SIVAGANGA
Manamadurai is known for two things―the popular snack murukku and pottery made of clay from the River Vaigai. Recently, though, the town in Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga district has found itself in the news for a dubious reason.
On February 13, three youths from the dominant Thevar community hacked the wrist of 20-year-old Ayyasamy, a dalit, for allegedly riding a Bullet.
Ayyasamy had first dreamt of a bike when he joined college. It was in Sivaganga, 40km from his house in Melapidavoor village, and he had to walk 2km every day to the bus stop. The buses rarely kept time, and he asked his elder brother Muniyasamy to buy him a bike. The Royal Enfield Classic 350 came home in 2023, and the brothers would ride it around the village with its signature thumping sound. This, said Muniyasamy, riled the dominant castes in the village, predominantly the Agamudayar sub-caste of the Thevar community. Melapidavoor has around 300 families from communities such as the Thevars, Nadars and dalits. The dalit houses are on the outskirts.
Apparently, the brothers were close to some dominant caste boys from the village, particularly Vinod Kumar (21), Aatheeswaran (22) and Vallarasu (21), the three arrested for attacking Ayyasamy. The villagers say Ayyasamy used to roam the village with the trio and their usual meeting spot was at the village entrance.
“They used to drink and make fun of everyone in the village,” said one of Ayyasamy’s neighbours who did not want to be named. On the day of the incident, say the villagers, the boys were drunk and Ayyasamy teased the others because they could not even pay for their drinks. This led to an argument and they attacked Ayyasamy with a sickle-like weapon.
According to the Sivaganga police, “Ayyasamy was also under the influence of alcohol. Ayyasamy teased and called Vinod Kumar by his nickname ‘Alert’, which he took as an insult.”
The motive of the incident, said Sivaganga Superintendent of Police Ashish Rawat, was a “wordy quarrel in a drunken state”, and the accused did not attack Ayyasamy for riding a Bullet.
The attack affected both his arms―his left wrist was mutilated and the skin near his right elbow had peeled off. “The fingers were hanging out. He came running, shouting for help, bleeding profusely,” said his mother, Chellamma.
It was around 8.30pm. Almost everyone in the village had gone to bed, but the brawl woke them up. As Ayyasamy came running from the highway, villagers could see him bleed. No one came to help. Chellamma, who was busy with chores, ran to get an old sari and tied it around his hand. He was first taken to the Sivaganga government hospital, and later to the Madurai Rajaji government hospital, where they stitched back his fingers. He was in the hospital for three weeks. “The stitches have healed outside, but it is chronic pain inside,” said Ayyasamy. “My mom helps me with my daily routine.”
Chellamma lodged a complaint under the SC/ST Act. The Sivaganga police said in a statement: “The case will be investigated on the correct lines and the charge-sheet will be filed at the earliest.”
The Tamil Nadu SC/ST commission has given the family Rs63,000 for Ayyasamy’s treatment. “We have spent more than Rs2 lakh,” said Bhoominathan, Ayyasamy’s uncle. His family demands a dignified life and money to treat him. “Considering the injuries, the government should explore options to increase the compensation amount,” said S. Ravivarman, director of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
Muniyasamy and Bhoominathan said the entire village was jealous of them for having a posh house and a Bullet. “They used to throw caste slurs at us and asked, ‘How come you have become so well-to-do?’ We thought these were casual remarks, but it has led to violence now,” said Muniyasamy, who earns Rs35,000 a month from his job in a manufacturing company. Chellamma gets work under NREGA, and also a monthly cash dole of Rs1,000 from the state government.
Almost two months since the incident, Melapidavoor is still in the grip of fear. When asked, the only reply is that they don’t know what happened, and that the young men were drunk.
Ayyasamy comes out every day to sit on his Bullet for hours. “I can’t ride it now,” he said. “I can’t even move it.”