Post on 24-Mar-2018
Chapter IV
Pallars in Tirunelveli Villages: Their Socio-EconomicProfile
Rangasamudram
Rengasamudram in addition to Puthukulam
Venkatachalapuram, Rayappapuram and Mahendravadi, which is
the mother village, form the Mahendravadi Panchayat which is in
Kuruvikulam Panchayat Union of Sankarankovil Taluk in Tirunelveli
District is located 12.8 K.M away from Sankarankovil towards east.
Mahendravadi village is believed to have been named after one
Mahendra Iyer. There is an interesting oral history for the village. A
Kudumban was wielding influence in this part with a lot of farm
workers at his command. Mahendra Iyer who was a frequent visitor
to Tiruchendur Temple used to stay in Kudumban's residential
premises for a while and proceed to his distination After a few years
Kudumban began to trust Mr.Iyer to the extent of paying his tribute
to the East India company Administration through him. But Iyer
betrayed Kudumban and paid the amount in his name and so in the
British record the village proprietor was not Kudumban but
Mahendra Iyer. When Kudumban became alert, it was too late. As
the records were in the name of Iyer, the court could rule only in
favour of Iyer.
Venkatachalapuram and Rangasamudram and Rayappapuram
were the three hamlets, named believably after the names of three
sons by Mahendra Iyer. Pudukulam was named so because the
settlement was around a new tank. Pallars were slaves in the farm of
Mahendra Iyer. Though the Thevars were treated leniently by the
Brahmans, The Pallars were subjected to all forms of discrimination,
which we hear to day. The descendents of Mahendra Iyer started
leaving the village once their authority was questioned first by the
Thevars. In the post independence period when agriculture fetched
low returns and when there was a shift in the choice of avocation of
the upper caste people, Brahmins had left the villages, selling their
land to Thevars and Naidus of the villages in the neighborhood.
Mahendravadi was no exception. This has made the Thevars very
dominant in Kuruvikulam Panchayat Union, parts of which are
Rengasamudram and Pudukulam.
The spread of dalits in the hamlets are as follows:
Rengasamudram is exclusively a dalit hamlet comprising Pallar
house holds of 250. Puthukulam Pallar and Thevar households
(33
constitute 40 and 50 respectively. In Mahendravadi village Pallar
households are 27 out of total households of 80. Thevars form the
majority with 50 households. 3. Venkatachalapuram has 190 Pallar
househods and Rayappapuram hamlet is inhabited by Konars. Thus
the Pallars in Mahendravadi and Puthukulam are under the
dominance of Thevars, while Pallars of Rangasamudram and
Rayappapuram are relatively leading an independent existence.
In Mahendravadi, the land in controlled by Thevars. Only 9
Pallars have land. But excepting one, all others have less than 3
acres of land. All other Pallars are landless engaged in agriculture
labour and cattle rearing. Pallar women are employed in match
factories in Kalugumalai and Kuruvikulam. They also do the job of
plucking flowers. Those who offer their labour to Match Industry
earn Rs. 20 per day, while those who opt for flower plucking get Rs.
10/ per day. Therefore the glamour to work in Match factories is
obviously noticed in the village.
Most of the Pallars, 22 out of the 27 households, live in tiled
houses. Four Pallar families have only concrete or terraced
buildings. A quick census survey held in Pallar households indicate
that 22 households have debt. Modern electronic gadgets like T.V.,
Mixer, Grinder and refrigerator are absent . Only 10 households
have fans. Only 3 households spend more than Rs. 1000/- on food
per month. 18 households have no property at all. Only 3 families
possess gold jewels.
Half of Pallar population is followers of Roman Catholic region.
Kali is worshipped by both. Thevars and Hindu Pallars. Interestingly
there is no caste tension between Thevars and Pallars of this village.
There is no form of untouchability practised against Pallars of this
village by Thevars. Yet even a boy of Thevar community calls an
elder of Pallar community by name. The implicit superiority of
Thevar community is asserted through this attitude in this village.
As for Puthukulam, which is 4 K.M. away from Mahendravadi,
the number of landless labourers is 10. All others have, in average
own one were of land. Only 4 families have 3 to 5 acres of land. Six
Pallar families have more than 5 acres of land. There is no polling
booth for this hamlet. So people have to go to Mahendravadi to cast
their votes. Pallars have been supporters of Puthia Tamizhagam, a
party led by Dr.K. Krishnaswamy. This is contrast to the position of
Pallars of Mahendravadi, who have stated that they belonged to no
political party or caste outfit. Because of the system tank and
13C
consequent thriving agriculture Thevars and Pallars lead a life of co-
existence here. Because of the fact that the Pallar population is
concentrating on agriculture they have not bothered to choose a
career by taking to education.
Relatively Mahendravadi Pallars seem to have letter
educational standards . There are 5 paliars who have completed
their plus Two. None of the pallar youths have crossed plus two level
only 5 persons have studied upto Tenth standard. Those who are
illiterate in Pudukulam out number those in Mahendravadi 74 in the
former and 47 in the later. One tend to think probably Christianity
has made its impact and prompted the Pallars of Mahendravadi to
take to education. Each village boasts, however, of a graduate.
Though the village is doing well relatively, the economic
condition of Pallars is bad. Dalits are agricultural labourers, wood
cutters and cattle rearers. There are few Pallar men and women
employed in match factories. Most of the families incur an
expenditure of Rs. 200 to 500 on food per month. The kind of subtle
form of discrimination practised in Mahendravadi also prevails in
Pudukulam. Pailars who bury the dead have a separate cemetery.
(3t.
Venkatachalapuram is also known as Puliyur. Puli Kudumban
bought this part of land from Venkata Iyer and hence it is named
Puliyur. There are 190 Pallar households comprising 600 people. 70
families have land. But none of them possess more than 3 acres of
land. As a matter of fact 40 families own less than one acre of land.
