. In doing so, they violated the so-called upper caste rule, which prevented Dalits from wearing slippers and shoes on the streets.

By Muhammad

New Delhi: On Sunday, December 24, 60 people from Tamil Nadu’s Dalit community defied an unwritten ban imposed on them by the region’s so-called upper castes, breaking a pre-independence custom.

According to the New Indian Express, community members of Rajavar village of Madathakalam taluk in Tirupur district donned shoes for the first time and stepped out on ‘Kambala Naiken Street’. Thus, they violated the unspoken rule of the “upper” caste, which prevented Dalits from wearing slippers and shoes on this path.

According to the report, Scheduled Cast (SC) members are not even allowed to ride bicycles on the road.

All the 60 people walking along the three hundred meter long road belong to the backward caste Naiker community. According to the newspaper, out of about 900 houses in the village, 800 belong to important castes like Gondris and Nayakars.

Muruganandam (51), a resident of the area, told The New Indian Express that Arunthathiyar prevented members of his community from walking on the road wearing slippers. Scheduled caste members were given death threats and even beaten up. Even upper-caste women were threatened with death by the local gods if they wore slippers on the streets. We have avoided going out and facing persecution for decades. A few weeks ago, we drew the attention of Dalit organizations to this issue.’

Speaking to a newspaper, another member of the SC community said, “When untouchability was banned after independence, the upper castes said that to preserve the tradition, the voodoo doll was buried under the road and if people came from there it was said that if they ride. The SC community wears slippers on the road and they die within three months. Some SC people believed these stories and started walking without slippers and this trend continues even today.

Tamil Nadu Untouchable Mattau Morcha (Tiruppur) secretary CK Kangaraj recently visited the village and found that many Dalit women were not even allowed to enter this street.

The organization wanted to start a protest, but the police did not allow it and asked to postpone it. Members of the morcha decided to march on the streets along with officials from political parties like the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Vidhuthlai Chiruthigal Kachi and Dalit rights organization Aathi Thamijhar Peravai.

A group of 60 people entered the Rajakaliman temple in a village where Dalits are not allowed to enter, the New Indian Express reported.

Courtesy : Pi News

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