With more incidents of horrific ‘honour’ crimes being reported of late, the mobile phone is now considered the embodiment of all evil among the upper castes in the rural areas of western Tamil Nadu.
Since 2012, when the Dharmapuri riots broke out, smaller OBC organisations who blatantly drum up caste emotions, have been campaigning against parents providing cell phones to their young daughters. In some areas, locals allege these campaigns have reached college doorsteps.
In Kootathupatti in Salem, Gunasekaran, who ironically owns a mobile recharge shop, flags the “dangers” of allowing young girls to use mobile phones.
“Those boys manipulate our girls through text messages and by sending obscene content. They rob their innocence,” he alleges, quoting several instances of couples using mobile phones to plan elopement.
Right in the middle of the conversation, he suddenly calls for silence, to eavesdrop on what a group of school girls were speaking on the public pay phone in his shop. “I bet this was a call from a boy. Imagine what will happen if you give them a personal phone,” he rues.