There is no protected irrigation system and the agriculture is
dependent on monsoon. Many of the Pallars have opted for wage
labour in construction industry. They get more wage than what they
would get in agricultural labour. A construction worker is paid
between Rs. 100 and Rs. 125 for working from 9 o' clock in the
morning to 5o' clock in the evening. However, they get work only for
3 days in a work. Women are engaged in match sticks preparation
work. They are taken to match factory centres such as Kuruvikulam,
Kalugumalai and Sankarankovil in a bus.
Despite the onerous existence, many of them send their
children to school. Reportedly there is an IPS officer and a University
teacher from this village. There are ten degree holders in the village.
About 30 persons from this village hold positions of various type in
government service. As women are hand working the Tirunelveli
Service society (TSS), an adjunct of Catholic Diocess has organized
(3?
them into self- help groups. There are four self-help groups in the
village. Yet the living condition is not the same for every family.
At the same time there are people still living in thatched huts
(15). 120 Pallar houses have mud floor while 30 households have no
eletricity. They have no jewellery or any other liquid property. The
families which have at least one of their members of family in
government service are relatively better off. They, numbering about
33, live in terraced houses. There is a striking contrast in the
standard of living of educated Pallars. Thus are houses with
consumer durables like Mopeds (10 families), TV (15 persons) Fans
(35 households) and Grindless (15). 15 families have gold of 20 to 30
sovereigns worth. Surprisingly a majority of the Pallars are member
of mainstream political parties such as DMK ADMK. Only 10
families conveyed the information that they were supporters of
Puthia Tamilazhagam Party. Thus is no polling booth in the village.
People will have to go to Mahendravadi to cast their votes.
Rangasamudram is distinct from other villages. Relatively it is
a bigger village as it has 250 Pallar households with 805 people.
About 60 per cent of households have at least one person abroad.
They have mostly gone to Gulf countries, Malaysia and Singapore as
'31
load men, domestic helps, car drivers and gardeners. As there is
money repatriated from the Gulf and the Southeast Asia, the village
is relatively prosperous. The village remains educationally forward in
the entire union. As such many are in government service. There is a
striking number of teachers (70) from this village. There are more
than 100 graduates from the village. Expectedly a majority of Pallars
are Christians. 220 families out of 250 households are catholics.
There are two rain-fed tanks and hence if the monsoon is
normal there is good harvest of crops. 150 households have land.
Only 5 families have more than 3 acres of land. Others are all
marginal farmers. There are cattle-rearers amongst Pallars this
village. Therefore the number of cattle the village has is strikingly
high. Goats number 500 while animals are 250 in number. This is
the only village where 15 households have mosaic floor. There is no
thatched hut and the 15 concrete terraced houses with mosaic floor
indicate that those whose family member is abroad or in government
service is well.off . This is the only village again where gas stove is in
use. 20 houses have gas stove. 75 households have Grinders.
Refrigerator is available in 10 households. 2 families have fitted air-
conditioner in certain homes. The consumer durables are visibly in
plenty in the households of many Pallar families. 3 households have
Tempo vans and 2 households have tractors. Five families have more
30 sovereign worth of gold. At the same time, 150 families don't have
any jewellery to fall back upon.
Here 4 self help groups are active. The people of the village are
entirely supporters of Puthia Tamilazhagam party.
Kodiyankulam
Kodiyankulam is 4 K.M. off Naraikinaru railway station and
10 K.M. away from Kangaigondan which is on Tirunelveli - Madurai
Highway road. Vanchi Maniyatchi railway junction is 8 K.M. away
from this village. Kodiyankulam village which is situated on 13.22
acres of land has 248 households with a population of 1053. If the
248 households, 237 are Pallar households. There are 3 families of
Asari caste, 5 families of dhobies and 3 chakkiliyar or arunthathiyar
households. Excepting six families, all others have land. But they
are only marginal farmers with less 3 acres of land. 36 families have
taken to Christianity and this factor is attributed to the educational
advancement of many Pallar men and women in the village.
I
'4.-f,
The rate of literacy is 85.2% which is very impressive by any
standard. There are 170 persons who are matriculates in this
village. 45 persons, women inclusive, are graduates. This village
came to light when police excesses were committed on August 31,
1995. When caste conflict of unprecedented nature swept the entire
south Tamil Nadu. 1 The Pallars of this village provided leadership to
their fighting brethren in the district and hence it was targeted for
attack by the police at the instance of the then AIADMK government.
The police brutality resulted in the loss of property of great
magnitude. The loss incurred by the people of Kodiyankulam was
estimated to be .... The police accusing that the people of
Kodiyankulam had given shelter to the illicit brewers and country
bomb makers resorted to Operation Venus. Under the pretext of
search, the police went berserk and caused enormous damage to the
household utensils and consumer durables owned by the people of
Kodiyankulam.
The relative prosperity of the village in explained by the money
repatriated from the Gulf countries. At the time of police raid in the
village 82 male members were working in Arab countries such as
Iran, Iraq, Kwait, Yemen, Omen, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dabi. There
See "1995 caste clashes" authored by K.A. Manikumar and published in Vallinam (Tamil), 2003.
41-1
are also 15 persons returned to their village on retirement from work
in Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Therefore many of them had lost gold jewellery and cash in the
course of police highhandedness they had saved over their life time
abroad.
In 1970 one G. Subbiah had gone to serve the Crompton
Company as an electrician in one of the African countries. His
example was later on emulated by many a person in the village. This
village before the police raid was known to the Pallars of the region
as "Mini Dubai". The oral history of the village is that the villagers
were till the dawn of the 20the century leading a contented life, as
agriculture was thriving. But they were evicted from their land when
Sivalaperi and Parakrama Pandiyan Tanks were sought to be
restored. Yet these tanks when neglected and eventually became dry,
the area was parceled off under Ryotwari settlement and pattas
distributed. The Pallars who bought the land in course of time from
Brahmins were hit by the move of the colonical state first and the
Congress government later to restore the tanks in the region.
Afterwards they had to content with the dryland outside their village.
As the land acquired was not productive, they had to think of
((f
alternative livelihood. Today a large tract of land remains
uncultivated because of the unproductive nature of the soil.
