Har Ghar Tiranga, but TN Dalit panchayat heads not allowed to hoist flags

Seventy-five years after 1947, Dalit presidents in Tamil Nadu’s village panchayats continue to be ostracised and prevented by caste Hindus from exercising their powers, which includes hoisting the national flag during Independence and Republic Day functions.

This is the significant finding of a recent study carried out by the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF), an arm of the CPI(M). The study found that in 383 out of 1,600 village panchayats reserved for scheduled castes, the powers of Dalit presidents have been willfully curtailed. (There are 12,524 village panchayats in the state).

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This data comes in the backdrop of a letter written by a Dalit women president, Sudha Varadaraji of Eduthavainatham panchayat in Kallakurichi district (which was recently in the news following the suicide of a schoolgirl), alleging that she is being intimidated by caste Hindu members, who are stopping her from exercising her right to hoist the national flag in the upcoming 75th Independence Day celebrations.

Her August 3 letter, addressed to the District Superintendent of Police, stated that she was denied permission to hoist the flag during Republic day this year as well, because of her caste.

“Before me, there were 10 panchayat presidents in the past and all were allowed to hoist the flag. But, I have been denied permission. I demand proper security measures so that I can exercise my right this year during Independence day,” Sudha Varadaraji told The Federal.

‘No assurance from authorities’

After a three-year hiatus, the AIADMK, which had assumed power in 2016, held local body elections in December 2019. Due to the formation of five new districts from four existing districts, the elections were not held in those nine districts. The COVID pandemic too delayed the elections for these districts. Finally, in October 2021, the polls were conducted.

In Sudha’s case, she was ostensibly not allowed to hoist the flag on January 26, 2022 because she was a first-time president. She, however, alleged that she is not being allowed to hoist the flag on the upcoming Independence Day as well. 

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“During Republic Day celebrations, elected representatives are invited for flag hoisting ceremonies in nearby government schools. Usually, panchayat presidents are requested to hoist the flag. In the absence of an elected representative, the school headmaster can hoist the flag. However, in my case, the school authorities and deputy president didn’t allow me to hoist the flag saying that we are allowed to hoist the flag only on August 15. At that time, we didn’t want to create a fuss on this issue. But, for Independence Day too, we are told a MLA will hoist the flag,” explained Sudha.

This prompted her to write a letter to the DSP, who tried to mediate without much success.  Her letter has been widely reported in the media, yet none of the officials, including the district collector, who is the inspector of village panchayats under Panchayat Raj, has given her any assurance. The Federal tried to reach out to the collector for a comment but he was unavailable.

‘No precautionary measures’

This is not the first time the state is witnessing this kind of discrimination. From the time the 73rd and 74th Amendments in the Panchayat Raj Act in 1995 were implemented by the then DMK government, Dalit panchayat presidents have to deal with deep-seated prejudice and bigotry, say experts.

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“Irrespective of who is in power, Dalit presidents are subjected to this kind of discrimination time and again,” said S Nandakumar, general secretary, Thannatchi, an organisation working to create awareness on local body governance. Besides Dalits, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and women presidents are also prevented from performing their duties and exercising their powers, he added.

“In most cases, the issue comes to light after the programme is over. Even then, many  representatives are not coming forward to file a complaint under the SC/ST Act. So, there is literally no action taken against the perpetrators. Though the government is aware of such bias and intolerance, it is not taking any precautionary measures,” he said, adding that in many places, district police officials deploy one or two constables as a formality.

“But, they are unable to put a stop to discriminatory practices like preventing a Dalit president from hoisting the national flag,” said Nandakumar.

Lack of awareness

The problem also lies in the fact that many SC and ST political representatives are clueless about their rights. Samuel Raaj, general secretary, TNUEF, said that not only Dalit panchayat presidents but other representatives like ward members and councillors too are unaware of their powers and rights.

“In local bodies, there are about 10,000 Dalit representatives holding various positions. The government should create a grievance cell exclusively for them. Currently, there is no such platform to voice their concerns. There is a need to organise a separate training session for them, where they can become aware of their powers, rights, duties and about the SC/ST Act,” suggested Raaj.

Nandakumar, however, felt rural development officers, under whom most of the administrative process of panchayats comes under, should be sensitised on these issues first. Neither the principal secretary nor the director, rural development and Panchayat Raj department responded to our calls to comment on the issue.