CHENNAI: Governor RN Ravi said on Sunday that he was shocked to see the abject poverty all along the Keezhvenmani village.

"I visited Keezhvenmani village in Nagapattinam district and met G Palanivel, the only survivor of the 1968 massacre. Also visited Nambiar Nagar inhabited by fishermen and Jeeva Nagar by Scheduled Castes. Shocked to see the abject poverty all along the villages. One wonders how long these unfortunate brothers and sisters have to wait for social and economic justice, " Ravi said in a social media post.

Delivering a keynote address at the event organised by Tamil Seva Sangam in Nagapattinam, Ravi said, "India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Despite Tamil Nadu being one of the most developed states in the country, it is very painful to see many people living in abject poverty. I have visited a few villages here and the living conditions are extremely miserable."

"The per capita income of Tamil Nadu stands at more than Rs 2.75 lakh. But, when I see the people living in the villages here, I suspect their per capita income is only about Rs 40,000. After Independence, everyone hoped that within a short period, we would be able to eradicate poverty and make people happy and prosperous, " he noted.

However, exuding displeasure, Ravi said, "We started developing in a manner that created a lot of inequalities. Some people and families became super rich and made a fortune by talking about poverty eradication and leaving a large number of people impoverished."

It may be recalled that the Keezhvenmani massacre was an incident that happened on December 25, 1968 in which a group of around 44 people, the families of striking Dalit village labourers, were murdered by a gang, allegedly led by their landlords.

It became a notable event in left wing political campaigns of the time and Dravidian ideology.

However, the incident helped to initiate large-scale changes in the local rural economy, engendering a massive redistribution of land in the region.