In view of the money repatriated from the Gulf, at the time of
police atrocity in the village on August 31, 1995 , a number of
Grinders, T.Vs, Cameras, Video-cameras and Fans were found
broken and lay scattered in the village when the investigator visited
after the lapse of six months of police operation allegedly to flush out
the criminals. The number of concrete terraced houses is strikingly
high in the village. When Pallar villages have tiled houses else where,
here tiled houses are very little.
The Gomathinayagam Commission set up by the government
exonerated the police of the charge levelled by the political parties
with high handedness. In anticipation of this finding, the people of
Kodiyankulam had boycotted the Commission. The ministers sent
earlier by the Chief Minister to assuage the feelings of the people of
Kodiyankulam were boycotted by the villagers. The president of
Federation of Devandrakula Vellalars Associations, now Puthiya
Tamilagam Chief, Dr. K. Krishnaswamy (a medical doctor from
coimbatore) alone was allowed to enter the village and provide aid to
the affected people. The women of the village in the absence of their
/4'. 3
husbands abroad are assertive, aggressive and independent, unlike
their counterparts in other Pallar villages. They were full of
resistance and anger in the aftermath of the Kodiyankulam incident
on August 31, 1995. They compaigned for Dr. K. Krishnaswamy in
the subsequent State Assembly election and elected him to the
legislature from Ottapidaram constituency exclusively on a dalit
platform, without the backing of any mainstream political parties.2
Pallar women of this village are strikingly different. As many of
their husbands out of the country they have to run the household.
This has trained them not only in household management but also
in public affairs. In village meetings, they take part on par with male
members. Their opinions are respected. Apart from self-help groups,
there is a Women's Association in Kodiyankulam. They provide fillip
to the Dalit movement in this region.
Keelapattam
Keelapattam located in Palayamkottai taluk is a panchayat
village with inhabitants belonging to equal number of Thevars,
Nadars and Pallars. The village was considered sensitive from the
2 K.A. Manikwnar, "Caste Clashes in South Tamilnadu," Economic & Political Weekly, September 6, 1997.
/44-
view point of Law and Order authorities since 1930s. 100
households of Pallars were surveyed. The total population covered by
the survey was 282 with 144 females and 135 villages. Though the
sex ratio of the Scheduled Castes for the whole Panchayat was
100:1034, the survey in 100 households showed a low sex ratio. In
terms of literacy, the female literacy is impressively high. In 100
households, the number of literates worked out to 72% and &77%
for male and female respectively. The impressive performance of the
female is ubiquitous in elementary, high, high secondary and
collegiate level. The village is well connected to Tirunelveli by road
and hence the modern development seems to have affected the dalits
positively. Two Pallar families possess more than five acres of land.
Only 8 persons own land from 1.5 to 3 acres. While 6 persons have 1
acre land the rest of them are landless labourers.
The economic condition of Pallars is reflected in the housing.
39 families' live in concrete houses. Around 10 live in huts with mud
flooring. 31 households have cycles, 23 households have a
television. Grinder is available in 12 households while 5 families
have mixers. 63 households still depend on firewood stove. There are
25 households which have no electricity supply. The high rate of
literacy has enabled the dalits to assert their rights. There 50
persons with membership in caste outfits. 48 persons have openly
identified themselves with one political party or the other. 9 persons
had been affected by the 1995 caste conflict.
Therku Kadayam:
This South Kadayam is part of Kadayam Panchayat union in
Ambasamudram TaJuk of Tirunelveli district. It is a multi-caste
village with a sizable presence of communities such as Brahmin,
Nadar, Konar and Pillai. The dalits belonging to Pallar caste live in a
hamlet called Bharathi Nagar. They are all Hindu Pallars. There are
250 households. Excepting a few Kuravar families, numbering about
12, all others are Pallars. The survey was confined to 100 Pallar
households. Excepting one Christian family all other 99 are Pallar
families. Sixty eight households have only mud floors; 18
households do not have electricity. There are only 8 terraced
buildings. 84 families live in tiled houses while 8 in thatched huts.
Data collected from Bharathi Nagar indicate that 33 persons
have matriculated from this hamlet. Girls also get education on par
with boys up to high school level. For example the number of males
passed high school level number 14, while the girls who have passed
FLfC
lOthe standard are 19 in number. But the overall literacy rate in
unsatisfactory. The literacy rate for the village is 38.3%. This is very
low by any standard. The data reveals 80 Pallar households have
land. But on an average each household has only less than an acre
of land. Many of them seem to work as wage earners. There are
equal number of agricultural labourers and manual labourers in
non-agricultural avocations. The families which have stable income
educate their wards. There are 17 graduates from this village of
them 11 are males and 4 are females.
The Pallars of this village still use firewood for cooking, 80
families use traditional firewood stove while 5 use kerosene stove.
About five families use Gas stoves. 38 households have T.V.s, 37
families have ceiling fans, 45 persons have bicycles and 22 houses
have transistors at home. The people who have consumer durables
have at least one person in government service or in private
establishment with fixed monthly income.
The Pallars of Bharathi Nagar constitute numerically a force to
reckon with and hence probably are free from oppression of
dominant castes. Another reason for this relative freedom is
Kadayam happens to be a multi caste village with no particular
caste forming a dominant group. The social discrimination reported
in Tirunelveli dalit villages such as denial of access to road, temple
and drinking water source is not prevailing here. But still this
hamlet is considered one of the sensitive conflict prone areas.
Surprising information about this hamlet is that the Pallars
are not members of any caste outfit or dalit political parties such as
Puthiya Tamilagam and Tamilar Munnetra Kazhagam. Only 4
Pallars have claimed to have political affiliation. But the implicit
message is that they would determine who should be supported in
the election by the people living in the hamlet. Enquiry with other
caste groups helped to substantiate this inference.
Therku Kallidaikurichy:
Therku Kallidaikurichy is a panchayat village in
Cheranmahadevi Panchayat Union of Ambasamudram taluk in
Tirunelveli district, It is a village with the dalit population of 938.
