VST News :: Spring 2008

BREAKING BARRIERS

Shattered glass and crumpled tumblers lie on the ground beside a tea stall in south India. This is not a scene of wanton violence but testimony to a campaign that in a few short months has achieved remarkable results.

• In Theni distict the practice of serving tea in separate tumblers for Dalits has been stopped in half the tea shops
• The Dalit community has been emboldened by this success
  
• Police instead of harassing Dalits have backed the activists

They said there was no untouchability

This story started thousands of years ago when the Aryans came to India with their four castes. The local population was outside the caste system then and the Dalits still are 3,000 years later. Now it is not so simple; there are thousands of castes and sub castes all over India. In Theni district there are about 20 main castes and three Dalit castes. Of these three the Arundithiyars are the worst off; they suffer the most discrimination, exploitation and atrocity, and make up two thirds of those who are desperately poor in Theni district.

VST Newsletter has been highlighting these issues for a while but we seem to be entering a new chapter. One of our partners, Arogya Agam, has formed an Arundithiyar pressure group. Pressure is on and things are changing.

From April to September the pressure group, AMMI, launched a district wide survey, partially in response to Theni having been declared an 'untouchability-free district'. The survey of 281 Arundithiyar villages showed untouchability practices in 196 of them, while in 56 there were instances of atrocities and in 238 there were high interest loans. The most common untouchability practice was being barred from temples and public sitting places. In many there was tea shop discrimination: keeping separate tumblers for Dalits. In some villages Arundithiyar children were made to sit and eat separately in school.

Early in September the report was passed to a member of the National Commission on Human Rights who promised that action would be taken.The survey was also given to the District Collector (top local government official) and to the Superintendent of police (District Chief). A letter came from the Human Rights Commission to say that the complaint had been forwarded to the Tamil Nadu state government but nothing appeared to have happened (although actually it was happening.) The activists became impatient and it was decided there should be some 'coincidental incidents' to raise the profile of untouchability. AMMI and Arogya Agam got together with some other groups and organised direct action on September 20. This involved about 25 activists and 10 press people descending on a village and demanding that the same glasses be used for everyone. About 200 villagers crowded around and there was a heated discussion between the public and the press people. The police only arrived after the group had left. A week later a similar incident was arranged and both were well publicised. For the third week a visit to a really tough village was planned but the police got there first and sent the activists away saying: 'Leave this to us.' All three incidents had wide press coverage and were covered by the leading TV channels. One famous weekly which sells a million copies a week published a long feature.

The police deliver a surprise

In fact the police had not been asleep and were doing something in other parts of the district. We were told that the Superintendent of Police (SP) was furious when told of the latest efforts to smash glasses and told his subordinates to arrest the activists. The local police were more cautious and instead it was arranged to meet the SP the next day. The three-hour meeting started with threats of arrest. The activists and staff said "we are ready to be arrested but first please hear what we have to say". During the discussions the SP said it was just a matter of education, but one activist answered back saying, "you please go to the tea shops and say you are Arundithiyar and see what tea glass you get". While the meeting was taking place a phone call came from the Director General of Police for Tamil Nadu. He had seen the publicity in some high profile weeklies and wanted to know what was going on because the Chief Minister himself was asking! The SP was able to say that right now he was working on it. In the end the SP promised to help. He said, "if you do it, it will be illegal, if we do it, it will be legal" and he asked the next villages where AMMI had planned tea glass smashing. The first on the list was Ramalingapuram. Sure enough the next day in one of the villages a policewoman met the Arundathiyar people and asked if it was happening in the tea shop.

It was, so she watched them get served tea and then got some herself and enquired. She told them that if anyone wants to run teashops this sort of thing has to stop. If it carried on they would arrest the teashop owner. Better still, now it has spread toother districts. The special police inquiry in Theni came through the Deputy Inspector General at Dindiguland our partners Vizhudugal in Coimbatore and Erode districts had started the same sort of action. He called the 10 district police chiefs under his command for a special meeting on untouchability and gave instructions to stamp on it, saying there should be no double tumbler by November 7!

