The Hindu : States / Tamil Nadu : Now, the food they cook is ‘untouchable’
Cheap AirTickets To India
Get Best Air Fares, Book now for Best bargains on Plus Tours India !
Plustoursindia.com/india-tickets
Now, the food they cook is ‘untouchable’
S. Sundaravanitha
A host of Dalit women, who cook food for children at noon meal centres attached to schools in various villages in Kadayampatti Union in Salem district, say they are facing a social boycott.
Caste Hindus in a few villages are preventing their children from having the noon meal cooked by Dalit women cooks, claiming that it is “a sin to eat food cooked by them.”
The government-appointed Dalit women cooks, under the MGR Nutritious Noon Meal Scheme on a temporary monthly pay of Rs. 1300-3000, are not allowed to do their job.
“I feel like dying,’ said S. Sundaravanitha, a Dalit woman cook, who had been facing boycott since her appointment on August 16, 2012.
She told The Hindu here on Friday that she said she had been undergoing trauma since the day she was appointed as a cook at the Panchayat Union Elementary School at Rasipurathan Kattuvalavu village in Kadayampatti Union.
“From day one, I have been hounded and harassed. The Vanniyars-only village feel ‘ashamed’ to permit their children to have the food cooked by a Dalit,” she said. The village panchayat president also expressed his inability to help her.
After discussing it with local officials, the Salem district administration transferred her to the centre at the Union Middle School at Mookanur, which happened to be her native village, on deputation. But her woes were far from over. Since her village people knew that she was a Dalit, they too raised the caste issue against her.
“Of the total 75 students who used to have noon meal, only 20 students, a majority of whom are Dalits, now have food at the centre. Others have been forced to abstain. A few youths barged into the centre recently and abused me in filthy language,” she said with tears rolling down her cheeks.
An official in Kadayampatti Union said that to prevent any untoward incident, she was shifted from Rasipurathan village. “It is a sensitive issue. This village of Vanniyars strongly opposed her.
As Mookanur has an equal share of all castes, we believed that her appointment would not create any unpleasant situation there,” he said, adding that they had been facing similar situations in two other centres in the Union.
The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi alleged that seven Dalit women cooks in Kadayampatti alone were facing social boycott.
Poomozhi of the Tamil Nadu People Rights Movement wanted action under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against those who promoted untouchability. The Democratic Youth Federation of India staged a demonstration on Saturday, demanding their arrest.
SLIDESHOW
Armed with 22 guns, the German ship Emden bombarded Madras on September 22, 1914. Three died and 13 were injured. The audacious attack struck at the calm and tranquility typical of the city and triggered a panicked exodus. Images never before published, from The Hindu Archives.
Now, the food they cook is ‘untouchable’DMK not averse to Sri Lankan players visits: KarunanidhiSethusamudram project: SC gives Govt six weeks’ timeJayalalithaa asks PM to scrap user charges at JIPMERNow, Sri Lankan pilgrims under pressure to leaveJayalalithaa suspends officer for allowing Sri Lankan football team to play friendly matchThey’re here: new rules for school busesAnother major fire at thermal power stationKarunanidhi, Vaiko oppose Rajapaksa’s visit to SanchiEngineering college student found dead in hostel room
Cheap AirTickets To India
Get Best Air Fares, Book now for Best bargains on Plus Tours India !
Plustoursindia.com/india-tickets
Disclaimer: The Hindu is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu.
Comments to : web.thehindu@thehindu.co.in Copyright © 2012, The Hindu
Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu.
Comments to : web.thehindu@thehindu.co.in Copyright © 2012, The Hindu
COMMENTS:
relatives treating people like that.
should all go to the school and eat the food cooked by the Dalit woman. This would
show leadership in what we believe. If they don't, it shows caste based party with no
principles.
rather than go after the Sri Lankans, who are being wrongly hounded
for their government's actions.
It is hypocrisy to weep for some unknown person's suffering when you
perpetrate this heinous crime of untouchability against people in your
own backyard.Anyways, it is a well known fact that we Indians are the worst racists in the world and hypocrites of the first order: makes me sick.
school , are we not sowing the seed of discrimination in our children's
mind? Are we not teaching them the first lesson of hatred and
unconstitutional behavior on whatever baseless ground may be there in
parents mind. We worship Lord Rama who ate the fruits offered by
Shabari, a shudra woman, but can we say that this act of Rama was wrong.