There are 126 households. The survey was restricted to 100
households to maintain uniformity. Excepting one Christian family
all others are Hindus. The households which possess land are 20 in
number. None of them has more than 2 acres of land. Inclusive of
landholders, all the Pallars offer their labour for wages. In the 100
households, 68 houses have mud floors. 19 houses have no
electricity. 20 persons are educated up to 10th std. 15 persons have
completed plus two. There are eight graduates and two post
graduates. Despite the indigent economic condition, Pallars of this
village seem to give importance to education. The rate of literacy is
73%.
In terms of household utensils, the Pallar houses in Therku
Kallidaikurichy is ill-equipped. 77 households still use firewood
stove. 50% of the households do have only 2 meal a day. 19 houses
have fans, 24 houses have T.V.s and 11 houses have Tansistors.
Consumer durables are conspicuously absent in many of the
households. 48 households still use pottery for cooking . Curiously
only one household has reported to be using stainless steel utensils.
None of the households has reported that they were part of any caste
Aloutfit or any mainstream political part. There is no allegation of
discrimination or oppression by the dominant caste people, as the
Pallars form the village.
Keelakottai Village
Keelakottai is a Pallar panchayat village in Ottapidaram Union
of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu which was intensively
surveyed by the Census department in 1961 and there is a
monograph on it. The village has been resurveyed in 2001 by K.A.
Manikumar and I had the fortune of joining him in field work.
Keelakottai is part of Ottapidaram Assembly (Reserve) Constituency.
Today the three hamlets other than Keelakottal that constitute the
Keelakottai panchayat village are K. Kilasapuram, Gopalapuram and
Govindapuram. There are 60 Pallar households with a total
population of 250 in Govindapuram. Curiously all of them are
landless labourers, as a few Naidu families own land there.
Govindapuram was part of Pazhavendan village panchayat till the
bifurcation of the district into Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi. Non-
availability of data about this hamlet in the 1961 monograph has
handicapped us from subjecting to a comparative analysis. In the
case of Gopalapuram, where 4 Nayakkar, 9 Chettiyar and 6
Carpenter families live, the increase of households has been
minimal, from 9 in 1961 to 19 in 2001. Recently 4 carpenter families
and 5 Chettiyar families have left in search of a secure livelihood.
There has been no perceptible change in this hamlet since 1961.
I
Thus, our focus virtually turns out to be on Keelakottai and
Kailasapuram hamlets.
When the village was studied in 1961, Keelakottai was in
Kovilpatti taluk of the then composite Tirunelveli district. By rails,
the village is reachable through Vanchi Maniyachi junction, which
lies at a distance of 8 km in the east. The village is about 10 km off
the "Slater village" Gangaikondan, which is situated 4 km away from
the Tirunelveli- Madurai highway in the eastern direction. In 1961,
Keelakottai people had to walk up to Naraikinaru to board the train
bound for Maniyachi from where they could reach any part of south
Tamilnadu. There was only a cart track that linked Keelakottai with
Gangaikondan, from where people could take a bus to any part of
the district. When Chittar flooded during monsoons, Keelakottai
remained cut off from the rest of the district for days together. But
to-day a metal road has been laid linking Gangaikondan to
Kailasapuram, thereby making the village accessible even during
monsoons. Public transport service facilitates visits of the people to
taluk and district headquarters without much difficulty.
Dharmakumar in her Land and Caste in South India states the
circumstance in which the Pallars, a scheduled caste group, could
have secured freedom from bondage. This was when money wage
was introduced. Money wage enabled the bonded Pallars to save
money necessary for the commutation of the labour services inflicted
in lieu of the debt incurred. According to her, such instances were
reported in Tirunelveli in 1836. As for dalits (lowest castes) aquiring
land, Dharmakumar writes that the colonial government introduced
special rules under which a person who cultivated a piece of land for
more than five years could make a legal claim to ownership of the
land; the government also made specific allocations of land to
"depressed castes" and agricultural labourers either directly or
through Christian missionaries. In this manner, in all probability,
the Pallars of Keelakottai could have thus broken their bond to
Mirasidar families or Mirasidar villages and settled as tenants or
land owners in Keelakottai.
Pallars constitute the Keelakottai village. The Devendra
Pallars, a sub-class of Pallars, have dwellings in Keelakottai hamlet.
The Veeranattu Pallars who claim superior caste origin inhabit
Kailasapuram-the usual Atha (mother)-Amma(mother) Pallar divide.
The author of 1961 village monograph wrote that Veeranattu Pallars'
dwellings (Kailasapuram) remained separate from the settlement of
Devendrakula Pallars (Keelakottai hamlet) as the former considered
themselves superior to the latter. Today in the context of
politicization and emerging solidarity among various sub-groups of
Pallars, the feeling of superiority is not openly expressed by the
Veeranattu Pallars who no longer consider Devendrakula Pallars
beyond the pale of marriage ties. Instances of intermarriage between
the two groups are reported now. But it is wrong to assume that
endogamy as a principle has been totally abandoned by the both.
As for the number of households in Keelakottai, Kailasapuram
and Gopalapuram hamlets, which constituted the village panchayat
in 1961, it has increased from 276 in 1961 to 647 in 2001.
However, the increase registered in each hamlet has varied. The
households in Kailasapuram have increased phenomenally from 154
to 397. Relatively, there has been no such marked increase in the
case of Keelakottai hamlet since 1961. There were 90 households
recorded in 1961. The number has risen to 231. The population of
the village has correspondingly risen from 1,398 to 2,016 (excluding
Govindapurain) over the last forty years-an increase of 44.2 %.
Based on the census figures of 1901, the investigator calculated the
population increase in the village by 46.5% in the past sixty years. If
we follow the similar analogy, the population of the village has
increased by 57% since 1961.
153
If one goes by the figures on village population in the last forty
years, there has been an addition of about 150 persons every
decade. The total number of births registered in this village in the
last ten years is 297, while the number of deaths registered during
the same period is 167. In 1961, the births recorded in the previous
ten years was 406 while the deaths registered happened to be 203.
