More than two decades after their emergence, consolidation of Dalit parties in Tamil Nadu remains a far cry due to internal divisions and political compromises with the major Dravidian parties.
The Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), which were floated in the 1990s as a strong reaction to the neglect of caste issues by the Dravidian and Left parties, have rarely come on a common platform to fight for Dalit issues. Instead they are holding on to their respective constituencies – the sub-groups among Scheduled Castes. This lack of consolidation has emboldened the Dravidian parties to treat the Dalit political entities as mere accompaniments when it comes to electoral seat-sharing talks ignoring the fact that the Scheduled Castes and Tribes constitute nearly 21 per cent of the State’s population. Observers say that a complex structure of internal divisions among the Paraiyar, Pallar and Arunthathiyar sub-groups, coupled with strong personalities leading the political outfits and compulsions of electoral compromises, has made the prospect of a combined Dalit political unit implausible in the near future.
However, VCK founder Thol. Tirumavalavan says the Dalit identity was not a homogenous one as it was made out to be. “For administrative purposes, the various communities are brought under the ambit of Scheduled Caste, just like how multiple intermediate communities are combined under the OBC category. But within that there are numerous groups with differences in both geography and social status,” he points out. The VCK, with its strongest base in the Northern districts, is widely seen as a representative of the numerically-strong Paraiyar community, though the party has maintained that it fights for all Dalits. In the process, the differences necessitate individual political assertion to bring out the unique social and economical complexities that each group faces. “Such an assertion was important to address the challenges and ensure larger parity. But I must also state that uniting all Dalits is a continuous process which our party has always been serious about,” the VCK leader contends. Also, the charge of dividing Dalit politics cannot be thrown at the parties since they did not breakaway from a single larger organisation.
PT president K. Krishnasamy, who emerged from the Devendrakula Velalar Federation in the early 1990s, says blaming divisions within the Dalit community for its woes was a clever diversionary tactic. “The fact is that the larger parties have done very little for the community. Just pick any party and asses the representation of Dalits. This will validate the point I am making,” he contends. Multiple parties representing the Dalit community was not a unique characteristic of Tamil Nadu, he claims.
Dr. Krishnasamy, who continues in the DMK alliance, says Dalit parties also have the obligation to assess the larger political situation and come up with strategies accordingly. “The VCK and PT have joined hands several times in the past. To dub Dalit leaders egoistic is mischievous and untrue,” the Ottapidaram MLA asserts.
C. Lakshmanan, associate professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), says the larger socio-cultural features of the caste system, such as matrimonial preferences, are very much prevalent in the Dalit community as well. The coming together of these parties without ignoring smaller sub-groups, both at the political and electoral levels, was pivotal for a larger social consolidation of the Dalit identity. “They should not display the big brother attitude that parties like the Dravidian majors display. If there is any question on which identity to come together under, the Constitutional terminology of Scheduled Caste could be a useful tool for common mobilisation,” he states.
