The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : "Lack of political will to blame for poll fiasco in reserved panchayats"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 16, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

"Lack of political will to blame for poll fiasco in reserved panchayats"

Staff Reporter

Dalits "doomed by social prejudices and illiteracy"

` A DOOMED LOT': The former Chairperson, National Commission for Women, Mohini Giri, the former judge, Supreme Court, Justice K. Ramasamy, and the Madras High Court judge, Justice M. S. Janarthanam, talking to a woman from Keeripatti village during the national public hearing on reserved Village Panchayats for Dalits in Madurai on Tuesday. — Photo: K. Ganesan

MADURAI: The lack of political will in Tamil Nadu and the "callous attitude of the State Government and its official machinery" to the concerns of Dalits had made the panchayat elections a fiasco at Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Nattarmangalam villages in Madurai district and at Kottakachiyendal village panchayat in Virudhunagar district, observed a jury at a public hearing held on Tuesday on the status of Dalits in the four reserved village panchayats.

It was organised by the Dalit Panthers of India; Human Rights Forum for Dalit Liberation, Tamil Nadu; National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights; and People's Watch, Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, former Supreme Court Judge K. Ramasamy, former Madras High Court Judge M. S. Janarthanam, former chairperson of National Commission for Women Mohini Giri, former Vice-Chancellor of Gandhigram Rural Institute N. Markandan, Gopal Guru, George Mathew, G. Palanithurai and M. Thangaraj said the Dalits of the four reserved panchayats were "a doomed lot as they were caught in the vortex of social prejudices, lack of education, illiteracy and handed down social beliefs."

The jury members said both formal and non-formal education and human rights awareness were lacking among the Dalits and there was need to rectify this.

The non-participation of political parties and non-Dalits in the elections process had "brought shame to social revolutionaries such as Periyar and Narayana Guru," said Mr. Ramasamy.

"We are viewing the incident as an issue confronting Dalits and non-Dalits as there are people bent on sabotaging democracy. So long as the Dalits did not enjoy the fixed period of ten years, the panchayats should not be de-reserved and this would be included as a recommendation," he said.

The recommendations would be finalised and made available shortly. "We will proceed on the basis of what we had obtained from the people without the official version on the string of incidents marring the elections as the officials failed to appear and express their views. We had to give separate audience to some Dalit speakers who were afraid of a backlash if they aired their views openly on the microphone," Mr. Ramasamy said.

The situation prevailing in these brought shame to the country and also to the very democratic exercise. The issue required immediate remedial action. The representatives of political parties participated and provided an insight into the matter.

Mr. Ramasamy said, "We gave opportunity to Collectors, Superintendents of Police and other officials to express their views and help the jury formulate recommendations. But unfortunately none turned up at the hearing. They failed to perform their duties and this showed that they did not implement the elections in the four panchayats."

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