This is suggestive of decline in fertility and mortality rates. The
increase of population in the hamlet has not tallied with the number
of births and deaths registered. This implies that out- migration has
been taking place without any proportional in-migration. Local
enquiry reveals that the educated unemployed in the last few years
had migrated to Sivakasi, Tirupur and Thoothukudi to eke out a
livelihood. Besides the educated when get white-collar jobs, they do
not remain in the village as in the previous generation. They move
out and settle in places of employment.
The Veeranattu Pallars were the first to take to Christianity
that provided them opportunities for better education and
employment. About 57% of them had become Catholics while the
remaining 43% subscribing to Protestantism in 1961. Following
Veeranattu Pallars, a few Devendrakula Pallars (only 12 households)
also took to Christianity, but adopted a minor Protestant
denomination called Brother Mission Society. Significantly, there is
no Christian convert among the Chakkiliyars. None of the people in
the village, either from the Chakkiliyar community or from the dalit
caste groups, is able to give any reason for their non-conversion. The
Christian converts who formed 36.76% of the village population in
1961 now constitute 43% of the village population. This is, as
explained by the villagers, in view of the return of those who had
migrated at the time of 1961 census to Manjolai tea estate in
Tirunelveli district and Sengarai estate in Kerala to eke out a
livelihood. In 1961, there were two churches, one for Catholics and
one for Protestants. Now Kailasapuram has two more churches, one
for Seventh Day Adventists and the other for the Pentecost group.
The Seventh Day Adventist and Pentecost sects command 62 and 32
followers respectively in Kailasapuram.
The Pallars of Keelakottai village gratefully recalls the yeoman
service rendered by a Christian priest from Naraikinaru by name
Grandon Durai. The Daniel Elementary School in Keelakottai was
founded by him. St. Michael Boarding School started in
Kailasapuram, facilitated access to higher elementary education. The
Harijan Welfare Department subsidized the cost of hostel
!,s5
accommodation with a grant of Rs. 16 per a boarder for 10 months.
This government subsidy has continued to date. St. Michael
Boarding School and the Roman Catholic Elementary school in
Kailasapuram promote the cause of school education in the village.
The Boarding Home attached to St. Michael School when
started in 1949 had a student complement of 15 (boys only). In 1961
when survey was conducted, the school had 74 boys 14 girls as
boarders. Now the Home has 96 males and 27 females. But the
building of the Home is almost in a bad shape. The Diocese has not
shown any interest to repair the building. This is probably because
of the setting up of a students' hostel by the Adi-Dravida Welfare
Department in Kailasapurarn, in which there are 38 dalit students
and 12 backward caste students (Christian Pallars mostly). The
dalits attribute the lack of concern for the cause of dalits in the
Diocese to this sorry state of affair.
The village has registered impressive growth in terms of
educational attainments. At the time of 1961 survey, 41% of the
villagers had been returned as literates-males 54% and Females
25%. This was then well above the district and state averages of
35.6% and 30.2% respectively. The rate of literacy today for the
three hamlets (Keelakottai, Kailasapuram and Gopalapuram) put
together is 66.7%.( See Table: IV. I)
Table: IV. I
Population, Literacy and Sex Ratio
(Exclusive of Govindapuram)
Year Households Population Literacy Sex-ratio
1961
276
1398
41% 1000: 849
2001
Mew
2016
66.7% 1000: 1014
Source: K.A. Manikumar, Keelakottai Village- A Resurvey,
2002 (Unpublished)
The literacy rate of the village is above the district average of
65.28. The rate of literacy today for Kailasapuram is 71.1% and
60.8% for Keelakottal. The male literacy rate for Kailasapuram and
Keelakottai are 78.5% and 68.9% respectively. Each hamlet has
achieved female literacy at the rates of 64.3% and 54.2%. The
number of persons who cannot read and write in Kailasapuram is
266 while this number for Keelakottai being 385.
The accomplishment of Kailasapuram contrasts with
Keelakottal. Kailasapuram compares favourably with the attainment
of non-.dalits in Gopalapuram. For the total population of 87 in
Gopalapuram, 23 are illiterates, which mean a literacy rate of
73.5%. Compared to 1961 situation in Gopalapuram, where 28% of
the children of school going age were not attending school, its
present accomplishment is not bad. Now with recorded increase in
households there, only 10 such children (11%) are out of formal
school system.
The school dropouts are either assisting their parents in the
agricultural activities or in animal husbandry. It is not the non-
affordability of their parents that has led to this incidence of child
labour, but the lack of employment avenues available for the
educated. The parents expressed no regret for not sending their
children to school because according to them even the educated
postgraduates in the village remain unemployed. They deplored that
the poor dalit families have to bribe the politicians to get jobs in
government schools and offices. This, they pointed out, has
dampened the enthusiasm of the parents to educate their children.
The village has improved its sex ratio from a low of 849 to
1014. Interestingly, within the village, Keelakottai hamlet has a low
ratio of 1000: 934. Kailasapuram, reflecting its overall progress, has
recorded a sex ratio of 1000:1097. It is higher than the district
average. In 2001, Thoothukudi district registered a sex ratio of 1049
(for every 1000 men 1049 women), although it is a marginal decline
from a high of 105 un the last decennial year. The rise in the sex
ratio is a positive indicator.
The Mission schools that existed in 1961 are carrying on its
mission of imparting education up to tenth standard. Two classes,
IX and X, have been added up since then. In 1961, the total strength
of the students, boys (271) and girls (154) put together, worked out
to 325. At present, there are 607 students on rolls, with boys and
girls numbering 334 and 273 respectively. There are 4 boys and 8
girls now reading in degree colleges; six girls are doing a course in
nursing. 16 boys and 18 girls are in plus two classes.
IS
It has to be noted that in terms of educational accomplishment
Kailasapuram has outshun Keelakottai. Table: 3 while bringing out
this sharply also establishes the striking accomplishment of
Kailasapuram hamlet in female education.
