Among the key conceptual contributions of B. R. Ambedkar towards understanding the caste system in India and its continued resilience is the idea of ‘graded inequality’ that explains how nearly every caste group has another group below it. This means that while that caste group faces oppression and social discrimination from those above it, the group nevertheless has a stake in perpetuating the system since the group has someone below it in the hierarchy.
Often, Dalit caste groups have none below them. In many villages of Tamil Nadu, however, they do have someone. The Puthirai Vannars washed the clothes of members of Dalit caste groups and were given the job of bathing the bodies of dead people in Dalit communities.
In the 1990s, Koveru Kazhuthaikal , a novel by Imayam, threw the spotlight on this most marginalised caste group. Now, C. Lakshmanan, a professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, has published a scholarly work on the Puthirai Vannars in which he not only portrays the plight of the community but also, through them, fleshes out the diabolic nature of caste practices in the State. “Hindu-Brahminical philosophy refuses to attach any dignity to manual labour. Moreover, as Dr. Ambedkar explained, psychologically, human beings take pride in the fact that somebody is below them in the social structure. But Puthirai Vannar cannot enjoy any such pride,” said Mr. Lakshmanan, the author of the book, ‘Theendamaikkul Theendamai: Puthirai Vannar Vaazhvum Iruppum.’
K. Ragupathy, Professor of History at A. Govindasamy Government Arts College in Tindivanam, has co-authored the book that won an award from the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artistes Association on Saturday.
Published by Pulam, the book treats the life and existence of the community in detail though the Puthirai Vannars have given up their traditional trade.
“Yet, the community continues to suffer the humiliation associated with its past profession,” said Imayam, who has written the preface.
Mr. Lakshmanan agreed that the Puthirai Vannars no more washed the clothes of Dalits, but what has not vanished is what Dr. Ambedkar called “the law of imitation.”
Facing humiliation
“Even after gaining economic independence and despite having taken up government and private jobs through education, Puthirai Vannars are not able to gain social respect among Dalit caste groups. They often face the fury of some Dalits if they dared to construct their own independent houses,” he said.
The community comes under the list of Scheduled Castes (SC) and obtaining community certificate is often a forbidding task. "Revenue officials always ask for evidence such as whether the applicant owns a donkey or a stove meant for boiling the water for washing. They have to bring a witness from the village to testify that they worked as Puthirai Vannar,” he said.
The Puthirai Vannars show that caste is not a binary notion, says Mr. Lakshmanan. “We analyse issues as Brahmin versus non-Brahmins and Dalit versus non-Dalits. We fail to engage the multilayered and graded, unequal social structure,” he said.
Imayam said since Puthirari Vannars were considered the lowest among the lowest and numerically very small, they had little political power.
