25 years on, remembering the Melavalavu massacre | The Hindu скачать в хорошем качестве

25 years on, remembering the Melavalavu massacre | The Hindu

Melavalavu is a village located about 30 kilometres from Madurai city in Tamil Nadu. But, 25 years ago, it was the scene of casteist violence of the most barbaric nature unleashed against the people belonging to the Scheduled Caste community in Tamil Nadu. The massacre unfolded at Melavalavu village in Melur near Madurai on June 25th, 1997. K Murugesan, a 35-year-old Dalit panchayat president, K. Mookan, a 39-year-old Dalit panchayat vice-president, and four of their aides were travelling by bus. During the ride, they were brutally murdered by an armed gang of caste Hindus. Murugesan and Mookan both belonged to the Scheduled Caste community. They were elected to public office despite threats from the dominant caste Hindus. After two failed attempts, on December 31st, 1996 that Murugesan and Mookan were elected as president and vice president of the panchayat. The caste Hindus had boycotted it. Even after winning the election, Murugesan continued to face death threats and was prevented from entering his office. When Murugesan, Mookan and their aides were travelling from Madurai to Melavalavu, the bus journey turned tragic. All the 13 surviving convicts were released from Madurai Central Prison in a hush-hush manner on November 9th, 2019 by the AIADMK government. This was part of MGR birth centenary celebrations, on the ground of ‘good conduct’ Activists and the villagers who strongly condemned the premature release, termed it a move by the state government to appease the dominant Thevar community vote bank. 25 years hence, little has changed for the community in the village. Story by Udhav Naig and Lalitha Ranjani Photos and videos: G. Moorthy, K. Ganesan, The Hindu Archives Production: Shibu Narayan Script: Abhinaya Sriram Voiceover: Ananyaa Desikan