Table: IV.2
Educational Attainments of Kailasapuram and Keelakottai
Kailasapuram
Keelakott ai
Post-graduates - 32
(male- 13;female- 19) 2
Graduates -94
(male-40; female -54) 13
Plus two 136
(male-65;female-71) 37
10th standard -207
(male-106;female-1O1)52
Source: K.A. Manikumar, Keelakottai Village- A Resurvey,
2002 (Unpublished)
Note: There is no male-female break-up for Keelakottai.
At the time of 1961 survey about 65 dug wells existed. At
present there are 23 wells and 16 tube wells fitted with compressor
pumps owned by Keelakottai dalits. Kailasapuram people have 29
,c)
wells and 9 tube wells. The availability of water in the wells depends
on the monsoon rain and the resultant filling of the Prakrama
Pandian Tank in the village. Therefore they are of no use today.
There were no pump sets in 1961. Today, the village has about 50
pump sets.
The 1961 survey report recorded two small ponds that
remained the true source of irrigation. Now there is a big tank called
Parakrama Pandyan Tank, named after a later Pandya King. But
distressingly, the channel excavated from Uppodai to feed the
Parakram Pandiyan tank has become dilapidated now. The tank's
bund which has breached also needs to be strengthened. A proposal
prepared in the year 1998 at an estimated cost of Rs. 1 lakh is
gathering dust. The failure of monsoon in the last five years has still
worsened the condition. Water for agriculture purpose was earlier
sold to marginal and small farmers by the owners of the tube wells
at the rate of Rs.40 for the water pumped every hour. In
consequence of deteriorating ground water level these days, those
who have no well water source face a trying situation.
Earlier the people of this village were raising millet and cotton.
They abandoned millet cultivation in the wake of tank irrigation.
I'.'
Thorny bushes occupy the plots where once millet and groundnut
were grown. They are leased out for making charcoal. Paddy, cotton,
chilly and vegetables are the popular crops of Keelakottai villagers
today. A few of them have taken to sugarcane cultivation too. This
they say was because of restoration of Parakrama Pandian tank in
the sixties. But to-day there is gloom in the village because the
inflow of rain water into the tank has been blocked and the only
water source of the village is in a state of disrepair.
The farmers have taken to modern methods of cultivation like
the use of fertilizer, pesticide and tractor. Yet the reply one
invariably gets from the farmers owning land, ranging from 2 acres
to 5 acres, whether one was from Keelakottai or Kailasapuram, is
that they could not get a fair price for their produce. The Uzhavar
Santhal (Farmers' Market) set up by the State has not been of any
use to the farmers of this interior village. The government's scheme
has only benefited the farmers living on the outskirts of towns and
cities. The villagers suggest that the district administration should
evolve a mechanism to buy the produce at a fair price from the
farmers of interior villages. In agriculturist families, where some
body is educated and gainfully employed there is no visible
melancholy. The families that depend entirely on agriculture for
their sustenance are managing the distress either by pledging their
jewelry or by incurring a debt. The total debt of the village has been
reckoned as Rs. 1,4 1,000, which is nearly twice the volume of debt
recorded in 1961 (Rs. 66,100).
Keelakottai hamlet, which was a mother settlement in the
beginning, has almost lost its status to Kailasapuram. This is
attributed to the total dependence of the people of Keelakottai on
agriculture. For Keelakottai Devendrakula Pallars, who are mostly
marginal farmers, agriculture is dear to their heart and so they did
not take to education in any big way. In contrast, the three-fold
increase of households in Kailasapuram and their relative affluence
is explained as an outcome of the importance given by its
inhabitants to education and public employment. Many of the
educated persons, even as late as 1980s, after employment chose to
live in their native village. Even those settled elsewhere made it a
point to buy land in their native village, which was looked after by
their family members. Things are changing now in the context of
deteriorating agricultural condition and mounting incidence of
unemployment of educated youth.
3
The formation of self-help groups by women have generated a
new enthusiasm in the village. There are 8 such self-help groups, six
in Kailasapuram and two in Keelakottai hamlets. The Tirunelveli
Social Service Society (an N.G.O run by Catholic diocese of
Tirunelveli) has formed 3 in Kailasapuram and 2 in Keelakottai. The
Y.M.C.A. has organized two other such groups. The women of the
self-help groups controlled by the T.S.S. are dissuaded from taking
to beedi rolling and trained to make doop sticks. These women's
groups have succeeded in getting loans with subsidy from the state
government.
There are 945 pattadars in the village. Only 135 persons hold
land above 1 ha (2.5 acres). Another interesting fact that comes out
of the survey is the Hindu dalit families outnumber the Christian
families in terms of possession of land at the ratio of 607: 338. The
fact that the pattadars of Kailasapuram number only 234 (out of
945) indicates the preeminently agricultural nature of Keelakottai
hamlet people. Many of the farms are cultivated by family labour
alone. Even the relatively big land holders employ labourers only
during the seedtime and harvest. Where the landowners could not
support their families and sustain a livelihood by cultivating their
own holdings hire themselves out as labourers.
t"f-
The line of distintion between general labour and agricultural
labour is becoming thin. Even the presently employed agricultural
labourers have to supplement their earnings by opting for group or
gang labour in the lean years. Besides, the estrangement between
the land controlling Thevars and the dalits have forced the latter to
seek more arduous employment elsewhere. At the moment, about
200 persons from Keelakottai hamlet are employed in cable laying
and construction work. 57 workers, male and female inclusive, are
employed in back-breaking work at a quarry in Thalaiyuthu where
the India Cements Factory is located. Despite the onerous nature of
work, people opt for it in view of high wages it fetches. A quarry male
worker gets Rs. 100 while a female worker is paid Rs.60 per day.
Those who own more than 5 acres of land manage to lead a
hand to mouth existence. The monsoon-rain-fed agriculture has
forced others who possess less than 2 acres of land to look for
supplementary income. The total number of persons returned as
agricultural labourers in our survey is 270 in Kailasapuram and 322
in Keelakottai. Yet only 47 landless labourers work in the Pallar
lands in the village. They are not in a position to bargain a better
wage for their hard work because of strong kinship feelings. In 1961
I",--
the agricultural wage was Re. 1 to Rs. 1.50 for males and 62 np. To
75 np. For female workers. Today wage paid for a male labour is Rs.
