Revive scheme offering jobs to inter-caste marriage couples: VCK

CHENNAI: In an effort to revive a scheme that was in force for a quarter of a century to encourage inter-caste marriages in the State, remaining dormant since 2011, VCK general secretary D Ravikumar on Tuesday petitioned Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin to give impetus to the initiative.

The VCK leader urged the DMK government to revive the scheme that was shelved during the previous AIADMK regime. The programme was stalled during the 10 years of AIADMK regime from 2011.

It was the MG Ramachandran-led regime in 1986 that had taken a policy decision to provide government jobs to inter-caste couples. It was one of the measures of the state government to break the old social order and do away with caste atrocities. Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Personnel-R) Department passed an order (G.O, Ms. No 939/1986) to this effect. The scheme continued for the next two decades by both the Dravidian parties when they were at the helm.

A total of 287 inter-caste couples were appointed as teachers in government schools across the state during former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's regime between 2006 and 2011. However, it came to a standstill after the AIADMK under J Jayalalithaa was voted to power in the assembly polls in 2011.

Though the MK Stalin-led government, after returning to power in 2021, revived some of the flagship programmes such as Samathuvapuram and Anaithu Sathiyinarum Archakar Aagalam scheme, the inter-marriage scheme that provided government jobs to couples is dormant to date. Ravikumar recalled that he had also urged former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami to revive the scheme launched by his party founder, but said nothing happened then.

The Villupuram MP said that he submitted a petition in person to Dy CM, urging him to make efforts to revive such a revolutionary scheme. "We hope this government will bring the scheme into effect," he added.