Mohammed Ali Jinnah, formerly Vairmauthu, was busy and rushing towards the police station in his village in Dombuchery to sign on the record of his release over the conditional bail on Tuesday morning.
He had to sign before 10:30 am every morning; failing which would land him in trouble again.
“Sorry, sir, I couldn’t attend to your phone calls on time. I have to be on time to sign; else I will land in problems,” says Mohammed Ali.
When asked why he had to sign every day, Ali replied that he was falsely accused of being involved in the clash between Dalits and Kallars, MBC, on the occasion of Diwali last year.
Mohammed Ali and as many as forty Dalits were targeted by the Pirmalai Kallars, the upper caste community in the village, last November merely for belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC).
The Dalits were beaten up, and their properties were damaged. However, the police booked both groups.
Mohammed alleges police brutality and says the community has been the target of the upper caste for more than ten years.
The 35-year-old continued to say that close to ten Dalit families in the village has embraced Islam, unable to bear the violence and discrimination from the upper caste.
A considerable number of Dalits live in this village of Dombuchery in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu, India, says Mohammed and adds that they had become a continuous target for the upper castes for more than ten years.
“We are not allowed to walk around the streets we live in, and our kids are not allowed to play. They, the upper caste people, will always fight with us and do not want us to be on the same level as they are”, Mohammed Ali Jinnah said.
Asked when the issue started to appear, he said it was in 2010 when Arul Pandian was attacked by a man belonging to the Kallar community.
Arul Pandian is a Dalit like Mohammed, and he was mocked by the upper caste men when he offered them a drive from the village to town.
People from the lower middle class and Dalits make a living through this, while the women work on tea plantations in Idukki, Kerala, close to their village.
“Arul Pandian was attacked and abused by the upper caste men”, Mohammed said.
The man was booked and remanded by the police under the direction of then DSP Uma. But, the situation got even worse when he was released from custody.
A clash broke out between the Kallars and Dalits in 2011, where the properties of Dalits were desecrated, and their women and children were beaten.
Office of Tamil Puligal, the only political party that supported the Dalits and to which Mohammed Ali, belongs, had been desecrated in the clash by the Kallars.
As many as 14 Dalits have been booked in the clash. Dalit students, who were not on the site, too were allegedly booked by the police. Mohammed Ali accuses the police of acting in favour of the Kallars and spoiling the education of Dalit students.
Very few Dalits are educated in this village, he told The Cognate.
“Very few of us are educated and working, but the Kallars couldn’t digest even that and gave false against the students of our community”, says Mohammed.
In the middle of January and February 2021, an older man, a close relative of Mohammed, was attacked by a young man from Kallar and injured on the ear and neck.
“A close relative of mine was smoking cigarettes near the temple in our village was attacked using a sickle by youth from Kallar merely for resisting to offer him a cigarette”, he said.
However, the matter prompted immense distress among the already dismayed Dalits that resulted in a clash.
The two groups did a face-off in which political leaders intervened and dispersed them. However, as many as thirty upper caste people allegedly entered the streets where Dalits lived on Diwali and attacked their houses using sticks and sickles.
Notably, the assurance from political parties to look after their needs came four days before the assembly election in 2021. However, a clash broke out on that day, too.
Police officers and Tasildhar visited the village and assured them of providing remedies but in vain. Though many Dalits believed, the rest of the ten families did not.
Seeing no relief and end to the violence and discrimination, they embraced Islam.
“We are the so-called untouchables to them, and the difference between them and us is the caste we belong to. We can’t fight this anymore as we lack support from others. We can’t be humiliated for the caste and religion we belong to. So, we left Hinduism and accepted Islam, where there is no caste system”, Mohammed Ali said.
We are not allowed inside the barbershop, visit the same temple, drink from the same type of tumblers they use, he said, adding they treat them less than a human.
He also said he believes after embracing Islam, their plight will end, and the school dropouts of Dalits would get back to school fearing no discrimination.
Mohammed says he is slowly practising Islam after embracing it by saying the Kalima (testimony of faith).
“I do not know everything about Islam, but I will learn it. I was surprised to see people standing near and behind me praying together at the masjid. I have never seen people from my community stay close to me so far. I’m glad that there is no discrimination in Islam and people treat everybody the same”, he said.
He informs all the men falsely accused have embraced Islam.
Meanwhile, Karuppiah, leader of Dalit Viduthalai Katchi, says there are 672 villages in Tamil Nadu where the Dalits face discrimination.
Karuppiah said the discrimination would not end unless all the political parties and people supported them.
The converted Dalits say they embraced Islam on their personal choice and after learning it is the only way to end their unattended plights.
