SOCIAL boycott is often used by predominant social groups in villages to force Dalits into submission. The decision to boycott a person or a group of people in respect of social and economic relations as a measure of punishment or protest is generally taken by the oor panchayat, an informal village panchayat, often a kangaroo court. Whenever Dalits attempt to assert their rights or demand land or increased wages or press for changes in village customs, this weapon comes in handy for oppressive forces.
At Ittikkal Agaram, caste Hindus have liberally used this weapon right from the day the government approved of the plea of 62 Dalits of the village for allotment of land and identified the land they could use for cultivation in 1976. The oor panchayat disapproved of the land allotment and announced a boycott of the beneficiaries if they accepted it. When prospective Dalit landholders were warned of dire consequences, 40 among the 62 declined to take possession of the land and offered their services as agricultural workers to their old masters. When the other 22 tried to cultivate the land allotted to them, caste-Hindu landholders musclemen physically prevented them and damaged their agricultural implements. Those who continued cultivation were ostracised. Their lands were destroyed and crops damaged.
Another bout of social boycott was imposed on the Dalits in October 2004 following a land dispute. This remains in force to this day. Caste-Hindu landholders have been barred from offering jobs to Dalits, and any violation would attract a heavy fine. Non-Dalits are barred from speaking to Dalits, and defiance would be punished. Many non-Dalits had to pay fines for violations, said a Dalit youth.
Dalits have been denied access to the main village and public pathway. They cannot graze their cattle on the common grazing land. Non-Dalit households have been barred from selling milk to Dalits. (Children are badly affected by this.) The only exemption in this four-year-old boycott is access to a couple of shops in the village, according to a Dalit resident.
Social boycott is nothing but a cruel form of untouchability. Attempts by Dalits to bring the offenders to book have not succeeded so far. An interesting aspect of this struggle is the solid support two non-Dalits have been extending to Dalits. One is a Muslim, J. Akbar, who runs a small shop in the village, and the other is C. Venkatappan, who belongs to the predominant caste Hindu social group, Vellala Gounder.
Akbar has played a major role in organising the litigation work for the petitioners. He said he was the victim of a similar boycott imposed by the oor panchayat. His mother had been attacked by non-Dalit musclemen. The caste oppressors had started constructing a building for a magalir manram (Womens Forum) in violation of norms, blocking access to his house. But all this will not deter me, he said.
Venkatappan is also a victim of social boycott. His cultivation has suffered badly and his expensive motor pump-set was badly damaged in an attack on his farm.
S. ViswanathanCOMMents
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