80% of bureaucrats have anti-Dalit psyche, says Thirumavalavan

CHENNAI: VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan, in an exclusive interview to DT Next, said social justice could be achieved only with 100 per cent involvement of the legislative and bureaucracy. However, 80% of the bureaucrats have “anti-Dalit psyche”. They have a negative approach towards empowerment of Dalits and STs and their anti-Dalit approach has been stalling the government’s policy to ensure social justice. He elaborated on the party’s move to negate RSS rally on November 6 and criticised Governor RN Ravi for acting unconstitutionally and against secularism to promote the ideology of RSS.

How do you view the huge number of SC/ST posts remaining unfilled for decades? What are the factors that hinder reservation policy to uplift them?

Legislation and bureaucracy are two legs of governance. Though the ruling party has political will to implement the reservation, the bureaucracy is remaining as hindrance. Most of the bureaucrats have a negative attitude in implementing welfare schemes and reservation for SC/STs. Such officials account for nearly 80 per cent in the system. Knowingly or unknowingly, they have hatred towards the Dalits as they are not keen on the empowerment of the oppressed. They think if Dalits are empowered socially and economically, it would cause social disorder. The upbringing of the IAS, IPS officials and their family, caste, religion and their society have a huge impact on them. These factors imbibe anti-Dalit psyche among them. It reflects in implementation of reservation and there is stagnation in filling the posts reserved for SC/STs.

The ruling DMK government formed panels to ensure social justice in government sector. Does the ruling party lack political will to ensure it?

The constitution of SC/ST Commission is a long pending demand of VCK. It is the beginning of a long journey to the destination - egalitarian society. But, the ruling parties on the country are not pro-Dalits, be it DMK, AIADMK, Congress, BJP or any ruling party for that matter. They come up with schemes and certain legislation out of compulsion, but they are hesitant to implement statutory provisions to ensure the rights of Dalits and tribals.

We want a strong government that has a political will, without compromise, to implement schemes for the upliftment of Dalits. We are seeing the DMK government as one. However, TN finds itself in the top five states that recorded the highest number of crimes and atrocities against SCs/STs. It is positioned itself far behind in allocation of fund for pro-Dalit schemes. When compared to other states, the fund allocation for SCs and STs sub-plans under various departments is limited. The funds should be sanctioned as per the proportionate population of Dalits/Tribals. These sort of drawbacks in the system is stalling social justice.

How do you see political parties approach SC/STs issues?

There is a phobia among political parties, as they don’t want to be branded as pro-Dalit party. They fear that such branding would make them unpopular among non-Dalits. Hence, the representation of Dalits in political parties, cabinet and government machinery is a must to air the views of Dalits and tribals. Since Dalit representation is insignificant, their views are not taken into consideration in policy-making. This is a drawback in the system to ensure their rights.

Governor RN Ravi said, “it is shameful that untouchability still exists in TN, which claims to be a more progressive state.” Your views on this?

Though the Governor spoke the truth, he has a hidden agenda. It is not a pro-Dalit voice. The Governor’s voice and views are fully loaded with political intention and such statements are made for the political mileage of the BJP, besides to create a bad impression on DMK among the public. But, we are speaking the facts that Dalits are facing caste atrocities and discrimination, not allowed into temples. They are denied their rights in employment and education. We appeal to the government to address these issues.

The VCK has been talking about honour killings for long. Since you are part of the ruling alliance, will you take up this issue to bring legislation against honour killing?

A separate legislation against honour killings is a must. The state should come up with an exclusive law against such heinous crime. We will continue to voice for such an act.

The Centre sent a communication to all states, seeking views of the states to frame a Central Act. The previous AIADMK government did not respond to it. Tamil Nadu was one among the seven states that did not respond to the Centre’s communique. It is really shameful. We will insist the present government to act fast and give its views to the Union government. Meanwhile, it should come up with a state law pertaining to honour killing.

What is your stand on PC on official language and its recommendations?

It is an attempt to establish Communal Nationalism. For that, facism force want to use Hindi as a tool to push their agenda in non-Hindi speaking states. It will not succeed in TN.

VCK spearheaded protests against RSS rally. What’s next?

The human chain campaign on October 11 was a massive success of the secular forces, which is a collective of 24 political parties and 56 civil organisations. As part of the drive, we have planned to distribute one lakh copies of Manusmriti on the portion of women and Shudras on November 6 when RSS takes out rallies. We have an agenda for December 25, the anniversary of Dr Ambedkar burning the copy of Manusmriti, to counter the RSS.

Your views on Director Vetrimaran’s call for reinforcing Dravidian ideology in Tamil cinema?

We cannot consider it just as an art and entertainment medium. It is a powerful communication tool. The right wing and its allied forces are using it to create Communal Nationalism, which is unconstitutional. We cannot stop them from using the medium. However, it would create an egregious impact on democracy and its pluralism

There is strong criticism against AIADMK that it failed to act as constructive opposition and has been giving space for the BJP. Your view?

Opposition party is a vital cog of democracy. It should act as the regulatory body of the government. Ironically, there is no democracy within AIADMK. So, they were unable to perform their role. The BJP is trying to replace AIADMK from the opposition pole. The saffron party is using social media hype to their advantage. But, their attempts would fail miserably as there is anti-RSS awareness.

How do you perceive frequent visits of Union Ministers?

They are not coming down with a good intention. They want to divert the attention of the people towards BJP and criticise the state to create a bad image among the public. They will fail in their attempts.