Our day in court

Arogya Agam and the Arundithiyar movement, AMMI, documented more than 40 cases of injustice of which 22 were selected for the public hearing held in Theni on December 11. Their strength of feeling was so great that despite pressures and threats all 22 came and gave testimony in front of a large crowd in a packed hall.

At the start the person in charge (Henry Tiphagne, a well known Human Rights Lawyer) pointed out a man sitting in the press seats and asked him who he was. He confessed to being a policeman sent to watch the proceedings. He was asked to take careful note and to report to his superiors. After 10 minutes he slunk out but there would have been others watching.

The testimonies are illustrative of widely felt problems for the Arundithiyar people. Half of those who spoke mentioned untouchability practices of various sorts. Many mentioned it almost in passing, while describing the ways in which they had been cheated or exploited.

Vetrivel's testimony summed up the situation in many villages.

Dalits, and Arundithiyar in particular, are not allowed to bury their dead in the common place and have to search around for a plot. During his testimony, Anandhan explained how Arundithiyars are considered to be 'polluting' even in death. Even where there is a separate burial ground, there were a number of cases of encroachment.

Seven people complained of burial ground problems. Vijayaraj took up a common theme when he complained that, "our burial ground was encroached by dominant local landlords and the way also obstructed by irrigation channels. When we try to go another way the land owners refuse to let us take the body over their land". Encroachment of common property was a frequent complaint. As someone pointed out later, the biblical phrase about the poor, "even what little they have shall be taken away" came to mind. Apart from the two encroached burial grounds mentioned, there was testimony on six other cases of encroachment. In Meenatchipuram 52 house sites were ploughed up in 1992 and still the land has yet to be returned. In Solaithevanpatty 10 house sites given by government have been encroached. In another village a tiny temple plot has been taken over.

There were six cases of bonded labour or kanduvetti - illegal high interest loans. Chinnakaruppan told how hetook a small loan and because he didnot pay the interest it built up. He was asked to sign a paper that turned out tobe a sale deed. Iyyammal explainedhow she had lost her house in much thesame way to pay off what had been a small loan.

In Arapadithevanpatty and Periyakulam a number of people who took loans became bonded labourers. Another common complaint was against the local elected bodies, the panchayats. Refusal to issue certificates, allot houses or give support against encroachers were common complaints. In Rajakalpatty, the president is an Arundithiyar but he is still made to do traditional work like sweeping the village streets. Marimuthu of Ambasamuthiram told this story:

"I was elected as panchayat president through reservation (aportion of panchayat presidencies are reserved for Dalits). Out of six panchayat members, four of them aredominant caste and only two are Arundithiyars. Because of this they have blocked every decision - I cannot start construction of a common community hall or provide allotted houses to Arundithiyar people. I cannot act independently and I feel shame that I cannot do any welfare programmes.

Other common complaints were denial of water facilities and stagnating water from the so-called upper caste part of the village accumulating in the low lying areas where the Arundithiyars are forced to live. There were instances of Arundithiyars being made to do traditional work like manually cleaning excreta and going from village to village with the news that someone had died, and carrying the corpse. In one village the government nurse will not touchthe Dalits or give them injections.

The last person to take to the microphone gave a desperate plea for help. Recently the police have been harassing Arundithiyar activists by foisting false cases. In the past they have been easy prey as they lacked the ability to defend themselves. Recently there was ahigh profile robbery and the police were out to harass a local political party which had some Arundithiyar members. Ammavassi is one such member and told his story.

"They took me to the police station saying that they would enquire andlet me go. They didn't ask me any questions at all, I had no idea what it was all about. I was made to sign a blank paper, then without any reason they took me to court and I was sent to jail. Along with methere were four others from my village including a 16-year-old boy who was illegally sent to jail withus. After a few weeks with the helpof AMMI and Arogya Agam we were released on bail."

