As many as 60 Dalits from Madathukulam taluk, Tiruppur district, Tamil Nadu, entered a street with chappals for the first time, thus breaking the age-old oppressive caste system and challenging social discrimination.
For generations, Dalits from the Arunthathiyar community were ostracised and banned from entering the street with chappals. The area houses nearly 900 Naickers and Goundar families that belong to Backward Caste communities, The New Indian Express reported.
One of the Dalits told the newspaper that the issue of living in constant oppression led them to approach Dalit organisations.
“When untouchability was banned after Independence, members of the dominant caste cooked up a story saying that a voodoo doll was buried under the street. If we walk on it with slippers, they will die within three months. Some SC members believed those stories and started walking without slippers, and the practice continued till this day,” the villager said.
Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (Tiruppur) secretary CK Kanagaraj said that the fear of oppression has not completely gone. “We walked the street under police protection. However, even after organising the walk, some Dalits are still in fear. We hope our walk will boost their confidence,” he said.
Kanagaraj said that they had initially decided to launch a protest against the unruly practice but did not get the required police permission. “The police asked us to postpone. We accepted that request. But members of our front along with party functionaries of CPM, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and Aathithamizhar Peravai (ATP) decided to walk through the street and enter Rajakaliamman temple in the village, which has remained out of bounds for Dalits,” he added.
