ABSTRACT
A recurring controversy in party politics in Tamilnad is the status of those marginalized by the caste system. Established parties have been accused on numerous occasions of ignoring the concerns of Dalits and denying them positions of importance in party hierarchies. A number of political entrepreneurs have suggested that the best solution is independent representation by a party devoted to Dalit interests. Others have argued for grassroots political action and development work that can get around the obstacles presented by unresponsive political parties and indifferent state institutions. Two organizations decided to follow the electoral route in the late 1990s. The PT fielded candidates in the 1998 Lok Sabha election and the DPI joined the electoral contest in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. Whether or not each party represents the Dalit population of Tamil Nadu as a whole is a contested point. However, both organizations were headed by notable individuals who have brought Dalit politics into the dynamics of the state party system. Thol. Thirumavalavan is considered a dynamic and inspiring leader of the DPI. Dr K. Krishnaswamy founded the PT and skilfully bought local caste issues in the southern districts into state politics. I deal with the DPI first because it has a longer history as an organization and it represents a wider social constituency than the PT. It is logical to make some general comments about caste alienation in this chapter before moving on to a more specific discussion of the social alienation experienced by supporters of the PT in the next chapter. The DPI is both a movement and a political party. It is, somewhat confusingly, referred to by a variety of names. As well as the acronym DPI, explained below, the movement was referred to as the ‘Viduthalai Chiruthaigal’ (Liberation Panthers). As part of the preparations for the 2006 assembly elections, a party, known as the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), was formally registered. I use both terms, but mainly ‘DPI’ as this was the term most common used in the press until recently. The movement leader has also changed his named. Initially he was known as R. Thirumavalavan, with the ‘R’, which abbreviated his father’s name (Ramasamy), being changed in 2002 to ‘Tholkappian’, routinely abbreviated to ‘Thol.’
