Tamil Nadu groups campaign hard against inter-caste weddings

: In a state that claims to be progressive, caste divide is rearing its ugly head once again. Reversing a recent positive trend, caste and communal leaders have been warning good samaritans against helping distressed couples of different castes from getting married and also issuing diktats against love marriages.

While a case was slapped on a Vanniyar (a most backward caste) leader recently for openly warning against inter-caste marriages, the Kongu Vellalar Gounder Peravai, dominant in the state's western belt, has urged its members against inter-caste or inter-religious marriages. A Brahmin association has also called on its members to take a strong stand against inter-religious unions.

On May 5, MLA J Guru, who heads the Vanniyar Sangam, the early avatar of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, shocked progressive groups when he issued an open threat at the community's annual meet, 'Chithirai Vizha', at Mamallapuram, forbidding inter-caste unions. Police in the tourist town near Chennai registered a case against Guru for "indulging in acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony".

Defending his actions, Guru told TOI, "We are not blindly opposing love marriages or inter-caste marriages. In recent years, women from our community have been targeted by few groups."

He said these groups influenced Vanniyar community girls, who belong to rich families, taking advantage of their youth and immaturity. After marriage without parents' concern they pressure the girls to get money from their families. The Vanniyar leader claimed to have met many such affected women, deserted both by their husbands and their parents.

The Kongu Vellalar Gounder Peravai (KVGP), an influential community concentrated in pockets in the west, has launched a campaign against inter-caste marriages. "We have been campaigning among students and the youth in our community. We are also planning to start a students' movement to create awareness against such marriages," the KVGP state secretary P Anand told TOI. Anand, an advocate, claimed failure among inter-caste marriages was high. The community convened a convention in Karur in central Tamil Nadu during which members strongly advocated against inter-caste marriages.

Thamizhnadu Brahmin Association president N Narayanan has been writing editorials in the community magazine to create an opinion against inter-caste marriages. "We are against such marriages mainly because of the high number of failures. Such marriages happen most often only because of infatuation. They realize their mistakes later," argued Narayanan. "Brahmanism is not only a caste; it's a way of life. Our boys and girls, who are more than 15 years old, have been taking oath every year during the Pongal (harvest) festival to remain true to the brahmanical way of life and oppose inter-caste marriages," he said.

All this, when progressive writers and activists in Tamil Nadu have been campaigning hard for inter-caste marriages and the number of such unions has recorded an impressive increase in the last couple of years. Human rights activist T S S Mani feels caste leaders were worried only about their vote banks. "There is a recent healthy trend in the state wherein the well-educated, independent youths in all communities have started thinking beyond caste and religion," said Mani. People initially accepted these caste leaders only to get reservation and other benefits from the government. "Now, the younger generation wants to see a casteless society. But leaders will not permit this trend as it does not benefit their vote-bank politics. So, it seems they have started campaigning against such marriages," he added.

Activists also dismiss the stand of caste leaders that most inter-caste marriages end in failures. Said Manonmaniam Sudaranar University assistant professor B Radha, "If a dalit boy marries a rich girl and hails from a community much higher up in the caste hierarchy, she is treated royally by her in-laws. It is very important to support inter-caste and inter-religious marriages to break the caste system. These marriages are also good for women's liberation."

SOURCE: CLICK HERE to read more

Leave a comment and / or appreciate the article!

CLICK HERE to read more:» http://www.radio-elshaday.de/

CLICK HERE to read more:» http://www.radio-megapower.de/

CLICK HERE to read more:» http://christliche-radiosender.blogspot.com/

CLICK HERE to read more:» http://radiomegapower-nonstop.blogspot.de/

Posted by: Daniel Ioan Notar *DJ_DANY*