5 months ago
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It was the twelvemonth 1997. A Ramanathapuram taluk bureau property merchandise was terse. It simply said immoderate 10 radical successful a Dalit colony called Palkarai adjacent Ramanathapuram municipality had converted to Islam. For a city-bred rookie newsman similar me, it seemed similar a juicy communicative to excavation into. But a spiritual conversion communicative was a spot beyond me. I consulted elder journalists successful Chennai and was directed to Rajan of Madurai. Rajan came to Ramanathapuram to beryllium my chaperone during my tract travel to Palkarai.
Rajan was an apt campaigner for Marxian theorist Antonio Gramsci’s thought of an integrated intellectual. Born successful a Pariar family, Rajan learned governmental mentation from his milieu and from books. He knew the terrain and the radical and, much importantly, the needs of journalists.
Grassroots activists are often journalists’ champion friends but they typically person organisational agendas. Rajan knew his Marx and Ambedkar but ne'er truly sought to beryllium an organiser, fto unsocial a leader. He did not person the self-importance to thrust him. Although the issues mattered to him, helium was anarchic and represented nary organisation. He was an honorable interlocutor for upcountry English connection journalists.
Rajan got by connected a day-to-day basis. One bully repast and drinks made his day. His pockets were often bare and helium would inquire for conscionable capable wealth from friends to instrumentality him to his adjacent halt by autobus wherever helium would clang astatine a verandah.
Like the world intellectual, and dissimilar the integrated intellectual, Rajan often preferred to beryllium an nonsubjective observer, not a participant. The foibles of the Left and the activists amused him endlessly. He would roar with laughter describing them to me.
At Palkarai though, the Dalit villagers refused to prosecute with us. They were aggravated and suspicious of journalists. To interruption the ice, Rajan asked, “Can you get america immoderate water? We are thirsty.”
Rajan took a fewer gulps from the jug the villagers brought. I said I wasn’t thirsty, but helium insisted that I besides portion the water. He aboriginal explained that for Dalits, this meant breaking untouchability barriers.
I asked them wherefore immoderate of them became Muslim. They had a antagonistic question: “Why did the constabulary enactment a lawsuit against our boys and fto them retired lone connected conditional bail?”
Rajan loudly explained to me, truthful the villagers could besides hear. A constabulary lawsuit meant entering constabulary records permanently. This successful crook meant losing immoderate accidental of landing authorities jobs done preservation arsenic Hindu Scheduled Castes. Conversion was, among different things, an enactment of protestation for these Dalits who had thing to lose, helium implied. And Rajan was lending a sympathetic ear, which opened up the Dalit villagers adjacent much to us.
The lawsuit had been slapped connected the younker for rioting during the caste riots that raged successful Tamil Nadu astatine that time.
Palkarai Dalits past spoke astir the Thevar colony adjacent doorway and however Thevar younker would often telephone them names and harass them. No nationalist autobus stopped astatine their village. “If I sported a beard and wore a Muslim cap, nary 1 would situation to humiliate me. Buses would halt to prime america up,” said 1 younker who had converted. Rajan had breached different granular communicative bearing superb insights. But his sanction was ne'er successful the bylines. And helium did not question immoderate different idiosyncratic payment either.
Twenty years later, I visited Palkarai during elections. The Muslim converts had moved to the borderline of the village, person to the main road. Aazan chimed retired of a new, shining mosque that had travel up.
Years of vagrant surviving took a toll connected Rajan. He joined and had children but ne'er truly held a dependable job. Alcohol consumed him and a changeable followed, confining him to the furniture for immoderate 10 years. He passed distant recently.
kalyanaraman.m@thehindu.co.in
