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Tamil Nadu
By R.K. Radhakrishnan
Since 1996 elections to the panchayats could be held just once, though the SEC had notified the poll 11 times. Only once did anyone come forward to file nominations. The dominant Piramalai Kallars have been demanding that the villages be dereserved since 1996 — the year the DMK Government held elections to the grass roots bodies. If elections are held this October, the exercise will be no different this time or anytime in the future, predicts the Dalit Panthers of India general secretary, T. Thirumavalavan. Everyone, right from the State Government, to district authorities, the SEC and political parties, is responsible for this situation, he says. It was his party, which tried to break the shackles imposed by unwritten norms in March 2002 and encouraged two agricultural labourers, Subban of Pappapatti and Poonkodi of Keeripatti, to file their papers. Overnight, the two Dalits, who defied conventions to contest for panchayat head, became media celebrities. Their status, however, lasted for only a little over a fortnight. The halo faded with their defeat early that April. In both the villages, caste Hindus got two Dalits to contest the post. The final `scoreline' at Pappapatti read: votes polled — 917, Subban — 3 and Thanikodi — 907. At Keeripatti, the story was no different: votes polled — 349, Poonkodi — 3 and Karutha Kannan — 341. Immediately after the two winners assumed office, they resigned. But the fate of the losers was worse. Unable to withstand persecution, they had to flee. ``Even our immediate relatives asked us to keep off. Everyone was scared,'' says Poonkodi. That the Government and its machinery at the district level have done precious little is evident from the fact that status quo continues in the villages. Dalit activists warned — immediately after the elections — that the elected leaders would be forced to resign. It is not known whether the Government took the warning seriously, but the fact that it did not actively intervene to prevent the elected candidates from stepping down speaks volumes of the disposition of those who handled the machinery. ``We have exhausted all options. For five years since 1996, the DMK had tried to hold elections. Nothing happened. Then came the AIADMK Government. Again, nothing happened. All this because both the parties are hardly interested in ensuring that Dalits get their rights,'' said Mr. Tirumavalavan. Right now, the DPI feels, court offers the only hope. ``We will request court to take action against the officials and the district administration for making a mockery of democracy. Also, we demand that the villages be not dereserved,'' he added. But all this does not in anyway help Subban and Poonkodi, who were forced to flee their villages for their `sin' of contesting poll. No help was forthcoming from either the government or anyone else; so both turned to the DPI. After a short while, Subban went back to his relatives near Madurai, but stayed clear of his village, while Poonkodi is still in Chennai. He helps out with printing of the DPI magazine, Thaimann, and does odd jobs. He does not see himself back in his village. ``No way I can go back.'' ``They will not let me live there,'' he says. No regrets there, only mere acceptance.
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