60 to 70 while female agricultural worker gets Rs.20 to Rs.30 per
day. The gender discrimination in payment of wages goes
uncontested by any peasant organizations.
The villagers, as the figures in Table: 1V3 suggest, have taken
to cattle and poultry rearing to supplement their dwindling income.
But the lack of support of scientific health care for cattle and poultry
from the district veterinary centre has made cattle and poultry
rearing economically non-viable.
Table: IV.3
The Livestock of the Village, 1961 vis-à-vis 2001
Year Goats and Sheep Cows Buffaloes Poultry
1961 703 99 5 300
2001 1713(608+1105) 395 10 1202
Source: K.A. Manikumar, Keelakottai Village- A Resurvey, 2002
(Unpublished).
(
Keelakottai as a hamlet has not shown any visible progress in
terms of infrastructure development. Most of the mud walls have not
been replaced by bricks as has been the case of Kailasapuram. In
1961, electricity had been provided only in Kailasapuram while the
other two hamlets Keelakoottai and Gopalapuram lacked this
facility. Now all the three hamlets have been electrified. There were
no street lamps in 1961. Now, there are 63 lamp-posts to provide
street light. Yet, 107 households in Keelakottai hamlet still use
kerosene lamp for light. 181 households still use firewood to cook.
Compared to the economic condition of the people of Kailasapuram,
the lot of Keelakottai villagers has hardly improved. The drinking
water facility available to Kailasapuram hamlet is absent in
Keelakottai hamlet. There are hand pumps installed by the
panchayat administration to provide drinking water here.
Keelakottal continues to suffer from ill-laid roads and lack of
drainage system. However 200 out of 206 households own the house
they live in. This may be explained as a benefit accrued to them with
the introduction of the special government housing scheme for
Scheduled Castes. Yet compared to 1961 situation, the standard of
living of the dalits here has definitely improved. Earlier 62.6% of the
icq-
households had thatched huts, whereas now the thatched sheds
work out to 12.9% only.
During the last survey, millet was the main staple food of the
people while rice was considered a luxury. Out of 276 households
surveyed in 1961, 175 could afford two meals a day. Now three
meals a day have become affordable in all households and rice is the
staple diet of the people. Beedi rolling has come to the rescue of
many a household to lead a hunger free existence. The author of
1961 monograph observed the common occurrence of tuberculosis.
That the village remains tuberculosis-free today is illustrative of the
fact that the villagers have access to relatively nutritious food.
Kailasapuram is relatively prosperous. There were only 15
terraced houses in the village in 1961. To-day 99 households have
terraced buildings. 78 of them have come up in Kailasapuram. This
is attributed to tank-irrigated agriculture and educational
empowerment. Seven persons hold more than 10 acres of land. 43
persons have more than 5 acres of land. About 76 persons possess 2
acres of land. 146 households have a radio and 59 families have a
television set. Reportedly, there were no paddy fields in Keelakottai
village in 1961. Today there are a couple of paddy fields in the
village, owned prominently by Kailasapuram Viranattu Pallars. This
is surprising when more and more people in the neighbourhood are
taking to banana cultivation because of labour intensive nature of
paddy cultivation. About 17 dalits of Kailasapuram owned paddy
fields in Gangaikondan during 1961 survey. Now 150 people have
land in Gangaikondan where paddy cultivation is undertaken. This
suggests that dalits in Keelakottai and Kailasapuram have acquired
more land during the days of prosperity. It is significant in this
context to note that in Gangaikondan (a Slater Village) land is
changing hands from Thevars to Pallars. This aspect deserves a
separate study.
Out of 1008 people in Keelakottai, 451 persons (235 males,
216 females) have been returned as unemployed. In educated
inhabited Kailasapuram 485 persons (219 men and 266 women)
have reported that they had no employment and income. Because of
monsoon failure and neglect of the State in repairing the Parakrama
Pandian tank, the thriving agriculture of this village has suffered
much. There are a number of graduates and post-graduates
remaining jobless.
The Pallars of Keelakottai, irrespective of their sub-caste
variations and religious differences, remained under the spell of the
Congress party For a long time. The villagers contend that after the
Congress party none of the Dravidian parties has done any thing
substantially to develop the infrastructure of the village. The higher
primary school run by Tirunelveli Protestant Diocese has not been
upgraded despite repeated pleas and petitions. The Diocese has been
permitted to offer IX and X standards in St. Michael School with out
government's financial grant. Even in Catholic-run elementary
school where the student strength is 180, instead of five teachers,
there are only two teachers. The villagers strongly feel that the
standard of education in the school has fallen and point out the
increasing tendency of the parents to send their wards to
matriculation schools in the neighbouring Thurayur village or in
Palayamkottai.
The domination of Veeranattu Pallars - the residents of
Kailasapuram- in local Panchayat administration has evoked
resentment from Devendrakula Pallars of Keelakottai and
Chakkiliyars of Kailasapuram settlement. It has to be noted here
that under the present dispensation, the President C. Sarkarai, the
Vice-President Gnanaprakasam and the Councillor S. Subramanian
and seven out of nine members are from Kailasapuram. So when the
Veeranattu Pallars first started backing the Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (D.M.K.), the latter two groups, namely Devendrakula
Pallars and Chakkiliyars, politically began to support the
A.I.A.D.M.K. But after the formation of Puthiya Tamilagam by Dr. K.
Krishnaswamy, both the feuding Pallar sub-castes buried their
hatchet and rallied behind him under the common identity of
Devendrakula Vellalars, while the Chakkiliyars continued to support
the A.J.A.D.M.K. As ardent supporters of Dr. K. Krishnaswamy of
Puthiya Tamilagam Party, they did not allow his contender Siva
Peruman, who was fielded by the A.I.A.D.M.K. as a candidate for
Assembly election from Ottapidaram constituency to do
electioneering in the village during the general elections of 2001.