Into the melting pot

The festival of Pongal is peculiar to Tamil Nadu. It is a harvest festival where sweet rice is cooked in front of the temple, offered to the deity with bananas and then eaten. "Pongal" means boiling over and the pot and contents are arranged so that it boils over - symbolising plenty. For some reason it is auspicious if it boils over first on the northern side, so the wily women make sure that the fire is strongest on that side!

Supplapuram we knew to be a village with 15 castes where Dalits were not allowed into the temple. But Supplapuram was in for a surprise. The president, himself a Dalit, but from the comparatively better off Pallar community, was approached to hold a 'Samathuva Pongal'.

Samuthava means equality, but Samathuva Pongal usually means that the rich people cook and give to all equally. What was planned was entirely different, something we haven't heard of being done before. The plan was for all 15 communities to cook separately and then to mix all the food together, offer it to the deity,worship and then all eat it.

There was some hesitation; after all, most people had never knowingly eaten food cooked by Arundithiyars and Pariyas (another 'untouchable' caste) and neither had these castes ever entered the Muthalamman temple which has stood there for centuries.

The president had agreed, but he seemed a bit reluctant. It turned out that the night before he had talked to the Arundithiyar and Pariyar people on their own and asked them not to come. This clearly shows the pecking order within Dalits, that a Dalit Pallar can practise discrimination on other Dalit castes (in fact this situation is quite common.)

All were gathered and ready, and waiting for the representatives from Arundithiyar and Pariyar. Arogya Agam staff encouraged the president and the panchayat clerk and others to persuade them to come, roles reversed!

In the end it was a blessing in disguise because the two, so called lowest castes came last - like all chief guests do!

The 15 pots boiled over and those belonging to the three Dalit castes, Arundithiyar, Pariyar and Pallar were mixed together with those of the Thevars, Gownders, Saliyars, Naidus, Vanniars, dhobies and barber and other castes. As planned they were all mixed up and taken inside the temple. For the first time the Dalits had entered the temple and worshipped, about 500 in all! Then everyone ate the mixed 'Samathuvapongal' - real Samathuva Pongal!

Although a few of the older people expressed some doubt as to whether the deity would approve, most people felt good about it.

There was good support from community leaders, village elders, a few political people and the panchayat clerk. And the event was reported in a number of Tamildailies under headlines such as "To create equality a real & true Samathuva pongal" and "T. Sublapuram" has emerged as a model village in Theni district".

Arogya Agam, panchayat members and others gathered after the event for an evaluation. The panchayat president could make political capital: "I am very grateful to Arogya Agam for implementing this event in our village. I feel pleasure that it happened in my period. It laid a milestone in history."

An Arundithiyar leader said: "We were longing to worship God like other communities. This event has brought a chance to express our rights and a chance to worship God with pongal."

Interestingly the panchayat clerk is from the Thevar community which is noted for extreme discrimination and atrocity. He was pivotal to ensuring success. His comment makes a good end-note: "This event proves that everything can be changed except 'change' itself."

In Gandhi's footsteps

Even though there was evidence of police action in some areas it was decided to keep up the pressure. January 30, the anniversary of the death of Mahatma Gandhi, is commemorated as anti-untouchability day. In Gandhian tradition a 'walkathon' was planned through 10 villages where untouchability was practised. The young Deputy Superintendent of Police in charge of this area - who recently attended our Arundithiyarsolidarity meeting as chief - was approached for permission. He suggested police protection and offered to flag off the march himself.

About 100 women and men joined the march. Some 4,000 leaflets on untouchability and human rights were handed out. Since these were mainly non-Dalit villages (the Dalit streets are usually set back from the road) we were pleased that the school-going non-Dalit children were happily handing out the leaflets and reading them themselves. As someone said,"sowing the seeds of anti untouchability among the future generation".

There was a mystery vehicle on and off for a couple of hours, an airconditioned jeep with closed darkened windows. It turned out that inside was the same Deputy Inspector General of Police who had called the 10 districts meeting. Even the local police did not realise who it was, the friendly Deputy Superintendent told us later.

