People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
No.
23
June 06, 2010
|
Vol. XXXIV
No.
23 June 06, 2010 |
TNUEF’S
FIRST STATE
CONFERENCE
A New Era Has
Begun
Ganesh
TAMILNADU
Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) has formalised the
organisational structure
in the just concluded first state conference at Pudukkottai. 33 months
have
passed since the TNUEF was formed. It is not just months, countless
agitations
were carried out by the member organisations under the banner of TNUEF.
A
few months back, the SC/ST Commission visited Tamilnadu. Kamble, vice
chairman
presided over the team. When the TNUEF met him, he was surprised. He
said, we
have enacted many legislations against the untouchability. Is a Front
for
untouchability eradication still relevant, he asked.
A
seasoned politician, he must be aware that mere enacting of a
legislation will
not solve the problem. As we all know, the ground reality is what
decides the
way forward. The situation in Tamilnadu demands such an organisation,
which
functions on a common platform. In fact, there is a vacuum in taking
forward
the struggles for social justice. And the TNUEF has taken plunge at the
right
time.
In
the last three years, the units of the Front took up various direct
actions.
Demolition of untouchability walls, entry of dalits into temples,
retrieval of
paths to the cremation grounds, evacuation of encroachments made by
caste
Hindus and putting an end to various forms of discriminatory practices
prevailing in the society were possible. Most of the struggles were
successful.
In this background, the first state
conference
of Tamilnadu Untouchability Eradication Front was held at Pudukkottai
(a town
situated in the central part of Tamilnadu) on May 28-29, 2010.
The preparations for the successful
conduct of the conference were done well in advance. Various trades
unions,
mass organisations of Pudukkottai district took up this challenge. They
had
even decided that the delegates from different organisations need not
to pay
fees as normally collected for the conferences. All the districts had
street
corner meetings with the leaders and the workers of TNUEF explaining to
the
people about the historical reasons to form the organisation and its
impact on
the society. Jyotis were
brought from Venmani(Nagapattinam), Melavalavu(
DELEGATE
SESSION
P
Sampath, convenor, TNUEF had presented the conference report. The
report was
exhaustive. It brought out the various struggles and experiences of the
units
of TNUEF. The report listed out the cruel manifestations and the
atrocities
that are being experienced by the dalits in the state. This list is
incomplete.
More surveys would bring even more stunning revelations, P Sampath
said. Delegates
representing the districts and various organisations took part in the
discussions on the report. It is noteworthy that not even a single
delegate had
contradicted the report. Everyone had appreciated the efforts and
insisted on
carrying forward the struggle.
420
delegates representing trade unions, mass organisations, more than 20
dalit
organisations and those who were involved in direct actions against
caste
oppression participated. Among the delegates, dalits and tribals
comprised 70
per cent. And the Arunthathiyars were almost 20 per cent. More than 15
per cent
were women. The conference adopted the resolution to combine the
struggles
against caste oppression and class exploitation. The struggles and the
rich
experience gained in that were shared by the delegates.
V
Karuppan, former IAS officer, Kadhir,
director
of Evidence, an NGO that espouses dalit
rights, S Kannan, DYFI state secretary and K S Kanagaraj, SFI state
secretary,
greeted the conference. R Singaravelu of CITU, S Tamil Selvan of TNPWA
and S Thirunavukkarasu
of AIAWU took part in the conference. Dalit leaders like R Adhiyaman, K
Jakaiyan,
Ravikumar and others took part in the delegate session. In the evening
of the
first day, anti-untouchability cultural programme was organised.
Pudhugai
Poobalam, a popular group enthralled the audience with their satirical
programme. An art exhibition was also organised in the Town Hall,
Pudukkottai.
On
the second day, P Sampath had summed up the proceedings of the
discussion. Then
the delegates elected the office bearers. P Sampath, the present
convenor was
elected as president. K Samuel Raj was elected as general secretary and
R
Jayaraman as treasurer. 17 vice presidents and 17 secretaries were also
elected. N Varadarajan, R Athiyaman, A Lazar, P Shanmugam, S K
Mahendran, S Jakkaiyan
and Kovai Ravikumar were among the newly
elected vice presidents. K Swaminathan, K R Ganesan, S Kannan, P
Suganthi were
among the newly elected secretaries. A state committee consisting of 98
members
was also elected. Prakash Karat, CPI(M) general secretary greeted the
delegates
and addressed the conference.
Prakash
Karat lamented the practice of untouchability. He said untouchability
is the
worst feature of the caste system in India and when the one’s mind is
directed
against all forms of untouchability and discrimination,
that is the beginning of the
fight against the caste system in India. This is the first step to get
rid of the
hated untouchability.
The
TNUEF should bring into its fold all who wish to end untouchability, to
end all
sorts of discrimination and also all who wish to work for an
egalitarian
society. He said, without fighting the caste discrimination, revolution
is not
possible in India and expressed belief that TNUEF will become a genuine
instrument in bringing about a social change in Tamilnadu. He also
congratulated the TNUEF for having taken up many struggles.
Huge
Rally
After
the conference, a sea of men and women was witnessed by
Pudukkotai town. Thounsands of people took
part in the rally. The rally was flagged off by K Varadarajan. In the
public
meeting, Prakash Karat, G Ramakrishnan, CPI(M) state secretary, N
Varadarajan,
Central Committee member of CPI(M), U Vasuki, state general secretary
of AIDWA spoke.
The
future course of action was chalked out in the conference. The
conference has
decided to wage series of struggles putting forth various demands that
include firm
implementation of Prevention of Atrocities(against dalits) act,
distribution of
land and pattas, right to worship the deity in the temples, rights of
dalit
christians, proper implementation of sub-quota for Arunthathiyars
within the
reserved quota for dalits, release of movie on Babasaheb Ambedkar in
Tamil, construction
of memorial for Martyr Ondiveeran, reservation in private sector,
filling up
backlog vacancies, implementation of special sub-plan for dalits,
increasing
the percentage of reservation for SCs in line with their
population etc.
IMMEDIATE
DIRECT
ACTIONS
Few
immediate direct actions were also planned in the conference.
Chidambaram
Natarajar(Lord Shiva) Temple is a very famous and historical temple.
The south gate
of the temple is permanently closed due to the fact that Nandan, a
dalit came
inside the temple to worship Natarajar. TNUEF has called for immediate
opening
of the south gate, failing which the Front will take direct action ,
the
resolution said. Another immediate direct action is regarding
Uthappuram.
Though the wall is demolished, the passage is not ensured yet. A bus
shelter, a
normal requirement is denied to the dalits, though the fund is allotted
through
TK Rengarajan’s MP development fund. To realise these, an agitation is
announced.
The
mood was upbeat among the delegates, among the thousands of people who
took
part in the rally and among the dalit
organisations. One thing that was said by everyone was “It is going to
happen”.
One need not say ‘It’ means change. The general feeling about the
conference
among the people is that it is a turning point in the journey for
social
justice. They had the feeling that an era had just begun - era of
change, era
of finishing off of untouchability and era of removing discrimination.