However, Dr. Krishnaswamy was routed in the election, which has
upset the Pallars of this village. Krishnaswamy's one full term as
M.L.A. (1996-2001) of Ottapidaram constituency under which
Keelakottai is a segment, has not helped the village much to improve
its infrastructure. The villagers grudgingly concede that the only
benefit that accrued to them was a permanent building for the
village ration shop.
fq-f
The village is encircled by a few Thevar villages, prominently
Gangaikondan at one end and Vadakarai at another end. In
Gangaikondan, the Brahmin landholders had sold their land to their
Thevar tenants and left. Hence, it has become almost a The'ar
village since then. The social relationship between Thevar land
holders and Pallar labourers has completely broken down in the last
10 years and therefore in the event of an inter-caste conflict the
people of Keelakottai cannot move out of their village. In 1995 when
caste riots of unprecedented nature were rocking Tirunelveli and
Thoothukudi districts, the villagers could not move out of their
habitation. The adults could not reach the work spot while boys and
girls were unable to attend schools and colleges for weeks together.
Because of estrangement between the two conflicting
agricultural caste groups of this region, namely Thevars and Pallars,
there is always a tense situation in and around Keelakottai village.
Pallars have stopped working in Thevars' farms. They don't borrow
from the Maravar moneylenders. The children of Pallars fight shy of
attending Higher Secondary School in Gangaikondan. The demand
of dalits to establish a school in some other neighbouring area to
avoid frequent clashes between the school children of Thevar and
Pallar communities has gone unheeded by the government.
The Devendrakula Vellalars' assertiveness has forced the
Vadakarai Thevars to concede the Keelakottai people's right to fish
in the village pond. Yet in many fronts the Pallars have grievances
and strongly feel that all mainstream politicians have betrayed their
interests. This has despaired them to look to their caste leaders for
the amelioration of their burden. It is in this context Dr. K.
Krishnaswamy of Puthia Tamilagam and John Pandian of Tamilaga
Munnetra Kazhagam have emerged as contenders for winning the
trust of the Pallars of this region. However, Dr. Krishnaswamy's
sway over the Pallars of Keelakottai is total.
Seethaikurichy:
Seethaikurichy is hamlet in Therkupetti panchayat of Manoor
Union in Tirunelveli district. The story about the village is that there
was a murder case against the zamindar of VeerakeralamPudur
(V.K.Pudur), earlier known as Uthumalai zamin. When the case was
successfully fought and won, the zamindar donated the land with
the potential of yielding 60 kotta to the lawyer from whom his heirs
Chelliah Pillai and Pitchiah Pillai inherited it. First, they builL a
house for their stay during their visit to supervise the land. Later
they brought a few Thevar families from Keelarastha to do watch and
ward and protect their crops. Besides, people from Rukmaniapura.m,
Kavalarkurichy, Manur and a few repatriates from Colombo were
invited to settle down. However after some time, they sold the land to
the tillers and went to Tirunelveli town.
On the northern side of the river Chittar, there is a stone
inscription dedicated to Seethai amman. As it is believed that
Seethai amman is the protector of the village it came to be called
Seethaikurichy. The village is also known as the Palathakulam, after
the name of the mother of the heirs of the original donee. Around
1900, an English Catholic Father put up a hut that served as a
school and a place of worship. The Pastor of Villichery is said to have
converted the Pallars of the village to Catholicism. The school set up
by Catholic father seems to have received the government
recognition only in 1948.
The present population of the village is: 630 (Male- 312;
Female-318). Pallar Catholics living in the village reportedly were not
adhering to the principles of Catholicism. In disgust the Catholic
diocese ordered closure of the church. It is claimed that the Pallar
Catholics had a demoralizing time during this period and added to
the woe was the practice of untouchability by the dominant
castes(Thevars) in the neighbourhood. The Pallars recall the days
when they had to drink tea only in coconut shells. If they wanted to
take tea next day they must clean up and drink in the same shell.
Before the caste Hindus, they should not wear head gear.
Humiliated by the treatment meted out to them by the
dominant castes some of them approached Thenkasi Medal M.N
Abdul Rahman and expressed their desire to take to Islam. In 1944,
many of the Pallar Christians took to Islam. Some of them who
developed aversion to certain rituals in Islam switched back to
Christianity after some time. Abdul Salam, curiously, a converted
Thevar Muslim sorted out the differences amongst villagers on
burying the dead and the building of a mosque. Thereafter with the
donation of money from Kuwait a mosque was built. Pallars of
Seethaikurichy seems to be the earliest to take to Islam next to
Nadars of Tenkasi region who took to Islam in the context of
Sivakasi riots.
People pursue agriculture and rearing of cattle. Many are daily
wage earners. Women are doing beedi rolling. Father Joseph Raj of
Society of Jesus is living in the village and striving for the
betterment of the people. For instance from his own fund, he
supplies beedi leaves to enable them to make their own beedi brand.
Father Anthony Cruse, Director of the Tirunelveli Service Society,
organized the women into self-help groups and formed village
development council to inculcate social awareness amongst the
people. He was responsible for securing a loan of 1, 00,000 to buy
milch animals for 25 persons. For 31 members he arranged loan
through banks for the same purpose. The village panchayat
president is running milk society profitably with the support of the
Tirunelveli Service Society. 4 persons have been provided with
housing. A nursery school has also been built.
There is 100 per cent enrollment. There are night classes
conducted to improve the performance of the students with the
financial assistance from the S.0 & S.T. Commission. There are no
drop outs in school. There is a public library functioning from March
28, 2001. The birth rate is very low and hence the enrollment in
school is poor. There are Hindu Pallars, Christian Pallars, and
Muslim Pallars. Religion has not divided them. Caste still is a
binding force in this village. But sadly the economic status of the
Pallars of this village has not improved. They hardly possess any
consumer durables. But they lead a respectful independent
existence without suffering harassment of oppression at the hands
of dominant castes.