There was a good police presence, with the police walking along and the police patrol vehicle at the rear. Even our hostile police inspector from Rajathani was there.

There were mixed feelings from the other caste side. One man said: "How can Dalits and Arundithiyars enter into our village and our streets?" A woman of 75 said: "You say there is no difference between the castes; next you will tell us that men and women are the same."

Everyone agreed that nothing like this had ever happened before. These are local villages to Arogya Agam where we have been going for years for leprosy, tuberculosis and Aids work. This sort of action is changing the image of Arogya Agam as people realise we are also involved in human rights activities.

Manjudha's testimony

A volunteer, now staff, with Arogya Agam

My name is Manjudha , an Arundithiyar woman, aged 31, hailing fromRengasamuthiram in Aundipatty Taluk in Theni District. All these years I have experienced various forms of untouchability like double tumbler system. I was not able to walk through the streets of BC (backward caste ie non-Dalit) villages leave alone with chappals (footwear), sit on thinnai (raised sitting place) and public places, enter into temple and drink water in other caste houses.

The walkathon campaign facilitated me to break all the artificial barriers created by men without any rhyme or reason for about 3,000 years. I participated in the campaign; I walked with the chappals through the streets of BC villages including my own, notorious for practices of untouchability; I sat along with other Dalit and Arundithiyar women on thinnai and public places; I drank water fromother caste houses; I entered into the temple and even had my lunch inside the temple portico. All these things were made possible only by my participation in the walkathon through 10 BC villages. Even now I feel that I had only a dream, hard to believe that these things tookplace in my life. Yes, truth is stranger than fiction.

Labels that fuel prejudice

Katherine Martinexplains the Hindu caste system

The Hindu caste system has beenmuch debated over the many centuries of its existence. It has been the basis of social stratification and subsequent discrimination. Dictated from birth, the caste that you are born into will ultimately be the caste that you die in, and will influence the way you are treated along the way.

The hierarchical caste system is traditionally a reflection of occupation, which distinguishes between four varnas or castes: Brahmins, Kshatryas, Vaisyas and Shudras. They are perceived to originate from the mouth, arms, thighs and feet of the Hindu god Brahma. Brahmins were priests, scholars and philosophers; Kshatryas, the warriors and ruling class; Vaisya's, merchants and artisans and Shudras, unskilled labourers and servants.

It is no longer just a reflection of occupation but has been interpreted as a natural hierarchy indicating purity and worthiness. This has resulted in labels that fuel prejudice and discrimination; the higher the birth, the closer to god and the greater the person.

Seen as less than human by many, the Dalits, formerly known as Untouchables, didn't even feature in this hierarchy, despite comprising 16% ofIndia's population - about 160 million people. They, however, have been subject to the greatest persecution of all and have been left at the periphery of society. Believed to be pollutants, Dalits were not allowed to worship in the same temples, use the same water source or touch members of other castes. If a member of a higher caste even stepped on a Dalit's shadow they would bathe to cleanse themselves. Described as "India's hidden apartheid", untouchability was outlawed in 1949. Attitudes are changing and barriers eroding; there are government incentives to increase Dalits' rights, including quotas for Dalits in universities. Dalits too are protesting for their voice to be heard and 1997 saw the first Dalit Indian president.

However, it is still a prevalent and widespread issue in Indian society, particularly in rural areas, and caste can dictate education, occupation and marriage. The system is so engrained in mindsets that it will not only take laws to change but an individual's core beliefs and attitudes, which is what VST is trying to achieve in Theni district. With funding from DfID, VST is working to promote Dalit rights. It supports Dalit activist groups that campaign against social, economic and political injustices.

