For intercaste couples in Tamil Nadu, police are one more hurdle to cross

It was a tough decision to make for Illayaraja, a Dalit youth from Thoothukudi district. He was in a relationship with a caste Hindu woman from the same locality for the past six years. Though he runs a start-up and earns well, the woman’s family had refused to accept him for obvious reasons.

After giving a long thought, both decided to get married and start life afresh in Chennai. Accordingly, the two left their houses in the wee hours of December 14. A police patrol stopped their car near Thirumangalam in Madurai district around 4 am. When they told the truth, the policeman immediately asked for their castes. On knowing they belonged to different castes, he took them to All Women Police Station in Thirumangalam, fetched the contact details of their parents and made them wait at the police station for hours together. The couple pleaded, but they were not allowed to go until activists and political parties intervened.

Thirumangalam District Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sivakumar justified his team’s action. “The couple was taken to the police station to check if any missing complaint was filed against them. We also wanted to ensure they were of marriageable age,” said Sivakumar.

While the local police official said the duo was allowed to leave immediately after a preliminary inquiry, T Chellakannu, president of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, said they were allowed to go only around 11 am after the girl’s parents refused to visit the police station. Chellakannu later helped the couple get married. “Things would have been different if we had not intervened and the girl’s parents had agreed to come. They were lucky,” he said.

Activists say that at a time when the number of intercaste marriages happening in Tamil Nadu is very low, the police department’s lack of support to the needy couples is a matter of concern.

As per the Madras High Court’s directions, the Thoothukudi police department should have launched a 24-hour helpline number to address the concerns of youngsters who want to marry outside their caste. According to the HC order, every district needs to set up a special cell comprising a police official, the district social welfare officer and the Adi Dravidar welfare officer. Most districts in the state neither have a special cell nor a helpline number, rue activists.

An RTI reply has revealed that the special cell is functional only in eight districts across the state, said A Kathir, executive director of Evidence, an NGO fighting caste discrimination.

“According to the RTI reply, the special cell in Erode has dealt with 441 intercaste marriages, Pudukottai dealt with three such marriages, Kallakurichi 7, Coimbatore city 31, Coimbatore 27, Trichy 87 and Dharmapuri and Thoothukudi districts dealt with one marriage each between June 1, 2018 and June 30, 2021. The remaining districts did not report a single case,” Kathir said.

“As per the court directions, the police officials should voluntarily check whether there are any intercaste couples in their limits and help them in case they face threats. If they do have, then it is the job of the police to provide them protection. But, the practice was not followed anywhere in the state. It looks like the police themselves do not have sufficient training and maturity in handling such delicate matters,” he added.

While the state government has claimed that the state has witnessed only four honour killing incidents between 2016 and 2020, a survey conducted by NGO Evidence has revealed that about 55 such incidents have taken place in the state during the said period, Kathir said.

“If the police extend proper support, intercaste marriage related violence could be brought down to a great extent,” said K Ramakrishnan, general secretary of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK).

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“The police department is the reflection of the society. We have seen that cops too have a prejudiced and patriarchal mind set. Police support is minimal in intercaste marriages. The special cells and helpline numbers are just an eye-wash and they are not functioning effectively anywhere in the state,” said Advocate Se Gunasekar, managing trustee of Adhalinaal Kadhal Seiveer, the trust that has been supporting intercaste couples for the past decade or so.

Gunasekar said that intercaste couples seek protection from the police after wedding to prevent threats from families. However, Gunasekar said, that he found oral instructions were given to police stations in Tirupur district not to accept such cases if the man and woman belong to separate districts.

“There are several instances when police conducted kangaroo courts in the station and separated the couple on their own. There are also multiple instances when the police had informed the family members – from whom the couple were hiding – and forcibly sent the girl back home. Importantly, at the police stations, they are not treated with respect,” said Gunasekar.

A senior police official refuted the charge. He said the special cell and 24-hour helpline for intercaste couples is functioning in all the districts of Tamil Nadu. “We have been following due procedures in helping them,” he added.