Warriors of social crusade

The jallikattu protests, which brought about an ordinance, turned into a benchmark for the people of Tamil Nadu.

In Neduvasal, the villagers rose in protest on February 15, as their hometown was one among 31 sites chosen by the Union Government for the hydrocarbon exploration project. Villagers from Idinthakarai have been protesting the Koodankulam nuclear power plant, even as their homes are in the dark, as energy is often distributed to industrial units. Leaving behind their families and comfortable lives, a few activists braved violence and injuries, fighting for the public’s basic right to a safe and secure life.

In 2015, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of protests (20,450), stated a report by the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPRD). In January 2017, Marina beach was dotted with lakhs of youngsters, protesting the Supreme Court ban on jallikattu. The farmers’ protest in Delhi, demanding loan waivers and drought relief funds, caught the nation’s attention, yet failed to elicit a response from the central government.

In the backdrop of voicing dissent, there have emerged many activists, who have been working towards bringing about a change – in legislation or in terms of relief. However, with an increasing posse of activists, not all of whom are selfless towards the cause, this has become a grey area. This prompts an important question: who is an activist? Is it a person who files petitions in the court, marches on the streets or protests on social media? Has activism become a veneer to garner publicity or elicit funds? While there are many social media activists, those who walk the talk are few.

Today, we look into the lives of a few activists, who have laid their lives on the line, for a cause they believe strongly in. These men and women have been threatened, attacked and in pursuing their vision of a better society, lost families and financial well-being. Despite it all, they persist in their struggle, which has yielded many results.

At 84, Traffic Ramaswamy may seem like a frail, senior citizen. But once the hardy social activist speaks, the fearlessness and passion for justice is visible to all.

Read More: Nothing can stop Traffic Ramaswamy

Anti-nuke activist S.P.Udayakumar, who had spent most of his years in protest says that the protests had taken a toll on his personal life and the golden days of his family life are gone.

Kakkoos’ docu-film maker Divya Bharathi who had relocated to a neighbouring State following threats to kill and rape her after release of her film, revives the dialogue on abolition of manual scavenging besides compensating the victims’ kin alive and kicking. Divya was arrested last month for a protest she took part about eight years ago when an inmate of a Dalit Hostel died of a snakebite in Madurai.

She would have been a normal college-going Thevar wife of Dalit husband Sankar in nondescript Kumaralingam village near Udumalpet, off Coimbatore, but future had something else in store for her.