In 1917, the Justice Party was formed in the erstwhile Madras Presidency to represent “non-Brahmins” in the political arena. This happened mainly due to the widening caste divide that the British wedged among Hindus in the late 19th century.
Then, in the 1940s, the Justice Party took shape into the Dravidar Kazhagam, the ideological precursor of present-day DMK and AIADMK. Ever since then, in the name of “eradicating caste” as it was “plaguing society”, several measures were adopted. Dropping caste surnames in one’s name, dropping cast names in street names, and dropping caste names of luminaries in textbooks was a common step taken by the Dravidianist ideologues in the name of caste eradication.
But did they achieve anything out of it? Well, incidents like Nanguneri and Vengaivayal still continue to plague Tamil society. They tried to make the people of TN drop their caste surnames over time as a step towards caste eradication, but they failed at it because even today, TN is a very casteist society. In August 2023, a horrific incident occurred in Nanguneri, Tirunelveli, where a student was hacked to death by his schoolmates. In 2022, some miscreants mixed human faeces into the water tank in a Dalit colony in Vengaivayal, Pudukottai. To date, no action has been taken against the miscreants.
Coming back to Nanguneri, following the horrendous incident, a retired judge, Justice K Chandru, was nominated to set up a one-man committee to help solve this issue of caste-based violence in schools. On 19 June 2024, he submitted the report to Chief Minister MK Stalin—the condensed version of the report available in the public domain points to very Hindumisic recommendations. TNBJP leader H Raja called it an “evangelistic report” and alleged that it was the conversion machinery that had played a part in this.
Upon reading the report and its recommendations, it is obvious that the agenda is to unfairly target Hindus and their customs under the guise of preventing caste violence.
The report begins with a quote from Dr BR Ambedkar’s book – Ambedkar: An Overview, emphasising change and the need to revise societal standards, particularly addressing Hindus. The quote reads, “Hindus must consider whether the time has not come for them to recognise that there is nothing fixed, nothing eternal, nothing sanatan; that everything is changing, that change is the law of life for individuals and society. In a changing society, there must be a constant revolution of old values, and the Hindus must realise that if there must be standards to measure the acts of men, there must also be a readiness to revise those standards.”
Several recommendations within the report have been highlighted as problematic. Let us look at them one by one.
Removal of caste names from schools & colleges
One of the many contentious proposals in Justice Chandru’s report is the removal of caste names from schools and colleges, including those established for marginalised communities like Kallars and Adidravidars. One can question the rationale behind removing these names and their potential impact on institutions designed to support specific disadvantaged groups.
Amendment of TNSR Act to prohibit caste appellations
Furthermore, the report suggests amending the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act itself to prohibit caste appellations in educational institution names, raising concerns about consistency in addressing religious-based names. Some names, even without a surname, can easily indicate which community a student belongs to – the student could be named after their kuldevta or gramadevta which will give away his or her background/community, so will the student have to change his name when enrolling or will Hindu babies have to be named with neutral, meaningless names when they are born?
The report also addresses donor recognition in schools, suggesting that caste-based surnames be removed from building names or donor acknowledgements, which critics argue could deter future contributions.
This is precisely the same template that they have been following all this time – drop the caste name from the surname, and caste will be eradicated in Dravidian land!
Prohibit wearing tilak and kalava
Now, coming to the most contentious part, the committee recommends that students be prohibited from sporting forehead marks – tilak (mentioned in the report) and sacred wrist threads/kalava. This is a direct infringement on a citizen’s right to religious freedom. The committee also recommends strict action if this is not followed by the students. The report says, “Failure to comply with these rules must result in appropriate action being taken, in addition to advising their parents or guardians.”
Investigate allegations of saffronisation of education curriculum
As if recommending the removal/prohibition of tilak and kalava was not enough, the committee recommends that the government, “Investigate allegations of “saffronisation of education” The report also recommends, “An expert body or an agency can be appointed to investigate allegations of saffronization of education and activities that infiltrate educational institutions, hampering caste and communal harmony.”
Formation of a “Social Justice Student Force”
The next problematic recommendation is the proposal to form a “Social Justice Student Force” – the duties and responsibilities sound similar to organisations like NSS, NCC, and Scouts, but the name of this “force” seems to send a different meaning – will students bully others if “social justice” is not implemented in a specific institution?
Identify “caste atrocity-prone areas”
Now comes yet another problematic recommendation – the identification of “caste atrocity-prone areas.” – Doing so will only sow seeds of hatred and stigma and fuel caste violence without even doing anything. Imagine the mindset of people of such demarcated areas or localities – tourism, if any, will be affected, people will look at them differently and have a prejudiced opinion of people from these places. Will this not incite further division in the society?
Overall, the report’s focus only on Hindu practices and the apparent bias has stirred debate, prompting questions about its fairness and practicality in addressing caste-based discrimination effectively.
Impracticalities
Now, if the committee’s recommendations are implemented, will a student not be able to take a vow and wear the necessary attire and forehead marks, or does the student have to forgo schooling during this vow period, for example, during the Sabarimala season?
Tamil poet-saint Avvayar said, “Neerilla netri paazh”, meaning “Addle is the forehead that bears no sacred ash”. Even today, elders question young ones if they are not seen with forehead marks. So, will Avvayar be cancelled now by the state government for making such a statement?
Exaggeration?
To be honest, instances of caste-based violence are far less in schools (practically negligent in private schools and cities), but their instances are far more among adults in the larger society. The committee and the government’s decision to set up such a committee is seen as an exaggeration of literally nothing. This is like if exams make students commit/attempt self-harm/suicide, will they do away with exams? And there is not enough evidence that specific sacred wrist thread colours indicate specific castes; in fact, they only indicate political parties in the state!
Victim-blaming?
By prohibiting Hindu students from not wearing their religious marks (be it on the forehead or the wrist), the government and the committee are only indulging in victim-blaming and using it as an excuse to propagate the Dravidianist ideologies among unsuspecting students.
Undoing efforts of our forefathers
Back in the 19th century, several illustrious sons of our country fought against the British to prevent missionaries from achieving their agenda of complete conversion. Luminaries like Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty ensured the British Parliament passed resolutions that would not make reading the Bible compulsory or conversion mandatory to get admission to schools. Today, after reading the report, it feels like the Dravidianists are genuinely hell-bent on ensuring that this agenda is achieved, thereby undoing our freedom fighters’ efforts. This also can be seen as a step at furthering the ‘eradicate Sanatana Dharma’ agenda of the Dravidianists.
It is a known fact that as we push caste more and more under the carpet, it is bound to burst out one day in the most disastrous fashion, it seems the committee did not even consider this.
Singling out Hindus
The report is seen as singling out the Hindu community and perpetuating the misconception that caste-based violence is solely a Hindu issue. Had they even mentioned a word on Islamic or Christian symbols, indeed, the community as a whole would have come to the streets in protest.
The last page of the report has this picture – a boy’s hand bearing multiple coloured sacred wrist threads (kalava) and holding a blood-soaked sickle. This is a blatant finger-pointing to Hindus as the perpetrators and caste is basically a Hindu problem and not an issue “plaguing” any other community.
Hindu Samaj needs to wake up before it is too late. As this gentleman in the video says, a few years ago, when the issue of food (especially with regard to beef consumption) had taken centerstage, the same people said My Plate, My Right, My Food, My Right; we Hindus are in such a pathetic condition that we cannot even say, My Forehead, My Right, thanks to the one-man committee and a state government in Tamil Nadu that more often than not indulges in anti-Hindu activities.
