‘A house divided against itself cannot stand’.It is a famous quote from the former US President Abraham Lincoln’s speech, when US was divided on racial grounds and US was on the verge of civil war in the year 1865.The enigma was solved by Lincoln by issuing the famous declaration of emancipation of slaves.
But in India, ‘the evil of caste system’ has been prevailing time immemorial and it has been raising its ugly head time and again.
In Tamil Nadu, ‘the two tumbler system’ has been practiced in tea stalls, in some parts of the Districts like Salem, according to which, separate tumblers have been provided for the so-called upper castes and the castes which are deemed to be untouchables respectively. This practice has been in vogue for many years much to the chagrin of the castes which are deemed to be untouchables.
However, with the rise of dalit movements and even they being in power in the largest State of India, the Uttar Pradesh, the dalit movements have gained momentum and even a thrust forward to do away with the customs which are considered as social stigma.One such unwanted custom that has been in practice in some of the interior and remotest villages was the provision of two-tumbler system, one was meant for the upper castes and the another one was to the lower castes, respectively.
The Tamil Nadu Government has been taking many steps like the campaigning against the evil of untouchability, punishing the criminals against untouchability, encouraging intercaste marriages, establishing “Samathuvapurams’ wherein all the castes are residing together in the same premises, Samabandhi Bojanam in temples, in which all the castes irrespective of their social status in the society, sit together and have meals.It is unfortunate to note that all the above mentioned steps have not completely eradicated the evil of caste system from the society, but we can say that they are just a beginning and a step in the direction.
However, the provision of two tumbler system in the tea stalls is rather glaring and openly discriminating between the castes.Hence, the State Government is planning a series of tea parties, for 17 lakh people across 37,000 villages in the state in the coming months according to a senior police officer. The officials call it social justice tea parties.
The Rs 70 lakh Centre assisted project is aimed at dissolving caste differences, particularly dalit discrimination in the rural areas.A sum of Rs 35 lakh will be provided by the state government while the remaining by the centre.
Last year, the government has conducted over 600 tea parties in the state to bring awareness among villagers. Such parties are meant for people of different castes to spend time together drinking tea tea in the same kind of tumblers. The social justice tea parties are welcomed in rural Tamil Nadu and they create awareness among villagers.
The social justice and human rights wing of the state police has been waging a war against the existing two-tumbler system in certain pockets in the state. All District Police Heads have been asked to conduct a special drive against this and give wide publicity so that the fear of law would deter potential offenders.
Therefore, removing caste discrimination in the society is so complex a problem than removing discrimination on the basis of race. Hence, it requires more political will, sanction of the government, peoples co-operation etc, in the long term goal.
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