Recalling ‘Thanthai’ EVR Periyar’s satyagraha (non-violent) protest for social justice demanding permission to people of all communities to enter the Lord Shiva’s temple in Vaikom near Kottayam in Kerala almost a century back, Kerala chief-minister Pinarayi Vijay has said that Periyar played a huge role in ridding the society of many of its ills.

Taking part in the conference against oppression of Dalits, Vijayan recalled Periyar’s protests in Vaikom.  “Periyar fought for equal rights for women.  His role in the Vaikom Protest was very significant. There is no limit to the protests in liberating Dalits from the society’s various clutches as they are faced with some very strange scenarios in various parts of the country.

“An atrocity against Dalit is committed every 18 minutes; each day, 3 Dalit girls are raped and murdered while at least 2 Dalit families are encroached upon. Dalits migrated from Saharanpur in U.P. in the face of brutal attacks against them; they were attacked for peeling off the skin of dead cows. Madhya Pradesh also has accounted for more number of attacks/atrocities against Dalits.

“Rajasthan and Maharasthra top the list in committing atrocities against Dalit women; in Gujarat, increasing number of attacks against Dalits have been witnessed in recent times: Dalits were attacked for eating beef and for having moustache. In Porbandar, Dalit farmers were attacked. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has documentary evidence to prove that anti-Dalit attacks have increased in recent times.

“The 33,000 cases of atrocities against Dalits in 2012 rose to 45,000 in 2015; in this backdrop, the Centre is only attempting to hide the truth by not revealing the figures for the year 2016. Ironically enough, the number of persons awarded punishments in cases of atrocities against Dalits has also not been encouraging,” Vijayan concluded.