Shocking caste violence in TN: Classmate slits 14-yr-old Dalit boy with sharp blade

A fact-finding team that visited Maravarpatti says that such incidents are common in the village, with dominant caste people discriminating against Dalits.

news Caste Violence

A regular school day turned into a terrifying ordeal for 14-year-old Dalit boy Saravana Kumar when a classmate attacked with him a sharp blade, injuring him seriously. A class 9 student of Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district, Saravana was assaulted by Mahendran (name changed) on Friday evening over a minor argument. The students are from Maravarpatti in Madurai district, and the incident took place after school hours on Friday, when the students were waiting at the bus stop.

Saravana had walked up to Mahendran asking him to return his friend’s school bag that Mahendran had allegedly hidden for fun. Enraged, Mahendran, belonging to Thevar caste, allegedly used a casteist slur to insult Saravana and then started attacking him. Mahendran allegedly inflicted a cut across Saravana's back.

One of the passers-by rushed Saravana to his house as he was bleeding profusely. Rasathi, Saravana Kumar’s mother, who was at home, immediately took her son to the police station.

“We didn't even change his blood-stained shirt. When we got there, the police asked us to get a complaint written by someone who is literate. But it was raining and we couldn't find anybody immediately, so I decided to first take my son to the hospital. The police gave us the necessary documentation to get him admitted in the Madurai Government Hospital,” Rasathi said.

Saravana was admitted at Rajaji Government Hospital in Madurai that evening. After returning from work on Saturday, Saravana’s father, Ramu filed a complaint with the Palamedu police.

An FIR has been filed under 294(b) (utters any obscene words), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 3(1)(r)(s), 3(2)(Va) of the SC/ST Amendment Act - 2015.

‘Caste discrimination common here’

Rasathi insists that this form of discrimination is a regular affair in their area. “Our village has to take steps against this discrimination but nobody is speaking up because they don't want to face a backlash,” she said.

Speaking to TNM, Saravana Kumar says that this was the first time that his caste was brought up by one of his classmates and is unsure why Mahendran attacked him. “We used to tease each other but it was all done for fun. Caste names were not used until Friday,” he says.

A fact-finding team from Social Awareness Society for Youths, a human rights organisation in Tamil Nadu, visited Saravana Kumar’s village after the incident. A member of the team told TNM that such incidents have been regularly occuring in Maravarpatti, with dominant caste people discriminating against the Dalits on various accounts.

Even as Saravana is admitted in the hospital, his family is facing immense pressure both from their community as well as the dominant-caste community to withdraw the case.

"On Saturday, the boy's (Mahendran) father gave me Rs 500 and told me to stop pursuing the matter. I refused to take the money and asked him if he would step back if this happened to his son. This morning, they sent another man to talk to us. But we will not yield," says Rasathi.

"What happened to my son shouldn't happen to anyone else. There is definitely a danger to our lives because we are fighting the dominant caste people. But we will fight," she adds.