For close to three years now, she has been waging a legal as well as social battle with upper-caste Hindus in her husband’s village.
“All I wanted to do is to make them realise that everybody is equal. Being born in a particular caste is not something I can help,” Indhumathi told ThePrint. “Even if it takes a decade, I will continue to fight.”
All eyes are now on the Madras High Court where a former panchayat president has filed a petition against her election. With arguments from all sides completed on 20 August, Indhumathi is now awaiting the verdict.
In 2016, the Tamil Nadu government amended various municipal laws and the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, increasing the percentage of reservation for women from 33 to 50 in municipal corporations, municipalities, town panchayats, village panchayats, district panchayats and panchayat unions.
Many Dalit women have benefitted from this quota and become panchayat presidents, but the discrimination has continued. They are sometimes stopped from speaking at panchayat meetings or even from sitting on a chair. It is also common for them to be stopped from hoisting the flag on Independence Day.
But they have all, unlike Indhumathi, at least managed to take oath of office.
According to the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front’s (TNUEF) State Secretary, K. Samuel Raj, it is unconstitutional to prevent a constitutionally elected person from taking oath. TNUEF is one of the organisations of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). It is fighting the case in Madras HC on behalf of Indhumathi.
“The argument of the petitioners was that the village panchayat was made a reserved panchayat for SCs, despite the fact that nobody from the community was there in the village. But, as per the constitution, reservations for posts are not based on the population in one particular place,” said Samuel Raj.
The village panchayat’s former president, K. Sivakumar, dismissed the argument.
“I belong to the Most Backward Community (MBC) community. I am not asking the election commission to allot it to the general category. I am also for social justice,” said Sivakumar to ThePrint. “The village has a high tribal population. Let them allocate it to Scheduled Tribe or the general category, but why to Scheduled Caste, when there is nobody from that community in our village?”
Samuel Raj is hopeful that Indhumathi will take oath.
“With the arguments placed before the court, we are confident that Indhumathi’s election will be recognised and she’ll soon take oath as the president of the village panchayat,” he said.
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How it all began
In 2014, Indhumathi, raised by a single mother, fell in love with Pandian (now 31), while they were working for a private company in Bengaluru. Pandian is from the Vanniyar MBC community, one of the dominant castes in the Northern region of the state.
“Although we knew the whole village would oppose our relationship, we decided we wanted to be together,” said Indhumathi.
The couple wed within months of getting to know one another. However, they were denied entry into Nayakaneri over their inter-caste marriage.
They rented a house outside the village in 2014 and started living there. Although the villagers wouldn’t allow her into the village, her husband’s family eventually came around and accepted their marriage.
“So, once in a while, we started visiting my in-laws’ house,” said Indhumathi.
Even during those visits, Indhumathi would have to endure verbal abuse from the upper-caste Hindus in the village. The couple eventually stopped visiting his parents’ house.
“I know that caste discrimination exists. But I never thought they would verbally abuse me so much,” she said.
However, the pandemic changed things. They were forced to move in with Pandian’s parents in Nayakaneri. But the hate didn’t end. “I could not understand how people could be so casteist even during Covid days, when life was so uncertain,” said Indhumathi.
What court has said
When the state Election Commission announced that the Nayakaneri panchayat post was reserved for women candidates from the SC community, villagers were surprised.
“When I heard this, I was amazed. I decided to run after a few well-wishers encouraged me,” said Indhumathi. “I happily told them I would be filing the nomination papers for the village panchayat president’s post.”
According to revenue department officials, the Nayakaneri village panchayat includes three small villages, none of which have an SC family. As the news spread, chaos erupted, and she was threatened not to contest.
“That only made me want it more. I became stubborn after the villagers threatened to behead and kill me if I contested,” said Indhumathi.
The district administration gave her police protection following threats to her life for filing the nomination papers for the post of village president.
“The upper-caste Hindus made a huge ruckus and told the district administration that they have got a stay on me taking oath as panchayat president, challenging my election on the grounds that the Nayakaneri panchayat cannot be reserved for women,” she said.
On 7 October, 2021, a Madras HC bench comprising Justices S. Vaidyanathan and A.A. Nakkiram passed interim orders restraining Indhumathi from taking charge as panchayat president. In the interim order, the bench said, “Since this court feels that the place is not meant for the person of this category, we make it clear that she shall not take charge.”
The Interim order was passed based on the petitions filed by K. Sivakumar and R. Selvaraji, an ST candidate aspiring for the post of the village panchayat president. Initially, the duo filed a writ petition before the Madras HC, questioning the decision of Tamil Nadu State Election Commission to declare Nayakkaneri as a reserved panchayat for women. When the petition came up for hearing in September 2021, Justice N. Anand Venkatesh refused to interfere in the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission’s decision.
According to the petitioners, Nayakaneri village’s population is dominated by people belonging to Scheduled Tribes, Backward Class and Most Backward Class.
The TNUEF and State Election Commission have since been arguing the case. TNUEF on Indhumathi’s behalf and the state Election Commission as a respondent.
Indhumathi said the situation deteriorated after the HC restrained her from taking charge.
“They first cut the electricity to our house. We did not care and still stayed in the village. Then, they stopped the water supply. We managed,” she said. “Later, they ostracised my family and 60 other families who had supported me until then.”
However, a year ago, the social boycott and death threats forced Indhumathi to move out of the village to Tirupattur town.
“It looks like the threats won’t stop until I give up. I got an anonymous letter threatening me as recently as six months ago,” Indhumathi said.
However, her spark is alive. “In a couple of years, an election will be conducted again. And if it is reserved for a Dalit woman, I will again contest the election until I make them realise all are equal by birth,” Indhumathi said.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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