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Inequality within Dalit Community
M S S Pandian deserves much appreciation for his article “Caste in Tamil Nadu-III: Denying Difference” (EPW, 23 February 2013). It is rather easy to criticise brahmins and brahmanism but it needs courage to analyse the present scenario of dalit dogmas. His article on the Arunthathiyar inner reservation is an example of the existing caste hierarchy among the dalits. Inner reservation is steadfastly opposed by the elite dalit communities for their own material and political gains. As the article shows, this is not merely a story of Arunthathiyars and Tamil Nadu, but a national issue.
M S S Pandian deserves much appreciation for his article “Caste in Tamil Nadu-III: Denying Difference” (EPW, 23 February 2013). It is rather easy to criticise brahmins and brahmanism but it needs courage to analyse the present scenario of dalit dogmas. His article on the Arunthathiyar inner reservation is an example of the existing caste hierarchy among the dalits. Inner reservation is steadfastly opposed by the elite dalit communities for their own material and political gains. As the article shows, this is not merely a story of Arunthathiyars and Tamil Nadu, but a national issue.
It is pathetic that even the self-proclaimed dalit intellectuals hide the fact of internal differentiation among dalit communities. When feeble voices for subcategorisation/inner reservation for SCs are raised, they are literally threatened by dalit professors/intelligentsia.
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