Our new home

Village Service Trust has moved to a larger office in Brighton. Our tiny office in Brixton served us well for many years but simply wasn't big enough to accommodate more than one volunteer at a time and the idea behind finding a larger, cheaper office is to encourage more volunteers to become involved in our projects and programmes, particularly in fundraising. Since arriving in early February, we have been busy recruiting through free national adverts and from the local universities. We now have six volunteers working part-time on a number of projects and would like to recruit more. Debra Cuming is a website designer who will be helping to develop VST's website to make it more accessible to existing and new supporters. Debra spent six months in Bangalore and also volunteers for Oxfam. She has an active interest in development issues and a great love of India. Sam De Lange is in his second year of a degree course in social policy at the University of Brighton. He will be working with Debra to develop the website and, hopefully, learn new skills that he can use in the future. Charlotte Littlewood and Shannon Bentley are also studying at the University of Brighton and will be helping out with administration and working on ideas for local fundraising and campaigning events that, once proven, can be rolled out elsewhere in the UK. Tammy McCann has just completed a degree in Development at the Universityof Sussex. She is looking for a job right now and hopes to gain some hands-on experience of working for a development charity. She will be working on publications like the newsletter and the annual report and will also be involved with events and other appeals. Kavita Amarnani is a journalist and has recently been working in fundraising. She has a whole host of ideas for campaigning and promotional work for Village Service Trust including cultural events and direct, face to face awareness-raising at street stalls and at events organised by sympathetic organisations. Katherine Martin who worked with us in the Brixton office has now moved on to a full-time, paid position with WaterAid. We like to think that her experienceas a volunteer with VST gave her the edge over other candidates. Karla Gunby and Caroline Helder continue their involvement with us and help out when they can from home.

Women who really are worth it

You could sense these were no ordinary women, writes Tony Huckle. Seated in a horseshoe in front of me, the 20 or so federation leaders had an air of determination. When they spoke, their Tamil meant little to me; but there was no mistaking that these were strong characters, shaped by lives of hardship but buoyed by the solidarity of their common effort.

These are the people who lead our 16,000-strong women's movement. When I met them last summer they told me about their struggles confronting violent husbands or unhelpful police or unco-operative officials. They described their efforts to build cooperative businesses. And they explained their ambition to develop the strength of purpose and capabilities to run their own affairs without outside help.

VST shares that ambition. Helping the federations become self-reliant over the next five years is the focus of our fundraising efforts right now. We need money for the training and expert advice to enable the federations to develop into independent self-sustaining organisations. The leaders need to learn more about entrepreneurship, about campaigning for human rights, and about how to make their organisation effective and efficient. This is no mean task for mostly illiterate village womenwith scant experience of the outside world.

We are asking everyone we can think of to contribute to this endeavour. These are heroic women. They deserve our support.

How you can help

VST in the UK will be organising campaigning and fundraising events, encouraging local businesses to sponsor our work, raising awareness at street stalls, redesigning our newsletters and annual reports to attract more supporters and using volunteer expertise to bring our website up to-date and encourage more people to become involved with the work we do. We will be asking trusts and foundations to support our efforts to ensure that the groups we work with have a solid, lasting future and encouraging our principal partner, Development Action Consortium Trust, to engage with potential supporters in India.

If you would like to join us in our push towards self-reliance for the federations by 2012 please:

Make a donation:

• It costs just £25 a year to identify, train and support awoman to take on a leadershiprole in her federation.
  
• Training for each federation todevelop their management, campaigning and entrepreneurial skills costs £500 each.
  
• Annual conventions where hundreds of women can share experiences and build solidarity cost £800.

Volunteer
Why not organise a fundraisingor campaigning activity in your local area. We can offer guidance in how to engage with potential supporters where you live. Phone, write or email us if you are interested.

Everyclick
By registering with Everyclick and using it as your search engine you can raise money for VST whenever you search the web. There is no charge to you and nocharge to VST so it really is 'freemoney'. Sign up now at: www.everyclick.com

Leaving a legacy to VST
Remembering Village Service Trust in your Will is your opportunity to support our work in the future with a donation which you may not have been able to afford during your lifetime. If you would like more information about leaving a legacy to VST contact us now and ask us to send you our legacy pack.

None of the work we do would be possible without your help.