Do they know who produces them? Actually in these places any
electrician / plumber / mason or grocery chop owner etc should stop
providing these guys any services. Of course, two wrongs do not make
a right; but this could be another way to drive some common sense in
these guys' heads.
treat our own sisters and brothers with equality and dignity. I long to see the day
when all of our people are accepted without any discrimination as Swami
Vivekananda, Narayana Guru and others have preached.
when brahmins went for westernisation(adopting western values and
practices),today's caste hindus(castes below brahmins) went for
sanskritisation,that is adopting values and practices of brahmins
.One of such practice in sanskritisation is rule of commensality
that is who shall accept food from whom.This is practiced to
maintain the highness of their caste in comparison with lower
caste. It is now painful to see such things are practised in
schools itself ,because it is the place where fine tuning of human
behaviour takes place.If the minds our young generation are
polluted with these practices then there is no doubt there can be
no end to caste.
that the Brahmins were intolerant and that they were perpetuating the
caste discrimination. This unfortunate incident which illustrates the
extreme prejudice of the "vanniyars" against the "dalits" is a clear
eye-opener to the ground reality.
I wouldn't be surprised if the parties supporting these castes come
together to fight the elections for their own petty gains!!
And the "educated middle-class" Indian keeps saying: " India is shining and we are
emerging as a superpower"
developed and progressive States in India?! Such a narrow-minded and
casteist outlook will keep us backward for a long time to come. It is
2012! High time that we become blind to caste and accept all human
beings as equal.
are now illtreating Dalits in all possible ways. Brahmins are no mroe
the whipping boys of dalit illteatment. Those parties which have
talked long back about caste elimination are now perpetuating it with
attitudes such as this. Such parties should be boycotted by the people
by voting them out. These parties pose danger to Indian democracy.
the casteism is still prevalent on high level. No use of such literacy
which cannot make people 'educated'. And low caste people are still not
aware of their rights.It is really pathetic that such foolishness still
prevails in society and we dream of making India a superpower.
themselves or ask their non-Dalit parents to send them lunch boxes.
It's really sad that in this age of technology and progress we still
linger in our minds on beliefs that have no scientific or even moral
basis.
The govt must immediately close the school and ask the villagers to fend
for themselves in providing education for their children. The words of
the Dalit woman "I feel like dying" very aptly describes the humiliation
and the mental agony.
?
Untouchability, and the present news will send shock waves to many in our
Land. We should not try to divide people on caste considerations in this backdrop
And all sections of society should present a united front , showing respect to the
Father of our great nation. The political parties and social activists should now
Work together to remove all obstacles as detailed in the present story, and if that
Is not done, we will be failing in our commitments to the MAHATMA.
Our Tamilnadu politicians point fingers at the Brahmins for caste issues. But in reality, it is they themselves who are to blame for the caste problems of Dalits. The Brahmins in the meantime have sought their green pastures elsewhere and are thriving on their own!
Wake up Dalits - don't blame Brahmins. It is those so-called middle castes politicians who have kept you suppressed all this while.
sites are enough to show how people think based on caste! Kerala, the
once socially progressive state, has now slipped into the hands of
retards who thinks, eats, speaks and sleeps based on caste. People tend
to discriminate others and this sadistic pleasure keeps them alive(or
make them feel that they are worth living).
The world is changing,a black from the once highly discriminated community, is the president of USA now?Why don't we change?let there be some actions.
TN has got lots of resources, but people are still in 18th century. Even the educated guys from my college support this caste attrocities.
TN needs to change, it's pathetic to see such grave things against poor and downtroddens.
appointment of cooks in Noon Meal Scheme, the politicians were all
waiting to make a kill. Everyone was making false promises and
swindling the common people but this time lot of transparency was in
the act of selection. We understand that three District Collectors
refused to dance to the tunes of politicians and most honestly
conducted the interviews and selected the candidates. Possibilities
are that the petty political goons venting their disappointment on
these hapless women. Further probe into the matter will clear the
doubts and will give warning signals to anyone who indulges in these
acts.
But here we have our own so called "Upper Caste" racially discriminating our people.
Mera Bharat Mahan.
section of society. It's the Govt's fault to give undue privilege of
reservation to certain members of society while not others. The divide
is caused by the govt's. The children have a right to boycott, just like
a Congress MP Warda says, he has every right to do business in the India
(the people read it as corruption).