Watch: Woman Stops Dalit Students From Using Common Path, Bombards Them With Caste Slurs In Tamil Nadu

A shocking case of caste-based discrimination has been reported from Kollangarai village, wherein the Dalit students were reportedly dissuaded from using a common mud path to go to their school by a septuagenarian. The incident, recorded on camera, has enraged the state.

The video captures a young man accompanied by the children as the woman tries to obstruct their way using a stick, shouting casteist abuses, such as the derogatory word “eliya saathi.” With no regard, the man knocks aside the stick and walks further accompanied by the children. The mud road is formally a “vandi paathai” (a path of vehicles), but encroached upon by local people by planting banana saplings, says Chellakannu, Tamil Nadu state president of the Untouchability Eradication Front.

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The Dalit children had to make a 1.5 km detour for more than 18 days until locals intervened. The authorities, who were informed months ago, moved only following public outrage, and the road was reopened by the Tahsildar. There is a police inquiry ongoing but no FIR registered so far. 

Tirunelveli Sees More Than 1,000 Caste Atrocities in Five Years

The Kollangarai violence is a symptom of a wider trend of caste violence in Tamil Nadu. In the Tirunelveli district itself, 1,097 cases of caste atrocities against the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) have been recorded in the past five years. These range from heinous killings to sexual assault on Dalit women, tribal communities being attacked, and discrimination against Dalits at school.

Dalit Liberation Movement (DLM) State President S. Karuppaiah blamed the government for negligence, pointing out that killings of tribal individuals by caste extremists are many times not reported under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act even after its 2015 amendment. He also pointed out that victim families are regularly denied the compulsory pensions provided under the 2016 rules, with payments stopping for months throughout Tamil Nadu. Activists allege this lack of accountability reflects systemic failures in addressing caste-based violence.

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