Caste Hindus misuse Dalit’s land for burials

The issue came to light after Sivakumar, a Dalit from Nallampillai village near Manaparai, approached the Collector stating that the caste Hindus were continuing to bury bodies of deceased in his land even after revenue officials issued a certificate confirming that the land belonged to him. 

It is said that caste Hindus of Nallampillai village near Manaparai traditionally used the banks of a forest river to bury the bodies of deceased from their communities. However, in the recent times, they have started encroaching the adjacent private lands close to the bank including that of Sivakumar (Survey No 531/2B3) to bury the bodies owing to the space crunch. Sivakumar said that the 35-cent land was his ancestral property which he had been using to raise crops under direct cultivation method. 

As his repeated appeals with caste Hindus failed to evoke any response, Sivakumar approached the revenue department and on March 8 a team of officials inspected to the spot, measured the land and issued him a certificate. “However, on March 9, caste Hindus, led by village head Palanisamy, arrived with the body of Nallathambi alias Chinnappan, who died of age-related ailments, and tried to bury it in my land,” Sivakumar said. 

Upset over this, Sivakumar lodged a complaint with the Manaparai police station and the Tahsildhar seeking action to stop encroachment of his land by caste Hindus. But, even before officials reached the spot, the caste Hindus had completed the burial and related rituals. 

“When I along with members belonging to my community opposed it, the caste Hindus assaulted me, my wife Dhanalakshmi, my mother Lingammal and brothers Pakkiaraj and Thanigaivel. They also abused us verbally,” Sivakumar claimed. 

The Manaparai police is said to have assured him of convening a peace talk to settle the issue, but Sivakumar said that no steps were taken as assured. “So, I have approached the Collector to direct the police to initiate action and remove the body buried in my agricultural land,” Sivakumar said. He also submitted a patta copy and documents related to survey along with the petition. Meanwhile, attempts to contact the caste Hindu leaders, including the village head, proved futile.