We know that India is plagued by the ‘caste system’from time immemorial. The Indian society is caste-ridden with hundreds of caste-barriers and the caste being the driving force in our institution of marriage, the offsprings too are born with caste tags.
Though we have not seen with our naked eye that accursed institution of caste and boast ourselves so civilized and cultured, still we have a caste based system of reservation in our educational institutions and for employment purposes as well.
On the one hand we strive our best to do away with the caste system and on the other hand, we are perpetuating it in the name of reservation.
We preach against untouchability as a sin, as a crime and as an inhuman practice, but we do remember and are conscious of the fact that as long as the caste barriers remain, untouchability will also remain in force.
Acknowledging the fact mentioned above, some people belonging to the caste Hindus in Uthapuram near Madurai have even got emboldened and managed to erect a wall of untouchablity, in 600 feet long and 10 feet high, so as to restrict the movement of Dalits as well as the Caste Hindus on either side. Eventhough the State Government of Tamil Nadu is very well aware of the existence of such a wall, so far they have not done anything to dismember and remove the wall, fearing that it may flare up communal violence and they may get antogonised either from the Caste Hindus or the SC’s and thereby loosing its vote bank.
The Tamil Nadu State Unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), headed by the party’s State Secretary Mr.Varadarajan, having come to know about the wall, has given an ultimatum of one month to the DMK led government to break the untouchability wall, in Uthapuram near Madurai.
Mr.Prakash Karat, the General Secretary of the CPI(M) would visit Uthapuram on May 7 and CPI(M) would itself dare to break the wall,if the Tamil Nadu Government failed to do it by May, 31.
The CPI(M)’s state committee has passed a resolution to the effect that the 600 meter long and 10 feet high wall dividing the Dalits and the Caste Hindu communities in Uthapuram village near Madurai should be broken.
The Tamil Nadu Government led by DMK front, instead of remaining passive with an eye on vote bank, should consider the existence of such a wall as an affront to the society and take steps in the right direction to demolish the untouchability wall and also to see that no communal clash is flared up in the event of taking such a step.