By IANS,
Madurai (Tamil Nadu) : Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat Wednesday congratulated the Tamil Nadu government for demolishing part of a village wall that segregated residences of Dalits and upper caste Hindus.
Karat addressed a public rally in Uthapuram village, 400 km from here, where a 20-year-old wall was partly demolished by district officials Tuesday to help Dalits gain access to basic amenities like primary health care and bus routes.
“Our constitution has made it clear that the practice of untouchability is evil. Yet a few practise it. The Tamil Nadu government deserves generous praise for its effort to remove this blot from the society,” Karat said.
The village, dominated by a mixture of upper caste Hindu Pillais and Thevars, figured prominently in the news last week after a local daily reported about the wall.
The village was tense after the demolition Tuesday following opposition charges that the state police apparatus in the area had an anti-upper caste disposition.
But District Collector S.S. Jawahar had termed the charges as “baseless”.