Murugesan, a Dalit panchayat president of Melavalavu, who along with six others was brutally killed by caste Hindus (Kallar) on June 30, 1997, was in a way responsible for the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) entering electoral politics, its leader Thol. Thirumavalavan said on Thursday.
“In a way, Murugesan was responsible for VCK to enter electoral politics. We had to protest to bury the victims,” Mr. Thirumavalavan said after paying respects at ‘Viduthalai Kalam’, a memorial built for the victims of the massacre, on the 25th anniversary. He presented clothes to families of the victims and named new-borns.
“The difference between other tragedies (involving Dalits) and this massacre is important. In Kilvenmani, the murders happened because of a protest for wage hike. In Villupuram, the murders happened due to a flare up. But in Melavalavu, the murders took place because a Dalit wanted to contest elections in a reserved seat,” he said.
Murugesan, who won the election, was travelling on a bus when the caste Hindus beheaded him and killed six others accompanying him.
Recalling the threat faced by Murugesan, he felt the bureaucracy had failed to explain that reservation of the Melavalavu panchayat was a right given by the Constitution, though members of the caste Hindus had openly warned that they could cut off the heads of those who contest in the elections.
Murugesan, a DMK functionary, had wanted a couple of candidates who had the VCK’s support to withdraw from the fray to prevent splitting of votes, Mr. Thirumavalavan said. “When I asked about the threat to his life, he told me that he doesn’t care about it,” he recalled and said the Intelligence officers would have known about the plot to eliminate Murugesan but did not act on it. Murugesan had met the then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to apprise him of the threat.
The VCK leader recalled that after the massacre the then DIG, S. Ganesan, had allowed him to pay his last respects to the victims. “He refused to arrest me and had said that the Dalits have no one but me. I paid my respects on the main road itself because I didn’t want to be responsible for more issues,” Mr. Thirumavalvan said.
In most cases, Mr. Thirumavalavan charged that the police personnel gathering intelligence are also casteists. Casteists exist in every community, including among the Dalits and ask what VCK has done for the Dalits. “Usually, we bring leaders from North India and now Dalits in North India are inviting me for events there. This is not a recognition for Thirumavalavan but for all the cadres of VCK. The party has managed to create an uprising in Tamil Nadu,” he felt.
