Chennai: Five days after a self-respect marriage at a Communist Party of India (Marxist) office in Tirunelveli, an inter-caste couple remains in hiding and is struggling to register their marriage. The case made headlines after caste groups and the woman’s parents, who opposed the union, vandalised the party office on 14 June in the presence of police.
The man, Madhan (28), belongs to the Arunthathiyar caste (Scheduled Caste) and hails from Tirunelveli’s Palayamkottai, and the woman, Udhaya Thatchayayini (23), belongs to the Saiva Pillai caste (Forward Caste) and hails from nearby Perumalpuram. The two have been in a relationship for roughly six years, according to the Perumalpuram police.
Since the vandalism, police have booked 25 people under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, and the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, and arrested 16, including the woman’s parents and the functionaries of a caste outfit, Vellalar Munnetra Kazhagam.
The couple left their house on 12 June and sought refuge at the CPI(M) party office on 13 June. The woman told CPI(M) Tirunelveli district secretary Sri Ram that her father “will kill” them and they feared for their lives, but leaving the city at the moment seemed impossible.
Sri Ram told ThePrint that this was why the CPI(M) gave refuge to the couple and facilitated their self-respect marriage, with the wrath of the caste outfit in the locality coming down upon the party. However, the police, CPI(M) functionaries in Tirunelveli suspect, passed the information about the couple staying at the party office to the parents and the caste outfit.
“On 14 June, two policemen arrived an hour after we sought police protection for our office. Ten minutes later, family members of the woman and the caste association people barged into our office and vandalised it. It all happened in the presence of police. So, we strongly suspect the role of some of the men in the department,” said Sri Ram.
However, Perumalpuram police inspector G. Thillai Nagarajan denied this, saying the police have been arresting the people involved in the incident.
Tamil Nadu: Gang targeting intercaste married couple ransacks CPI(M) Tirunelveli District Committee Office.
Madan Kumar (28) and Udhaya Dakshayini (23), both belonging to different communities were in love and got married on June 13 against the wish of the girl's family. Since… pic.twitter.com/sXy94Mhmjf
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) June 15, 2024
Woman afraid of ‘influential father’
It all started on the night of 12 June.
According to the couple’s friends, the two left their homes and stayed at their friend’s house in the city that night, planning to flee in the morning. However, on the same night, the woman’s parents started to search for the couple with the help of the caste associations.
“They started to knock on the houses of every relative of Madhan and friends of Udhaya Thatchayayini. That is when we decided to reach the CPI(M) people and managed to get in touch with a local functionary who, in turn, put us in touch with the district secretary,” said a friend of Madhan, who did not want to be named.
When the couple reached the party office on 13 June morning, Sri Ram and other party workers decided to get the couple married at the office and get the marriage registered the same day.
“The couple were so nervous. First, we decided to go to the police before getting them married. But, the woman was sure her influential father would separate them at any cost. That’s why we had to get them married at the party office on the morning of 13 June,” said Sri Ram, who headed the self-respect marriage, which refers to marriages not solemnised by a Brahmin priest.
CPI(M) workers managed to get the paperwork ready to register the marriage the same day. “In fact, we got the appointment at the registrar’s office,” said Sudalai Raj, district secretary of the discrimination eradication front, a CPI(M) wing in Tirunelveli.
However, Sudalai Raj said the situation was not conducive as the relatives and the caste association members were roaming around, including at the registrar’s office.
“We could not even take the couple outside of our office. The caste association men, led by Panthal Raja, the leader of Vellalar Munnetra Kazhagam, were present everywhere. They were also seen outside our party office,” said Sudalai Raj.
Also Read: ‘Self-respect marriages in Tamil Nadu don’t need public solemnisation, says SC
‘Lackadaisical’ approach of state
As the marriage registration did not happen on 13 June, CPI(M) members had to take care of the couple for another day.
“We thought things would be smooth the next day. But, tensions ran high, and we could see the caste outfit men in all the places. That’s when we sought the help of the police for protection. However, minutes after the police arrived, the parents and relatives of the woman, along with the men from the caste outfit, barged into our office and ransacked the whole office,” said Sri Ram.
Videos of men attacking the party office and breaking the glass windows inside the party office, allegedly under the pretext of searching for the woman, were circulated on social media by caste groups. The caste outfit and the parents were purportedly seen vandalising the office in the presence of police.
So far, the police have arrested 16 people, including Panthal Raja, leader of Vellalar Munnetra Kazhagam, the woman’s parents Murugavel (55) and Saraswathi (45), and her brother Saravanakumar (27), in connection with the incident.
“All this time, as there was a threat to the couple’s life, they were kept in a safe undisclosed location,” says Sri Ram.
CPI(M) state secretary K. Balakrishnan announced that their party office would always be open for the inter-caste couple.
Earlier, on June 17, he alleged that the state government has not been taking honour killing cases and caste crimes seriously. “It is that lackadaisical approach that is taking the lives of young couples. The state government should take stern action against the oppressors,” he said.
After the incident, at least three caste Hindu outfits in the locality condemned the state government for lodging a case against those who vandalised the CPI(M) party office for facilitating inter-caste marriage.
Meanwhile, caste outfits in the region released a video Sunday showing the relatives of the woman pleading with the lawyer working with the CPI(M) to let them know where their daughter is. On the other hand, CPI(M) members, on 17 June morning, released a video in which the woman’s mother was seen telling CPI(M) members to save her daughter.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)